H-Week continued today with a new parent teacher in the classroom: Erin, Grady’s mom! Erin brought one of Grady’s favorite books to share with us and it was just perfect for our letter of the week.  Big Bear Hug, by Nicholas Oldland, is the story of a bear who loves to hug everything, even things you wouldn’t expect a bear to hug!  He hugs small animals, large animals, and most of all, trees.  When he sees a man tromping through the forest carrying an axe, he follows the man to see what he’ll do.  The bear realizes that the man plans to chop down a tree, and he becomes furious!  He considers taking a big chomp out of the man, but falls back on his primary means of communication:  a hug!  The man, who is so startled by a hug from a bear, runs away as fast as he can, saving the tree.  The story was delightful to the children because it was so fun and silly!  It also reinforced a few social issues that are very important to children at the preschool age.  First, it encourages children to think outside of the box in terms of friendships and relationships.  If a bear can hug and love an animal it would typically enjoy for lunch, like a rabbit, then any two people can form a friendship!  It also stresses the importance of finding conflict resolution outside of violence.  Everyone expected the bear to behave like a typical bear and growl, bite, and scratch the man to keep him from chopping down the tree.  The bear chose love over violence, and in so doing, he saved the life of the tree and the man.  In this context, it sounds a little silly, but it’s important to take every opportunity to demonstrate the power of non-violence to our students.

During project time, we returned to one of our favorite letter projects:  stickers!  Each child was given their own capital letter H and a sheet of heart-shaped stickers.  Some children used smaller stickers while others used larger stickers, based upon their individual fine motor development.  They placed stickers on top of hearts that had already been drawn onto their letter Hs.  This practice helped them develop their fine finger grasp, as well as strengthen their hand-eye coordination.  Additionally, they had opportunities for self expression in the selection of which stickers to use.  Once they had completed the sticker matching element, they were free to decorate the back side of their letters any way they pleased.  Most children used up the rest of their stickers and added a bit more flair with the help of colored pencils.  It always amazes me how differently their art projects turn out, even when they are all given the same materials!