COOL CULTURE: A How to Guide…
There is so much to choose from with your Cool Culture passes. Here are some suggestions to make your visits successful with your young child.
1. Pick a museum or institution that is very child friendly for your first few visits. Although MOMA or the Metropolitan Museum of Art offers wonderful experiences for a child, they may require a bit more restraint than a young child has. Choose a museum were touching and hands on experiences are encouraged like the Hall of Science or Children’s Museum of the Arts.
2. Pick a site that may have a theme or exhibit related to a special interest of your child. But also visit places to spark an interest - but be aware that this may or may not be as successful.
3. Go at a time when your child is rested. There are so many sights, sounds and things to do – a child needs their energy to engage and participate comfortably.
4. Don’t plan long visits! The beauty of the Cool Culture card is free admission – gone are the constraints of “getting your money’s worth” out of the visit. Depending on your child and the institution itself – that may only be 45 minutes.
5. Bring a snack or lunch and take a break. I noted that the NYC Transit Museum had tables where families could stop grab a bite (brought from home) and return to the exhibits for more. You can do this especially at the outdoor programs like Wave Hill or the Botanical Gardens. Often special picnicking areas are available.
6. If you have visited the site before make up a scavenger hunt or eye spy game to help children focus attention. (You will even be able to include these in our binder so that other families can use your ideas for their children!)
7. Bring a sketch pad for older preschool children – they may want to draw what they see.
8. If for some reason the visit was unsuccessful – please don’t give up – try another site or return on another day.
9. You should be receiving E-Family Times – a newsletter to keep you updated about events, by email if you provided an email on your application. If you do not, visit www.coolculture.org to sign up. The Cool Culture website has wonderful information – browse a bit.
10. Visit each program’s web site for information before you go. Get a sense of the place, travel information, special exhibits, etc. Please note Cool Culture is for free general admission. Although some special exhibits or activities may be free, others may have additional charges. You may want to call ahead to find out.
If you have visited a site, please fill out one of our Cool Culture Forms and put it in the guidebook we are compiling in the Big Room. Or if someone has been there before you, sign in on the page – so families can contact each other about their experiences. Blank forms are in the Cool Culture Guidebook in the Big Room.
Also, please bring back a brochure from your visit and place it in the guidebook. Feel free to post photo of you and your child at the site on our Cool Culture bulletin board!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN
JANUARY & FEBRUARY COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN
On Fridays we are selling coffee, tea, hot chocolate and baked goods in the kitchen.
Jan 8, 22, Feb 5, 26 8:00am-9:30am
Jan 15, 29, Feb 12 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Please be sure to stop in and support our newest fundraiser. Also, feel free to sign up to donate
nut free/peanut free baked goods . Sign up sheets are in the big room.
Coffee/tea/hot chocolate $1.00
Baked goods $1.00
In a hurry? Bring your travel mug and take your coffee to go!
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Little Hands 3 - Finger painting and Muffins!
The winter months have been fantastic!!!! The children have grown and explored within the classroom as well as outside. We took walks through the community, played in the snow, and made snow angels. Thanks to my husband who works for the Department of Sanitation, the children were able to see up close and personal how a garbage truck "eats the garbage". Some were very quick to notice that it has two steering wheels as they sat inside to take a picture.
With the snow upon us, the children created a winter wonderland mural in our classroom, as well as played with "snow" (kosher salt) in our water table. During our walk to play in the snow the first day some waddled their way out, struggling to stay on their feet. We had so much fun and much laughter.
The children are enjoying much more the "messier" art activities. Finger painting is by far their most exciting activity of the day. Often times the children will use their fingers at the easel rather than the paint brush. The texture between their tiny fingers is stimulating and fascinating to them they can't wait to get their hands dirty.
Of course, we can't forget to mention snack time, the most enjoyable part of the day! By far we could never seem to make enough banana muffins. Yummy! Following is the recipe to make Banana muffins at home. Enjoy.
Banana Muffins
3 Cups of Flour
1 Cup brown sugar
2-4 Ripe Bananas
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
Mix all together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
We would also like to welcome some new classmates: Amanda Vasquez, Valentina Perez-Merio, and Gabriel Martinez. We all welcome you to our Little Hands III class!
