Catching Snow Flakes

What crazy weather we have had this week! Some snow, some rain, and some sunshine. The Whales were ecstatic this week when it started to snow at school and they could run outside and try to catch some snowflakes. The Whales were trying to make snow angels (very wet snow angels) and were attempting to make very teeny-tiny snow balls. It was delightful to watch the smiles and to hear the laughter that the little bit of snow brought us.

This week the Whales have been working on stretching themselves and expanding their friendships. They were challenged to sit by new friends at lunch and to get to know them a little bit. Turns out, we have so much in common with our classmates! The Whales were talking about their favorite foods, ice-cream flavors, colors, and so much more! While outside, we worked on playing with new friends and taking turns with what we are playing. We talked about kindness. We defined kindness as; being nice and helpful to others no matter our differences. We talked about what that looks like, sounds like, and feels like. We noticed that kindness looks like people working together, playing together, and checking in on their friends. We talked about how we feel happy, loved, excited, and safe when we are kind and when others are kind to us. We also expressed that it is easier to learn when we are surrounded by kind people. We noticed that kindness sounds like; saying please and thank you, asking friends to play or read with us, and checking in on friends. Ask your Whale what new friends they have made this week!

On Friday, the Whales were so excited to start a new addition to Friday Summit. We have now added Buddy Families! All of the ELC students have been split into groups with one ELC teacher. Each group is labeled by a color. In each group their are Dolphins, Seals, Whales, Otters, Sea Lions, and a teacher. The Sea Lions are the leaders of our groups. Today, they led us in a drum roll name game for us to get to know our buddies a bit better. We will meet with our Buddy Families every Friday at the end of Friday Summit. Talk to your Whale about the games they played and the people in their group! We are so excited to get to know other students in our school and to feel connected through the different classrooms.