Weekly Update November 21 - Celebrating Fall through Gratitude, Creativity, and Community: A Week of Learning at Fox Hill School

Reminders:

• November 26 - Early Release @ 11:30 - DO NOT BRING SNACK, only water bottle - No "Explore More" program

• November 27 - Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL

• November 28 - Day after Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL

• 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 Book of the Week: A Plump and Perky Turkey

This week at Fox Hill School, we read some Thanksgiving and turkey books, to prepare us for the upcoming holiday! The children enjoyed hearing about family celebrations and special meals. We also talked about gratitude and what we are thankful for!

Creating Handprint Turkeys to Build Fine Motor Skills

We made a handy turkey this week! The teachers gently painted each child's hand to create the colorful turkey feathers. After the paint dried, we added a beak, legs, and a waddle using markers. We tried our very best to sign our names at the bottom. They also decorated the frame around the turkeys by cutting painted paper with fancy scissors - great practice for building fine motor skills and using scissors with confidence.

Playdough Turkeys: Encouraging Creativity and Imaginative Play

We also made playdough turkeys using feathers, googly eyes, and small plastic nails for legs. This activity encourages creativity, problem solving, and imaginative play as children built their own funny or fancy turkeys!

Sensory Table Fun: Cranberries, Water, and Turkey Basters

We have something new in our sensory table : cranberries, water, and turkey basters! We explored the cranberries floating in the water. We used our strong finger muscles to squeeze the basters, picking up cranberries, as well as some water! Sensory play like this helps young children learn through touch, sight, sound, and movement. As the children scooped, squeezed, and transferred cranberries, they strengthened important fine motor skills that support writing and self-help skills later on. Our sensory table encourages students to explore at their own pace, follow curiosity, and enjoy hands-on-learning!

Exciting Classroom Discovery: Our Baby Chicks Hatched!

Three weeks ago, Ms. Liz brought in a very special surprise—chicken eggs! She carefully placed them in an incubator, and ever since, our classrooms have been buzzing with excitement as we’ve checked on them each day. Today, all that patient observing paid off because… they hatched! We now have 14 fluffy black chicks and 2 sunny yellow chicks chirping away in the Tigers (downstairs) classroom. Ms. Liz brought some of the chicks on a field trip to the Lions room upstairs and everyone got to hold a chick! The children are absolutely thrilled, and the learning opportunities are endless as we watch these tiny chicks grow. Stay tuned—next week we’ll begin the very important job of choosing names for each of our new feathered friends!

Yoga & Literacy: This is the Turkey and Making Thanksgiving Dinner

Ms. Erin shared This is the Turkey by Abby Levine, a fun and silly story about a boy named Max and his big holiday dinner. Max is excited to help his family get ready for Thanksgiving! After the story, she guided our little yogis through different poses to help make Thanksgiving dinner!

Yoga in early childhood supports self-regulation, mindfulness, motor planning, balance, and emotional awareness—skills that help children thrive both socially and academically.

Music Class: Thanksgiving and Turkey Songs

In music class, we reviewed some of our favorite Thanksgiving songs! We met a turkey from Albuquerque and sang about a very special turkey visitor! We also learned the Turkey Hop and hopped, ran, and flapped our turkey wings but watch out for the farmer - he might catch you!