The Amalgamated Nursery School’s Halloween Party fundraiser was held on Sunday, October 24th at Vladeck Hall in the Bronx. Families of the nursery and of the neighborhood were invited to attend this annual celebration. As with all the fundraising events for the school, students’ families contributed food, activities, and one of their most valuable assets, their time. Family members donated prepared food to the Halloween party including baked ziti, arroz con pollo, peas and carrots, macaroni and cheese, and sausage and pepper sandwiches. Fruit, hot dogs, bagels, and baked goods were also provided.
The children were treated to several arts and crafts activities including decorating frames, cookies, and pumpkins. This year the pumpkins were generously donated by Mickey Shuback of Shuback Farms in Warwick, New York. Other activities included a bone dig, press-on tattoos, and the maze, a particular favorite for the kids year after year.
The event was attended by several members of royalty, witches, creatures large and small, and an abundance of super heroes. Heroic acts abounded during the Halloween Party. The author witnessed acts of kindness like sharing cupcakes and acts of bravery like helping a timid friend through the maze. Clearly, this is the type of behavior modeled at home by the families, at school by the teachers, and in the neighborhood by the community at large. Thanks to all for making the Annual Amalgamated Nursery School Halloween Party an event for which to be proud!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Barnes and Noble Bookfair, 2010
For the third year in a row, the Nursery had its annual fundraiser at Barnes and Noble. The fair was held at the bookstore on Central Avenue in Yonkers on Sunday, November 21st. It was an afternoon of fun for children and parents alike. The children listened to stories read by Amalgamated staff members and students’ family members. They also made some crafts and ate some healthy snacks.
The goal of this fundraiser was to raise money through the purchase of books, games, and snacks at the Yonkers store. If you mentioned the Amalgamated Nursery School’s name at the cash register, a portion of the sale profits from your purchase were donated to the nursery school. This is the first year that purchases made on line could also be credited to the school’s fundraising profit!
We would like to give a special thanks to those who attended and helped to make our fundraiser a success both by reading, making purchases to help raise money for the school, and by showing our children that reading is fun.
The goal of this fundraiser was to raise money through the purchase of books, games, and snacks at the Yonkers store. If you mentioned the Amalgamated Nursery School’s name at the cash register, a portion of the sale profits from your purchase were donated to the nursery school. This is the first year that purchases made on line could also be credited to the school’s fundraising profit!
We would like to give a special thanks to those who attended and helped to make our fundraiser a success both by reading, making purchases to help raise money for the school, and by showing our children that reading is fun.
Our Annual Pancake Brunch
The Nursery’s Board of Directors started the school year off right with the best of the best pancake brunches! The goal of this annual beginning of school year event is to welcome in the new school year as continuing families and new families get a chance to meet and greet. It is also a chance for our students to include their families in the school community as they see each other outside of the classroom and enjoy a bit of food and fun.
We hope that all families who attended reunited with old friends and made some new ones too! Those families that were not able to attend were missed and we would like to encourage you to attend the many other school events that are listed on your Amalgamated Nursery calendar of events.
We hope that all families who attended reunited with old friends and made some new ones too! Those families that were not able to attend were missed and we would like to encourage you to attend the many other school events that are listed on your Amalgamated Nursery calendar of events.
Conversing helps language development more than reading alone
UCLA study finds that activities that get children 2 months to 48 months talking are most conducive to language acquisition
By Sarah Anderson June 29, 2009
Adult-child conversations have a more significant impact on language development than exposing children to language through one-on-one reading alone, according to a new study in the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Pediatricians and others have encouraged parents to provide language input through reading, storytelling and simple narration of daily events," explains study's lead author, Dr. Frederick J. Zimmerman, associate professor in the Department of Health Services in the UCLA School of Public Health. "Although sound advice, this form of input may not place enough emphasis on children's role in language-based exchanges and the importance of getting children to speak as much as possible."
The study of 275 families of children ages 0-4 was designed to test factors that contribute to language development of infants and toddlers. Participants' exposure to adult speech, child speech and television was measured using a small digital language recorder or processor known as the LENA System. This innovative technology allowed researchers to hear what was truly going on in a child's language environment, facilitating access to valuable new insights.
The study found that back-and-forth conversation was strongly associated with future improvements in the child's language score. Conversely, adult monologueing, such as monologic reading, was more weakly associated with language development. TV viewing had no effect on language development, positive or negative.
Zimmerman adds, "What's new here is the finding that the effect of adult-child conversations was roughly six times as potent at fostering good language development as adult speech input alone."
Each day, children hear an average of some 13,000 words spoken to them by adults and participate in about 400 conversational turns with adults. More conversations mean more opportunities for mistakes and therefore more opportunities for valuable corrections. Furthermore, they also provide an opportunity for children to practice new vocabulary.
Parents should be encouraged not only to provide language input to their children through reading or storytelling but also to engage their children in two-sided conversations, the study concludes.
"Talk is powerful, but what's even more powerful is engaging a child in meaningful interactions — the 'give and take' that is so important to the social, emotional and cognitive development of infants and toddlers," says Dr. Jill Gilkerson, language research director at LENA Foundation and a study co-author.
"It is not enough to speak to children," Zimmerman adds. "Parents should also engage them in conversation. Kids love to hear you speak, but they thrive on trying speech out for themselves. Give them a chance to say what's on their minds, even if it's 'goo goo gah.'"
The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research; training future leaders and health professionals; translating research into policy and practice; and serving local, national and international communities. For more information, see http://www.ph.ucla.edu/.
For more news, see UCLA Newsroom.
By Sarah Anderson June 29, 2009
Adult-child conversations have a more significant impact on language development than exposing children to language through one-on-one reading alone, according to a new study in the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Pediatricians and others have encouraged parents to provide language input through reading, storytelling and simple narration of daily events," explains study's lead author, Dr. Frederick J. Zimmerman, associate professor in the Department of Health Services in the UCLA School of Public Health. "Although sound advice, this form of input may not place enough emphasis on children's role in language-based exchanges and the importance of getting children to speak as much as possible."
The study of 275 families of children ages 0-4 was designed to test factors that contribute to language development of infants and toddlers. Participants' exposure to adult speech, child speech and television was measured using a small digital language recorder or processor known as the LENA System. This innovative technology allowed researchers to hear what was truly going on in a child's language environment, facilitating access to valuable new insights.
The study found that back-and-forth conversation was strongly associated with future improvements in the child's language score. Conversely, adult monologueing, such as monologic reading, was more weakly associated with language development. TV viewing had no effect on language development, positive or negative.
Zimmerman adds, "What's new here is the finding that the effect of adult-child conversations was roughly six times as potent at fostering good language development as adult speech input alone."
Each day, children hear an average of some 13,000 words spoken to them by adults and participate in about 400 conversational turns with adults. More conversations mean more opportunities for mistakes and therefore more opportunities for valuable corrections. Furthermore, they also provide an opportunity for children to practice new vocabulary.
Parents should be encouraged not only to provide language input to their children through reading or storytelling but also to engage their children in two-sided conversations, the study concludes.
"Talk is powerful, but what's even more powerful is engaging a child in meaningful interactions — the 'give and take' that is so important to the social, emotional and cognitive development of infants and toddlers," says Dr. Jill Gilkerson, language research director at LENA Foundation and a study co-author.
"It is not enough to speak to children," Zimmerman adds. "Parents should also engage them in conversation. Kids love to hear you speak, but they thrive on trying speech out for themselves. Give them a chance to say what's on their minds, even if it's 'goo goo gah.'"
The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research; training future leaders and health professionals; translating research into policy and practice; and serving local, national and international communities. For more information, see http://www.ph.ucla.edu/.
For more news, see UCLA Newsroom.
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - Little Hands 3
As the staggering schedule took affect the children were becoming familiarized with the classroom, looking around, pulling things from the shelves, and sitting momentarily at the different work stations that were available. Once the full days of school finally began the children were beginning to learn the daily routine.
At 9:15-10:15 it is open play time. There is a sand table, art table, easel, house keeping area with play dough, puzzles and other manipulatives, and a train set on the rug from which the children can roam from area to area.
Following at 10:15-10:25 it’s clean up time. We have a clean up song played on the CD player that indicates “Oh, Oh it’s time to clean up”. All the children participate by either putting the play dough away, picking up the train set, etc. Once everything has been put away each child receives a sponge and proceeds to wipe down the tables.
After cleaning down the tables the children are taking trips to the bathroom to use the “potty” and wash their hands.
It is now 10:30 we have a delicious snack consisting of juice or water, crackers, fruit, or something we have cooked in the morning.
The children finish up their snacks and proceed to the carpet to sit for sing alongs and story time.
The time has arrived now, at about 10:45 and we head outside to the park.
Hopefully you have seen our books that have been sent home titled “My Friends” and “All About Apples” and enjoyed them. The children explored apples: smelling, feeling, eating, and evening painting with apples.
Artwork has also gone home. A key point to remember is don’t ask the child “what is this?,” but rather ask “how did you make this?” Little Hands work is not about the outcome, but rather how did they get to the outcome depicted on the paper.
As you can see we have a very busy schedule in such a short time span and these little ones are tired and hungry at pick up.
Therefore, a few things to keep in mind:
1) Please make sure that your child gets a good night sleep the night before and a little something to eat in the morning.
2) Also make sure that your child uses the bathroom before entering class (if they are trained)
3) Remember to keep a full change of clothes in their cubbies (Especially pull-ups)
4) The weather is getting colder please bring in every day mittens, hats, and scarves.
5) Always check cubbies before going home.
We have a lot of fun and exciting things to do in the next couple of months. Keep your eyes open for all the wonderful art work to follow.
Great big welcome to Little Hands III class, Ava, Celine, Valentina, Paz, Mary, Kol, Amani, Nicolas, and Dylan.
Luz, Jean, & Lynn
At 9:15-10:15 it is open play time. There is a sand table, art table, easel, house keeping area with play dough, puzzles and other manipulatives, and a train set on the rug from which the children can roam from area to area.
Following at 10:15-10:25 it’s clean up time. We have a clean up song played on the CD player that indicates “Oh, Oh it’s time to clean up”. All the children participate by either putting the play dough away, picking up the train set, etc. Once everything has been put away each child receives a sponge and proceeds to wipe down the tables.
After cleaning down the tables the children are taking trips to the bathroom to use the “potty” and wash their hands.
It is now 10:30 we have a delicious snack consisting of juice or water, crackers, fruit, or something we have cooked in the morning.
The children finish up their snacks and proceed to the carpet to sit for sing alongs and story time.
The time has arrived now, at about 10:45 and we head outside to the park.
Hopefully you have seen our books that have been sent home titled “My Friends” and “All About Apples” and enjoyed them. The children explored apples: smelling, feeling, eating, and evening painting with apples.
Artwork has also gone home. A key point to remember is don’t ask the child “what is this?,” but rather ask “how did you make this?” Little Hands work is not about the outcome, but rather how did they get to the outcome depicted on the paper.
As you can see we have a very busy schedule in such a short time span and these little ones are tired and hungry at pick up.
Therefore, a few things to keep in mind:
1) Please make sure that your child gets a good night sleep the night before and a little something to eat in the morning.
2) Also make sure that your child uses the bathroom before entering class (if they are trained)
3) Remember to keep a full change of clothes in their cubbies (Especially pull-ups)
4) The weather is getting colder please bring in every day mittens, hats, and scarves.
5) Always check cubbies before going home.
We have a lot of fun and exciting things to do in the next couple of months. Keep your eyes open for all the wonderful art work to follow.
Great big welcome to Little Hands III class, Ava, Celine, Valentina, Paz, Mary, Kol, Amani, Nicolas, and Dylan.
Luz, Jean, & Lynn
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - Little Hands 2
Little Hands 2 class is well underway. The children made a wonderful transition into our program and are quickly making friends. This year we are eight children strong, Elielle, Michael, Diana, Deven, Ana Maria, Emmanuel, Nico and Paz, with teachers Jean, Meg and I.
Each day we begin with “work time”, when play dough, art activities, easel painting, puzzles, table toys, trains, blocks, dramatic play and a texture activity are available to the children. Following our work time, children listen for our clean-up song and really get involved with putting the materials away. This routine helps builds a sense of ownership of the classroom, responsibility as well as learning to treat materials with care. After cleaning up the children wash hands and enjoy a snack. Recently we baked banana bread together and enjoyed eating it for our snack. From the enthusiasm of our first baking experience, I believe this class will really enjoy cooking. Following snack the children come to the rug and have begun to sit for a group story and sing a song and do a finger play or two. Then it is time to get on jackets to go outdoors in the Tire Park to play on our brand new playground equipment, or in the sand. When 11:10 rolls around it is time to head back to school and sing our Goodbye Song.
Play dough is popular with children – especially the Little Hands age children.
Here is our recipe so that you may make it at home:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup salt
3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar (found in the spice section of the supermarket)
2 cups water
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
Food color of your choice – or without the dough will be white.
Mix all ingredients in a pot. Place on medium flame on stove, stirring constantly. The dough will thicken – when it just reaches play dough consistency – turn off heat and turn onto a surface to cool. Knead into a ball and enjoy!
I’d like to remind parents to dress their children with appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. As the weather gets cooler please plan on mittens (no gloves please) and hats, and remember we do go out if there is a little snow on the ground – so plan ahead with snow pants and boots.
Happy Fall!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
Each day we begin with “work time”, when play dough, art activities, easel painting, puzzles, table toys, trains, blocks, dramatic play and a texture activity are available to the children. Following our work time, children listen for our clean-up song and really get involved with putting the materials away. This routine helps builds a sense of ownership of the classroom, responsibility as well as learning to treat materials with care. After cleaning up the children wash hands and enjoy a snack. Recently we baked banana bread together and enjoyed eating it for our snack. From the enthusiasm of our first baking experience, I believe this class will really enjoy cooking. Following snack the children come to the rug and have begun to sit for a group story and sing a song and do a finger play or two. Then it is time to get on jackets to go outdoors in the Tire Park to play on our brand new playground equipment, or in the sand. When 11:10 rolls around it is time to head back to school and sing our Goodbye Song.
Play dough is popular with children – especially the Little Hands age children.
Here is our recipe so that you may make it at home:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup salt
3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar (found in the spice section of the supermarket)
2 cups water
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
Food color of your choice – or without the dough will be white.
Mix all ingredients in a pot. Place on medium flame on stove, stirring constantly. The dough will thicken – when it just reaches play dough consistency – turn off heat and turn onto a surface to cool. Knead into a ball and enjoy!
I’d like to remind parents to dress their children with appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. As the weather gets cooler please plan on mittens (no gloves please) and hats, and remember we do go out if there is a little snow on the ground – so plan ahead with snow pants and boots.
Happy Fall!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - Three's PM
Our class has had an incredible start to an exciting new school year. The children have enjoyed exploring the classroom, creating art, forming friendships, singing and dancing as well as trying new activities.
In September we focused on forming classroom routines as well as making the children feel comfortable in their new environment. We have encouraged the children to show kindness for each other by listening and caring for one another. The children are working on being caring friends by sharing and taking turns as well as working as a team to complete tasks.
Our first unit of study was feelings and emotions. Throughout this unit we read books which describe various feelings. Together we engaged in conversation about feelings and the children were able to act out and describe different emotions. This helped the children develop an understanding of feelings and in turn helps them to recognize how our actions can cause us and others to feel a certain way. The activities planned for this unit allowed the children to safely express feelings through song and dance as well as through art. Books read throughout this unit include: If You’re Happy and You Know It, The Way I Feel, The Story of My Feelings, and When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry.
We have also worked with color mixing. The children have explored mixing paint through finger painting, marble painting, and easel painting. They have also mixed play dough to create new colors. The children have enjoyed creating various shapes and objects with the play dough by rolling, slicing, and molding the dough. They have had the opportunity to make play dough during one of our cooking activities. During this activity the children learned how to follow a recipe and enjoyed adding and mixing the ingredients together to create colorful play dough. Books we have read pertaining to colors and color mixing are Brown Bear Brown Bear, Little Blue Little Yellow, and Mouse Paint.
