A Window into Our Classroom: October 2025
This month brought so much joy as we celebrated the start of Fall and ramped up to Halloween. The children reveled in Autumn colors, explored pumpkin painting and carving, talked excitedly about their Halloween plans, and played outside during our first rainy days. The classroom has felt truly joyful, and the children have been engaging in so many wonderful projects as their confidence and personalities in the classroom continue to develop.
Memorable Highlights
NATURE FIELD TRIP
We took our first field trip of the year to collect fall foliage for a collaborative art piece. Groups of 3-5 children embarked on a walking field trip with two teachers around the block (Mono-Dominga) to collect and observe the changing leaves. All of the children were so excited and listened intently on following the rules of staying together and holding onto the walking rope. We saw squirrels, a cat, leaves of yellow, brown, and green, and one of our neighbors was doing some tree pruning and kindly offered us a whole branch of leaves to explore back at school!
Back in the classroom, the children sorted their finds, made observations about color and texture, and began imagining how we might use the leaves in our art project. This first adventure outside the classroom sparked so much curiosity and joy, and it was wonderful to see their sense of wonder carried back into our work together. Some of their comments about the adventure:
"Look at that flower it’s so beautiful" - Porter
"I see a butterfly" - Eisley
“I’m the line leader”-Miko
“This is a good one”-Levi (about a leaf)
"I liked that so many people were putting leaves in my bag” - Sammy
“We were picking up leaves” - Freya
“We got so many good ones”-Sequoia
“I like when we pick leaves” - Arthur
“Teacher Mo found a blue flower and I found an orange flower” - Porter
“I liked picking up the leaves” - Tommy
“I love finding golden leaves” - Sloane
"Brown and green"-Winter
FALL EXPLORATION
We spent a lot of time this month exploring the joy that Fall brings to our community. A huge part of this was based around pumpkins! We started our exploration of pumpkins by setting up our pumpkin still life project. The children were invited to trace or draw the pumpkin’s shape in “teacher pens” (shapies) and then paint their illustration with orange and yellow liquid watercolors. If you haven’t had the opportunity, take a look at their awesome renderings on our classroom’s gallery wall in the mudroom. Still life art helps to develop concentration, representational thinking, spatial awareness and gives the children the opportunity to make creative choices with everyday objects.
Thanks to all of you, the class enjoyed painting mini pumpkins and decorating our classroom. During Halloween week, we carved the remaining mini pumpkins and guided the children through creating “pumpkin volcanoes” using baking soda and vinegar. We showed the children how to scoop the baking soda with a spoon and then add the vinegar with pipettes. Science experiments are not only a wondrous visual and sensory activity, they also help children understand cause & effect.
We hammered pegs and golf tees into large pumpkins and then used rubber bands to connect them on the following day. Hammering and connecting the rubber bands provides proprioceptive input and helps to develop visual tracking and hand eye coordination. Also, multiday and multistep projects like this show the children how we can use the same material for many different tasks.
We also had the chance to carve two large pumpkins with each of the small groups! The children enjoyed pulling out pumpkin guts and separating mush from the pumpkin seeds. This immersive sensory experience helps to develop children’s bilateral coordination, as they hold the pumpkin with one hand while using their dominant hand to scoop and scrape out the insides of the pumpkin. The children also felt confident as they sorted the seeds from the guts, which was a great fine motor activity for them. Teacher Ana took all of the seeds home and roasted them to feature two flavors - butter and salt, and cinnamon and sugar. Each small group then got the chance to taste a few of each seed and share their thoughts. Our taste testing required patience and impulse control, as the teachers handed out the seeds and asked the children to wait until all of the friends had seeds in their hands. Comparative taste tests like this help children to distinguish between flavors and explore new foods in a fun and engaging way.
