IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER!
INTERNATIONAL FOOD FEST DISCO DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
Saturday, March 24th 12:00pm-3:00pm in Vladeck Hall
*All you can eat buffet of delicious foods from around the world, plus sundae bar!
Adults $10.00
Children $5.00
TRYKE-A-THON - Saturday April 28th
LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE FIELD TRIP
Monday, May 7th – ALL 3’s and 4’s classes (No class for Little Hands)
SPRING BAAZAR - Sunday, May 20th
Friday, March 16, 2012
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012
THREE'S FULL DAY
Dear Full-Day Three’s Families,
Over the last three months the children have enjoyed celebrating holidays as well as the change of season.
During the month of November our class took part in several neighborhood walks. The children explored the wonderful sights and sounds of nature and together identified different leaf colors and made leaf comparisons. The children used leaves for sorting, matching, counting and creating art activities in the classroom. Some of the books shared in class during this time were: Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco, Red Leaf Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert and We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. After reading these autumn themed books the children used watercolors, eye droppers, and leaf shaped coffee filters to make beautiful fall leaves.
The holiday celebrations stirred up excitement and enjoyment among the children. Together we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah. To observe Thanksgiving we read Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and talked about the importance of giving thanks for those you love. During our discussion the children referred to being thankful for family, friends and pets. We also learned of the different foods families eat for Thanksgiving dinner including the infamous turkey. The books Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon and 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston created lots of laughter and counting fun for the children during story time. The children also enjoyed creating colorful handprint turkeys on their Thanksgiving place mats and singing Thanksgiving related songs and finger plays.
To celebrate Christmas and Hanukah we read a variety of books pertaining to the holiday season. We also baked delicious treats and sang Christmas and Hanukah songs. Some of the arts and crafts activities included finger painting, marble painting, decorating beautiful menorahs and picture frames for our families. All of these art activities allowed the children to enhance their hand eye coordination, their creativity, and fine motor skills while having fun.
During the month of December we also began a unit on Bears inspired by the children. We noticed that more and more of the children were bringing in stuffed bears and animals into the classroom to cuddle with during rest time better known as “cot time”. During this unit we read Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, Corduroys Sleepover, Bear Snores On, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Goldilocks and The Three Bears. The books Corduroy, and A Pocket for Corduroy allowed the children to develop a strong connection to literature. The relatable character and settings encouraged much conversation among the children in the classroom and in turn led to our “Bear Picnic”. The bear picnic provided the children with the opportunity to share their favorite stuffed animals with their friends during an indoor class picnic. The picnic was a success; the children were able to talk about their favorite cuddly pals while enjoying a healthy snack provided by parents. We had a great time! Thanks to all the parents for sending in your child’s favorite stuffed animal and special thanks to all the parents who sent in a healthy snack!
During the month of January we began a curriculum unit on winter. The children have been learning about the coldest season by taking a look at winter clothing, weather characteristics that occur during this season, indoor and outdoor winter activities and winter sports. Throughout this unit, the children developed an awareness of winter activities and learned to identify animals that hibernate during the winter. Some of the learning experiences the children have encountered included experiencing snow in the sensory table, sorting mittens by color and pattern, creating colorful snowflakes, making snowflake prints and acting out winter stories.
The story The Mitten written by Jan Brett has become a class favorite. The children have enjoyed reading the book over and over and have come to understand the sequence of events in the story quite well. As a literacy extension to the story we have placed the book, picture story cards and white mitten on our flannel board for the children to retell or act out the story. The children love working together to name and place each animal into the mitten. As an art extension to the story the children have created their own mittens using a paint and fold technique. They have also painted a large mitten and used this mitten to act out the story using hand held puppets.
During the month of February we covered topics such as family and friendship and shapes and color mixing. In honor of Valentine’s Day the children wrote and drew special valentines for their friends. They also practiced mixing red and white paint to create various shades of pink. They noticed how the red changed to pink as they slowly added and stirred in white paint. The children also worked on valentine hearts made from yarn and glue and cupcake cards for loved ones. We baked delicious strawberry love muffins to celebrate the holiday and love was surely in the air as the children proudly helped wrap their valentine gifts for family and friends.