Have Stripes, Do Monkeys Tweet, Do Lions Live on Lily Pads, and Do Donkeys Dance all contain repetitive phrases which allow the children to join in and “read” along. The children really enjoyed the silly questions which created lots of fun and laughter in the classroom! The children excitedly acted out animal sounds and movements as well as counted and sorted toy animals at the manipulative table. The children have also starting working on one to one correspondence with puzzles and pattern working with colored table top blocks and small animal counters. The children will continue to enhance these skills as the year progresses.
We have most recently begun looking closely at pumpkins. We have opened a pumpkin and observed both the inside and outside of the pumpkin and we plan on planting and counting pumpkin seeds. We will also be baking with pumpkins and apples in the upcoming weeks. With the change of temperature and the leaves beginning to fall we will soon begin our autumn unit. We will take nature walks and explore the new sights and sounds in the neighborhood. We will be busy collecting leaves, twigs, and acorns and using them to create art and math activities. We will make leaf rubbings and prints, sort the leaves, sing fall songs and finger plays, and read about and discuss the upcoming fall holidays.
Our class is full of energetic, curious, caring, and fun loving individuals who are learning more and more each day. As your children play, they are investigating and learning about their world and each other and we appreciate the opportunity to support your children through this wonderful stage of development. We look forward to sharing an exciting year with you and your child!
Elaine and Meg
In September we focused on forming classroom routines as well as making the children feel comfortable in their new environment. We have encouraged the children to show kindness for each other by listening and caring for one another. The children are working on being caring friends by sharing and taking turns as well as working as a team to complete tasks.
Our first unit of study was feelings and emotions. Throughout this unit we read books which describe various feelings. Together we engaged in conversation about feelings and the children were able to act out and describe different emotions. This helped the children develop an understanding of feelings and in turn helps them to recognize how our actions can cause us and others to feel a certain way. The activities planned for this unit allowed the children to safely express feelings through song and dance as well as through art. Books read throughout this unit include: If You’re Happy and You Know It, The Way I Feel, The Story of My Feelings, and When Sophie Gets Angry, Really Really Angry.
We have also worked with color mixing. The children have explored mixing paint through finger painting, marble painting, and easel painting. They have also mixed play dough to create new colors. The children have enjoyed creating various shapes and objects with the play dough by rolling, slicing, and molding the dough. They have had the opportunity to make play dough during one of our cooking activities. During this activity the children learned how to follow a recipe and enjoyed adding and mixing the ingredients together to create colorful play dough. Books we have read pertaining to colors and color mixing are Brown Bear Brown Bear, Little Blue Little Yellow, and Mouse Paint.
Have Stripes, Do Monkeys Tweet, Do Lions Live on Lily Pads, and Do Donkeys Dance all contain repetitive phrases which allow the children to join in and “read” along. The children really enjoyed the silly questions which created lots of fun and laughter in the classroom! The children excitedly acted out animal sounds and movements as well as counted and sorted toy animals at the manipulative table. The children have also starting working on one to one correspondence with puzzles and pattern working with colored table top blocks and small animal counters. The children will continue to enhance these skills as the year progresses.
We have most recently begun looking closely at pumpkins. We have opened a pumpkin and observed both the inside and outside of the pumpkin and we plan on planting and counting pumpkin seeds. We will also be baking with pumpkins and apples in the upcoming weeks. With the change of temperature and the leaves beginning to fall we will soon begin our autumn unit. We will take nature walks and explore the new sights and sounds in the neighborhood. We will be busy collecting leaves, twigs, and acorns and using them to create art and math activities. We will make leaf rubbings and prints, sort the leaves, sing fall songs and finger plays, and read about and discuss the upcoming fall holidays.
Our class is full of energetic, curious, caring, and fun loving individuals who are learning more and more each day. As your children play, they are investigating and learning about their world and each other and we appreciate the opportunity to support your children through this wonderful stage of development. We look forward to sharing an exciting year with you and your child!
Elaine and Meg
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - Room 2 - Three's AM
Our class has had a great start! The children have learned the routines and are becoming more comfortable in school. Friendships are forming and all the children are actively participating in all aspects of the program.
We started the year reading books the children are familiar with to help them learn the story-time routine. We also introduced simple stories to help build their attention span. Some of the books we read are: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, From Head to Toe, I went Walking, Big Fish Little Fish, and Hide and Snake.
Since October is the apple picking season we are also learning all about apples. We talked about what the children knew about apples and then we read The Apple Tree, Counting Apples, and Ten Apples up on Top. We ate apples at snack time; we made apple sauce. We collaged an apple to decorate our classroom tree and each child made their own apple tree. We learned apple songs and finger plays too.
We made our first class book titled Friends which is circulating right now. This book is meant to help the children learn the names of their friends and their teachers. We are in the process of making our second class book titled Look at me! This book will be going home with the children the first week of November. For inspiration we used the books We Are All Alike… We Are All Different! I Like Me, and The Colors of Us. These books helped the children see how different we are from one another and yet at the same time how much we are alike. To help us with the All About Me unit we will read books like The Body Book, The Busy Body Book, I Call My Hands Gentle, Hands Are Not For Hitting, My Hands, and My Feet.
Next we will learn about the changes that occur during fall. We have adopted a tree next to the Tire Park. We will visit the tree once a week and observe what is happening to it. We touched its bark took pictures and will keep track of this tree throughout the year. We will be exploring pumpkins and this will lead us into a farm unit. At the same time we will be learning about our senses, and friendship. The children will guide this curriculum by the interest they show in these topics.
On Wednesdays we cook our own snacks. The class is enjoying cooking with Alma and Nicole; we are exploring with cookies. We hope you get to taste the one we have been sending home. So far they made oatmeal, chocolate chip, and pumpkin cookies. We are keeping track which one the children like and dislike with a cookie chart. We will be making bananas, peanut butter, sugar, and gingerbread cookies. If you
know of an easy recipe for other types of cookies please share it with us. We would love to make them in the class.
On Tuesdays we have dance with Mary, our music and movement teacher. The class is divided into two groups. Each group spends half an hour in the big room with Mary. They really enjoy the music and movement class. Please be on time especially on this day. We would like to alternate the between the two groups. Also, make sure the children are wearing clothes that are loose fitting and shoes they can take off and put on easily by themselves.
In case you wonder this is the schedule we try to follow every day:
AM 3s Daily Schedule
9:00 Arrival
9:00-10:10 Centers
10:10-10:20 Clean-up
10:20-10:35 Circle-(attendance, news of the day, morning message, weather/calendar, song/finger-play)
10:35-10:45 Line up/Bathroom
10:45-10:55 Snack
10:55-11:10 Story Circle
11:10-11:50 Outside Play
11:50-12:00 Dismiss to Home or Full-Day
We have been learning about colors at the easel and at the art table during finger painting. The children have mixed red and yellow, blue and red, and blue and yellow to make new colors. They love to discover the formation of a new color. We are also making color collages.
Playing with dry and wet sand, cornmeal, water, and red sand is a big hit! These materials provide opportunity for activities such as emptying, pouring, and funneling which engage the children’s minds and offer fundamental math
and science concepts as well as prepare them for everyday tasks. Many children find it a soothing place to play. In the future we will play with salt and colored rice and clay in the tactile table. I noticed how much this class enjoys playing with our home made play-dough.
Another loved activity is singing. We hope you are enjoying the lyrics we sent home of the songs the children learned so far. This class has learned many new songs in this short while. Since then we learned If You’re Happy and You Know It, Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar, Five Little Pumpkins, and The Monkeys and Mr. Alligator.
As we all know, part of the day is spent outdoors. The children must be dressed for the weather. We do go outside in the winter. The children especially enjoy playing in the snow. Snow pants, snow boots, and mittens are an absolute must to stay dry and enjoy the outdoors. Mittens not gloves need to be attached to jackets with clips or by string so when taken off, as they invariably are, will not be lost. Please help by updating your child’s extra clothes for the cold weather. Please label all clothing! We cannot always remember whose sweater or hat belongs to whom. Also please send spoons, forks, and napkins as needed for lunches-we do not supply these on a regular basis. It is a good idea to always provide your child with a fruit and/or a vegetable.
I would like to thank all the parents for sending the class book back to school and bringing your child to school on time every day. Also, your fruit and vegetable donations for snack are appreciated. Thank you for entrusting your children to us. I also would like to thank Vicki for volunteering in our classroom. Your expertise is always welcome.
We have a great team working hard together to make this the best possible experience for your children. I am thankful for this year’s team. Without their support, staying in for a few extra minutes when needed, and working cooperatively the classroom would not be running so smoothly. Lastly, remember a child’s work is play. Your children are learning a lot as they are working and playing each day.
We look forward to sharing their growth with you!
Maria, Alma, Nicole, and Vicki
We have been singing this song while we wait for friends to come out of the bathroom.
The Monkeys and Mr. Alligator Song
(You can start by counting how many children or people are listening to the song or with any number below 10)
Five Little Monkeys swinging from a tree (pretend you are swinging from a tree)
Teasing Mr. Alligator
You can’t catch me (place thumbs by your ears and wave fingers up and down)
Along came Mr. Alligator hungry as can be
Snap (snap at one child using both hands)
Ask children how many monkeys are left (count together)
Keep repeating the song until there are no more monkeys left.
We started the year reading books the children are familiar with to help them learn the story-time routine. We also introduced simple stories to help build their attention span. Some of the books we read are: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, From Head to Toe, I went Walking, Big Fish Little Fish, and Hide and Snake.
Since October is the apple picking season we are also learning all about apples. We talked about what the children knew about apples and then we read The Apple Tree, Counting Apples, and Ten Apples up on Top. We ate apples at snack time; we made apple sauce. We collaged an apple to decorate our classroom tree and each child made their own apple tree. We learned apple songs and finger plays too.
We made our first class book titled Friends which is circulating right now. This book is meant to help the children learn the names of their friends and their teachers. We are in the process of making our second class book titled Look at me! This book will be going home with the children the first week of November. For inspiration we used the books We Are All Alike… We Are All Different! I Like Me, and The Colors of Us. These books helped the children see how different we are from one another and yet at the same time how much we are alike. To help us with the All About Me unit we will read books like The Body Book, The Busy Body Book, I Call My Hands Gentle, Hands Are Not For Hitting, My Hands, and My Feet.
Next we will learn about the changes that occur during fall. We have adopted a tree next to the Tire Park. We will visit the tree once a week and observe what is happening to it. We touched its bark took pictures and will keep track of this tree throughout the year. We will be exploring pumpkins and this will lead us into a farm unit. At the same time we will be learning about our senses, and friendship. The children will guide this curriculum by the interest they show in these topics.
On Wednesdays we cook our own snacks. The class is enjoying cooking with Alma and Nicole; we are exploring with cookies. We hope you get to taste the one we have been sending home. So far they made oatmeal, chocolate chip, and pumpkin cookies. We are keeping track which one the children like and dislike with a cookie chart. We will be making bananas, peanut butter, sugar, and gingerbread cookies. If you
know of an easy recipe for other types of cookies please share it with us. We would love to make them in the class.
On Tuesdays we have dance with Mary, our music and movement teacher. The class is divided into two groups. Each group spends half an hour in the big room with Mary. They really enjoy the music and movement class. Please be on time especially on this day. We would like to alternate the between the two groups. Also, make sure the children are wearing clothes that are loose fitting and shoes they can take off and put on easily by themselves.
In case you wonder this is the schedule we try to follow every day:
AM 3s Daily Schedule
9:00 Arrival
9:00-10:10 Centers
10:10-10:20 Clean-up
10:20-10:35 Circle-(attendance, news of the day, morning message, weather/calendar, song/finger-play)
10:35-10:45 Line up/Bathroom
10:45-10:55 Snack
10:55-11:10 Story Circle
11:10-11:50 Outside Play
11:50-12:00 Dismiss to Home or Full-Day
We have been learning about colors at the easel and at the art table during finger painting. The children have mixed red and yellow, blue and red, and blue and yellow to make new colors. They love to discover the formation of a new color. We are also making color collages.
Playing with dry and wet sand, cornmeal, water, and red sand is a big hit! These materials provide opportunity for activities such as emptying, pouring, and funneling which engage the children’s minds and offer fundamental math
and science concepts as well as prepare them for everyday tasks. Many children find it a soothing place to play. In the future we will play with salt and colored rice and clay in the tactile table. I noticed how much this class enjoys playing with our home made play-dough.
Another loved activity is singing. We hope you are enjoying the lyrics we sent home of the songs the children learned so far. This class has learned many new songs in this short while. Since then we learned If You’re Happy and You Know It, Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar, Five Little Pumpkins, and The Monkeys and Mr. Alligator.
As we all know, part of the day is spent outdoors. The children must be dressed for the weather. We do go outside in the winter. The children especially enjoy playing in the snow. Snow pants, snow boots, and mittens are an absolute must to stay dry and enjoy the outdoors. Mittens not gloves need to be attached to jackets with clips or by string so when taken off, as they invariably are, will not be lost. Please help by updating your child’s extra clothes for the cold weather. Please label all clothing! We cannot always remember whose sweater or hat belongs to whom. Also please send spoons, forks, and napkins as needed for lunches-we do not supply these on a regular basis. It is a good idea to always provide your child with a fruit and/or a vegetable.
I would like to thank all the parents for sending the class book back to school and bringing your child to school on time every day. Also, your fruit and vegetable donations for snack are appreciated. Thank you for entrusting your children to us. I also would like to thank Vicki for volunteering in our classroom. Your expertise is always welcome.
We have a great team working hard together to make this the best possible experience for your children. I am thankful for this year’s team. Without their support, staying in for a few extra minutes when needed, and working cooperatively the classroom would not be running so smoothly. Lastly, remember a child’s work is play. Your children are learning a lot as they are working and playing each day.
We look forward to sharing their growth with you!
Maria, Alma, Nicole, and Vicki
We have been singing this song while we wait for friends to come out of the bathroom.
The Monkeys and Mr. Alligator Song
(You can start by counting how many children or people are listening to the song or with any number below 10)
Five Little Monkeys swinging from a tree (pretend you are swinging from a tree)
Teasing Mr. Alligator
You can’t catch me (place thumbs by your ears and wave fingers up and down)
Along came Mr. Alligator hungry as can be
Snap (snap at one child using both hands)
Ask children how many monkeys are left (count together)
Keep repeating the song until there are no more monkeys left.
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - UPK PM
Welcome to the PM Universal Pre-kindergarten 2010-2011 school year! It has been a pleasure getting to know your children in these recent weeks. We have a large group of friends this year, which makes for a busy and exciting atmosphere in the classroom. The children were all very excited about starting school, and they brought their enthusiasm into the classroom with them. After only a few short days we began to see new friendships being formed. Although many of the children are new to the school and new to each other, the group has settled down into a regular routine in a relatively short period of time. As the school year has progressed, everyone has become comfortable in the classroom. Our group of strangers is now a community of friends working together and learning about one another. We are a fun bunch of students and that makes school an enjoyable place to be.Since school is a new experience for many of us, we are still learning about the fundamentals of being in a classroom together. We are learning about the routine and the flow of the day. We are learning to play cooperatively with one another, and that includes sharing and taking turns. We are also working on the communication skills that are vitally important to develop at this time.
Our school day keeps us very busy. It includes art, music, dramatic play, literacy experiences on a daily basis, and can also include dance and cooking activities on a weekly basis. Cooking is an integral part of the school curriculum. The best part of cooking is that we get to eat what we’ve created for snack!
It’s important to involve the children in the cooking process, so they can see how the ingredients change when we mix them together or cook them. Cooking incorporates many different lessons throughout the procedure. Math is needed to read a recipe and measure ingredients. Science comes into play as we see how combining and cookingchanges the ingredients. We also have a wonderful opportunity to socialize while we are cooking, to discuss what is going on and make predictions about what is going to happen next. Cooking activities always end with a chart showing who liked what we made and who didn’t. That way we can judge if our cooking experience was a success.
We are always busy in the classroom. It might seem as though we are just playing, but imbedded in that play are lessons that will lay the groundwork for future learning. As the fall progresses, we will begin to involve the children more in the management of the classroom. On a rotating basis, the children will have jobs that have to be done every day. It may be helping to set up the snack tables, or making sure things are put back properly after playtime. The jobs may seem small to you, but to a child they are a tremendous responsibility. Simple tasks go a long way towards fostering a child’s independence, which is crucial to their development, especially at this age. It is also a good opportunity for the children to work on their name recognition skills, as they will have to “read” the job board to see if they have something to do. Not everyone gets a job every day, but if you don’t have one today, you’ll surely have one tomorrow.