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
The winter months have been fantastic!!!! The children have grown and explored within the classroom as well as outside. We took walks through the community, played in the snow, and made snow angels. Thanks to my husband who works for the Department of Sanitation, the children were able to see up close and personal how a garbage truck "eats the garbage". Some were very quick to notice that it has two steering wheels as they sat inside to take a picture.
With the snow upon us, the children created a winter wonderland mural in our classroom, as well as played with "snow" (kosher salt) in our water table. During our walk to play in the snow the first day some waddled their way out, struggling to stay on their feet. We had so much fun and much laughter.
The children are enjoying much more the "messier" art activities. Finger painting is by far their most exciting activity of the day. Often times the children will use their fingers at the easel rather than the paint brush. The texture between their tiny fingers is stimulating and fascinating to them they can't wait to get their hands dirty.
Of course, we can't forget to mention snack time, the most enjoyable part of the day! By far we could never seem to make enough banana muffins. Yummy! Following is the recipe to make Banana muffins at home. Enjoy.
Banana Muffins
3 Cups of Flour
1 Cup brown sugar
2-4 Ripe Bananas
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
Mix all together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
We would also like to welcome some new classmates: Amanda Vasquez, Valentina Perez-Merio, and Gabriel Martinez. We all welcome you to our Little Hands III class!
Luz, Jean, and Lynn
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Little Hands 2 - Books, Snacks, and Sand!
The Little Hands 2 class began as a small group of 4 children and has recently grown to a bustling group of 10. In December we welcomed Zoe and Dylan and now in January, Gabriel, Ava, Mary and Paz have joined the class. With our growing numbers we also welcome another teacher, Meg O’Connor to our group.
Back in October, our original group of students began their first school experience. It may only be for a short time each week, but the children became accustomed to saying goodbye to their loved ones for the short time and to stretch out into a community that is beyond their family and is “theirs” alone.
They have learned routines, have refined their self help skills and have established the beginnings of classroom community. Through the activities provided, they are developing language, expressing themselves both verbally and through the arts. They are learning to hear another person’s opinion, to take some risks and try new things, to move beyond their egocentric selves and join in their first small way, society.
For our newer families, let me tell you about the routine of our mornings. For the first hour in school, we have “work time”. The children are free to move about and select the activities they wish to work at, be it the easel, an art activity, puzzles, blocks building, writing/drawing, home life area, texture table or play dough. Their interests guide them and children begin to see that their decisions have value. For this group of children dramatic play with “dress-up” is very popular, as are collage type art activities. Following “work time” we have an organized clean-up where all children participate in the clean-up and care of their classroom which is a community building activity. Children feel a sense of care and responsibility for their classroom and the materials it contains.
Following “clean-up” we wash hands and have snack. The children sit down together comfortably and have a bite to eat and a bit of conversation, before moving on to circle where we sing our sock song and a few other favorites before our daily story.
Two favorite story time books have been:
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin
A Hat for Minerva Louise
Following story, the children get dressed for outdoors and we head out to the Tire Park for some very important big muscle building through climbing, running and jumping. This group is also very fond of using the sand toys in the park.
We do go out in the snow, so please be sure your child has snow gear (snow pants, boots, mittens and a hat) if there is snow on the ground.
As the year continues we may move into some thematic units of “study”. Last year my Little Hands class did a study of rooms in a home. We studied the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, changing our dramatic play area into these rooms and enjoying some stories, music and art related to these rooms. It was great fun and we will probably test the children’s interests with this. If it sparks interest we will give it a go!
Looking forward to more fun times to come!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
The Little Hands 2 class began as a small group of 4 children and has recently grown to a bustling group of 10. In December we welcomed Zoe and Dylan and now in January, Gabriel, Ava, Mary and Paz have joined the class. With our growing numbers we also welcome another teacher, Meg O’Connor to our group.
Back in October, our original group of students began their first school experience. It may only be for a short time each week, but the children became accustomed to saying goodbye to their loved ones for the short time and to stretch out into a community that is beyond their family and is “theirs” alone.
They have learned routines, have refined their self help skills and have established the beginnings of classroom community. Through the activities provided, they are developing language, expressing themselves both verbally and through the arts. They are learning to hear another person’s opinion, to take some risks and try new things, to move beyond their egocentric selves and join in their first small way, society.