The upcoming weeks are sure to be full of indoor and outdoor fun and adventure. We would like to invite parents or caretakers into our classroom to take part in our Parent of the Day program. Please feel free to share a favorite story with our class or even lead an art or cooking activity with the children. If you are interested in spending an afternoon with us, please sign your name on the calendar placed outside of our classroom. We look forward to sharing our daily activities with you. We also ask that parents sign up for our afternoon snack calendar in order to provide your children with fresh fruits and vegetables for snack.
We would also like to officially welcome two new members to our classroom: Thomas and Fetun. Both children have been a wonderful addition to our classroom community.
Sincerely,
Elaine, Meg, Nicole, and Kirsty
Dear Full-Day Three’s Families,
Over the last three months the children have enjoyed celebrating holidays as well as the change of season.
During the month of November our class took part in several neighborhood walks. The children explored the wonderful sights and sounds of nature and together identified different leaf colors and made leaf comparisons. The children used leaves for sorting, matching, counting and creating art activities in the classroom. Some of the books shared in class during this time were: Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco, Red Leaf Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert and We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. After reading these autumn themed books the children used watercolors, eye droppers, and leaf shaped coffee filters to make beautiful fall leaves.
The holiday celebrations stirred up excitement and enjoyment among the children. Together we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah. To observe Thanksgiving we read Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and talked about the importance of giving thanks for those you love. During our discussion the children referred to being thankful for family, friends and pets. We also learned of the different foods families eat for Thanksgiving dinner including the infamous turkey. The books Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon and 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston created lots of laughter and counting fun for the children during story time. The children also enjoyed creating colorful handprint turkeys on their Thanksgiving place mats and singing Thanksgiving related songs and finger plays.
To celebrate Christmas and Hanukah we read a variety of books pertaining to the holiday season. We also baked delicious treats and sang Christmas and Hanukah songs. Some of the arts and crafts activities included finger painting, marble painting, decorating beautiful menorahs and picture frames for our families. All of these art activities allowed the children to enhance their hand eye coordination, their creativity, and fine motor skills while having fun.
During the month of December we also began a unit on Bears inspired by the children. We noticed that more and more of the children were bringing in stuffed bears and animals into the classroom to cuddle with during rest time better known as “cot time”. During this unit we read Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, Corduroys Sleepover, Bear Snores On, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Goldilocks and The Three Bears. The books Corduroy, and A Pocket for Corduroy allowed the children to develop a strong connection to literature. The relatable character and settings encouraged much conversation among the children in the classroom and in turn led to our “Bear Picnic”. The bear picnic provided the children with the opportunity to share their favorite stuffed animals with their friends during an indoor class picnic. The picnic was a success; the children were able to talk about their favorite cuddly pals while enjoying a healthy snack provided by parents. We had a great time! Thanks to all the parents for sending in your child’s favorite stuffed animal and special thanks to all the parents who sent in a healthy snack!
During the month of January we began a curriculum unit on winter. The children have been learning about the coldest season by taking a look at winter clothing, weather characteristics that occur during this season, indoor and outdoor winter activities and winter sports. Throughout this unit, the children developed an awareness of winter activities and learned to identify animals that hibernate during the winter. Some of the learning experiences the children have encountered included experiencing snow in the sensory table, sorting mittens by color and pattern, creating colorful snowflakes, making snowflake prints and acting out winter stories.
The story The Mitten written by Jan Brett has become a class favorite. The children have enjoyed reading the book over and over and have come to understand the sequence of events in the story quite well. As a literacy extension to the story we have placed the book, picture story cards and white mitten on our flannel board for the children to retell or act out the story. The children love working together to name and place each animal into the mitten. As an art extension to the story the children have created their own mittens using a paint and fold technique. They have also painted a large mitten and used this mitten to act out the story using hand held puppets.
During the month of February we covered topics such as family and friendship and shapes and color mixing. In honor of Valentine’s Day the children wrote and drew special valentines for their friends. They also practiced mixing red and white paint to create various shades of pink. They noticed how the red changed to pink as they slowly added and stirred in white paint. The children also worked on valentine hearts made from yarn and glue and cupcake cards for loved ones. We baked delicious strawberry love muffins to celebrate the holiday and love was surely in the air as the children proudly helped wrap their valentine gifts for family and friends.