As the weather gets colder, please remember to dress your child appropriately. We go outside as often as we can, so make sure your child comes to school dressed warmly. This is a good time to check you child’s extra clothes to make sure they are appropriate for the season and there is nothing missing. Also, please make sure your child has gone to the bathroom BEFORE they come into the room. We try to go outside first most days and taking kids to the bathroom after we have arrived at the playground leaves us short-handed.
Thank you for the pleasure of your children’s company. It is a joy to work with them every day.
More fun to come in the winter! Stay tuned!
Andrea, Alma, and Yasmin
Our school day keeps us very busy. It includes art, music, dramatic play, literacy experiences on a daily basis, and can also include dance and cooking activities on a weekly basis. Cooking is an integral part of the school curriculum. The best part of cooking is that we get to eat what we’ve created for snack!
It’s important to involve the children in the cooking process, so they can see how the ingredients change when we mix them together or cook them. Cooking incorporates many different lessons throughout the procedure. Math is needed to read a recipe and measure ingredients. Science comes into play as we see how combining and cookingchanges the ingredients. We also have a wonderful opportunity to socialize while we are cooking, to discuss what is going on and make predictions about what is going to happen next. Cooking activities always end with a chart showing who liked what we made and who didn’t. That way we can judge if our cooking experience was a success.
We are always busy in the classroom. It might seem as though we are just playing, but imbedded in that play are lessons that will lay the groundwork for future learning. As the fall progresses, we will begin to involve the children more in the management of the classroom. On a rotating basis, the children will have jobs that have to be done every day. It may be helping to set up the snack tables, or making sure things are put back properly after playtime. The jobs may seem small to you, but to a child they are a tremendous responsibility. Simple tasks go a long way towards fostering a child’s independence, which is crucial to their development, especially at this age. It is also a good opportunity for the children to work on their name recognition skills, as they will have to “read” the job board to see if they have something to do. Not everyone gets a job every day, but if you don’t have one today, you’ll surely have one tomorrow.
As the weather gets colder, please remember to dress your child appropriately. We go outside as often as we can, so make sure your child comes to school dressed warmly. This is a good time to check you child’s extra clothes to make sure they are appropriate for the season and there is nothing missing. Also, please make sure your child has gone to the bathroom BEFORE they come into the room. We try to go outside first most days and taking kids to the bathroom after we have arrived at the playground leaves us short-handed.
Thank you for the pleasure of your children’s company. It is a joy to work with them every day.
More fun to come in the winter! Stay tuned!
Andrea, Alma, and Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - UPK Full Day
The UPK class is off to a very successful start. Children have become comfortable with each other and eagerly participate in our curriculum.
We started the year with both a seasonal focus on apples and pumpkins as well as a supermarket study. We have cooked with apples….made applesauce, apple pie, apple muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin muffins and thrown in a pear cake as well. Your children have diced and sliced and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Although most of the children enjoy preparing food, not everyone is as enthusiastic about trying new foods. We encourage them but we don’t force it.
We’ve also collaged apples, sponge printed apple trees, cut paper apples and baked pretend apple pie in housekeeping. We’ve read about apples and pumpkins, using a fabulous selection of children’s literature.
Our loft has been turned into a supermarket where the children may shop, inspired by our trip to the local supermarket. Our children must make their own shopping lists in order to go to our supermarket and thereby gain fine motor pencil skills as they start to make important connections about the relationship of writing (or drawing, scribbling) to communication and meaning. The children loved acting out John Burmingham’s Shopping Basket. They also love singing the Corner Grocery Store a la Raffi.
As you can see, a lot of or art, music, dramatic play, science, social studies and language revolve around our theme, but we are not limited by it.
In addition to special projects, crayons, craypas or markers, are available almost everyday. Either sand, water, rice, cornmeal or salt or playdough is also available almost every day.
We’ve made a book called “What’s for Lunch?,” where each child collaged a page with pictures of food that they like to eat. The children are able to “read” this book. It is still being passed around so that every child in the class will have a chance to share it with their family. We made another book that all the children can read using their favorite cereal boxes. They open the flap and see whose cereal box it is.
We have passed around a class book with pictures of everyone who’s in UPK. In addition we are passing around a copy of Owl Babies by Martin Wadell along with a journal for each child to put in an entry about their feelings when their grownups leave. We hope these books afford families the opportunity to open discussion about what’s going on in school. So please, read the class books out loud with your children.
We’d like to remind families that everyone wants a turn with class books, and we’d really appreciate it if the books were promptly returned. If your child wants more time, let us know and after everyone’s seen the book, perhaps you can have another opportunity to borrow it.
We will be going on a trip to the lake in Van Cortlandt, park. We are so lucky to be guided by Sarah Aucoin, head of the Park Rangers and a former nursery parent. Not only will this trip give the children a wonderful introduction to the natural world, it will also provide us with a common experience from which to base much of our ongoing learning experiences. In the coming weeks we will continue our pond study, as we take a look at some of the autumn happenings including falling leaves.
Looking forward to an exciting year,
Minia, Janet, Lucy, Kirsty, Jean Rogers
We started the year with both a seasonal focus on apples and pumpkins as well as a supermarket study. We have cooked with apples….made applesauce, apple pie, apple muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin muffins and thrown in a pear cake as well. Your children have diced and sliced and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Although most of the children enjoy preparing food, not everyone is as enthusiastic about trying new foods. We encourage them but we don’t force it.
We’ve also collaged apples, sponge printed apple trees, cut paper apples and baked pretend apple pie in housekeeping. We’ve read about apples and pumpkins, using a fabulous selection of children’s literature.
Our loft has been turned into a supermarket where the children may shop, inspired by our trip to the local supermarket. Our children must make their own shopping lists in order to go to our supermarket and thereby gain fine motor pencil skills as they start to make important connections about the relationship of writing (or drawing, scribbling) to communication and meaning. The children loved acting out John Burmingham’s Shopping Basket. They also love singing the Corner Grocery Store a la Raffi.
As you can see, a lot of or art, music, dramatic play, science, social studies and language revolve around our theme, but we are not limited by it.
In addition to special projects, crayons, craypas or markers, are available almost everyday. Either sand, water, rice, cornmeal or salt or playdough is also available almost every day.
We’ve made a book called “What’s for Lunch?,” where each child collaged a page with pictures of food that they like to eat. The children are able to “read” this book. It is still being passed around so that every child in the class will have a chance to share it with their family. We made another book that all the children can read using their favorite cereal boxes. They open the flap and see whose cereal box it is.
We have passed around a class book with pictures of everyone who’s in UPK. In addition we are passing around a copy of Owl Babies by Martin Wadell along with a journal for each child to put in an entry about their feelings when their grownups leave. We hope these books afford families the opportunity to open discussion about what’s going on in school. So please, read the class books out loud with your children.
We’d like to remind families that everyone wants a turn with class books, and we’d really appreciate it if the books were promptly returned. If your child wants more time, let us know and after everyone’s seen the book, perhaps you can have another opportunity to borrow it.
We will be going on a trip to the lake in Van Cortlandt, park. We are so lucky to be guided by Sarah Aucoin, head of the Park Rangers and a former nursery parent. Not only will this trip give the children a wonderful introduction to the natural world, it will also provide us with a common experience from which to base much of our ongoing learning experiences. In the coming weeks we will continue our pond study, as we take a look at some of the autumn happenings including falling leaves.
Looking forward to an exciting year,
Minia, Janet, Lucy, Kirsty, Jean Rogers
Parent Workshops!Each year I try to establish something new into the Amalgamated program. This year I would like to work with the parent board on bringing some guest speakers or workshops to family meetings. I would like some input into what families would find informative and interesting to them. Please let me know what would interest you. Drop me a note or an email (amalgamatedns@yahoo.com) and we will try to arrange some workshops
One topic I personally would like to pursue is the effect of technology on our children. It has been a topic that has come up in conversations I have had with staff, friends and families over the past few months. In particular, I and those I conversed with have noticed that technology such as cell phones, IPods, computers, email and texting via cell phone, DVD players in cars and other such devices has cut down a great deal on time that children may have spent conversing with their families. I often notice parents using cell phones or listening to IPods for long periods of time while walking their children in strollers, while attending to their children in the park, while traveling on public transportation, while driving in the car and when dropping off or picking up their children at school. Children are set up with portable DVD players in the car and younger and younger children are using IPods.
In my mind what is happening is there is less conversation between parent and child. I’m not saying children aren’t being cared for and they may be learning from educational television, DVD’s or computer games. Many may argue that technology allows for children to be surrounded by language to an even greater extent than before. However they are not engaged in conversation with technology – conversations allows for a give and take pattern and an opportunity to speak and respond verbally on a topic. Research has shown that conversation is crucial to language development. In fact one study shows that conversation is six times as potent at fostering good language development as adult speech input alone. Give this information some thought and think about how much time you spend conversing with your child.
Later in this newsletter you will find an article that addresses this topic.
One topic I personally would like to pursue is the effect of technology on our children. It has been a topic that has come up in conversations I have had with staff, friends and families over the past few months. In particular, I and those I conversed with have noticed that technology such as cell phones, IPods, computers, email and texting via cell phone, DVD players in cars and other such devices has cut down a great deal on time that children may have spent conversing with their families. I often notice parents using cell phones or listening to IPods for long periods of time while walking their children in strollers, while attending to their children in the park, while traveling on public transportation, while driving in the car and when dropping off or picking up their children at school. Children are set up with portable DVD players in the car and younger and younger children are using IPods.
In my mind what is happening is there is less conversation between parent and child. I’m not saying children aren’t being cared for and they may be learning from educational television, DVD’s or computer games. Many may argue that technology allows for children to be surrounded by language to an even greater extent than before. However they are not engaged in conversation with technology – conversations allows for a give and take pattern and an opportunity to speak and respond verbally on a topic. Research has shown that conversation is crucial to language development. In fact one study shows that conversation is six times as potent at fostering good language development as adult speech input alone. Give this information some thought and think about how much time you spend conversing with your child.
Later in this newsletter you will find an article that addresses this topic.
NURSERY RHYMES - NOV 2010 - Director's Corner
Another school year begins at the Nursery! Hello again to our returning children and families and a warm welcome to our new students and families. The school year has gotten off to a smooth start with staff and children returning to classrooms that were well tended to by families who attended our first maintenance session in late August.
We are thankful that our staff has remained the same this year, although some assistant teachers are working in different classrooms. This year our teaching teams are:
Little Hands 2: Lisa Wenz, Jean Rogers and Meg O’Connor
Little Hands 3: Luz Frade, Jean Rogers and Lynn Jones
Threes AM: Maria Gentilella, Alma Jean-Louis and Nicole Roth
Threes PM: Elaine Toro and Meg O’Connor
UPK Full Day: Minia Sas, Janet Collins, Lucy Kallenberg, Kirsty Lorenzo , Jean Rogers. (Yasmin Mohammed and Nicole Roth join the team a few hours a week.)
UPK PM: Andrea Ilardi, Alma Jean-Louis and Yasmin Mohammed
Mary Copeland is our Music and Movement Specialist.
Jay Etheridge is our after school Maintenance Worker.
One wonderful new addition to our school is the new piece of playground equipment in the Tire Park. The long standing wooden structure that brought many years of joy to many children was becoming unsafe and it was time to say goodbye. The new climber includes a double slide, two different levels of a “rock climbing” surface, a cargo climber and dramatic play areas.
The teachers worked together to plan a piece of equipment that would be safe enough for our youngest Little Hands students, but offer some excitement and challenges for the oldest UPK children. Judging by the enthusiasm of the children –we did our job!
We would all like to thank the families who helped fundraise, as well as the families who continue to fundraise, for this major improvement. We should also acknowledge and thank David and Ruth Levine, who made a substantial donation towards this new equipment. We also must thank JCAC and the Amalgamated Housing service workers and garden staff who installed the equipment and a new fence. A new layer of sand was also spread to maintain a soft surface for the children.
Just as the new year gets underway, it quickly becomes time for families to think about Kindergarten for UPK children. On October 20th we held a Kindergarten Options night where families were able to get information about some of our local schools. I can’t stress enough that families need to be pro active and gather as much information as you can about the schools in our area. There are opportunities for a quality Kindergarten program and beyond for your child. Become informed, visit the schools, choose a school that meets your philosophical framework of education and choose a few back-up
options as many of the schools admissions are based on a lottery. Whenever I come across information I try to pass it on to families – but the best method is by e-mail. If you are not getting emails from school, please let me know so that I can try to correct that or get the information to you in paper form.
Cool Culture cards have now been distributed. These cards will allow unlimited free visits for your family to a great many cultural institutions in NYC and the other boroughs. Families who began our program after the first day of school will have a chance to apply for the card in the spring.
I’ll end with a few reminders:
Please keep your phone numbers up to date so that we may contact you in an emergency.
Please provide us with an email address, we are trying to keep families as well informed as possible and email is the most efficient, cost effective method. If you are not receiving emails from school we either have an incorrect address or do not have your address.
Please put your child’s name on all their outerwear. As the weather is changing new coats and jackets may be unfamiliar to us and your child. We want to be sure your child is dressed in their clothing and goes home with all of it. Also think snow and have snow pants, boots and mittens ready. We do go out in the snow.
Lisa
Have a wonderful fall season and Thanksgiving!!
We are thankful that our staff has remained the same this year, although some assistant teachers are working in different classrooms. This year our teaching teams are:
Little Hands 2: Lisa Wenz, Jean Rogers and Meg O’Connor
Little Hands 3: Luz Frade, Jean Rogers and Lynn Jones
Threes AM: Maria Gentilella, Alma Jean-Louis and Nicole Roth
Threes PM: Elaine Toro and Meg O’Connor
UPK Full Day: Minia Sas, Janet Collins, Lucy Kallenberg, Kirsty Lorenzo , Jean Rogers. (Yasmin Mohammed and Nicole Roth join the team a few hours a week.)
UPK PM: Andrea Ilardi, Alma Jean-Louis and Yasmin Mohammed
Mary Copeland is our Music and Movement Specialist.
Jay Etheridge is our after school Maintenance Worker.
One wonderful new addition to our school is the new piece of playground equipment in the Tire Park. The long standing wooden structure that brought many years of joy to many children was becoming unsafe and it was time to say goodbye. The new climber includes a double slide, two different levels of a “rock climbing” surface, a cargo climber and dramatic play areas.
The teachers worked together to plan a piece of equipment that would be safe enough for our youngest Little Hands students, but offer some excitement and challenges for the oldest UPK children. Judging by the enthusiasm of the children –we did our job!
We would all like to thank the families who helped fundraise, as well as the families who continue to fundraise, for this major improvement. We should also acknowledge and thank David and Ruth Levine, who made a substantial donation towards this new equipment. We also must thank JCAC and the Amalgamated Housing service workers and garden staff who installed the equipment and a new fence. A new layer of sand was also spread to maintain a soft surface for the children.
Just as the new year gets underway, it quickly becomes time for families to think about Kindergarten for UPK children. On October 20th we held a Kindergarten Options night where families were able to get information about some of our local schools. I can’t stress enough that families need to be pro active and gather as much information as you can about the schools in our area. There are opportunities for a quality Kindergarten program and beyond for your child. Become informed, visit the schools, choose a school that meets your philosophical framework of education and choose a few back-up
options as many of the schools admissions are based on a lottery. Whenever I come across information I try to pass it on to families – but the best method is by e-mail. If you are not getting emails from school, please let me know so that I can try to correct that or get the information to you in paper form.
Cool Culture cards have now been distributed. These cards will allow unlimited free visits for your family to a great many cultural institutions in NYC and the other boroughs. Families who began our program after the first day of school will have a chance to apply for the card in the spring.
I’ll end with a few reminders:
Please keep your phone numbers up to date so that we may contact you in an emergency.
Please provide us with an email address, we are trying to keep families as well informed as possible and email is the most efficient, cost effective method. If you are not receiving emails from school we either have an incorrect address or do not have your address.