For our newer families, let me tell you about the routine of our mornings. For the first hour in school, we have “work time”. The children are free to move about and select the activities they wish to work at, be it the easel, an art activity, puzzles, blocks building, writing/drawing, home life area, texture table or play dough. Their interests guide them and children begin to see that their decisions have value. For this group of children dramatic play with “dress-up” is very popular, as are collage type art activities. Following “work time” we have an organized clean-up where all children participate in the clean-up and care of their classroom which is a community building activity. Children feel a sense of care and responsibility for their classroom and the materials it contains.
Following “clean-up” we wash hands and have snack. The children sit down together comfortably and have a bite to eat and a bit of conversation, before moving on to circle where we sing our sock song and a few other favorites before our daily story.
Two favorite story time books have been:
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin
A Hat for Minerva Louise
Following story, the children get dressed for outdoors and we head out to the Tire Park for some very important big muscle building through climbing, running and jumping. This group is also very fond of using the sand toys in the park.
We do go out in the snow, so please be sure your child has snow gear (snow pants, boots, mittens and a hat) if there is snow on the ground.
As the year continues we may move into some thematic units of “study”. Last year my Little Hands class did a study of rooms in a home. We studied the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, changing our dramatic play area into these rooms and enjoying some stories, music and art related to these rooms. It was great fun and we will probably test the children’s interests with this. If it sparks interest we will give it a go!
Looking forward to more fun times to come!
Lisa, Jean, and Meg
BARNES & NOBLE FUNDRAISER
Money, Money, Money!
Did you know that the Amalgamated Nursery School raised more than $800 at the Barnes and Noble book fair?
That’s right, more than $800!
During the weekend of November 20th – 22nd, Amalgamated Nursery School held a book fair at the Barnes and Noble on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York. During those three days, any time a customer mentioned the name of our school during their check out, Barnes and Noble donated a portion of their profit to our school! Even people who purchased items at other Barnes and Noble stores or over the telephone simply had to mention the name of our school to participate in our fundraiser.
We thank all of you who made purchases during this weekend, those of you who asked others to mention our school at the check out, and those of you who were able to participate in the read-aloud and art activities on that Saturday.
We have already signed up to hold another such fundraiser at the same time and place next fall!
We hope to see you there!
Did you know that the Amalgamated Nursery School raised more than $800 at the Barnes and Noble book fair?
That’s right, more than $800!
During the weekend of November 20th – 22nd, Amalgamated Nursery School held a book fair at the Barnes and Noble on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York. During those three days, any time a customer mentioned the name of our school during their check out, Barnes and Noble donated a portion of their profit to our school! Even people who purchased items at other Barnes and Noble stores or over the telephone simply had to mention the name of our school to participate in our fundraiser.
We thank all of you who made purchases during this weekend, those of you who asked others to mention our school at the check out, and those of you who were able to participate in the read-aloud and art activities on that Saturday.
We have already signed up to hold another such fundraiser at the same time and place next fall!
We hope to see you there!
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
3's PM - Shapes and Stories!
In the afternoon our focus has been shapes. We got really good at identifying shapes all around us. We started this unit by making our chef’s hat to be used in housekeeping and every time we cook. We made sugar cookies and used basic shapes to cut them out. They made pretend cookies with play dough as well as at the art table. Children collaged, stamped, and painted different shapes. Mouse Shapes became one of their favorite books. We made boats using rectangular soap and a triangle for the sail and acted out the story Who Sank the Boat? These were some of the books we read: City Shapes, Shape Capers, Mr. Cookie Baker, and Round Like a Ball among others.
We are in the process of putting together our own shape book which will be circulating soon. During the frigid temperatures we read A Snowy Day and brought some snow into the classroom and made a chart with our predictions. Some children thought that it would be a good idea to place the snow ball in the refrigerator to keep it from melting. Others suggested placing it in water while some thought we should place it in the freezer. We also kept track of the changes we noticed among the snowballs.
In January we are in the process of culminating our shape unit and start a new one on bears. Children will learn where they live, what they like to eat and about hibernation. We are very excited about this unit because there are plenty of books to read and activities to do including cooking bear snacks, singing and eventually sharing a teddy bear from home.