The upcoming weeks are sure to be full of indoor and outdoor fun and adventure. We would like to invite parents or caretakers into our classroom to take part in our Parent of the Day program. Please feel free to share a favorite story with our class or even lead an art or cooking activity with the children. If you are interested in spending an afternoon with us, please sign your name on the calendar placed outside of our classroom. We look forward to sharing our daily activities with you. We also ask that parents sign up for our afternoon snack calendar in order to provide your children with fresh fruits and vegetables for snack.
We would also like to officially welcome two new members to our classroom: Thomas and Fetun. Both children have been a wonderful addition to our classroom community.
Sincerely,
Elaine, Meg, Nicole, and Kirsty
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012
THREE'S AM
Happy winter to all! 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.
We learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children enjoyed eating potatoes latkes, cookies and fruits but most of all they enjoyed singing the songs related to each of these holidays. The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us.
The farm unit was enjoyed by all the children. Playing with the different barns was a big hit. They spent a good amount of time each day classifying farm animal families. They were very creative at the art table when decorating the animals for our bulletin board.
During the early part of January we explored a unit about dinosaurs. It was truly enjoyed by every child. Making the large eggs was a fun and messy project. Most of the children enjoyed getting their hands into the mixture of water and flour to Paper Mache a balloon. Another messy but yet fun activity was making dinosaur tracks. During these activities the children wore a foot print of a baby T-Rex under their shoe and stepped into a tray of paint. Then, as we listen to the song “We Are the Dinosaurs” by Laurie Burkner they marched on an area covered with butcher paper. This particular unit helped the children practice one to one correspondence, sorting, counting, and making patterns.
Towards the end of January we celebrated Chinese New Year. We cooked vegetable stir fry, practiced eating with chop sticks and dressed up in Kimonos. We collaged a box for the head of our dragon and had a parade around the school. Our dramatic play area had offered the children plenty of opportunities to cooperate with each other, to be creative, and most of all to be able to understand the importance of waiting for their turn. Princesses and Kings, paleontologists and doctors have all been part of our dramatic play.
At the beginning of February we started a unit about vegetables. We planted garlic in regular soil and also in sand and left some without soil. We discovered that garlic likes both sandy and fluffy soil. We also learned where carrots grow and acted out the Carrot Seed. Then, we moved on to potatoes. For the most part of March we will cook with potatoes, keep learning about vegetables and will start a unit about transportation. Then we will observe the changes that occur in spring and learn from them. We will plant potatoes and hopefully will be able to eat some in May or June.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. Since our last newsletter we have welcomed two new friends into our community of learners, Thomas and Fetun. We also have said good bye to three friends: Julie, Emmanuel and Ana Maria. We currently have fifteen children in our class. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another.
They enjoy visiting the writing table as well as 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 different child check the weather daily and tells the class what the weather is like and counts how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy or snowy we have so far for the month.
We would like to thank the parents and grandparents that have signed in to come into our classroom for our parent of the day program. The children enjoy spending time with a visitor please sign in even if you can only spend an hour or less.
We also would like to thank all the parents for your generous holiday gifts.
We are looking forward to spending a morning at the farm in the coming months.
Maria, Alma, and Nicole
Happy winter to all! 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.
We learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children enjoyed eating potatoes latkes, cookies and fruits but most of all they enjoyed singing the songs related to each of these holidays. The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us.
The farm unit was enjoyed by all the children. Playing with the different barns was a big hit. They spent a good amount of time each day classifying farm animal families. They were very creative at the art table when decorating the animals for our bulletin board.
During the early part of January we explored a unit about dinosaurs. It was truly enjoyed by every child. Making the large eggs was a fun and messy project. Most of the children enjoyed getting their hands into the mixture of water and flour to Paper Mache a balloon. Another messy but yet fun activity was making dinosaur tracks. During these activities the children wore a foot print of a baby T-Rex under their shoe and stepped into a tray of paint. Then, as we listen to the song “We Are the Dinosaurs” by Laurie Burkner they marched on an area covered with butcher paper. This particular unit helped the children practice one to one correspondence, sorting, counting, and making patterns.
