HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WINNIE-THE-POOH STUDY

Dear Families:
Happy New Year!!! I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the WONDERFUL and GENEROUS class gifts that I received and for all the many many other gifts. You all were overly generous and I thank you so much. I opened the gifts on Christmas with my family and it seemed like the gifts were just endless. Thank you again. Teaching your wonderful children is a gift enough!!!!

I am excited to announce that Class K-207 will be beginning a new fun unit in our classroom. We are calling it "Winnie-the-Pooh's Journey." We all know Winnie-the-Pooh as a strong childhood image - a sort of iconic figure when we were younger. Children love Winnie and friends and they seem so excited to be incorporating Winnie-the-Pooh into our Kindergarten class.

For this study, we have a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh and have made a Winnie Journal. The journal consists of: a map of Winnie's home, the Winnie-the-Pooh directions, the history of Winnie-the-Pooh, pictures of Winnie & friends, Winnie-the-Pooh recipes and more. More importantly, there are pages for the children to write about their Winnie-the-Pooh experience or "adventure." Each week, a different child will take home Winnie-the-Pooh. They will include Winnie in their activities and will treat Winnie with kindness and respect. During this week, your children will write in their journal about their time with Pooh. The culmination of this project will occur in the Spring - where we all go to Prospect Park to find Winnie's home in the Hundred Acre Woods and have a class picnic.

This segment will help children learn the concept of friendship and how important it is to share experiences with one another. This will be a way to teach them about responsibilities. With an adult's help, they will learn to be a little more responsible by caring for Winnie.

During our read-aloud in the classroom, we will be reading the classic children's story - Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. The world was introduced to this portly little bear in 1926. Along with his young friend, Christopher Robin, Pooh delighted readers from the very beginning. His often befuddled perceptions and adorable insights won the hearts of everyone around him, including his close group of friends. From the energetic Tigger to the dismal Eeyoor, A. A. Milne created a charming bunch both inspirational and entertaining. These simple creatures often reflected a small piece of all of us: humble, silly, wise, cautious, creative, and full of life. I know that your children will be delighted with Pooh's adventures as we were when we were children.

I am asking that the parents keep an eye on Winnie. The purpose of this assignment is really to have fun. I certainly do not want to add any extra burden on you. The children in past years just loved this assignment and really looked so forward to the day when they could take Winnie home. I pick the names of the children from a hat each week - so it is pretty random. Every child will have the opportunity to take Winnie for one week. Winnie will be given them on Friday and MUST be returned the following Friday! It is important that Winnie is returned on time because the next child really looks forward to his/her week. On the Friday that Winnie is returned, the children share their adventures at Morning Meeting - reading their journal entries and looking at the pictures you take of them and Winnie and Pooh.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to me. Thank you again for all your support!

Fondly,
Ms. Graham