Please put your child’s name on all their outerwear. As the weather is changing new coats and jackets may be unfamiliar to us and your child. We want to be sure your child is dressed in their clothing and goes home with all of it. Also think snow and have snow pants, boots and mittens ready. We do go out in the snow.
Lisa
Have a wonderful fall season and Thanksgiving!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
SCHOOL CALENDAR 2010-2011
August 25 (Wednesday) Parent clean-up, 7:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M.
September 7 (Tuesday) Teachers return. Set up begins.
Executive Board Meeting 7:00 PM
9 (Thursday) Rosh Hashanah
10 (Friday) Rosh Hashanah
13 (Monday) School begins in staggered sessions for all children
except those in Little Hands.
General Parent Meeting, 7:30 P.M.
20 (Monday) All classes on regular schedule (except Little Hands)
21 (Tuesday) Little Hands Class Meeting, 7:30P.M.
26 (Sunday) Welcome Brunch
27 (Monday) Little Hands III begins
28 (Tuesday) Little Hands II begins
October 1 (Friday) Class Meetings for AM and PM classes (During class hours)
4 (Monday) Lunch Program Begins
5 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
7 (Thursday) General Parents Meeting Kindergarten Options 7:30 PM
11 (Monday) School closed -- Columbus Day
24 (Sunday) Halloween Party (tentative)
November 2 (Tuesday) School Closed—Election Day
Executive Board Meeting (7:00 PM)
11 (Thursday) School Closed – Veterans Day
21-22 (Sun-Mon) Barnes & Noble Book Fair fundraising weekend
25 (Thursday) School closed--Thanksgiving Recess
26 (Friday) School closed--Thanksgiving Recess
December 2 (Thursday) Parent Teacher Conferences 6:30P.M.
3 (Friday) Parent Teacher Conference - dismissal for all students at 1:00 PM.
UPK PM in session as usual.
7 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
24 (Friday) School closed - winter vacation
January 3 (Monday) School reopens after vacation
4 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
17 (Monday) School Closed – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
18 (Tuesday) Internal registration for the 2007-2008 school year begins
28 (Friday) Parent clean-up 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
30 (Sunday) Parent clean-up continues 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.
February 1 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
6 (Sunday) Parent Child Sunday-
UPK AM and Three’s class – 10:30 AM – 12 Noon.
UPK PM class - 11:30 A.M -- 1 P.M.
7 (Monday) School Closed - Teacher Education Day
15 (Tuesday) Prospective parents meeting, 7:30 P.M.
Cooperator registration for the 2007-2008 school year begins
21 (Monday) School closed--Midwinter Vacation
28 (Monday) School reopens after vacation
March 1 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
5 (Saturday) Open house/registration for the community-at-large begins for the
2009-2010 school year.
19 (Saturday) Extravaganza –Dance Party (tentative date)
April 5 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 PM
13 (Wednesday) Parent/Teacher Conferences 6:30 - 9:00 P.M.
14 (Thursday) Parent/Teacher Conferences – classes dismiss at 1:00PM
No Afternoon UPK class – Little Hands Regular schedule
18 (Monday) School Closed – Spring Recess
27 (Wednesday) School Reopens after Spring Recess
30 (Saturday) Trike – a – Thon (tentative date)
May 4 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
15 (Sunday) SPRING BAZAAR
26 (Thursday) General Parent Meeting – ELECTIONS 7:30 P.M.
30 (Monday) School closed--Memorial Day
* Please note that there will be a school trip to The Little Red Lighthouse in May for the 3 and 4 year old classes. There will be no Little Hands Class that day. School will also be closed one day during the month of May for Staff CPR and First Aid recertification. Both dates cannot be determined at this time.
June 6 (Monday) Last day of Little Hands III classes
7 (Tuesday) Last day of Little Hands II classes
8 (Wednesday) Moving Up/Picnic 10:30 A.M.—no classes.
23 (Thursday) Last day of classes for UPK, Full Day and
Part-time Full Day children.
24 (Friday) Teacher’s report for classroom pack – up.
24 (Friday) Parent clean-up 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M
25 (Saturday) Parent clean-up continues 9:00 A.M.- 11 A.M.
September 7 (Tuesday) Teachers return. Set up begins.
Executive Board Meeting 7:00 PM
9 (Thursday) Rosh Hashanah
10 (Friday) Rosh Hashanah
13 (Monday) School begins in staggered sessions for all children
except those in Little Hands.
General Parent Meeting, 7:30 P.M.
20 (Monday) All classes on regular schedule (except Little Hands)
21 (Tuesday) Little Hands Class Meeting, 7:30P.M.
26 (Sunday) Welcome Brunch
27 (Monday) Little Hands III begins
28 (Tuesday) Little Hands II begins
October 1 (Friday) Class Meetings for AM and PM classes (During class hours)
4 (Monday) Lunch Program Begins
5 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
7 (Thursday) General Parents Meeting Kindergarten Options 7:30 PM
11 (Monday) School closed -- Columbus Day
24 (Sunday) Halloween Party (tentative)
November 2 (Tuesday) School Closed—Election Day
Executive Board Meeting (7:00 PM)
11 (Thursday) School Closed – Veterans Day
21-22 (Sun-Mon) Barnes & Noble Book Fair fundraising weekend
25 (Thursday) School closed--Thanksgiving Recess
26 (Friday) School closed--Thanksgiving Recess
December 2 (Thursday) Parent Teacher Conferences 6:30P.M.
3 (Friday) Parent Teacher Conference - dismissal for all students at 1:00 PM.
UPK PM in session as usual.
7 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
24 (Friday) School closed - winter vacation
January 3 (Monday) School reopens after vacation
4 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
17 (Monday) School Closed – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday
18 (Tuesday) Internal registration for the 2007-2008 school year begins
28 (Friday) Parent clean-up 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
30 (Sunday) Parent clean-up continues 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.
February 1 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
6 (Sunday) Parent Child Sunday-
UPK AM and Three’s class – 10:30 AM – 12 Noon.
UPK PM class - 11:30 A.M -- 1 P.M.
7 (Monday) School Closed - Teacher Education Day
15 (Tuesday) Prospective parents meeting, 7:30 P.M.
Cooperator registration for the 2007-2008 school year begins
21 (Monday) School closed--Midwinter Vacation
28 (Monday) School reopens after vacation
March 1 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
5 (Saturday) Open house/registration for the community-at-large begins for the
2009-2010 school year.
19 (Saturday) Extravaganza –Dance Party (tentative date)
April 5 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 PM
13 (Wednesday) Parent/Teacher Conferences 6:30 - 9:00 P.M.
14 (Thursday) Parent/Teacher Conferences – classes dismiss at 1:00PM
No Afternoon UPK class – Little Hands Regular schedule
18 (Monday) School Closed – Spring Recess
27 (Wednesday) School Reopens after Spring Recess
30 (Saturday) Trike – a – Thon (tentative date)
May 4 (Tuesday) Executive Board Meeting, 7:00 P.M.
15 (Sunday) SPRING BAZAAR
26 (Thursday) General Parent Meeting – ELECTIONS 7:30 P.M.
30 (Monday) School closed--Memorial Day
* Please note that there will be a school trip to The Little Red Lighthouse in May for the 3 and 4 year old classes. There will be no Little Hands Class that day. School will also be closed one day during the month of May for Staff CPR and First Aid recertification. Both dates cannot be determined at this time.
June 6 (Monday) Last day of Little Hands III classes
7 (Tuesday) Last day of Little Hands II classes
8 (Wednesday) Moving Up/Picnic 10:30 A.M.—no classes.
23 (Thursday) Last day of classes for UPK, Full Day and
Part-time Full Day children.
24 (Friday) Teacher’s report for classroom pack – up.
24 (Friday) Parent clean-up 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M
25 (Saturday) Parent clean-up continues 9:00 A.M.- 11 A.M.
Friday, April 30, 2010
COOL CULTURE!
Many Amalgamated families have been taking advantage of their Cool Culture cards to take their children to museums and zoos all over the city! Please remember to take pictures on your museum and zoo visits and to share them in the Cool Culture blue binder that is located in the big room.
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
Little Hands 3
Barns and Books!
What a wonderful past two months we have had!
The children have been learning and exploring farm animals. We began our lesson creating and discussing barns. The children painted a big box red, we cut out doors and windows and added some farm animals inside. We made some very creative farm animals out of milk cartons and toilet paper rolls. I hope you enjoyed them as much as the children did making them. Our water table was emptied and filled with oats and small farm animal figurines. Our farm theme has been lots of fun.
The children have also enjoyed reading and acting out the books we read together. One of their favorite books to reenact has been Mrs Wishy Washy, by Joy Cowley.
Looking forward, we will be exploring nature and all of spring's wonderful new growths. Keep your eyes open for the wonderful art work to follow.
Hope everyone enjoyed spring break.
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
Barns and Books!
What a wonderful past two months we have had!
The children have been learning and exploring farm animals. We began our lesson creating and discussing barns. The children painted a big box red, we cut out doors and windows and added some farm animals inside. We made some very creative farm animals out of milk cartons and toilet paper rolls. I hope you enjoyed them as much as the children did making them. Our water table was emptied and filled with oats and small farm animal figurines. Our farm theme has been lots of fun.
The children have also enjoyed reading and acting out the books we read together. One of their favorite books to reenact has been Mrs Wishy Washy, by Joy Cowley.
Looking forward, we will be exploring nature and all of spring's wonderful new growths. Keep your eyes open for the wonderful art work to follow.
Hope everyone enjoyed spring break.
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
Little Hands 2
Flowers, Trains, and Circle Time!
Spring is here and the proof is in the little stand of crocuses in the tire park. Back in November the Little Hands 2 children planted them on a cold morning and the children were thrilled to see them blooming now! In the park the children are really enjoying the climbing structures and sand area. Before we even enter the park – the requests for pails and shovels are loud and clear!! Walking to the park seemed to be a challenge with this group of children, but we seem to be really making progress on this front! We tried a new style of walking rope that keeps the children closer together and therefore the teachers closer to the children who need a bit more attention while crossing the street.
In the classroom, the children are busy with a variety art activities and their growing ability to plan more elaborate train track constructions. We hope to get the children more involved in block building over the next few months. We’ve baked Irish Soda Bread and cut and mashed strawberries for a strawberry yogurt snack. We will be adding other fruits to yogurt as this seemed to be a big treat to make as well as eat.
The children are enjoying circle time. We have a small repertoire of songs and stories that are well loved and we are finding that stories that can be sung or acted out. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and If Your Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera are really what the children enjoy and do well with.
We are looking forward to spending more time outdoors and continuing the growth of friendships and spirit of community that is developing among the children in the class as the year moves forward.
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
Flowers, Trains, and Circle Time!
Spring is here and the proof is in the little stand of crocuses in the tire park. Back in November the Little Hands 2 children planted them on a cold morning and the children were thrilled to see them blooming now! In the park the children are really enjoying the climbing structures and sand area. Before we even enter the park – the requests for pails and shovels are loud and clear!! Walking to the park seemed to be a challenge with this group of children, but we seem to be really making progress on this front! We tried a new style of walking rope that keeps the children closer together and therefore the teachers closer to the children who need a bit more attention while crossing the street.
In the classroom, the children are busy with a variety art activities and their growing ability to plan more elaborate train track constructions. We hope to get the children more involved in block building over the next few months. We’ve baked Irish Soda Bread and cut and mashed strawberries for a strawberry yogurt snack. We will be adding other fruits to yogurt as this seemed to be a big treat to make as well as eat.
The children are enjoying circle time. We have a small repertoire of songs and stories that are well loved and we are finding that stories that can be sung or acted out. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and If Your Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera are really what the children enjoy and do well with.
We are looking forward to spending more time outdoors and continuing the growth of friendships and spirit of community that is developing among the children in the class as the year moves forward.
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
Three’s PM
Read, Build, and Play!
It is great to be back working with your children again! They have all grown so much over the short period of time I was away. I missed them all dearly and am happy to say that they have welcomed me back with open arms. Over the past month our class has had an awesome time exploring our current unit on transportation. Trains, cars, trucks, and buses are all modes of transportation your child sees on a daily basis and because of your child’s interest we have begun our unit with trains.
Together the children have enjoyed creating train stations with toy trains and train tracks in the block area. They have also experimented with building trains of various sizes with both large and small Lego blocks. At the art table they have made paintings using trains and cars as printing tools. The children also worked wonderfully together to create a group drawing of a steam engine and train cars.
Individually the children drew different parts of a train using crayons; they then taped their individual works of art alongside each other, and added detail to their drawings to create one work of art.
During circle time we have sung train songs and read many books about trains. Some of the books read in class include: Two Little Trains, The Little Engine That Could, All Aboard ABC, and Freight Train. The children have engaged in interesting conversations about the different types, colors, and sizes of trains, as well as the different purposes of trains. In the dramatic play area the children have organized the furniture to create a train and have pretended to be passengers riding on the train. Also, while outside in the “Train Park,” the children have engaged in pretend play where they created different roles for one another including conductor and passengers.
Now that we are back from spring recess we plan on creating a dining car in the dramatic play area for the children to explore and create wonderful meals for train passengers. We will continue our unit on transportation and with the change in temperature we will take nature walks to explore new sights and sounds in our neighborhood.
If you haven’t already done so please sign up as a parent of the day we would love to share our day with you. We welcome you to read your child’s favorite story to the class or lead a classroom art or cooking activity. Also, please remember to sign up to bring in a healthy snack for our class. Your children enjoy having fresh fruits and veggies for an afternoon snack!
Thank you,
Elaine, Yasmin, and Jan
Read, Build, and Play!
It is great to be back working with your children again! They have all grown so much over the short period of time I was away. I missed them all dearly and am happy to say that they have welcomed me back with open arms. Over the past month our class has had an awesome time exploring our current unit on transportation. Trains, cars, trucks, and buses are all modes of transportation your child sees on a daily basis and because of your child’s interest we have begun our unit with trains.
Together the children have enjoyed creating train stations with toy trains and train tracks in the block area. They have also experimented with building trains of various sizes with both large and small Lego blocks. At the art table they have made paintings using trains and cars as printing tools. The children also worked wonderfully together to create a group drawing of a steam engine and train cars.
Individually the children drew different parts of a train using crayons; they then taped their individual works of art alongside each other, and added detail to their drawings to create one work of art.
During circle time we have sung train songs and read many books about trains. Some of the books read in class include: Two Little Trains, The Little Engine That Could, All Aboard ABC, and Freight Train. The children have engaged in interesting conversations about the different types, colors, and sizes of trains, as well as the different purposes of trains. In the dramatic play area the children have organized the furniture to create a train and have pretended to be passengers riding on the train. Also, while outside in the “Train Park,” the children have engaged in pretend play where they created different roles for one another including conductor and passengers.
Now that we are back from spring recess we plan on creating a dining car in the dramatic play area for the children to explore and create wonderful meals for train passengers. We will continue our unit on transportation and with the change in temperature we will take nature walks to explore new sights and sounds in our neighborhood.
If you haven’t already done so please sign up as a parent of the day we would love to share our day with you. We welcome you to read your child’s favorite story to the class or lead a classroom art or cooking activity. Also, please remember to sign up to bring in a healthy snack for our class. Your children enjoy having fresh fruits and veggies for an afternoon snack!
Thank you,
Elaine, Yasmin, and Jan
TRANSITIONING INTO KINDERGARTEN: What to expect...
At this time of year, the end of the school year is just a few months away. Our children are all settled into their routines, even our youngest. However at this time a year thoughts are turning towards the transition of our UPK students to Kindergarten. During the months of March and April, school lotteries are being held, school choices are being made, and parents and teachers are discussing the options or lack of options the children have for Kindergarten. It can be a very stressful emotional time for families and children.
Although this change to Kindergarten is not until September, children have a limited understanding of how long that is and often make assumptions that September is very soon. Children at this age view time sequentially – that is they understand changes, but not the actual length of time. So it is important to explain things sequentially for example– first Nursery School needs to end, then you will go to summer camp, then we have our family vacation to Canada, then we will come back home and then it will be time for Kindergarten. This is the same reason why predictable routines are comforting to children – they cannot comprehend that at “4:00” their grown-ups pick them up at school, but they know that after they go to the park or after the story it will be time to go home from school.
