//Curriculum Update: Week of October 1 //

It was a short week in Silver Room, but a sweet one!

We welcomed a new friend who has been getting a feel for the classroom and our daily routines-- welcome, James!

We also got to taste a range of apples: macintosh, gala, zestar, granny smith and honeycrisp. Everyone got to express which apples they liked a whole lot and which they thought were "just okay." Stay tuned -- our older students will have an opportunity to graph the opinions of the group next week.

We also honored HPMS' 12th birthday with a whole-school Peace celebration on the steps of the gazebo in Hamilton Park. We sang some HPMS favorites ("Peace Like A River," and "Light a Candle for Peace") and a new peace song ("All Together Now," adapted from the Beatles' version)- and then we headed to the park for a little extra play time.

Our Book of the Week this week was "Don't Need Friends," written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. This book tells the tale of two surly junkyard animals who, below their gruff exteriors, still have feelings and a desire to connect with and care for others. It's a book that can be used to help children learn to notice faces and gestures to figure out how someone is really feeling, and it's great for prompting conversation about what are and aren't ways to be a friend. If Dog really is in a bad mood, why is his tail wagging so hard? And If Rat really wants to be alone, why does he keep checking on dog? It's also a great book to share with children who sometimes make mistakes while learning to form friendships. Rat may have been going about things the wrong way in the beginning of the story, but he figured it out by the end-- and that's what matters! Many thanks to Ms. Lynn, one of the Literacy Specialists, for giving this book to Silver Room the year we opened!