We hope many of you come and visit as parent of the day and see how your child spend the day with their friends at school.
Maria, Jan, and Yasmin
In the afternoon our focus has been shapes. We got really good at identifying shapes all around us. We started this unit by making our chef’s hat to be used in housekeeping and every time we cook. We made sugar cookies and used basic shapes to cut them out. They made pretend cookies with play dough as well as at the art table. Children collaged, stamped, and painted different shapes. Mouse Shapes became one of their favorite books. We made boats using rectangular soap and a triangle for the sail and acted out the story Who Sank the Boat? These were some of the books we read: City Shapes, Shape Capers, Mr. Cookie Baker, and Round Like a Ball among others.
We are in the process of putting together our own shape book which will be circulating soon. During the frigid temperatures we read A Snowy Day and brought some snow into the classroom and made a chart with our predictions. Some children thought that it would be a good idea to place the snow ball in the refrigerator to keep it from melting. Others suggested placing it in water while some thought we should place it in the freezer. We also kept track of the changes we noticed among the snowballs.
In January we are in the process of culminating our shape unit and start a new one on bears. Children will learn where they live, what they like to eat and about hibernation. We are very excited about this unit because there are plenty of books to read and activities to do including cooking bear snacks, singing and eventually sharing a teddy bear from home.
We hope many of you come and visit as parent of the day and see how your child spend the day with their friends at school.
Maria, Jan, and Yasmin
NURSERY RHYMES NEWSLETTER - FEB 2010
Room 2 - 3's AM - Many Celebrations!
Happy New Year and Happy Winter! Welcome back to a new year in Room Two. The children enjoyed the fall season. We watched as the leaves turned beautiful shades of red, yellow, and gold and then fell from the trees. Our class tree followed the same pattern. Apples were replaced by beautiful leaves the children painted with water color which have since fallen and sent home.
During the fall we learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving. We also learned how other people celebrate the holiday season. We learned about Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children especially enjoyed singing the songs related to these holidays.
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. Each child glued their family pictures to make a collage and they are on display in our classroom. We looked at pictures of real turkeys, sang turkey songs and had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. At the art table each child made his/her own turkey.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall. Also in November we welcomed our new friend Darius into our class.The farm unit was enjoyed by everyone. Children had the opportunity to see and try to milk a cow (squeezing a disposable glove field with milk) as we learned where milk comes from. During our holiday vacation when planning for months ahead we felt that it would be better to continue this unit during spring when we could visit the farm animals at Stew Leonard’s and hatch our own chicks. The children acted out the story Mrs. Wishy Washy. It was a great opportunity to put into practice waiting for a turn to be the main character or one of the animals in the story. Everyone enjoyed it saying the lines and washing the animals. They enjoyed the books: Farmer Will, Big Red Barn, When the Rooster Crowed, The Grumpy Morning, My Barn, and many more.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and visited Minia’s class for our annual holiday celebration. Our contribution for the party was thumb print cookies. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We gave the potatoes latkes a twist by making them with Yucca root instead, they were crispy and delicious.
In January have been exploring the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration are being discussed. A book that got us started was When It Starts to Snow. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle and the Tree Snow Bears by Jan Brett. We also talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.January will end with a unit about our senses where our children will have an opportunity to explore food with different tastes, make art with different texture and become more aware of the many sounds that surround us every day. Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun activity in housekeeping. This year it falls on February 14th. We will have a busy start during this month since Valentine’s Day is loved by everyone. Just a reminder, there is no candy allowed - only cards. We will get a unit on transportation starting in the beginning of February.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table. Some are starting to write their names and almost everyone can recognize them as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we have had so far in the month.
Everyone is enjoying school-time dance with Mary. It has been changed to Wednesdays, so please try to send your child with comfortable clothing on that day. Also, there has been a change in our cooking day. We are cooking on Thursdays in the morning and Tuesdays in the afternoon.
The parent of the day program will start soon, please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. There will be a schedule for you to sign in and a note will be sent home letting you know when it is going to start. We miss having Vicki in our classroom. The children really enjoyed her presence. Thank you, Vicky, for volunteering your time. We look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to welcome our new friend who joined our afternoon class in January. His name is Gabriel and his sister, Sofia, attends Minia’s pre-k class.