Children sense the nearing of the end of their time at Nursery School. They have made attachments to friends and teachers. Many children may begin to exhibit many regressive types of behavior. Children begin to act out, test limits, become irritable, hurt friends both physically and by hurting their feelings, begin having separation issues again or suddenly not want to attend school. These behaviors can be because children are anxious about the changes to come, are unsure about when exactly they will happen, or because they feel a bit betrayed by Nursery School –They wonder why they can’t continue to come school here. Explanations about age don’t really make sense to them. Children don’t always understand that all the children in the class will be moving on, they feel the class will be “going on” without them. There is comfort in the classroom and it’s routines that they know so well. So what do we do to help them?
In the classrooms, teachers understand that these feelings are being experienced. Teachers will gradually begin preparing the class for the end of the year. Children will participate in activities that will help them understand these changes, provide closure and build memories. Teachers will also involve children in packing away the class and preparing it for next year’s students, leaving behind artwork or messages for the children who will be moving up.
At home, it is important not to begin talking about Kindergarten too early, as mentioned earlier children’s sense of time is not well developed yet – even if they have all the language related to it. Reassure them that Kindergarten is still quite a while away. Even when the school year ends, focus on vacation and summer fun for awhile. It is also important to reassure your child that they may continue to see friends from their Nursery School. Keep up with play dates – or just visit the Train Park, always a gathering place for alumni! It is so important to acknowledge their concerns, but remind them how well they coped when beginning Nursery or the start of this school year.
When September is about 2 weeks away, begin preparing your child by driving by or walking by the new school, plan play dates with children who will be attending the same school and if known, familiarize your child with the teacher’s name. When the new year begins, use all the “tools” we suggested last summer! Get to bed early a few nights before school begins to get in sync, establish a comfortable morning routine and try to maintain a stress free morning. Expect there may be some separation tears the first few days of school, there may not be – but be prepared for it. Show your child that you trust their new teachers. When a child knows you trust them, they too will feel more trusting.
Although this change to Kindergarten is not until September, children have a limited understanding of how long that is and often make assumptions that September is very soon. Children at this age view time sequentially – that is they understand changes, but not the actual length of time. So it is important to explain things sequentially for example– first Nursery School needs to end, then you will go to summer camp, then we have our family vacation to Canada, then we will come back home and then it will be time for Kindergarten. This is the same reason why predictable routines are comforting to children – they cannot comprehend that at “4:00” their grown-ups pick them up at school, but they know that after they go to the park or after the story it will be time to go home from school.
Children sense the nearing of the end of their time at Nursery School. They have made attachments to friends and teachers. Many children may begin to exhibit many regressive types of behavior. Children begin to act out, test limits, become irritable, hurt friends both physically and by hurting their feelings, begin having separation issues again or suddenly not want to attend school. These behaviors can be because children are anxious about the changes to come, are unsure about when exactly they will happen, or because they feel a bit betrayed by Nursery School –They wonder why they can’t continue to come school here. Explanations about age don’t really make sense to them. Children don’t always understand that all the children in the class will be moving on, they feel the class will be “going on” without them. There is comfort in the classroom and it’s routines that they know so well. So what do we do to help them?
In the classrooms, teachers understand that these feelings are being experienced. Teachers will gradually begin preparing the class for the end of the year. Children will participate in activities that will help them understand these changes, provide closure and build memories. Teachers will also involve children in packing away the class and preparing it for next year’s students, leaving behind artwork or messages for the children who will be moving up.
At home, it is important not to begin talking about Kindergarten too early, as mentioned earlier children’s sense of time is not well developed yet – even if they have all the language related to it. Reassure them that Kindergarten is still quite a while away. Even when the school year ends, focus on vacation and summer fun for awhile. It is also important to reassure your child that they may continue to see friends from their Nursery School. Keep up with play dates – or just visit the Train Park, always a gathering place for alumni! It is so important to acknowledge their concerns, but remind them how well they coped when beginning Nursery or the start of this school year.
When September is about 2 weeks away, begin preparing your child by driving by or walking by the new school, plan play dates with children who will be attending the same school and if known, familiarize your child with the teacher’s name. When the new year begins, use all the “tools” we suggested last summer! Get to bed early a few nights before school begins to get in sync, establish a comfortable morning routine and try to maintain a stress free morning. Expect there may be some separation tears the first few days of school, there may not be – but be prepared for it. Show your child that you trust their new teachers. When a child knows you trust them, they too will feel more trusting.
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
Room 2 – Three’s AM
Transportation and Plants!
In the past two months our children have been busy learning about transportation, hibernation, and winter sports. The month of February was very short but it provided us with the opportunity to remind everyone that friends take good care of each other. We learned the song “February is a Short Month” and sang many songs about friendship. We also learned about friendship by being kind to one another.
We celebrated Chinese New Year in a big way. The children cut vegetables, whisked eggs and watched as Juan, Luke’s father, prepared a delicious dish of vegetable fried rice. We did not get to finish the dragon or have our parade this year. The contributing factors were the winter brake followed by the flood in our school. Thank you to all of you for being so understanding during such a difficult time. We said good bye to our friend Kevin Alma. Nicole, Jan, and I hope that he is adjusting well to the new environment.
We explored the different outdoor activities that people do for entertainment during the winter months. We read about sledding, ice skating, snowboarding, skiing, and ice fishing. We turned a big box into an igloo and a small box into an ice box to be able to go ice fishing. This activity was very popular. They also liked acting out The Three Snow Bears and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
We had the opportunity to work with Iris Gaspar, a student teacher from Lehman College. She introduced a transportation unit. Then, she concentrated on trains. We learned about the different types of trains and charted down how many children have ridden a train. We sang “I’ve Been Working in the Rail Road,” and “Little Red Caboose.” The children enjoyed working with Iris making their own trains. Some of the books Iris read to the children included: Trains, by Byron Barton, I Love Trains!, by Philemon Sturges, and Freight Train, by Donald Crews. We will finish the transportation unit after the spring break and take some a walking trip to our neighborhood library as well as a bus trip to the firehouse.
Iris finished her student teaching with a preschool setting and moved on to another school to experience another age group. However, we are very fortunate to have a student from Lehman volunteering in our classroom. Her name is Isaura Martinez or Izzy, and she started to volunteer on March 25th. We would like to say thank you to both Iris and Izzy for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with us.
Since spring has sprung we are excited to be able to do more planting. The beans, turnip, and the potatoes were a success. We would like to encourage you to come and visit our class and plant with us. Children love to water and watch as the plants grow. The nursery viewing box allows children to track down and see the growth of the roots. The viewing box is available right now please see me if you would like to do this activity with the children.
April is a busy month we will be counting down to the arrival of our eggs which will arrive at our school on the fourteen of this month. They are due to hatch on May 5th. We are going to start a unit about birds giving us the opportunity to revisit the farm unit. We will explore with bubbles as an introduction to wind and rainbows. We will also be learning about the weather and the changes that occur during the spring season. Bugs and rain will be our focus during April but it all depends on how much enthusiasm the children show towards these topics.Towards the end of April, I would like to organize a trip to a farm. You will be getting a letter soon to see if we can work together to make it happen. We will need carpooling since we cannot afford to pay for a bus. The first week of May will be the time to say good bye to the chicks and start to learn about the role of lighthouses. We will visit the Little Red Lighthouse that is located under the George Washington Bridge in May to help us with this unit. Also during this month, I would like to invite grandmothers to spend time in our classroom and share their experience with us.
Thanks to Jan, one of our wonderful teacher assistants, we have adopted seven walking sticks in our classroom. They are growing so fast. Children like to spend more time at the science table using the magnifying glasses to help them as they count.
We would like to thank all the parents that have spent time with us as Parent of the Day, with a special thank you to Rebecca, Nadia’s mom, who has been volunteering in our classroom once a week. We know it is not easy with our busy schedules but feel free to come in and say hi when you are in the school. Children enjoy having their parents in the classroom even for a quick hello or to get a good bye kiss.
Thank you for the support and understanding of all my assistants. Without you the children would not be so comfortable while learning so much.
Maria, Alma, Nicole, Jan, and Isaura Martinez
Transportation and Plants!
In the past two months our children have been busy learning about transportation, hibernation, and winter sports. The month of February was very short but it provided us with the opportunity to remind everyone that friends take good care of each other. We learned the song “February is a Short Month” and sang many songs about friendship. We also learned about friendship by being kind to one another.
We celebrated Chinese New Year in a big way. The children cut vegetables, whisked eggs and watched as Juan, Luke’s father, prepared a delicious dish of vegetable fried rice. We did not get to finish the dragon or have our parade this year. The contributing factors were the winter brake followed by the flood in our school. Thank you to all of you for being so understanding during such a difficult time. We said good bye to our friend Kevin Alma. Nicole, Jan, and I hope that he is adjusting well to the new environment.
We explored the different outdoor activities that people do for entertainment during the winter months. We read about sledding, ice skating, snowboarding, skiing, and ice fishing. We turned a big box into an igloo and a small box into an ice box to be able to go ice fishing. This activity was very popular. They also liked acting out The Three Snow Bears and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
We had the opportunity to work with Iris Gaspar, a student teacher from Lehman College. She introduced a transportation unit. Then, she concentrated on trains. We learned about the different types of trains and charted down how many children have ridden a train. We sang “I’ve Been Working in the Rail Road,” and “Little Red Caboose.” The children enjoyed working with Iris making their own trains. Some of the books Iris read to the children included: Trains, by Byron Barton, I Love Trains!, by Philemon Sturges, and Freight Train, by Donald Crews. We will finish the transportation unit after the spring break and take some a walking trip to our neighborhood library as well as a bus trip to the firehouse.
Iris finished her student teaching with a preschool setting and moved on to another school to experience another age group. However, we are very fortunate to have a student from Lehman volunteering in our classroom. Her name is Isaura Martinez or Izzy, and she started to volunteer on March 25th. We would like to say thank you to both Iris and Izzy for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with us.
Since spring has sprung we are excited to be able to do more planting. The beans, turnip, and the potatoes were a success. We would like to encourage you to come and visit our class and plant with us. Children love to water and watch as the plants grow. The nursery viewing box allows children to track down and see the growth of the roots. The viewing box is available right now please see me if you would like to do this activity with the children.
April is a busy month we will be counting down to the arrival of our eggs which will arrive at our school on the fourteen of this month. They are due to hatch on May 5th. We are going to start a unit about birds giving us the opportunity to revisit the farm unit. We will explore with bubbles as an introduction to wind and rainbows. We will also be learning about the weather and the changes that occur during the spring season. Bugs and rain will be our focus during April but it all depends on how much enthusiasm the children show towards these topics.Towards the end of April, I would like to organize a trip to a farm. You will be getting a letter soon to see if we can work together to make it happen. We will need carpooling since we cannot afford to pay for a bus. The first week of May will be the time to say good bye to the chicks and start to learn about the role of lighthouses. We will visit the Little Red Lighthouse that is located under the George Washington Bridge in May to help us with this unit. Also during this month, I would like to invite grandmothers to spend time in our classroom and share their experience with us.
Thanks to Jan, one of our wonderful teacher assistants, we have adopted seven walking sticks in our classroom. They are growing so fast. Children like to spend more time at the science table using the magnifying glasses to help them as they count.
We would like to thank all the parents that have spent time with us as Parent of the Day, with a special thank you to Rebecca, Nadia’s mom, who has been volunteering in our classroom once a week. We know it is not easy with our busy schedules but feel free to come in and say hi when you are in the school. Children enjoy having their parents in the classroom even for a quick hello or to get a good bye kiss.
Thank you for the support and understanding of all my assistants. Without you the children would not be so comfortable while learning so much.
Maria, Alma, Nicole, Jan, and Isaura Martinez
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
UPK PM's
Becoming Independent
Welcome Spring!
We hope you all had a very lovely vacation and enjoyed your respective holidays. After the winter we have had, it’s nice to see Mother Nature beginning to wake up and show us some warm weather.
No one enjoyed the snow as much as our children. In the last newsletter I was hoping that we had more snow for the class to enjoy. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for! As difficult as the snow was on us adults, the children enjoyed it tremendously, and that’s what’s most important. Sometimes it takes a good afternoon of playing in the snow to bring out the child in all of us.
Our paleontology unit was very enjoyable, and we learned a lot about dinosaurs and how they may have lived. Our class had a great time becoming scientists and digging up bones, reading dinosaur books, and doing dinosaur-oriented art projects. We felt just like real paleontologists!
We have been working hard in our classroom and we are growing every day. Watching the students in our class becoming so independent is very gratifying to see. When we started the school year there were so many things that we had to do as teachers. Now, the students set up the tables for snack all by themselves and sign their own artwork. These are just a few of the things our students have mastered. Independence is so vitally important at this time in a child’s life. The more they can do for themselves, the more autonomous they feel.
It’s hard to believe that the long winter is finally over and that spring has finally arrived! Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, when gray days are replaced by the beautiful colors of spring. Mother Nature will be putting on quite a show for us in the next few weeks, as everything begins to bloom. This is a time to marvel at what Mother Nature can do, and to that end, we we’ll be setting our sights on the environment. Earth Day is April 22 and our next unit will find us considering the fragility of our planet and steps we can take to preserve it. After all, this is the only planet we have that sustains life. If we don’t take care of it, how can it take care of us?
Stay tuned. We will take the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” to new heights!
More to come!
Andrea, Alma, & Nicole
Becoming Independent
Welcome Spring!
We hope you all had a very lovely vacation and enjoyed your respective holidays. After the winter we have had, it’s nice to see Mother Nature beginning to wake up and show us some warm weather.
No one enjoyed the snow as much as our children. In the last newsletter I was hoping that we had more snow for the class to enjoy. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for! As difficult as the snow was on us adults, the children enjoyed it tremendously, and that’s what’s most important. Sometimes it takes a good afternoon of playing in the snow to bring out the child in all of us.
Our paleontology unit was very enjoyable, and we learned a lot about dinosaurs and how they may have lived. Our class had a great time becoming scientists and digging up bones, reading dinosaur books, and doing dinosaur-oriented art projects. We felt just like real paleontologists!
We have been working hard in our classroom and we are growing every day. Watching the students in our class becoming so independent is very gratifying to see. When we started the school year there were so many things that we had to do as teachers. Now, the students set up the tables for snack all by themselves and sign their own artwork. These are just a few of the things our students have mastered. Independence is so vitally important at this time in a child’s life. The more they can do for themselves, the more autonomous they feel.
It’s hard to believe that the long winter is finally over and that spring has finally arrived! Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, when gray days are replaced by the beautiful colors of spring. Mother Nature will be putting on quite a show for us in the next few weeks, as everything begins to bloom. This is a time to marvel at what Mother Nature can do, and to that end, we we’ll be setting our sights on the environment. Earth Day is April 22 and our next unit will find us considering the fragility of our planet and steps we can take to preserve it. After all, this is the only planet we have that sustains life. If we don’t take care of it, how can it take care of us?
Stay tuned. We will take the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” to new heights!
More to come!
Andrea, Alma, & Nicole
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
UPK Full Day
Bread, Bread, Bread!
It all started with a trip to the pizza shop. After that trip we had an experiment with yeast, water, and sugar. Next we had one with yeast, water, sugar, a bottle and a balloon. We added flour and so far we have baked about 8 different kinds of bread with an enthusiastic group of children who love to bake and love to eat their bread. We’ve also been grinding wheat into flour, and beginning to understand how hard The Little Red Hen had to work and what a miller does.
Using bread as a theme has opened up the door for lots of learning across the curriculum. Books like Bread, Bread,Bread, The Little Red Hen, and The Little Red Hen makes Pizza establish literacy connections and give children an opportunity for dramatic play. Math connections happen several ways, like following the recipes, and keeping track of the different kinds of bread we are making. Science knowledge grows as we experiment with yeast and watch the change of state that occurs in the oven, not to mention some understanding of the seed to wheat to bread process. Our homemade bakery will give us the opportunity to make signs and draw about bread, and of course we’ve already made some fabulous pictures for our Pizza Book. In addition, bread making offers children the opportunity to explore traditions of other countries as we learn that people all over the world eat some kind of bread. And yes, we even sing about bread and how it is made.
Often, each batch of bread made 2 loaves, so we would have one for snack and save the other one in the freezer. We will take all the breads out of the freezer and slice them up so that we can invite our parents to our bakery to taste some of our delicious bread. The children are looking forward to sharing a piece of their school lives with you and of course they are so proud of themselves.
