Hi Everyone,
We're having a great time this week. Yesterday, Srta. Diaz brought a Mexican dancer to Ray and Sr. Cisneros taught us 2 dances! The children were dressed up in skirts or hats, which they used for their dances. I have video footage on youtube and I will send you the sites as soon as I get home today. I will also be sending information about the dance group and dance lessons if any of you are interested.

On Tuesday we had our <strong>Parker Buddies </strong>(6th-8th graders from Francis Parker School)<strong> </strong>come to school. They brought with them their own theater troupe who performed an original fairy tale written especially for our preschoolers! It was very exciting. We are planning to go to <strong>Lincoln Park Zoo with them on May 14</strong>.

We have also been working on developing props for our book, <em>"My Father's Dragon"</em> by Ruth Gannett Stiles. We are hoping to act out this book next week and hopefully we'll be able to perform it for some other students, including Mr. Jeff's class and Mr. Salvato's 3rd grade class. We'll keep you posted...

We started planting our beans this week, as you may have seen in the window. We are making bean books to record our observations of the beans as they sprout and grow stems and roots. Eventually we'll be sending home the bean plants and hopefully it will be warm enough for you to plant them somewhere.

We've also been experimenting with mixing things. On Wednesday we mixed water and liquid watercolor. We saw that they mixed easily together. Then we added oil and saw that water and oil don't mix - there were large bubbles of oil on top of the water the children could easily see and feel. After talking about why that is, we added dish soap and saw the oil disappear. Where did it go? "The soap ate it." "The soap killed it." We'll continue to explore mixing properties. Today we drew pictures with oil pastels and washed the pictures with watercolor and saw again that oil and water don't mix. I hope you can do these kinds of experiments with your children at home, especially while you're cooking or making things.

PLease make sure you explore spring with your child. We've been watching budding flowers, listening to birds, and noticing the sun being in the sky longer. You'll be surprised how much science your child picks up just by learning to be a good observer.

NOTICE: During the Week of the Young Child (April 14-18), we are having several activities.
1) Nelson Gill concert, Monday Apr. 14 at 10:00 am at Ray (paid for by the PTA)
2) TEDDY BEAR PICNIC -- Wednesday, April 16 6-7:30 pm. Come to Ray School in the evening, with your child dressed in pajamas, and bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic dinner for your family. Don't forget your child's teddy bear! We'll have activities for you as well, All preschool and kindergarten families are invited.
3) Parent-Teacher conferences are on Thursday April 17. I will be available between 12:00 and 6:00pm and I'll post times for you. I know it hasn't been very long since we met before. It is important for you to make an appointment if your child is going to kindergarten next year.
4) This week is also the Scholastic Book Fair. You will be able to purchase books for your child in the small gym. You can also buy books for the classroom. I believe teachers will be making wish lists. I'll get more details about this.
5) This week is also Science Week at Ray so watch the bulletin boards. We're planning on displaying our volcano.

IS THIS ENOUGH??? I think it's a lot, but it will sure be a fun week!

Reminder: Keep on top of the Field Trip information. It's on the web blog under field trips. I will also be updating the summer programs information on the blog. If you have any information about other programs or experience with the ones listed, please let me know and I'll add it.

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HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Jane