Towards the end of January we celebrated Chinese New Year. We cooked vegetable stir fry, practiced eating with chop sticks and dressed up in Kimonos. We collaged a box for the head of our dragon and had a parade around the school. Our dramatic play area had offered the children plenty of opportunities to cooperate with each other, to be creative, and most of all to be able to understand the importance of waiting for their turn. Princesses and Kings, paleontologists and doctors have all been part of our dramatic play.
At the beginning of February we started a unit about vegetables. We planted garlic in regular soil and also in sand and left some without soil. We discovered that garlic likes both sandy and fluffy soil. We also learned where carrots grow and acted out the Carrot Seed. Then, we moved on to potatoes. For the most part of March we will cook with potatoes, keep learning about vegetables and will start a unit about transportation. Then we will observe the changes that occur in spring and learn from them. We will plant potatoes and hopefully will be able to eat some in May or June.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. Since our last newsletter we have welcomed two new friends into our community of learners, Thomas and Fetun. We also have said good bye to three friends: Julie, Emmanuel and Ana Maria. We currently have fifteen children in our class. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another.
They enjoy visiting the writing table as well as 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 different child check the weather daily and tells the class what the weather is like and counts how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy or snowy we have so far for the month.
We would like to thank the parents and grandparents that have signed in to come into our classroom for our parent of the day program. The children enjoy spending time with a visitor please sign in even if you can only spend an hour or less.
We also would like to thank all the parents for your generous holiday gifts.
We are looking forward to spending a morning at the farm in the coming months.
Maria, Alma, and Nicole
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012
UPK FULL DAY
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! We hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable February break, and that your children have been looking forward to coming back to school. At this point in time, we are really in the thick of our classroom routine. It is amazing how fast the school year is going by. We have a busy classroom full of busy children, which makes the time go even faster. We have so many activities in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between, that sometimes it seems as if time is flying by at top speed. Before you know it, it’s clean-up time!
We have had many experiences in the classroom and many opportunities to learn about sharing and caring. Thanksgiving afforded us the opportunity to share a special feast that we cooked ourselves. Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa provided us with the chance to make special gifts to share with our families and to cook delicious things that many of us had never tried before. We learned 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. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have studied dinosaurs for the past few weeks (taking a break for Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year in between!) and we have learned a lot. We turned out Dramatic play area into a paleontologist lab where we could study and assemble dinosaur bones. At the cooking table we made dinosaur nests that we can eat! We have examined different species of dinosaurs in depth, moving and eating like they did. But don’t worry. We promise we will not eat you.
I want to take a moment to thank all the parents who have signed up to be Parent of the Day, and those of you who came to Parent-Child Sunday. We have had a great deal of parent involvement this year, which is very gratifying to us as teachers. The collaboration between parents, students, and teachers is one of the things that make our school so special. You are always welcome in our classroom.
We will soon be working on an art unit I call “Painting Without Brushes”. We will be doing a LOT of painting, but not with brushes. Our class will brainstorm and come up with interesting and unusual thing to paint with. It will be interesting to hear their ideas! Painting with unusual items encourages creativity and the ability to “think outside the box.” Besides, it’s fun to paint with odd things. It will really get us thinking. The unit will culminate with the children collaboratively creating our own Jackson Pollack. For those who may be unfamiliar, Jackson Pollack created his works by dribbling paint all over a large canvas. This is one of the most enjoyable projects for the children. It really gives them an opportunity to let loose!
When you walk into our classroom it is plain to see how much everyone has matured since September. There are many things going on at the same time, and the children move about from one activity to another as they choose. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and we grow a little every day. When we say “we are all friends” in the classroom, we really mean it!
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! We hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable February break, and that your children have been looking forward to coming back to school. At this point in time, we are really in the thick of our classroom routine. It is amazing how fast the school year is going by. We have a busy classroom full of busy children, which makes the time go even faster. We have so many activities in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between, that sometimes it seems as if time is flying by at top speed. Before you know it, it’s clean-up time!