We’re hoping to turn into Paleontologists when we get back from vacation and think about just how big T-Rex was, and what did he eat, and what happened to him and how do we know what we know about him and his fellow dinosaurs.
Minia, Lucy, Kirsty, Jan, Jean, and Yasmin
One of our favorites is Pita Bread, so here is the recipe in case anyone wants to try it at home!
Pita Bread
1 package yeast
2 tbs honey
1 tbs salt
2 cups hot water
5-6 cups flour
Combine yeast, honey, and water in a large mixing bowl. Stir to blend.
Add 4 cups flour and salt. Mix well.
Add more flour to make dough stiff.
Place dough in a greased bowl. Turn greased side of dough up.
Cover. Let rise 1 hour
Use butter knife to cut dough into 36 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Cover. Let rise 10 minutes.
Preheat oven 450
Press and pat each ball to flatten (approximately 1/4 inch thick by 3).
Place rounds on baking sheet. Turn when bread bubbles up. Bake 5-7 minutes.
It all started with a trip to the pizza shop. After that trip we had an experiment with yeast, water, and sugar. Next we had one with yeast, water, sugar, a bottle and a balloon. We added flour and so far we have baked about 8 different kinds of bread with an enthusiastic group of children who love to bake and love to eat their bread. We’ve also been grinding wheat into flour, and beginning to understand how hard The Little Red Hen had to work and what a miller does.
Using bread as a theme has opened up the door for lots of learning across the curriculum. Books like Bread, Bread,Bread, The Little Red Hen, and The Little Red Hen makes Pizza establish literacy connections and give children an opportunity for dramatic play. Math connections happen several ways, like following the recipes, and keeping track of the different kinds of bread we are making. Science knowledge grows as we experiment with yeast and watch the change of state that occurs in the oven, not to mention some understanding of the seed to wheat to bread process. Our homemade bakery will give us the opportunity to make signs and draw about bread, and of course we’ve already made some fabulous pictures for our Pizza Book. In addition, bread making offers children the opportunity to explore traditions of other countries as we learn that people all over the world eat some kind of bread. And yes, we even sing about bread and how it is made.
Often, each batch of bread made 2 loaves, so we would have one for snack and save the other one in the freezer. We will take all the breads out of the freezer and slice them up so that we can invite our parents to our bakery to taste some of our delicious bread. The children are looking forward to sharing a piece of their school lives with you and of course they are so proud of themselves.
We’re hoping to turn into Paleontologists when we get back from vacation and think about just how big T-Rex was, and what did he eat, and what happened to him and how do we know what we know about him and his fellow dinosaurs.
Minia, Lucy, Kirsty, Jan, Jean, and Yasmin
One of our favorites is Pita Bread, so here is the recipe in case anyone wants to try it at home!
Pita Bread
1 package yeast
2 tbs honey
1 tbs salt
2 cups hot water
5-6 cups flour
Combine yeast, honey, and water in a large mixing bowl. Stir to blend.
Add 4 cups flour and salt. Mix well.
Add more flour to make dough stiff.
Place dough in a greased bowl. Turn greased side of dough up.
Cover. Let rise 1 hour
Use butter knife to cut dough into 36 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Cover. Let rise 10 minutes.
Preheat oven 450
Press and pat each ball to flatten (approximately 1/4 inch thick by 3).
Place rounds on baking sheet. Turn when bread bubbles up. Bake 5-7 minutes.
NURSERY RHYMES - APRIL 2010
Director's Corner - by Lisa Wenz
Welcome back from Spring break! It was a busy late winter early spring here at the Nursery. We have recovered from the water damage in the big room and adjoining classrooms. The new cubbies and block cabinets in the classrooms are installed and the new rug is in place. We have worked with the insurance company to replace all that was damaged or soiled. The staff still has a few changes they hope to implement in the big room – to make better use of the space. Thanks to
all families for being so patient during the clean-up.
Registration for next year is still underway. We still have room in our UPK classes, both full day and half day. Our three year old class is full and we have a strong waiting list. Our Little Hands registration is comfortable for this time of year.
We are moving ahead with purchasing a new piece of climbing equipment for the tire park. While the old wooden structure is still sturdy - it has become weather damaged and needs to be replaced. The teachers and I have been meeting to select a structure that will be exciting and challenging for all the age groups that use that park. The fundraising that has been going on all year will helped us select suitable, good quality piece of equipment. Please continue to support our morning and afternoon Coffee/Tea Bake Sales which have been helping support this purchase.
In the meantime there are several upcoming events to look forward to here at the Nursery. In mid April we will begin our duck and chick incubation project. Eggs will be picked up on April 14th. This is such a fun and exciting project. If all goes well, we will have chicks hatch in 21 days and ducklings in 28 days. We will also be watching the development of caterpillars into butterflies and continue to observe our toads, stick bugs, hermit crabs and tadpoles. It becomes a bit critter crazy in May!! Although the incubators are housed in rooms 2 and 3, each class will be involved in the study of the changes and growth of the embryos inside the eggs and each class will have their own group of caterpillars. We also have scheduled our annual Little Red Lighthouse trip for the Three year old class and the UPK classes on May 10th. Unfortunately the Little Hands children are too young for this trip – but they will have their turn next year!! There will be no Little Hands Class on May 10th.
We also have the Annual Spring Bazaar to look forward to as well as the Moving Up Picnic. The Moving Up Picnic will be held on Monday June 14th – Not Wednesday, June 9th as noted on the school calendar. We have rescheduled the date to give our Little Hands students an extra day or two to make up for the school they missed due to the water damage in their classroom.
The children will be spending a great deal more time outdoors now that the weather is warmer. Please continue to dress your children in weather appropriate clothing and especially good climbing/running shoes. Please note that children cannot wear flip-flop shoes in school. This year we will be enforcing this policy strictly. Also if possible limit the wearing of sandals to only the hottest days. When children are playing with blocks – they often drop them on their toes – and shoes or sneakers give the best protection. We are looking forward to enjoying our parks and all fun the outdoors has to offer!
Happy Spring!
Welcome back from Spring break! It was a busy late winter early spring here at the Nursery. We have recovered from the water damage in the big room and adjoining classrooms. The new cubbies and block cabinets in the classrooms are installed and the new rug is in place. We have worked with the insurance company to replace all that was damaged or soiled. The staff still has a few changes they hope to implement in the big room – to make better use of the space. Thanks to
all families for being so patient during the clean-up.
Registration for next year is still underway. We still have room in our UPK classes, both full day and half day. Our three year old class is full and we have a strong waiting list. Our Little Hands registration is comfortable for this time of year.
We are moving ahead with purchasing a new piece of climbing equipment for the tire park. While the old wooden structure is still sturdy - it has become weather damaged and needs to be replaced. The teachers and I have been meeting to select a structure that will be exciting and challenging for all the age groups that use that park. The fundraising that has been going on all year will helped us select suitable, good quality piece of equipment. Please continue to support our morning and afternoon Coffee/Tea Bake Sales which have been helping support this purchase.
In the meantime there are several upcoming events to look forward to here at the Nursery. In mid April we will begin our duck and chick incubation project. Eggs will be picked up on April 14th. This is such a fun and exciting project. If all goes well, we will have chicks hatch in 21 days and ducklings in 28 days. We will also be watching the development of caterpillars into butterflies and continue to observe our toads, stick bugs, hermit crabs and tadpoles. It becomes a bit critter crazy in May!! Although the incubators are housed in rooms 2 and 3, each class will be involved in the study of the changes and growth of the embryos inside the eggs and each class will have their own group of caterpillars. We also have scheduled our annual Little Red Lighthouse trip for the Three year old class and the UPK classes on May 10th. Unfortunately the Little Hands children are too young for this trip – but they will have their turn next year!! There will be no Little Hands Class on May 10th.
We also have the Annual Spring Bazaar to look forward to as well as the Moving Up Picnic. The Moving Up Picnic will be held on Monday June 14th – Not Wednesday, June 9th as noted on the school calendar. We have rescheduled the date to give our Little Hands students an extra day or two to make up for the school they missed due to the water damage in their classroom.
The children will be spending a great deal more time outdoors now that the weather is warmer. Please continue to dress your children in weather appropriate clothing and especially good climbing/running shoes. Please note that children cannot wear flip-flop shoes in school. This year we will be enforcing this policy strictly. Also if possible limit the wearing of sandals to only the hottest days. When children are playing with blocks – they often drop them on their toes – and shoes or sneakers give the best protection. We are looking forward to enjoying our parks and all fun the outdoors has to offer!
Happy Spring!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
COOL CULTURE
COOL CULTURE: A How to Guide…
There is so much to choose from with your Cool Culture passes. Here are some suggestions to make your visits successful with your young child.
1. Pick a museum or institution that is very child friendly for your first few visits. Although MOMA or the Metropolitan Museum of Art offers wonderful experiences for a child, they may require a bit more restraint than a young child has. Choose a museum were touching and hands on experiences are encouraged like the Hall of Science or Children’s Museum of the Arts.
2. Pick a site that may have a theme or exhibit related to a special interest of your child. But also visit places to spark an interest - but be aware that this may or may not be as successful.
3. Go at a time when your child is rested. There are so many sights, sounds and things to do – a child needs their energy to engage and participate comfortably.
4. Don’t plan long visits! The beauty of the Cool Culture card is free admission – gone are the constraints of “getting your money’s worth” out of the visit. Depending on your child and the institution itself – that may only be 45 minutes.
5. Bring a snack or lunch and take a break. I noted that the NYC Transit Museum had tables where families could stop grab a bite (brought from home) and return to the exhibits for more. You can do this especially at the outdoor programs like Wave Hill or the Botanical Gardens. Often special picnicking areas are available.
6. If you have visited the site before make up a scavenger hunt or eye spy game to help children focus attention. (You will even be able to include these in our binder so that other families can use your ideas for their children!)
7. Bring a sketch pad for older preschool children – they may want to draw what they see.
8. If for some reason the visit was unsuccessful – please don’t give up – try another site or return on another day.
9. You should be receiving E-Family Times – a newsletter to keep you updated about events, by email if you provided an email on your application. If you do not, visit www.coolculture.org to sign up. The Cool Culture website has wonderful information – browse a bit.
10. Visit each program’s web site for information before you go. Get a sense of the place, travel information, special exhibits, etc. Please note Cool Culture is for free general admission. Although some special exhibits or activities may be free, others may have additional charges. You may want to call ahead to find out.
If you have visited a site, please fill out one of our Cool Culture Forms and put it in the guidebook we are compiling in the Big Room. Or if someone has been there before you, sign in on the page – so families can contact each other about their experiences. Blank forms are in the Cool Culture Guidebook in the Big Room.
Also, please bring back a brochure from your visit and place it in the guidebook. Feel free to post photo of you and your child at the site on our Cool Culture bulletin board!
There is so much to choose from with your Cool Culture passes. Here are some suggestions to make your visits successful with your young child.
1. Pick a museum or institution that is very child friendly for your first few visits. Although MOMA or the Metropolitan Museum of Art offers wonderful experiences for a child, they may require a bit more restraint than a young child has. Choose a museum were touching and hands on experiences are encouraged like the Hall of Science or Children’s Museum of the Arts.
2. Pick a site that may have a theme or exhibit related to a special interest of your child. But also visit places to spark an interest - but be aware that this may or may not be as successful.
3. Go at a time when your child is rested. There are so many sights, sounds and things to do – a child needs their energy to engage and participate comfortably.
4. Don’t plan long visits! The beauty of the Cool Culture card is free admission – gone are the constraints of “getting your money’s worth” out of the visit. Depending on your child and the institution itself – that may only be 45 minutes.
5. Bring a snack or lunch and take a break. I noted that the NYC Transit Museum had tables where families could stop grab a bite (brought from home) and return to the exhibits for more. You can do this especially at the outdoor programs like Wave Hill or the Botanical Gardens. Often special picnicking areas are available.
6. If you have visited the site before make up a scavenger hunt or eye spy game to help children focus attention. (You will even be able to include these in our binder so that other families can use your ideas for their children!)
7. Bring a sketch pad for older preschool children – they may want to draw what they see.
8. If for some reason the visit was unsuccessful – please don’t give up – try another site or return on another day.
9. You should be receiving E-Family Times – a newsletter to keep you updated about events, by email if you provided an email on your application. If you do not, visit www.coolculture.org to sign up. The Cool Culture website has wonderful information – browse a bit.
10. Visit each program’s web site for information before you go. Get a sense of the place, travel information, special exhibits, etc. Please note Cool Culture is for free general admission. Although some special exhibits or activities may be free, others may have additional charges. You may want to call ahead to find out.
If you have visited a site, please fill out one of our Cool Culture Forms and put it in the guidebook we are compiling in the Big Room. Or if someone has been there before you, sign in on the page – so families can contact each other about their experiences. Blank forms are in the Cool Culture Guidebook in the Big Room.
Also, please bring back a brochure from your visit and place it in the guidebook. Feel free to post photo of you and your child at the site on our Cool Culture bulletin board!
COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN
JANUARY & FEBRUARY COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN
On Fridays we are selling coffee, tea, hot chocolate and baked goods in the kitchen.
Jan 8, 22, Feb 5, 26 8:00am-9:30am
Jan 15, 29, Feb 12 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Please be sure to stop in and support our newest fundraiser. Also, feel free to sign up to donate
nut free/peanut free baked goods . Sign up sheets are in the big room.
Coffee/tea/hot chocolate $1.00
Baked goods $1.00
In a hurry? Bring your travel mug and take your coffee to go!
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Little Hands 3 - Finger painting and Muffins!
The winter months have been fantastic!!!! The children have grown and explored within the classroom as well as outside. We took walks through the community, played in the snow, and made snow angels. Thanks to my husband who works for the Department of Sanitation, the children were able to see up close and personal how a garbage truck "eats the garbage". Some were very quick to notice that it has two steering wheels as they sat inside to take a picture.
With the snow upon us, the children created a winter wonderland mural in our classroom, as well as played with "snow" (kosher salt) in our water table. During our walk to play in the snow the first day some waddled their way out, struggling to stay on their feet. We had so much fun and much laughter.
The children are enjoying much more the "messier" art activities. Finger painting is by far their most exciting activity of the day. Often times the children will use their fingers at the easel rather than the paint brush. The texture between their tiny fingers is stimulating and fascinating to them they can't wait to get their hands dirty.
Of course, we can't forget to mention snack time, the most enjoyable part of the day! By far we could never seem to make enough banana muffins. Yummy! Following is the recipe to make Banana muffins at home. Enjoy.
Banana Muffins
3 Cups of Flour
1 Cup brown sugar
2-4 Ripe Bananas
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
Mix all together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
We would also like to welcome some new classmates: Amanda Vasquez, Valentina Perez-Merio, and Gabriel Martinez. We all welcome you to our Little Hands III class!
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
The winter months have been fantastic!!!! The children have grown and explored within the classroom as well as outside. We took walks through the community, played in the snow, and made snow angels. Thanks to my husband who works for the Department of Sanitation, the children were able to see up close and personal how a garbage truck "eats the garbage". Some were very quick to notice that it has two steering wheels as they sat inside to take a picture.
With the snow upon us, the children created a winter wonderland mural in our classroom, as well as played with "snow" (kosher salt) in our water table. During our walk to play in the snow the first day some waddled their way out, struggling to stay on their feet. We had so much fun and much laughter.
The children are enjoying much more the "messier" art activities. Finger painting is by far their most exciting activity of the day. Often times the children will use their fingers at the easel rather than the paint brush. The texture between their tiny fingers is stimulating and fascinating to them they can't wait to get their hands dirty.
Of course, we can't forget to mention snack time, the most enjoyable part of the day! By far we could never seem to make enough banana muffins. Yummy! Following is the recipe to make Banana muffins at home. Enjoy.
Banana Muffins
3 Cups of Flour
1 Cup brown sugar
2-4 Ripe Bananas
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
Mix all together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
We would also like to welcome some new classmates: Amanda Vasquez, Valentina Perez-Merio, and Gabriel Martinez. We all welcome you to our Little Hands III class!
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Little Hands 2 - Books, Snacks, and Sand!