What the Children Said ABOUT THE PUMPKIN SEED TASTE TEST
“I like it but hate the smell” - Sammy
“I like both of them; it’s yummy in my tummy” - Sloane
“Yummy” - Freya
“Tastes good” - Eisley
“I liked the smell and what it tastes like” - Grace
“It’s salty” - Winter
“Crunchy and chewy” - Arthur
“It tastes like peanut butter” - Porter
“I taste the salt” - Dylan
“I tasted both” - Kiran
CARE GIVING
An emerging theme in our classroom this month has been caretaking and babies, perhaps inspired by the few families who are expecting! We hope you’ve had a chance to see the incredible poster board with all of the children’s baby photos in our classroom. The children have loved studying each picture as we asked, “Do you know which baby is which friend?” and “Does this look like the [child’s name] we know today? What’s different? What’s the same?” Arthur excitedly said, “First we were babies then we growed up then we were kids” followed by Dylan who shared “We growed up!” These conversations supported their understanding of growth and change over time. Most of the children were not able to identify themselves!
We also collected boxes so that each child could create a cozy baby bed, complete with handmade blankets sewn by Teacher Laura. The children cared for their babies by rocking them to lullabies, washing them, feeding them, dressing them, and gently putting them “night-night.” The children read many books to their babies including, Waiting For Baby by Rachel Fuller, Global Babies, and Baby’s Feelings by Layla McGrath.
What the Children Said While Caring for their Babies
“I was a baby yesterday”-Winter
“This is my baby”-Sammy
“My baby wants milk”-Porter
“My sleeping”-Brooks
“My baby has a W in its name”-Winter
“Baby has a rash”-Winter
“I’m the daddy”-Dylan
“I mama”-Lucia
“I’m the dad”-Sylvie
“My baby is sleeping”-Mikolai
Our classroom transformed into a Doctor’s Office for several days. The children enjoyed exploring the stethoscope and practicing to ask for consent before “checking” their friends. We also got to explore drawings of what a heart and brain look like and point out on our own bodies where these internal organs are located. The children also got to explore bandaids and practice their fine motor skills- opening the wrapper and placing the bandaids on the babies (a very tricky challenge!).To connect this play to literacy and science, we read Me and My Amazing Body by Joan Sweeney and Hear Your Heart by Paul Showers and, with help from Kiran, wrote a “Doctor Office” sign together. This kind of joyful, imaginative play is so powerful and important because it allows children to process and reenact their lived experiences of being cared for. And from what we’ve seen in the classroom, it’s clear that our gentle and responsive caregivers have some truly wonderful models at home.
What the Children Said ABOUT the Doctor’s Office
“I’m helping”-Freya
“I’m a doctor”-Porter
“I’ll check you”-Sloane
“I see a skeleton”-Sloane
“My baby is not scared of anything”-Porter
“Shots are very quick”-Kiran
“I’m the nurse”-Kiran
“Pretend the baby was scared of the teeth”-Kiran
“My baby needs a bandaid”-Sequoia
“Can I check your heart”-Dylan
“My baby is all better”-Jude
“I’m a doctor too”- Sylvie
“My heart is right here”-Arthur
Cooking Projects This Month
Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe
Blend together in a blender-
1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 frozen banana
1/3 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tablespoon unsweetened and all-natural almond butter
We made pumpkin smoothies with Teacher Jocelyn, and each child had the chance to pour in an ingredient and press the blender button. Cooking in our classroom exposes children to new foods and introduces them to numeracy as we measure ingredients together.
Tortillas
Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients. Knead the sticky dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Form into a dough ball and cover with saran wrap for 20-30 minutes. After the dough is ready, divide into 8 smaller balls and roll out to cook each one over medium heat.
3 cups all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon salt
.5 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter
1 cup water
For our tortilla project this month, Teacher Ana prepped a double recipe of the dough at home and brought in 24 small dough balls. The children each received a dough ball to roll out on their tray with a small amount of flour. Rolling out their dough helps the children to develop hand-eye coordination and build important muscles in their extremities (all important for laying the foundation for future literacy development!). The children then got to choose whether or not they wanted cheese on their tortilla, and Teacher Ana cooked them on our classroom’s hot plate and we served them for morning snack. It was wonderful to see the children delight in their own success, as they ate something they helped to create.