We have had many experiences in the classroom and many opportunities to learn about sharing and caring. Thanksgiving afforded us the opportunity to share a special feast that we cooked ourselves. Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa provided us with the chance to make special gifts to share with our families and to cook delicious things that many of us had never tried before. We learned 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. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have studied dinosaurs for the past few weeks (taking a break for Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year in between!) and we have learned a lot. We turned out Dramatic play area into a paleontologist lab where we could study and assemble dinosaur bones. At the cooking table we made dinosaur nests that we can eat! We have examined different species of dinosaurs in depth, moving and eating like they did. But don’t worry. We promise we will not eat you.
I want to take a moment to thank all the parents who have signed up to be Parent of the Day, and those of you who came to Parent-Child Sunday. We have had a great deal of parent involvement this year, which is very gratifying to us as teachers. The collaboration between parents, students, and teachers is one of the things that make our school so special. You are always welcome in our classroom.
We will soon be working on an art unit I call “Painting Without Brushes”. We will be doing a LOT of painting, but not with brushes. Our class will brainstorm and come up with interesting and unusual thing to paint with. It will be interesting to hear their ideas! Painting with unusual items encourages creativity and the ability to “think outside the box.” Besides, it’s fun to paint with odd things. It will really get us thinking. The unit will culminate with the children collaboratively creating our own Jackson Pollack. For those who may be unfamiliar, Jackson Pollack created his works by dribbling paint all over a large canvas. This is one of the most enjoyable projects for the children. It really gives them an opportunity to let loose!
When you walk into our classroom it is plain to see how much everyone has matured since September. There are many things going on at the same time, and the children move about from one activity to another as they choose. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and we grow a little every day. When we say “we are all friends” in the classroom, we really mean it!
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012
UPK - PM CLASS
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! We hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable February break, and that your children have been looking forward to coming back to school. At this point in time, we are really in the thick of our classroom routine. It is amazing how fast the school year is going by. We have a busy classroom full of busy children, which makes the time go even faster. We have so many activities in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between, that sometimes it seems as if time is flying by at top speed. Before you know it, it’s clean-up time!
We have had many experiences in the classroom and many opportunities to learn about sharing and caring. Thanksgiving afforded us the opportunity to share a special feast that we cooked ourselves. Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa provided us with the chance to make special gifts to share with our families and to cook delicious things that many of us had never tried before. We learned 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. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have studied dinosaurs for the past few weeks (taking a break for Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year in between!) and we have learned a lot. We turned out Dramatic play area into a paleontologist lab where we could study and assemble dinosaur bones. At the cooking table we made dinosaur nests that we can eat! We have examined different species of dinosaurs in depth, moving and eating like they did. But don’t worry. We promise we will not eat you.
I want to take a moment to thank all the parents who have signed up to be Parent of the Day, and those of you who came to Parent-Child Sunday. We have had a great deal of parent involvement this year, which is very gratifying to us as teachers. The collaboration between parents, students, and teachers is one of the things that make our school so special. You are always welcome in our classroom.
We will soon be working on an art unit I call “Painting Without Brushes”. We will be doing a LOT of painting, but not with brushes. Our class will brainstorm and come up with interesting and unusual thing to paint with. It will be interesting to hear their ideas! Painting with unusual items encourages creativity and the ability to “think outside the box.” Besides, it’s fun to paint with odd things. It will really get us thinking. The unit will culminate with the children collaboratively creating our own Jackson Pollack. For those who may be unfamiliar, Jackson Pollack created his works by dribbling paint all over a large canvas. This is one of the most enjoyable projects for the children. It really gives them an opportunity to let loose!
When you walk into our classroom it is plain to see how much everyone has matured since September. There are many things going on at the same time, and the children move about from one activity to another as they choose. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and we grow a little every day. When we say “we are all friends” in the classroom, we really mean it!
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! We hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable February break, and that your children have been looking forward to coming back to school. At this point in time, we are really in the thick of our classroom routine. It is amazing how fast the school year is going by. We have a busy classroom full of busy children, which makes the time go even faster. We have so many activities in school from cooking to dance to art projects and everything in between, that sometimes it seems as if time is flying by at top speed. Before you know it, it’s clean-up time!
We have had many experiences in the classroom and many opportunities to learn about sharing and caring. Thanksgiving afforded us the opportunity to share a special feast that we cooked ourselves. Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa provided us with the chance to make special gifts to share with our families and to cook delicious things that many of us had never tried before. We learned 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. It’s fun to be together, and we have all become very good friends.
