March’s newsletter

March has been a joyful and engaging month in our kindergarten classroom, filled with creativity, exploration, and meaningful learning experiences.

At the beginning of the month, we welcomed the arrival of spring by exploring the fascinating world of bugs and insects. The children enjoyed a selection of insect-themed stories by Eric Carle, including The Very Busy Spider, The Bad-Tempered Ladybird, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Through storytelling and the use of puppets, they developed an understanding of insect life cycles and transformations. A particular favorite was the classic poem The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt. Inspired by this, the children created their own “webs” by weaving around wooden clothes pegs to catch a fly. They also explored insect characteristics, shapes, and patterns using small world models, and designed their own imaginative insect patterns with colorful paper and patterned scissors. One of the highlights was creating “new bugs” using playdough and loose parts—feathers, colorful stick legs, and plenty of googly eyes. We also added a fun twist to a familiar game, adapting What’s the Time, Mr Wolf? into What’s the Time, Mr Caterpillar?, which brought lots of laughter and excitement.

As the month continued, we introduced the important concept of caring for our planet. Through the story The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson, we explored kindness and helping others, linking these ideas to recycling and donating. Through pictures, the children developed an understanding of what nature is, what makes it “happy” or “sad,” and began to think of solutions to help care for the environment. We learned about Earth, the sun, and the sky, and discussed simple ways we can show kindness to our planet. These discussions naturally led us to explore the recycling process.

The children became familiar with materials that can be placed in recycling bins and engaged in hands-on activities, such as reusing old egg cartons to create paper mâché and design their own unique creations. Recycling remained a key focus as we read Let’s Recycle by Roderick Hunt and Alex Brychta, along with The Three Little Pigs. The children explored building with recycled materials, discovering creative ways to reuse items. We also introduced recycling and donation symbols, encouraging the children to notice these in their everyday environment.

Midway through the month, we continued building on our recycling theme by exploring the idea of “upcycling.” Inspired by the previous week’s learning, the children were eager to take action and help their community. We went on a neighborhood walk to collect litter, giving the children a meaningful opportunity to care for their surroundings. During this time, we also visited a recycling center, where the children had the chance to take part in an on-the-spot interview with a staff member. She explained and demonstrated how the center operates, including the recycling process, the machines used, and the benefits for the environment. The children were highly engaged and later created posters to share this knowledge with the wider community. They also remained enthusiastic about transforming old jars into Easter gifts, commenting that “it is better than throwing them away.” With the help of family donations, we collected jars and painted them, preparing them to be reused in creative ways. At the end of the week, we visited the Museum of Traditional Musical Instruments, where the children danced, sang, and explored instruments they had not seen before. Inspired by the experience, they even created their own instruments.

Towards the end of the month, we began by commemorating March 25th, focusing on themes of friendship, family, and peaceful connections. The children collaborated to create a large olive tree painting using real olive branches, symbolizing togetherness and hope for a peaceful future. Later in the week, we explored symbols associated with Easter, such as spring animals, eggs, and spending time with loved ones. The children carefully planned how they would decorate their Easter cards and then brought their ideas to life using loose parts. By practicing a “process art” approach, they were free to explore materials in their own way, resulting in unique and meaningful creations that we are sure you will enjoy.

Another wonderful month has passed, and we look forward to many more shared experiences and discoveries in the weeks ahead.