Ms. Gitti talks to our preschoolers about Nowruz
What is Nowruz?
Nowruz is the Persian New Year. Our beloved Ms. Gitti went over the basics with our Busy Bees and Love Bugs this morning! It is all about new beginnings. It's a time of reconciliation and neighborliness, "contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities."
Nowruz marks the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one, and it occurs on the day of the vernal equinox.
It occurs on March 20th this year coinciding with the arrival of Spring!
People start getting ready for Nowruz about three weeks before the actual vernal equinox. Pretty much everyone goes into serious spring-cleaning mode, ridding their homes of any unnecessary clutter and lingering grime that’s settled in over the past year so they can start fresh.
In these same weeks leading up to the actual day, families also set aside a space for a “haft-seen,” or a collection of items that symbolize a different hope for the new year. While some families add their own variations to the haft-seen (more on those in a bit), there are seven things that are always included:
Sabzeh: Some kind of sprout or grass that will continue to grow in the weeks leading up to the holiday, for rebirth and renewal
Senjed: Dried fruit, ideally a sweet fruit from a lotus tree, for love
Sib: Apples, for beauty and health
Seer: Garlic, for medicine and taking care of oneself
Samanu: A sweet pudding, for wealth and fertility
Serkeh: Vinegar, for the patience and wisdom that comes with aging
Sumac: A Persian spice made from crushed sour red berries, for the sunrise of a new day
Today, our preschoolers got to do one of the most important parts of the celebration! Ms. Gitti presented all of us with two bowls.
We took a handful of lentils from one, make a wish for the new year, and place it in the other bowl. These lentils will sprout and be a part of the celebration! Thirteen days after Nowruz, families head outdoors and throw the lentil sprouts they've been growing (and using to decorate Haft Sin tables) into flowing waters.
Do you celebrate Nowruz? What kind of traditions does your family have?
We wish you well! Share your joy with us!
Your CG Family
Team Spotlight: Our 4 year olds DIG their Routine!
Our 4s teachers are absolutely incredible at what they do to get their kiddos ready for kindergarten.
What’s the main thing they focus on? Self-Motivated Learning. This requires our preschoolers to feel safe, supported, and free to explore their surroundings without fear.
A clear, firm, interactive schedule provides an excellent foundation to a child. The teachers have a schedule complete with pictures of their students doing each activity! Having pictures tied to words helps form tangible understanding of each task and is really helpful for prewriting skills. Plus, seeing themselves in pictures DOING the activities is often a fun incentive to get them to stick to it!
Jobs and Responsibilities. The students have to take care of their classroom! To encourage them to be excited about this, their teachers give them SPECIAL JOBS every day to show them how to be leaders!
Practice Practice Practice. Every day the kids help guide circle. Every day the kids draw whatever they like in their journals and have discussions with their teachers about it (there’s no WRONG way to draw a squiggle). Every day they get a chance to be the person they want to be when they step through the door. Their teachers are here to encourage them, not punish them, and making mistakes is an essential part of GROWTH!
Family Photos. We are all Common Ground. Our teachers understand how integral a child’s family is to their growth and learning journey, and do not expect them to leave that at the door! Each child has a family photo with them so that they can be reminded they are loved ALL the time, 24/7.
The Love Bugs and the Busy Bees have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to preschool. Our kids go into kindergarten confident in themselves and comfortable in the learning environment. We have found that in this time of uncertainty where everyone is a little more stressed and unsure, we need these foundational tools more than ever! So parents, take as much comfort as your kiddo does that they are safe, healthy, happy learners here at Common Ground Childcare.
Love Love Love,
Your CG Family.