We have studied dinosaurs for the past few weeks (taking a break for Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year in between!) and we have learned a lot. We turned out Dramatic play area into a paleontologist lab where we could study and assemble dinosaur bones. At the cooking table we made dinosaur nests that we can eat! We have examined different species of dinosaurs in depth, moving and eating like they did. But don’t worry. We promise we will not eat you.
I want to take a moment to thank all the parents who have signed up to be Parent of the Day, and those of you who came to Parent-Child Sunday. We have had a great deal of parent involvement this year, which is very gratifying to us as teachers. The collaboration between parents, students, and teachers is one of the things that make our school so special. You are always welcome in our classroom.
We will soon be working on an art unit I call “Painting Without Brushes”. We will be doing a LOT of painting, but not with brushes. Our class will brainstorm and come up with interesting and unusual thing to paint with. It will be interesting to hear their ideas! Painting with unusual items encourages creativity and the ability to “think outside the box.” Besides, it’s fun to paint with odd things. It will really get us thinking. The unit will culminate with the children collaboratively creating our own Jackson Pollack. For those who may be unfamiliar, Jackson Pollack created his works by dribbling paint all over a large canvas. This is one of the most enjoyable projects for the children. It really gives them an opportunity to let loose!
When you walk into our classroom it is plain to see how much everyone has matured since September. There are many things going on at the same time, and the children move about from one activity to another as they choose. There are many opportunities to explore and use our creativity. In all activities, socialization and communication are encouraged and modeled by the teachers. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and we grow a little every day. When we say “we are all friends” in the classroom, we really mean it!
Stay tuned for springtime fun!
Andrea, Alma, & Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES - MARCH 2012
DIRECTOR'S CORNER
Here we are at the very end of February already! This school year is passing by quickly with the comfortably mild winter the children have been having a great time outdoors and already noticing the tulips sprouting in our garden beds. I must say however that I’m sorry the children didn’t get to enjoy snow this year!
Thanks to all who helped with our mid-year maintenance session back in January. We will be holding another session on March 6th and hope all those who need to attend can do so.
We had a wonderful turnout for Parent Child Sunday this year. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time in your child’s space for a while and have the opportunity to experience the kinds of things they encounter during their day at school.
We have a few changes in the school since last newsletter. We welcome Fetun Shimles to the Three’s Class and welcome her and her parents Yeshimebet Teshome and Shimles Assefa to our school community. We also have a change in our teaching staff. Lucy Kallenberg has taking an extended family leave. We welcome Sharis Ingram back to the Nursery – in a different capacity. Sharis was a very involved parent in our school when her children Malachi and Kalindra were students here and we are happy to have her as an assistant teacher. Sharis knows our program and community well and understands and supports the philosophy of our school with her skills in the classrooms.
I’d also like to welcome three new babies to our school community. Chloe Mazreku was born February 2. Congratulations to the big brother Kol Mazreku and his parents Kristina and Leonard Mazreku. Lucas Spiegel was born February 13. Congratulations to big sister Mary Spiegel and her parents Robyn and Larry Spiegel. Sawyer Whiteley was born February 17. Congratulations to big sister Lily Whiteley and her parents Kristen Koesling-Whiteley and Eric Whiteley.
Many parents, grandparents and staff members have been working diligently on our annual school children’s literature quilt that will be raffled off at our spring bazaar. I have seen the squares and they are magnificent!! We have a large group of quilters this year and expect an amazing quilt. The squares are in the hands of Jean Rogers, Maria Gentilella and Kirsty Lorenzo. Each year they take on the huge job of assembling the quilt and creating a sight to behold!!
This is the time of the year when we are registering children for the next school year. We have held registration for the children within our school and are in the midst of registering new families/students from within the Co-Op. On March 10th we will begin the final phase of registration, when we open the registration to the community outside of our school and the Amalgamated and Park Reservoir Cooperatives. We will be holding an Open House at 10:30 AM on March 10. I always believe that our parents are the best advertising our school can have. New DOE funding regulations require that we fill each seat that we have been awarded in our UPK contract to secure our funding – so I hope everyone can help us make this happen. Please spread the word so that we can fill our school and continue to provide a quality educational experience for the children at reasonable tuition rates. The cooperative nature of our school has helped us provide a free half hour of UPK beyond the two and a half hours the DOE funds. It is the right thing for the children and hope we can continue to do this – but we need to fill our school to maximize our funding.
