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!!
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