Weekly Update December 5 - From Fall to Winter: Exploring Snowsong Whistling at Fox Hill School

Reminders:

• December 6 - Danvers FalconFest Tree Lighting (Danvers Square), 4-5:30pm

• December 8 - Grinch Family Fun Event at the Danvers Art Association 6pm Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054BAFA62F4-60359705-family

• December 18 - Popsicle Pajama Party

• December 19 - Popsicle Pajama Party

• December 20-January 4 - Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

• January 5 - First day of school 2026!

Focus Books: Thanksgiving at Our House by P.K. Hallinan and A Snowsong Whistling by Karen Lotz

We had a short week last week at the Fox Hill School where we finished up by reading Thanksgiving at Our House. This story follows a family through their Thanksgiving day and all the activities in between. From playing football to visiting neighbors, there is so much to be thankful for! We transitioned from Fall and Thanksgiving into A Snowsong Whistling. We reminisced about the hot pies baking and the smell of apple cider to sleigh bells jingling and sledding with friends!

Silly Turkey Hats

There is nothing quite like a silly turkey hat to bring instant giggles to Thanksgiving! It is a Fox Hill School tradition to make these amazing turkey hats and where them while we sing our annual Thanksgiving song, Fat Turkey! By using sentence strips to measures heads, then adding some outrageously large googly eyes along with a beak, a waddle and, of course, colorful feathers, we had such a fun time gobbling about!

Literacy: The Importance of Rhyming in Early Childhood Learning

In our focus book, Thanksgiving at Our House, the author uses rhyming words. This past week, our little learners completed a rhyming puzzle, and the excitement in the room was contagious! As our young learners matched pictures and words like cat/hat or tree/bee, they weren't just solving a puzzle, they were building essential early literacy skills!

Rhyming helps young children hear and play with sounds in words, which is a big part of learning to read. When preschoolers recognize that two words sound alike, they're developing phonological awareness, strengthening memory, expanding vocabulary...all while playing!

Fine Motor Building: Sprinkling Holiday Magic with Salt Dough Ornaments

This week we started making our salt dough ornaments. This fun activity blends creativity, sensory exploration, and early learning with hands-on activity. Rollings, shaping, and pressing the dough helps strengthen little hands and fingers, which supports skills like writing, cutting, and self-help tasks. The texture, temperature, and malleability of salt dough provides a rich sensory experience that helps children explore their world through touch. Lastly, working alongside peers allows children to share ideas, take turns, and cooperate which all strengthen their social-emotional development. After we mixed and rolled out the dough, we used holiday cookie cutters to make all different shapes. We baked the ornaments for a very long time. Next week they will be ready to decorate!

Science Class: Oil vs. Water - A Preschool Experiment

Even though Dr. Beaker has a broken foot and will be out for a few more weeks, we were lucky enough that he sent us his science plans so we can continue to learn about the world around us all while doing super fun experiments! This week in science we did an experiment to see what happens when you mix oil and water. We started by adding a lot of water to a large, clear container. We added some blue water color to really see what happens. Next, we poured a lot of oil on top of the water. The children watched closely and noticed something very interesting, the oil floated on top of the water instead of mixing together! We discussed that oil and water do not like to "hold hands." Water likes to stick to water, and oil likes to stick to oil. We took this experiment one step further and added an alka seltzer to the non-mixture. What happened blew our minds! The tablet fizzed and lifted the water up through the oil like a lava lamp! It was very cool!