As the spring weather arrives, it is also the time of the year when the classes begin to step out into the community – with a few more field trips, the library, firehouse, coop compost area, boiler room and walks Van Cortlandt Park and through the Co-op gardens. We hope to continue to work with Friends of Van Cortlandt Park and the Urban Park
Rangers making the most of the outdoor areas this community is fortunate to have. We will let you know when these trips will occur and we welcome family members to join us.
As I have been showing prospective families around our school, several parents have noted that they are impressed by the amount of science- both indoors and outdoors that we incorporate into our curriculum. Science is an area of strength in our classroom curriculums. Whether it be connecting with nature by planting and growing some vegetables, through cooking and baking snacks, studying dinosaurs – their anatomy, size and imprints they made in the forms of fossils, mixing colors of the spectrum while painting, using materials with the light table or experimenting with “flubber” - a neat stretchy concoction made by mixing glue, water and borax – the children are involved in observing, questioning, investigating, explaining and predicting. Children in the early childhood years are not yet ready to understand or absorb abstract concepts – especially ones they cannot see, smell, touch or feel. What we do want to accomplish is to help children learn to use their senses to gain experiences and to begin to talk about what they are experiencing. We do not want them just to repeat facts, but to begin talking about experiences, begin to wonder and ask questions and use material to find out answers. We want them to become good observers; to use language to explain what they think is happening and begin to use their observations to make predictions.
So, how can you support this growth at home?
Encourage your child to wonder – just by commenting on interesting things you see that surround you every day. That may be trees, the weather, the cracks in the sidewalk, the smoke that comes from chimneys, the selection of vegetables in the grocery store, the colors made when painting.
Answer “wondering” questions in simple concrete information, telling your child about things they can see, hear or feel.
Encourage guessing – Together think about what will happen “if”. Then try it out. What would happen if we took the snowball into the house? What would happen to a plant that did not get water? What will happen to the cookie batter once we cook it?
Magnify things – young children love to see things through magnifying glasses. Even using a toilet paper tube to look through helps children focus and notice small things to talk about.
Use your ears – go for a listening walk focusing on the sounds of the neighborhood rather than just the sights. Do the same with your nose – investigate where smells are coming from. Allow your child to smell ingredients while cooking.
Start a collection: It may be fascinating pebbles, beach shells, leaves, buttons or small twigs or sticks. Talk about how they are similar or different than each other.
Most important – Talk, talk, and talk some more about what you experience or what your child wonders or guesses about and predicts. Should you not know the answers to questions – that is really OK! You can find out together, by doing so you are teaching your child to research. “I don’t know the answer to that but let’s find out together”.
Enjoy the adventure!!
Lisa
Here we are at the very end of February already! This school year is passing by quickly with the comfortably mild winter the children have been having a great time outdoors and already noticing the tulips sprouting in our garden beds. I must say however that I’m sorry the children didn’t get to enjoy snow this year!
Thanks to all who helped with our mid-year maintenance session back in January. We will be holding another session on March 6th and hope all those who need to attend can do so.
We had a wonderful turnout for Parent Child Sunday this year. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time in your child’s space for a while and have the opportunity to experience the kinds of things they encounter during their day at school.
We have a few changes in the school since last newsletter. We welcome Fetun Shimles to the Three’s Class and welcome her and her parents Yeshimebet Teshome and Shimles Assefa to our school community. We also have a change in our teaching staff. Lucy Kallenberg has taking an extended family leave. We welcome Sharis Ingram back to the Nursery – in a different capacity. Sharis was a very involved parent in our school when her children Malachi and Kalindra were students here and we are happy to have her as an assistant teacher. Sharis knows our program and community well and understands and supports the philosophy of our school with her skills in the classrooms.