The Little Hands 2 class began as a small group of 4 children and has recently grown to a bustling group of 10. In December we welcomed Zoe and Dylan and now in January, Gabriel, Ava, Mary and Paz have joined the class. With our growing numbers we also welcome another teacher, Meg O’Connor to our group.
Back in October, our original group of students began their first school experience. It may only be for a short time each week, but the children became accustomed to saying goodbye to their loved ones for the short time and to stretch out into a community that is beyond their family and is “theirs” alone.
They have learned routines, have refined their self help skills and have established the beginnings of classroom community. Through the activities provided, they are developing language, expressing themselves both verbally and through the arts. They are learning to hear another person’s opinion, to take some risks and try new things, to move beyond their egocentric selves and join in their first small way, society.
For our newer families, let me tell you about the routine of our mornings. For the first hour in school, we have “work time”. The children are free to move about and select the activities they wish to work at, be it the easel, an art activity, puzzles, blocks building, writing/drawing, home life area, texture table or play dough. Their interests guide them and children begin to see that their decisions have value. For this group of children dramatic play with “dress-up” is very popular, as are collage type art activities. Following “work time” we have an organized clean-up where all children participate in the clean-up and care of their classroom which is a community building activity. Children feel a sense of care and responsibility for their classroom and the materials it contains.
Following “clean-up” we wash hands and have snack. The children sit down together comfortably and have a bite to eat and a bit of conversation, before moving on to circle where we sing our sock song and a few other favorites before our daily story.
Two favorite story time books have been:
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin
A Hat for Minerva Louise
Following story, the children get dressed for outdoors and we head out to the Tire Park for some very important big muscle building through climbing, running and jumping. This group is also very fond of using the sand toys in the park.
We do go out in the snow, so please be sure your child has snow gear (snow pants, boots, mittens and a hat) if there is snow on the ground.
As the year continues we may move into some thematic units of “study”. Last year my Little Hands class did a study of rooms in a home. We studied the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, changing our dramatic play area into these rooms and enjoying some stories, music and art related to these rooms. It was great fun and we will probably test the children’s interests with this. If it sparks interest we will give it a go!
Looking forward to more fun times to come!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
The Little Hands 2 class began as a small group of 4 children and has recently grown to a bustling group of 10. In December we welcomed Zoe and Dylan and now in January, Gabriel, Ava, Mary and Paz have joined the class. With our growing numbers we also welcome another teacher, Meg O’Connor to our group.
Back in October, our original group of students began their first school experience. It may only be for a short time each week, but the children became accustomed to saying goodbye to their loved ones for the short time and to stretch out into a community that is beyond their family and is “theirs” alone.
They have learned routines, have refined their self help skills and have established the beginnings of classroom community. Through the activities provided, they are developing language, expressing themselves both verbally and through the arts. They are learning to hear another person’s opinion, to take some risks and try new things, to move beyond their egocentric selves and join in their first small way, society.
For our newer families, let me tell you about the routine of our mornings. For the first hour in school, we have “work time”. The children are free to move about and select the activities they wish to work at, be it the easel, an art activity, puzzles, blocks building, writing/drawing, home life area, texture table or play dough. Their interests guide them and children begin to see that their decisions have value. For this group of children dramatic play with “dress-up” is very popular, as are collage type art activities. Following “work time” we have an organized clean-up where all children participate in the clean-up and care of their classroom which is a community building activity. Children feel a sense of care and responsibility for their classroom and the materials it contains.
Following “clean-up” we wash hands and have snack. The children sit down together comfortably and have a bite to eat and a bit of conversation, before moving on to circle where we sing our sock song and a few other favorites before our daily story.
Two favorite story time books have been:
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin
A Hat for Minerva Louise
Following story, the children get dressed for outdoors and we head out to the Tire Park for some very important big muscle building through climbing, running and jumping. This group is also very fond of using the sand toys in the park.
We do go out in the snow, so please be sure your child has snow gear (snow pants, boots, mittens and a hat) if there is snow on the ground.
As the year continues we may move into some thematic units of “study”. Last year my Little Hands class did a study of rooms in a home. We studied the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, changing our dramatic play area into these rooms and enjoying some stories, music and art related to these rooms. It was great fun and we will probably test the children’s interests with this. If it sparks interest we will give it a go!
Looking forward to more fun times to come!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
BARNES & NOBLE FUNDRAISER
Money, Money, Money!
Did you know that the Amalgamated Nursery School raised more than $800 at the Barnes and Noble book fair?
That’s right, more than $800!
During the weekend of November 20th – 22nd, Amalgamated Nursery School held a book fair at the Barnes and Noble on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York. During those three days, any time a customer mentioned the name of our school during their check out, Barnes and Noble donated a portion of their profit to our school! Even people who purchased items at other Barnes and Noble stores or over the telephone simply had to mention the name of our school to participate in our fundraiser.
We thank all of you who made purchases during this weekend, those of you who asked others to mention our school at the check out, and those of you who were able to participate in the read-aloud and art activities on that Saturday.
We have already signed up to hold another such fundraiser at the same time and place next fall!
We hope to see you there!
Did you know that the Amalgamated Nursery School raised more than $800 at the Barnes and Noble book fair?
That’s right, more than $800!
During the weekend of November 20th – 22nd, Amalgamated Nursery School held a book fair at the Barnes and Noble on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York. During those three days, any time a customer mentioned the name of our school during their check out, Barnes and Noble donated a portion of their profit to our school! Even people who purchased items at other Barnes and Noble stores or over the telephone simply had to mention the name of our school to participate in our fundraiser.
We thank all of you who made purchases during this weekend, those of you who asked others to mention our school at the check out, and those of you who were able to participate in the read-aloud and art activities on that Saturday.
We have already signed up to hold another such fundraiser at the same time and place next fall!
We hope to see you there!
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
3's PM - Shapes and Stories!
In the afternoon our focus has been shapes. We got really good at identifying shapes all around us. We started this unit by making our chef’s hat to be used in housekeeping and every time we cook. We made sugar cookies and used basic shapes to cut them out. They made pretend cookies with play dough as well as at the art table. Children collaged, stamped, and painted different shapes. Mouse Shapes became one of their favorite books. We made boats using rectangular soap and a triangle for the sail and acted out the story Who Sank the Boat? These were some of the books we read: City Shapes, Shape Capers, Mr. Cookie Baker, and Round Like a Ball among others.
We are in the process of putting together our own shape book which will be circulating soon. During the frigid temperatures we read A Snowy Day and brought some snow into the classroom and made a chart with our predictions. Some children thought that it would be a good idea to place the snow ball in the refrigerator to keep it from melting. Others suggested placing it in water while some thought we should place it in the freezer. We also kept track of the changes we noticed among the snowballs.
In January we are in the process of culminating our shape unit and start a new one on bears. Children will learn where they live, what they like to eat and about hibernation. We are very excited about this unit because there are plenty of books to read and activities to do including cooking bear snacks, singing and eventually sharing a teddy bear from home.
We hope many of you come and visit as parent of the day and see how your child spend the day with their friends at school.
Maria, Jan, and Yasmin
In the afternoon our focus has been shapes. We got really good at identifying shapes all around us. We started this unit by making our chef’s hat to be used in housekeeping and every time we cook. We made sugar cookies and used basic shapes to cut them out. They made pretend cookies with play dough as well as at the art table. Children collaged, stamped, and painted different shapes. Mouse Shapes became one of their favorite books. We made boats using rectangular soap and a triangle for the sail and acted out the story Who Sank the Boat? These were some of the books we read: City Shapes, Shape Capers, Mr. Cookie Baker, and Round Like a Ball among others.
We are in the process of putting together our own shape book which will be circulating soon. During the frigid temperatures we read A Snowy Day and brought some snow into the classroom and made a chart with our predictions. Some children thought that it would be a good idea to place the snow ball in the refrigerator to keep it from melting. Others suggested placing it in water while some thought we should place it in the freezer. We also kept track of the changes we noticed among the snowballs.
In January we are in the process of culminating our shape unit and start a new one on bears. Children will learn where they live, what they like to eat and about hibernation. We are very excited about this unit because there are plenty of books to read and activities to do including cooking bear snacks, singing and eventually sharing a teddy bear from home.
We hope many of you come and visit as parent of the day and see how your child spend the day with their friends at school.
Maria, Jan, and Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Room 2 - 3's AM - Many Celebrations!
Happy New Year and Happy Winter! Welcome back to a new year in Room Two. The children enjoyed the fall season. We watched as the leaves turned beautiful shades of red, yellow, and gold and then fell from the trees. Our class tree followed the same pattern. Apples were replaced by beautiful leaves the children painted with water color which have since fallen and sent home.
During the fall we learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving. We also learned how other people celebrate the holiday season. We learned about Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children especially enjoyed singing the songs related to these holidays.
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. Each child glued their family pictures to make a collage and they are on display in our classroom. We looked at pictures of real turkeys, sang turkey songs and had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. At the art table each child made his/her own turkey.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall. Also in November we welcomed our new friend Darius into our class.The farm unit was enjoyed by everyone. Children had the opportunity to see and try to milk a cow (squeezing a disposable glove field with milk) as we learned where milk comes from. During our holiday vacation when planning for months ahead we felt that it would be better to continue this unit during spring when we could visit the farm animals at Stew Leonard’s and hatch our own chicks. The children acted out the story Mrs. Wishy Washy. It was a great opportunity to put into practice waiting for a turn to be the main character or one of the animals in the story. Everyone enjoyed it saying the lines and washing the animals. They enjoyed the books: Farmer Will, Big Red Barn, When the Rooster Crowed, The Grumpy Morning, My Barn, and many more.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and visited Minia’s class for our annual holiday celebration. Our contribution for the party was thumb print cookies. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We gave the potatoes latkes a twist by making them with Yucca root instead, they were crispy and delicious.
In January have been exploring the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration are being discussed. A book that got us started was When It Starts to Snow. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle and the Tree Snow Bears by Jan Brett. We also talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.January will end with a unit about our senses where our children will have an opportunity to explore food with different tastes, make art with different texture and become more aware of the many sounds that surround us every day. Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun activity in housekeeping. This year it falls on February 14th. We will have a busy start during this month since Valentine’s Day is loved by everyone. Just a reminder, there is no candy allowed - only cards. We will get a unit on transportation starting in the beginning of February.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table. Some are starting to write their names and almost everyone can recognize them as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we have had so far in the month.
Everyone is enjoying school-time dance with Mary. It has been changed to Wednesdays, so please try to send your child with comfortable clothing on that day. Also, there has been a change in our cooking day. We are cooking on Thursdays in the morning and Tuesdays in the afternoon.
The parent of the day program will start soon, please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. There will be a schedule for you to sign in and a note will be sent home letting you know when it is going to start. We miss having Vicki in our classroom. The children really enjoyed her presence. Thank you, Vicky, for volunteering your time. We look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to welcome our new friend who joined our afternoon class in January. His name is Gabriel and his sister, Sofia, attends Minia’s pre-k class.
We hope you had a good holiday season and wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Maria, Alma, Jean, Nicole, and Jan
Happy New Year and Happy Winter! Welcome back to a new year in Room Two. The children enjoyed the fall season. We watched as the leaves turned beautiful shades of red, yellow, and gold and then fell from the trees. Our class tree followed the same pattern. Apples were replaced by beautiful leaves the children painted with water color which have since fallen and sent home.
During the fall we learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving. We also learned how other people celebrate the holiday season. We learned about Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children especially enjoyed singing the songs related to these holidays.
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. Each child glued their family pictures to make a collage and they are on display in our classroom. We looked at pictures of real turkeys, sang turkey songs and had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. At the art table each child made his/her own turkey.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall. Also in November we welcomed our new friend Darius into our class.The farm unit was enjoyed by everyone. Children had the opportunity to see and try to milk a cow (squeezing a disposable glove field with milk) as we learned where milk comes from. During our holiday vacation when planning for months ahead we felt that it would be better to continue this unit during spring when we could visit the farm animals at Stew Leonard’s and hatch our own chicks. The children acted out the story Mrs. Wishy Washy. It was a great opportunity to put into practice waiting for a turn to be the main character or one of the animals in the story. Everyone enjoyed it saying the lines and washing the animals. They enjoyed the books: Farmer Will, Big Red Barn, When the Rooster Crowed, The Grumpy Morning, My Barn, and many more.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and visited Minia’s class for our annual holiday celebration. Our contribution for the party was thumb print cookies. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We gave the potatoes latkes a twist by making them with Yucca root instead, they were crispy and delicious.
In January have been exploring the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration are being discussed. A book that got us started was When It Starts to Snow. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle and the Tree Snow Bears by Jan Brett. We also talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.January will end with a unit about our senses where our children will have an opportunity to explore food with different tastes, make art with different texture and become more aware of the many sounds that surround us every day. Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun activity in housekeeping. This year it falls on February 14th. We will have a busy start during this month since Valentine’s Day is loved by everyone. Just a reminder, there is no candy allowed - only cards. We will get a unit on transportation starting in the beginning of February.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table. Some are starting to write their names and almost everyone can recognize them as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we have had so far in the month.
Everyone is enjoying school-time dance with Mary. It has been changed to Wednesdays, so please try to send your child with comfortable clothing on that day. Also, there has been a change in our cooking day. We are cooking on Thursdays in the morning and Tuesdays in the afternoon.
The parent of the day program will start soon, please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. There will be a schedule for you to sign in and a note will be sent home letting you know when it is going to start. We miss having Vicki in our classroom. The children really enjoyed her presence. Thank you, Vicky, for volunteering your time. We look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to welcome our new friend who joined our afternoon class in January. His name is Gabriel and his sister, Sofia, attends Minia’s pre-k class.
We hope you had a good holiday season and wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Maria, Alma, Jean, Nicole, and Jan
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
UPK PM - Future Paleontologists!
Winter finds us really in the thick of our classroom routine. The school year is going so fast, mostly because we’re so busy. We have plenty to do in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between. Having so many choices means that the day flies by, and before you know it, it’s clean-up time. Next thing you know we’ll be heading into spring!
The fall and winter holidays have taught us about the joy of giving and sharing. At Thanksgiving we shared a special feast, full of goodies that we made ourselves. We studied the various holidays and made gifts for our families. We also talked about the importance of kindness and caring, both at the holidays and every day.
Our classroom affords us opportunities to share in many different ways. For example, we share food and stories at snack time, and we work together throughout the day on the various projects and activities that we do in school. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We had a great time playing in the snow before it all melted away. We had some great snowball fights (all snowballs thrown at each other’s backs, and never above the waist). The teachers even got involved! We dug holes in the snow and went zipping down the slide at top speed. Maybe as winter continues we’ll have more opportunities like that. We hope so. To that end, please remember to dress your children for the weather. We like to go outside as much as possible, especially in the snow! Boots and snow pants are essential for snowy days!
We have turned into paleontologists for the next few weeks while we study dinosaurs! We’re having a great time in the classroom digging up dinosaur bones and creating our own fossils and dinosaur eggs. In the next few weeks we will be examining different species of dinosaurs more in depth. We’ll learn how big they were, what they ate, and how they protected themselves. We may even BECOME dinosaurs! But we promise that when we come home, we will not eat you. With this study in mind – please take advantage of your Cool Culture Cards and visit the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit. I went to visit it on Teacher Education Day!
In the spring, we will be studying the environment in depth. Our class will be examining how best to take care of Mother Earth in celebration of Earth Day. After all, she takes such good care of us, we must return the favor. Since we are such a creative bunch, we will find ways to reuse some of the things that would ordinarily be thrown away. Wait until you see what we come up with!
When you walk into our classroom it is very gratifying to see that everyone is busily interacting with one another. There are many things going on at the same time, and we move easily from one activity to the next. We have a lot of free choice in our classroom, along with many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication is encouraged, and it’s great to see a group of strangers become a class of good friends. All of these interactions will lay the groundwork for future relationships. We have such a “warm and fuzzy” class.
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Nicole
Winter finds us really in the thick of our classroom routine. The school year is going so fast, mostly because we’re so busy. We have plenty to do in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between. Having so many choices means that the day flies by, and before you know it, it’s clean-up time. Next thing you know we’ll be heading into spring!