Social & Emotional Learning
This month, we dug into “what makes a kind friend.”
During circle time, we often ask the children, “How are you feeling today and why?” If they are feeling sad, frustrated, or mad, we ask them what’s making them feel that way, and then we invite their peers to think of ways in which we can help the sad friend feel better. Sometimes hugs, ice packs, or just the act of sharing has made friends feel seen and heard. Our goal is to help the children build emotional awareness, practice expressing themselves, and develop empathy by listening to others.
We have noticed so many friends developing a stronger sense of care and empathy. When a child is upset, the teachers have seen that friends are quick to step in -- to ask, “are you okay? How are you feeling? How can I help” or “is X sad?” or quickly retrieve an ice pack for their peer. Friendships are growing stronger and kindness is becoming a natural part of our classroom community.
One of our favorite circle time songs led by Teacher Ana & the ukele is the Kindness Song. We talk about what kind words sound like and how they make us and others feel
Lyrics:
K. I. N. D
Kindness is free
I'm going to give it out to everybody
K. I. N. D
Kindness is free
I'm going to give it out to everybody
You are my sister
You are my brother
We're all connected
Let's love each other
K. I. N. D
Kindness is free
I'm going to give it out to everybody
We are all different
Isn't that lovely?
We are all human
So we are family
K. I. N. D
Kindness is free
I'm going to give it out to everybody
There has also been a lot of talk about superheroes! We have discussed with the children about how super heroes work to help people. Potentially stemming from these conversations, we have seen a lot more eagerness to help around the classroom. Teacher Mo and Teacher Shirley led the implementation of classroom jobs around the school. Children are delighted to carry over the compost bin during snack time, pump soap for their friends in line at the outdoor sink, assist in the set up of nap mats, and help teachers put art projects away in friends’ cubbies. We are excited to make classroom jobs an even more central part of the classroom in coming weeks. How do your children help you at home?
This month, we’ve seen some common preschool conflicts arise in the classroom, such as challenges with taking turns or grabbing items that another friend is using. To support the children in navigating these moments, Teacher Jenny and Teacher Mo led a puppet show that acted out a few familiar problems and invited the children to help the puppets find solutions. Through this activity, the children practiced empathy and problem solving—thinking together about what to do if they grab, hurt, or upset a friend. Puppet shows offer a safe and engaging way for children to explore conflict resolution skills without feeling singled out or directly involved.
Books We Loved
Sweet Dream Pie by Audrey Wood
What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Weaver by Qian Shi
Songs we Sang
Down by the Bay
Baby Beluga
The Gold Fish (let’s go swimming)
Muffin Song
5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate
10 Little Spiders
Halloween Witches Brew
Kindness Song
Birthdays We Celebrated
Grace - 4 years old
Freya - 4 years old
Overheard at First Friends
A collection of our favorite quotes from the month
“Can I play with you teacher?”-Sky
“Have you ever been in a Waymo? It’s a kind of taxi” - Arthur
“We made a pattern teacher!”-Porter
“Come up here to watch the rain!” - Dylan to Sequoia
“Is this my left hand?” - Eisley
“It’s a car carrying bus tent hike truck” - Jude
“I have soggy boogers” - Winter
“Grown ups come back” - Freya to Eloise
“I have pumpkins at my house. A green one”-Grace
“My small dad has sneezes” - Freya
“I want a turn! I want to play!”-Levi
“I’m making a vampire dressed up as a pumpkin” - Tommy
“There’s too many germs, I will put more soap” - Eloise
“I really know how to be a helper. I really know how to put on socks.”-Kiran
“When I grow up to be a grownup I can go to the movies all by myself” - Dylan
“My mama’s gonna pick me up”-Sylvie
“We have to take turns!”-Kiran
“When I’m like 15, I will be a grown up right?” - Dylan
Thanks for sharing such a special October with us. Next month we will be diving into all things transportation, numbers, and rainbows!
Warmly,
Your First Friends Teachers
