2025-26 Smart Start Week 5

This week, the letter L invited us to slow down and look closely. We practiced listening — to one another, to materials, and to the world around us. Through art and play, we explored the many lines that connect our learning, our friendships, and our ideas.

Celebrating birthdays always brings extra special excitement to our days! The joy of singing, sharing treats, and making our friends feel loved adds a warm sense of community to our classroom. It reminds us how wonderful it is to grow, learn, and celebrate together.

Our building invitations sparked endless creativity and collaboration this week! Children explored with Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Magna-Tiles, trains, and letter blocks — turning simple materials into extraordinary creations. Tools and toys were used to match letters, build towering structures, design elaborate railway systems, and even bring imaginative robots and castles to life. Each build told a unique story, full of problem-solving, teamwork, and discovery.

We had a very special visitor this week — Blue, a gentle Belgian horse who came to help us revisit the letter H! Our friends were filled with awe as they met Blue up close, noticing his size, strength, and calm nature. Each child had the opportunity to pet and brush him, experiencing care and connection through gentle touch. It was a hands-on reminder of how animals can teach us about kindness, respect, and the joy of new experiences.

This week, friends had the opportunity to choose whether they wanted to practice their short or long name — an exciting way to build ownership and pride in their growing literacy skills.

Our week was filled with L-inspired invitations that encouraged creativity, the development of fine motor skills, and working in collaboration! Friends helped the letters climb back up the tree, just like in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, strengthening letter recognition in a playful way. They carefully threaded strings through lacing cards and linked clips together — sometimes creating patterns, other times inventing long chains of “hair” or connections that stretched across the room! Using glue sticks and paint, children created grassy scenes and cheerful ladybugs, then crafted adorable ladybug magnets to take home as a tangible reminder of the L sound.

Friends also explored using loose parts to create lines — arranging beads, buttons, and other materials in straight, curved, zigzag, and other designs that reflected their creativity and growing understanding of how lines take shape in art and writing. We introduced a new literacy project — creating our very own mailboxes! Each friend decorated a personal mailbox to use throughout the year for sending letters, drawings, and friendly greetings to one another, building connection through meaningful communication.We also measured each friend’s height and displayed it in the hallway, where we’ll observe their growth throughout the year — just like watching our classroom flower grow taller each day!

Imaginative play was in full swing this week! Friends took on the roles of helpers and entrepreneurs as they washed and hung laundry on the line to “dry,” practicing coordination and responsibility through play. Nearby, the lemonade stand was open for business — complete with creative pretend recipes, friendly customer exchanges, and lots of laughter as children explored teamwork, communication, and real-world roles through imaginative experiences.

Our explorations in science, visual art, and Wiggle Room were filled with curiosity, creativity, and movement! In science, we learned about the Lake Cumberland habitat — connecting our discoveries to the local environment — and explored the fascinating world of volcanoes. Each friend had the chance to witness a bubbling volcano demonstration before creating their own eruption using vinegar and baking soda, sparking excitement and wonder. In visual art, children expressed their creativity through watercolor leaves and ladybugs, and began painting backgrounds for their yearlong art projects that will be featured in our end-of-year gallery. Wiggle Room tied beautifully into our science learning with energetic games of The Floor is Lava, helping reinforce listening skills and teamwork. We also practiced moving safely together — looking, listening, and following the leader as we walked in lines and transitioned through our day.

What an exciting and lively week it has been exploring the letter L! From learning about lines and letters to leaping into imaginative play, science, and art, our friends showed curiosity, creativity, and collaboration in every way. Each invitation offered new opportunities to listen, look closely, and learn together — reminding us how much joy and growth come from hands-on exploration. We can’t wait to see where our learning leads us next!

See you soon,

The Smart Start team