I’d also like to welcome three new babies to our school community. Chloe Mazreku was born February 2. Congratulations to the big brother Kol Mazreku and his parents Kristina and Leonard Mazreku. Lucas Spiegel was born February 13. Congratulations to big sister Mary Spiegel and her parents Robyn and Larry Spiegel. Sawyer Whiteley was born February 17. Congratulations to big sister Lily Whiteley and her parents Kristen Koesling-Whiteley and Eric Whiteley.
Many parents, grandparents and staff members have been working diligently on our annual school children’s literature quilt that will be raffled off at our spring bazaar. I have seen the squares and they are magnificent!! We have a large group of quilters this year and expect an amazing quilt. The squares are in the hands of Jean Rogers, Maria Gentilella and Kirsty Lorenzo. Each year they take on the huge job of assembling the quilt and creating a sight to behold!!
This is the time of the year when we are registering children for the next school year. We have held registration for the children within our school and are in the midst of registering new families/students from within the Co-Op. On March 10th we will begin the final phase of registration, when we open the registration to the community outside of our school and the Amalgamated and Park Reservoir Cooperatives. We will be holding an Open House at 10:30 AM on March 10. I always believe that our parents are the best advertising our school can have. New DOE funding regulations require that we fill each seat that we have been awarded in our UPK contract to secure our funding – so I hope everyone can help us make this happen. Please spread the word so that we can fill our school and continue to provide a quality educational experience for the children at reasonable tuition rates. The cooperative nature of our school has helped us provide a free half hour of UPK beyond the two and a half hours the DOE funds. It is the right thing for the children and hope we can continue to do this – but we need to fill our school to maximize our funding.
As the spring weather arrives, it is also the time of the year when the classes begin to step out into the community – with a few more field trips, the library, firehouse, coop compost area, boiler room and walks Van Cortlandt Park and through the Co-op gardens. We hope to continue to work with Friends of Van Cortlandt Park and the Urban Park
Rangers making the most of the outdoor areas this community is fortunate to have. We will let you know when these trips will occur and we welcome family members to join us.
As I have been showing prospective families around our school, several parents have noted that they are impressed by the amount of science- both indoors and outdoors that we incorporate into our curriculum. Science is an area of strength in our classroom curriculums. Whether it be connecting with nature by planting and growing some vegetables, through cooking and baking snacks, studying dinosaurs – their anatomy, size and imprints they made in the forms of fossils, mixing colors of the spectrum while painting, using materials with the light table or experimenting with “flubber” - a neat stretchy concoction made by mixing glue, water and borax – the children are involved in observing, questioning, investigating, explaining and predicting. Children in the early childhood years are not yet ready to understand or absorb abstract concepts – especially ones they cannot see, smell, touch or feel. What we do want to accomplish is to help children learn to use their senses to gain experiences and to begin to talk about what they are experiencing. We do not want them just to repeat facts, but to begin talking about experiences, begin to wonder and ask questions and use material to find out answers. We want them to become good observers; to use language to explain what they think is happening and begin to use their observations to make predictions.
So, how can you support this growth at home?
Encourage your child to wonder – just by commenting on interesting things you see that surround you every day. That may be trees, the weather, the cracks in the sidewalk, the smoke that comes from chimneys, the selection of vegetables in the grocery store, the colors made when painting.
Answer “wondering” questions in simple concrete information, telling your child about things they can see, hear or feel.
Encourage guessing – Together think about what will happen “if”. Then try it out. What would happen if we took the snowball into the house? What would happen to a plant that did not get water? What will happen to the cookie batter once we cook it?
Magnify things – young children love to see things through magnifying glasses. Even using a toilet paper tube to look through helps children focus and notice small things to talk about.
Use your ears – go for a listening walk focusing on the sounds of the neighborhood rather than just the sights. Do the same with your nose – investigate where smells are coming from. Allow your child to smell ingredients while cooking.
Start a collection: It may be fascinating pebbles, beach shells, leaves, buttons or small twigs or sticks. Talk about how they are similar or different than each other.
Most important – Talk, talk, and talk some more about what you experience or what your child wonders or guesses about and predicts. Should you not know the answers to questions – that is really OK! You can find out together, by doing so you are teaching your child to research. “I don’t know the answer to that but let’s find out together”.
Enjoy the adventure!!
Lisa
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