The fall and winter holidays have taught us about the joy of giving and sharing. At Thanksgiving we shared a special feast, full of goodies that we made ourselves. We studied the various holidays and made gifts for our families. We also talked about the importance of kindness and caring, both at the holidays and every day.
Our classroom affords us opportunities to share in many different ways. For example, we share food and stories at snack time, and we work together throughout the day on the various projects and activities that we do in school. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We had a great time playing in the snow before it all melted away. We had some great snowball fights (all snowballs thrown at each other’s backs, and never above the waist). The teachers even got involved! We dug holes in the snow and went zipping down the slide at top speed. Maybe as winter continues we’ll have more opportunities like that. We hope so. To that end, please remember to dress your children for the weather. We like to go outside as much as possible, especially in the snow! Boots and snow pants are essential for snowy days!
We have turned into paleontologists for the next few weeks while we study dinosaurs! We’re having a great time in the classroom digging up dinosaur bones and creating our own fossils and dinosaur eggs. In the next few weeks we will be examining different species of dinosaurs more in depth. We’ll learn how big they were, what they ate, and how they protected themselves. We may even BECOME dinosaurs! But we promise that when we come home, we will not eat you. With this study in mind – please take advantage of your Cool Culture Cards and visit the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit. I went to visit it on Teacher Education Day!
In the spring, we will be studying the environment in depth. Our class will be examining how best to take care of Mother Earth in celebration of Earth Day. After all, she takes such good care of us, we must return the favor. Since we are such a creative bunch, we will find ways to reuse some of the things that would ordinarily be thrown away. Wait until you see what we come up with!
When you walk into our classroom it is very gratifying to see that everyone is busily interacting with one another. There are many things going on at the same time, and we move easily from one activity to the next. We have a lot of free choice in our classroom, along with many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication is encouraged, and it’s great to see a group of strangers become a class of good friends. All of these interactions will lay the groundwork for future relationships. We have such a “warm and fuzzy” class.
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Nicole
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
UPK Full Day - Cooking, Cooking, Cooking!
The UPK kids have been very busy this winter. We’ve been working on several themes. We started out with a trip to the pizza store. Not only did this offer a snack that all the children loved, it gave us an opportunity to put our trip on paper, and each of the children were able to draw their experience for our pizza book. These are the children’s first experiences with the symbolic representation of their ideas on paper...a precursor to writing and reading.
We made paper pizza in art, and we made real pizza from scratch. We’ve used the housekeeping area to open a pretend pizza shop and extend the development of language as well as developing social skills as they interact and take turns being customers and servers. All this while they’re having fun playing and making friends.
Making pizza dough led to yeast experiments and now we’ll be baking a lot of bread for our cooking activities in the ensuing months. Our house keeping area will also take turns being a bake shop. Be ready for our bakers to open a bake shop in a few months so that you can taste some of our wares.
Our loft was turned into a pond and we’re talking about snakes and turtles. Crictor has made an appearance and the children are all looking forward to his visit. Crictor is a way of using great children’s literature to spark imagination, grow language and bring stories to life. Having the children dictate a journal entry and draw a picture is another way for children to learn that they can put their ideas on paper for other people to see. Even the children, who were somewhat reluctant to come to the art table, were especially enthusiastic about making their snake and couldn’t wait for their turn. It’s another way themes help inspire skills. We will use themes where it helps us, but will also feel free to step off the path for other interesting learning and playing opportunities. Soon, we’ll be taking a look at fish.
Sandra, Aiden’s mom and a professional chef, came to our class and made vegetable soup. That’s why we asked all the children to send in a vegetable. The children enthusiastically helped with all the dicing and chopping and many of them loved the soup. We now have a class book circulating about this experience. We acted out Stone Soup and The Gigantic Turnip. We tried to sing AikenDrum using only vegetables.
On another note, teacher professional day gave me the opportunity to check out my cool culture card, and I went to visit the Brooklyn Children’s museum - only about 30 minutes away by car. I thought that it was a fabulous opportunity for our children to have a fun filled learning experience. In addition to a separate play area for little children, the entire museum had exhibits that were accessible to children and covered a range of multicultural, and science and social study experiences. Of course my favorites were the pond life area and the pizza shop, but there was much more too! There have some “classes” for kids to participate in, but you need to check the schedule to find out about what’s being offered.
I urge you all to take advantage of your cool culture cards! Museums offer opportunity for children to widen their experience, and grow their language. They increase children’s knowledge of the world as they increase their vocabulary. The children’s museums are great, but even the more adult oriented museums offer a wide and wonderful range of experience for children although you may have to shorten your time periods at those museums to match your child’s attention span. Then please add a picture to our cool culture bulletin board so that families can know to talk to you about the experience.
Stay warm!
Minia, Lucy, Kirsty, Jan, Jean, and Yasmin
The UPK kids have been very busy this winter. We’ve been working on several themes. We started out with a trip to the pizza store. Not only did this offer a snack that all the children loved, it gave us an opportunity to put our trip on paper, and each of the children were able to draw their experience for our pizza book. These are the children’s first experiences with the symbolic representation of their ideas on paper...a precursor to writing and reading.
We made paper pizza in art, and we made real pizza from scratch. We’ve used the housekeeping area to open a pretend pizza shop and extend the development of language as well as developing social skills as they interact and take turns being customers and servers. All this while they’re having fun playing and making friends.
Making pizza dough led to yeast experiments and now we’ll be baking a lot of bread for our cooking activities in the ensuing months. Our house keeping area will also take turns being a bake shop. Be ready for our bakers to open a bake shop in a few months so that you can taste some of our wares.
Our loft was turned into a pond and we’re talking about snakes and turtles. Crictor has made an appearance and the children are all looking forward to his visit. Crictor is a way of using great children’s literature to spark imagination, grow language and bring stories to life. Having the children dictate a journal entry and draw a picture is another way for children to learn that they can put their ideas on paper for other people to see. Even the children, who were somewhat reluctant to come to the art table, were especially enthusiastic about making their snake and couldn’t wait for their turn. It’s another way themes help inspire skills. We will use themes where it helps us, but will also feel free to step off the path for other interesting learning and playing opportunities. Soon, we’ll be taking a look at fish.
Sandra, Aiden’s mom and a professional chef, came to our class and made vegetable soup. That’s why we asked all the children to send in a vegetable. The children enthusiastically helped with all the dicing and chopping and many of them loved the soup. We now have a class book circulating about this experience. We acted out Stone Soup and The Gigantic Turnip. We tried to sing AikenDrum using only vegetables.
On another note, teacher professional day gave me the opportunity to check out my cool culture card, and I went to visit the Brooklyn Children’s museum - only about 30 minutes away by car. I thought that it was a fabulous opportunity for our children to have a fun filled learning experience. In addition to a separate play area for little children, the entire museum had exhibits that were accessible to children and covered a range of multicultural, and science and social study experiences. Of course my favorites were the pond life area and the pizza shop, but there was much more too! There have some “classes” for kids to participate in, but you need to check the schedule to find out about what’s being offered.
I urge you all to take advantage of your cool culture cards! Museums offer opportunity for children to widen their experience, and grow their language. They increase children’s knowledge of the world as they increase their vocabulary. The children’s museums are great, but even the more adult oriented museums offer a wide and wonderful range of experience for children although you may have to shorten your time periods at those museums to match your child’s attention span. Then please add a picture to our cool culture bulletin board so that families can know to talk to you about the experience.
Stay warm!
Minia, Lucy, Kirsty, Jan, Jean, and Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Director's Corner - Lisa Wenz
Here we are midpoint into another school year. Since our last newsletter we have welcomed several new families into our program and another teacher, Meg O’Connor who will be working in Little Hands 2 due to our growing enrollment. Meg is pretty familiar with our school and philosophies as she worked as a student teacher with us last year. The staff and I are so pleased to have her join us.
We’d also like to welcome Sophia Skye, a baby daughter to Elaine and Juan. Elaine will be returning to the afternoon three’s class on March 1. I’d like to thank Maria for providing such a seamless sense of continuity and as always wonderful activitiesand curriculum for the class while Elaine was on maternity leave.
This school year we were fortunate to be offered an opportunity to join Cool Culture. As most of you know, Cool Culture is a Non-Profit organization whose mission is to aid families of young children of all economic backgrounds to gain access to cultural institutions throughout NYC. They believe “Family visits to museums, botanical gardens, wildlife centers, and other cultural institutions provide young children with the kind of early learning experiences, such as language and literacy building, that are fundamental to school success. These visits also offer parents or guardians and their children the opportunity toexplore and learn together. Parent-child and guardian-child interactions that take place during cultural experiences foster young children's verbal literacy, vocabulary development, and critical thinking”.
Most of our families now have their Cool Culture Passes and can take advantage of many museums, nature centers and zoos in NYC and the boroughs for free. With this in mind, our teachers have spent their Teacher Education Day – and perhaps a few weekend visits at some of these institutions to support their curriculum and to help inform you about some of the wonderful exhibits available to you. Some of our teachers have included information in their newsletter articles, but a complete “synopsis” will be available in a guidebook we will keep on the shelf in the Big Room for families to use as a resource. We also hope that families will add to this guide by adding information about their visits to Cool Culture sites into the book.
My visit on Teacher Education Day was to the NYC Transit Museum in Brooklyn. What a wonderful place for young children and families to explore the history, types, construction, science and artistic dimensions of the NYC mass transit system. The New York Transit Museum is housed in a 1936 decommissioned, but still operational, subway station. It is extremely child friendly with much to touch and try out, both for our preschool children as well as elementary school age siblings.
Turnstiles dating back to the early 1900’s are available to move through, cabs of MTA busses are available to “drive”, and actual ticket booths are there to pretend in. Down one level are many subway cars some dating back to the early 1900’s actually sitting on track in the decommissioned station for children and families to wander through and explore, without the concern of movement, doors closing or the hustle and bustle of the normal subway ride.
For adults there is the history of the building of the subways, bridges and tunnels alongside child friendly displays allowing you and your child to come away with new knowledge or experiences, an interactive exhibit on how the new clean energy engines work and history on the artistic aspects of the subway stations tile designs. On the afternoon my husband and I visited, there was an mosaic tile art activity available for children, which was open ended and appropriate for all ages.program and cards will arrive in about two months.
If you do not have a card and have not filled out your application, talk to me immediately! The deadline is February 12th!
I’d like to thank all the families who came out on Parent Child Sunday to spend time with your child in school. It was great to see so many families giving the children the chance to show you their classrooms. Please also try to come in as “Parent of The Day” in our three year old and UPK classes. It can be a fun, enlightening experience for parents (or grandparents) to spend time with your child in the program. Do not feel you need to come with an activity, or that you need to stay all day. Visit, meet your child’s classmates, get a sense of the curriculum, and enjoy! For Little Hands families, having parents in the room sometimes begins separation issues for your child or another who is missing their families – so although it may be fine for some children we do not have “Parent of the Day” for this age group.
Finally, we are fundraising a bit more than usual this year. Although fundraising is always an integral part of our operating budget, this year, we are working to raise funds for new playground equipment for the Tire Park. This is a bigger expense than usual. We realize in these economic times, it is difficult to ask families for large donations on top of tuition, so we are trying to keep fundraising as pocket friendly as possible and create events that are “worth” it. So the Board, with a great deal of help from Sandra Nachtmann, has begun Coffee/Tea Fridays.
Each Friday, alternating mornings (8:00 – 9:30) and afternoons (3:00 – 4:30), coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and baked goods or more will be available for sale. All are available to go if you are on the run. So bypass your morning or afternoon coffee stop and grab your cup to go at the Nursery. The sign-up sheet for donating peanut/nut free baked goods is in the Big Room. We have been talking of including dinner type items at the afternoon events – such as containers of soup or perhaps a quiche, again – things “to go”. If this sounds like something you would like – let us know. Thanks to those who have been helping out with this or supporting this effort.
Looking forward to the rest of the school year!
Happy 2010!
Here we are midpoint into another school year. Since our last newsletter we have welcomed several new families into our program and another teacher, Meg O’Connor who will be working in Little Hands 2 due to our growing enrollment. Meg is pretty familiar with our school and philosophies as she worked as a student teacher with us last year. The staff and I are so pleased to have her join us.
We’d also like to welcome Sophia Skye, a baby daughter to Elaine and Juan. Elaine will be returning to the afternoon three’s class on March 1. I’d like to thank Maria for providing such a seamless sense of continuity and as always wonderful activitiesand curriculum for the class while Elaine was on maternity leave.
This school year we were fortunate to be offered an opportunity to join Cool Culture. As most of you know, Cool Culture is a Non-Profit organization whose mission is to aid families of young children of all economic backgrounds to gain access to cultural institutions throughout NYC. They believe “Family visits to museums, botanical gardens, wildlife centers, and other cultural institutions provide young children with the kind of early learning experiences, such as language and literacy building, that are fundamental to school success. These visits also offer parents or guardians and their children the opportunity toexplore and learn together. Parent-child and guardian-child interactions that take place during cultural experiences foster young children's verbal literacy, vocabulary development, and critical thinking”.
Most of our families now have their Cool Culture Passes and can take advantage of many museums, nature centers and zoos in NYC and the boroughs for free. With this in mind, our teachers have spent their Teacher Education Day – and perhaps a few weekend visits at some of these institutions to support their curriculum and to help inform you about some of the wonderful exhibits available to you. Some of our teachers have included information in their newsletter articles, but a complete “synopsis” will be available in a guidebook we will keep on the shelf in the Big Room for families to use as a resource. We also hope that families will add to this guide by adding information about their visits to Cool Culture sites into the book.
My visit on Teacher Education Day was to the NYC Transit Museum in Brooklyn. What a wonderful place for young children and families to explore the history, types, construction, science and artistic dimensions of the NYC mass transit system. The New York Transit Museum is housed in a 1936 decommissioned, but still operational, subway station. It is extremely child friendly with much to touch and try out, both for our preschool children as well as elementary school age siblings.
Turnstiles dating back to the early 1900’s are available to move through, cabs of MTA busses are available to “drive”, and actual ticket booths are there to pretend in. Down one level are many subway cars some dating back to the early 1900’s actually sitting on track in the decommissioned station for children and families to wander through and explore, without the concern of movement, doors closing or the hustle and bustle of the normal subway ride.
For adults there is the history of the building of the subways, bridges and tunnels alongside child friendly displays allowing you and your child to come away with new knowledge or experiences, an interactive exhibit on how the new clean energy engines work and history on the artistic aspects of the subway stations tile designs. On the afternoon my husband and I visited, there was an mosaic tile art activity available for children, which was open ended and appropriate for all ages.program and cards will arrive in about two months.
If you do not have a card and have not filled out your application, talk to me immediately! The deadline is February 12th!
I’d like to thank all the families who came out on Parent Child Sunday to spend time with your child in school. It was great to see so many families giving the children the chance to show you their classrooms. Please also try to come in as “Parent of The Day” in our three year old and UPK classes. It can be a fun, enlightening experience for parents (or grandparents) to spend time with your child in the program. Do not feel you need to come with an activity, or that you need to stay all day. Visit, meet your child’s classmates, get a sense of the curriculum, and enjoy! For Little Hands families, having parents in the room sometimes begins separation issues for your child or another who is missing their families – so although it may be fine for some children we do not have “Parent of the Day” for this age group.
Finally, we are fundraising a bit more than usual this year. Although fundraising is always an integral part of our operating budget, this year, we are working to raise funds for new playground equipment for the Tire Park. This is a bigger expense than usual. We realize in these economic times, it is difficult to ask families for large donations on top of tuition, so we are trying to keep fundraising as pocket friendly as possible and create events that are “worth” it. So the Board, with a great deal of help from Sandra Nachtmann, has begun Coffee/Tea Fridays.
Each Friday, alternating mornings (8:00 – 9:30) and afternoons (3:00 – 4:30), coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and baked goods or more will be available for sale. All are available to go if you are on the run. So bypass your morning or afternoon coffee stop and grab your cup to go at the Nursery. The sign-up sheet for donating peanut/nut free baked goods is in the Big Room. We have been talking of including dinner type items at the afternoon events – such as containers of soup or perhaps a quiche, again – things “to go”. If this sounds like something you would like – let us know. Thanks to those who have been helping out with this or supporting this effort.
Looking forward to the rest of the school year!
Happy 2010!
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