We hope you had a good holiday season and wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Maria, Alma, Jean, Nicole, and Jan
Happy New Year and Happy Winter! Welcome back to a new year in Room Two. The children enjoyed the fall season. We watched as the leaves turned beautiful shades of red, yellow, and gold and then fell from the trees. Our class tree followed the same pattern. Apples were replaced by beautiful leaves the children painted with water color which have since fallen and sent home.
During the fall we learned about pumpkins, life on a farm, and celebrated Thanksgiving. We also learned how other people celebrate the holiday season. We learned about Hanukkah, the First Day of Winter, Christmas, and Kwanza. The children especially enjoyed singing the songs related to these holidays.
We started our preparations for Thanksgiving by reading books about families. We learned that families come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. Each child glued their family pictures to make a collage and they are on display in our classroom. We looked at pictures of real turkeys, sang turkey songs and had our own Thanksgiving feast. Our menu consisted of pumpkin corn bread, corn on the cob, and cranberry orange relish. At the art table each child made his/her own turkey.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving was demonstrated when we brought the cans of food you donated to the collection center in Vladeck Hall. Also in November we welcomed our new friend Darius into our class.The farm unit was enjoyed by everyone. Children had the opportunity to see and try to milk a cow (squeezing a disposable glove field with milk) as we learned where milk comes from. During our holiday vacation when planning for months ahead we felt that it would be better to continue this unit during spring when we could visit the farm animals at Stew Leonard’s and hatch our own chicks. The children acted out the story Mrs. Wishy Washy. It was a great opportunity to put into practice waiting for a turn to be the main character or one of the animals in the story. Everyone enjoyed it saying the lines and washing the animals. They enjoyed the books: Farmer Will, Big Red Barn, When the Rooster Crowed, The Grumpy Morning, My Barn, and many more.
The holiday season was a very exciting time for all of us. We sang songs for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and visited Minia’s class for our annual holiday celebration. Our contribution for the party was thumb print cookies. The children were very proud of the holiday gifts they made for their families. We hope you will enjoy it for years to come. We gave the potatoes latkes a twist by making them with Yucca root instead, they were crispy and delicious.
In January have been exploring the winter season. Included are the environmental changes that take place, freezing, melting, and how animals adapt. Hibernation and migration are being discussed. A book that got us started was When It Starts to Snow. We will be reenacting the story The Mitten by Alvin Tresstle and the Tree Snow Bears by Jan Brett. We also talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.January will end with a unit about our senses where our children will have an opportunity to explore food with different tastes, make art with different texture and become more aware of the many sounds that surround us every day. Celebrating Chinese New Year is a fun activity in housekeeping. This year it falls on February 14th. We will have a busy start during this month since Valentine’s Day is loved by everyone. Just a reminder, there is no candy allowed - only cards. We will get a unit on transportation starting in the beginning of February.
The children have formed friendships and are getting along very well. They are starting to use language to express their feelings with one another. They enjoy coming to the writing table and the art table. Some are starting to write their names and almost everyone can recognize them as well. The weather chart is a very popular activity during circle time. A few children participate daily to check the weather, tell the class what the weather is like and count how many sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, or snowy days we have had so far in the month.
Everyone is enjoying school-time dance with Mary. It has been changed to Wednesdays, so please try to send your child with comfortable clothing on that day. Also, there has been a change in our cooking day. We are cooking on Thursdays in the morning and Tuesdays in the afternoon.
The parent of the day program will start soon, please try to find a day (or even an hour) to spend with us in our classroom. The children enjoy having their parents visiting the classroom. There will be a schedule for you to sign in and a note will be sent home letting you know when it is going to start. We miss having Vicki in our classroom. The children really enjoyed her presence. Thank you, Vicky, for volunteering your time. We look forward to having you back in our classroom soon.
We would like to welcome our new friend who joined our afternoon class in January. His name is Gabriel and his sister, Sofia, attends Minia’s pre-k class.
We hope you had a good holiday season and wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Maria, Alma, Jean, Nicole, and Jan
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