The Suzuki Quarter Notes have been very busy this week. We began our week by creating our very own bird feeders to welcome spring! After spreading sun butter on cardboard rolls, we rolled them in birdseed and tied a string to them to hang them up at home!

We continued our Butterfly Unit with our very own Painted Lady Caterpillars! The students were engaged and curious as they watched the larvae slowly move within its container. Additionally, we painted wooden butterfly crafts and decorated them after they dried.

This week we read Penguins by Anne Schreiber, The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner and Baby Cheetahs by Christina Leaf.

                                                   

                                                     

In Mandarin, we also said goodbye to our outstanding piano and Mandarin teacher, Ms. Peishwan, as she moves on to her future endeavors. We wish her the best of luck! 

In class, we learned about the spring season and focused on oral hygiene. Our class learned new vocabulary, such as toothpaste or “yágāo”, toothbrush or “yáshuā” and brush teeth or “shuāyá.”

We also had a very special visitor, Nicky, from Curious Creatures. Although Curious Creatures is not an animal rescue organization, it provides care for previously owned pets. The first animal we saw was a beautiful, wooly chinchilla. He is part of the mouse family and is one of the softest animals in the world. The lifespan of a chinchilla is usually fifteen to twenty years.

The next animal we met was "Maggie," a ferret from the weasel family.  Nicky explained that she not only needs outside time playing like a puppy, but she is also as intelligent as a toddler!

We also met Thumper, a beautiful Lionhead Rabbit, whose favorite snack is dandelions. 

Next to Thumper was a red footed tortoise called Lily! Nicky told us that we always want to wash our hands after touching any creature and that we should avoid touching the feet of a tortoise because tortoise feet are covered in germs.

                        

Liz, a unique and very quiet creature, is a bearded dragon from the deserts of Australia. We also met "Peaches," an orange colored snake, and "Monte" a dark snake.

Nicky also presented "Perry," a tarantula spider. We all watched in awe while Nicky walked the spider around the room.

Last but not least, we met "Wiggles," an animal classified as an “ambush hunter,” which is an animal defined as one who waits for the food to come to them!

We also saw a baby alligator who was beautiful!

In Music this week with Miss Lisa, we discussed the cello. Miss Lisa read Pepe and The Orchestra, an interactive music book by Celeste Picola. We also listened to Saint Saens Carnival of the Animals song, "The Swan.

Then, we started to work with our starter violins and practiced rest position and play position.

 We also learned the different parts of the violin and ended the lesson with the famous Suzuki bow! In addition, our class worked with wooden sticks, placed them in rest position and used blocks to sound out “Mississippi Stop Stop.”

                                                     

Suzuki school of Newton had the pleasure of "Akram" Daniel and Maya's mother present and educate all of us on the Persian New Year! Nowruz is the celebration of springtime and is the brand new year.

 

This holiday has been celebrated for more than 3000 years. During the presentation, Akram showed us Persian dancing, and explained the holiday’s traditions and symbolism around rebirth and renewal. 

                                                    

One interesting fun fact we learned is that people place wheatgrass on their “Haftseen” or alter for Parisian New Year. The Parisian New Year’s "Haftseen table” serves as the holiday’s alter, which includes items that represent peace, love, health and happiness.

The Seeb apple symbolizes beauty. The Seer Garlic symbolizes good health. The Senjed fruit of the oleaster tree symbolizes love. The Somagh sumac represents the color of sunrise. The Serke Vinegar symbolizes age and patience. The Sabze wheatgrass represents new life coming forth. and lastly, the Samanoo Wheat pudding represents sweetness and affluence.

This week the Quarter Notes had a wonderful time playing outside with their siblings and classmates! They were able to use the chalk outside, sandbox, and seesaws. Some of us even gathered at the picnic tables to socialize!

                                                     

                                                                                            

                                                     

Enclosed is a picture of my daughter Helene, an alumni of the Suzuki School of Newton who is now in third grade at The Brimmer And May School. She also had Miss Bonne as her teacher!

I have enclosed a picture with one of the wonderful Quarter Notes from our current class!

Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing all the Quarter Notes on Monday!