Newsletters to parents of Baby's First Step students
Director’s Notes/Baby’s First Step
Calendar of Important Events
May 1 Silly Hat Day
May 10 Crazy Hair Day
May 15 Wear Your PJ’s Day
May 25 Wear a Shirt with your Favorite Animal
May 28 No School/Memorial Day
May 29 Red/White/Blue Day
Some highlights this month include:
Registration Packets- Thanks to all of the parents who have returned their registration
packets with their $100. registration fee for the school year 2012-2013. All packets are due back by 4/27/12. Please be advised that this does not apply to any child initially enrolled after 1/1/12. Please see Patti with any questions.
Sunscreen Policy- Please remember to apply sunscreen to your child (6 months and older) in the morning before arriving at school. In order for us to re-apply in the afternoon, please sign and return the permission slip along with a bottle of sunscreen (SPF 30 or above).
Outside Play- With the nice spring weather here, it is more important than ever to dress your child appropriately including shoes that are safe for playground play.
Parenting Series- Look for the next edition in our parenting series due out shortly that will focus on discipline. Back issues on topics such as positive attitudes towards food,
sleep issues, and potty training are always available. Please place suggestions for topics you would like to see us focus on, in the Suggestion Box in the front foyer.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
MISS STACEY’S CLASS
April didn’t bring to many showers but it did bring lots of warm weather to get outside and play! We enjoyed all our baby animal projects and our week with Eric Carle and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Our “Create your own shirt day” was so much fun we are ready for spring with our new t-shirts that display lady bugs, dragon flies, and butterflies. We had a very special ending to our month William turns 2 and Ava is now a big sister!! Congratulations to you both!!!
May will be full of flowers and bugs, and we will remember how special our moms and troops are! The following are our monthly colors, signs, shape, theme, and sensory activities!
Colors of the month- Orange and Purple
Signs of the month- bug, mom, hat, thank you
Shape of the month-star
Themes- All about bugs, I love mom, Humpty Dumpty, and “We remember our troops”
Sensory activities- Instruments, leaves, grass, sand, eggs, water, rice, carrots, felt, yarn, oj
Our special days for May will be:
May 1st- Sillly hat day
May 10th- Crazy hair day
May 15th Pj day
May 25th-Wear a shirt with your favorite animal on
May 29th Red, white and blue day
We look forward to all the fun activities we have planned. We also have another birthday in May; Ava turns 2 we can’t wait to also celebrate with her. Have a great month!!
Love Miss Stacy
PAST NEWSLETTERS:
Director’s Notes/Baby’s First Step
April 2012
Calendar of Important Dates
April 2012
April 3 Wear Spring Pastels
April 6 School Closed/Good Friday
April11 Inside/Out Day
April 17 Design your own T-Shirt
April 26 Favorite Sports Teams
Spring has sprung and with it lots of opportunities for outdoor play and exploration. Be sure to always dress your child for outdoor activities including safe shoes. It is usually a
good idea to dress your child in layers as the temperature fluctuations can be quite dramatic this time of year. Thanks to all of the parents who supported our “Cards for a
Cause” fundraiser. We should see some new things on the playground thanks to their generosity.
Some highlights and reminders this month include:
Parenting Series- Be sure to pick up the latest edition in our parenting series called “The Poop on Potty Training”. This beneficial series gives advice on a myriad of child development topics. If you are looking for information on a certain topic, please place a suggestion in the “Suggestion Box” located in the foyer of the school.
Shot Records-Please submit an updated shot record each time your child receives
a vaccination. This will ensure that our records are always up to date.
Registration Packets- School year 2012-13 registration packets will be going out shortly to everyone who responded that they are returning next fall on our recent survey.
If you did not receive a registration packet and plan on returning, please see Miss Patti.
Be sure to promptly return the completed packets to assure your placement for next year.
Any questions, please see Miss Patti.
Weekly E-Mail Blasts- E-mails reminders will be sent out weekly to all parents who furnished an e-mail address. If you are not receiving them and wish to, please confirm your e-mail address with Miss Patti. If you wish to be taken off the list, please advise as well.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
BABY ROOM
Happy Spring!!
March was a busy month in the Caterpillar Room. We said goodbye to friends
Adam , Ava C, Ava G. and Katie as they moved up. We also welcomed new
friends Alaina, Andrea and Megan to our room.
Our themes this month include Easter and Passover, April showers, the color yellow
and the Earth. We look forward to a month of art projects and sensory play as we
explore our themes.
As the weather improves, we hope to spend some time outside. Please send in shoes, weather appropriate jackets and a hat if you wish your child to wear one.
Thank you,
Miss Liz , Miss Tish and Miss Alli
INFANTS
Greetings from the infant room. Its starting to get nicer and nicer out. We are really trying to get them out every day for a bit because we all could use the fresh air!
April is bringing many changes. Many of our friends will be moving up and we will be welcoming new ones. Please make sure to send them in weather appropriate clothing and switch out the clothes under their crib for new ones. Well that's all for now.
Happy Spring!
Love,
Miss Amanda, Miss Kristen, Miss Clara
BUSY BEES
Wow! Where did March go? In like a lion and out like a lamb! March was a great month. We enjoyed our lions, lambs, rainbows, and shamrocks! We had fun with our sensory activities that included Mardi Gras beads, green Jell-O, limes, green water, and green cupcakes. We celebrated Dr.Seuss’ birthday with “Red Fish Blue Gish One Fish Two Fish”, “Green eggs and ham”, “The Foot Book”, and Horten Hears a Who”. We did projects like Red fish, blue fish, blue feet, a plate of green eggs and ham and a Dr. Seuss Hat. We also enjoyed windy weather and learning the shape diamond as we made some fun kite projects. It was nice to get outside this month and enjoy the nice weather; we hope to continue to do more outside activities.
April sure looks like a “hopping” good time as we prepare for our Easter egg hunt and week of Easter activities such as cotton ball bunnies, peek-a-boo chicks, making Easter baskets and even dyeing Easter eggs. It’s also time to get ready for the arrival of our spring babies, like the baby chicks, baby pigs, baby birds and baby bunnies. We will be celebrating their arrival by making nests and warm beds for them.
Our third week will be a blast as we explore the world of Eric Carle in “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. We will be taking a journey with the caterpillar and trying lots of new foods just like the caterpillar did. By the end of the week we will see how pretty the caterpillar looks as a butterfly.
We can’t forget all those April showers; we will try to stay dry with the ducks as we make some umbrellas. Our sensory actives for this month will include marshmallow peeps, Easter grass, hardboiled eggs, plastic eggs, blue confetti, blueberries, hay, and even “RAIN”! A few books we will read this month will be, ‘Dandelion Adventures,’ ‘It’s Spring,’ ‘My Spring Robin,’ ‘Spring is here,’ and ‘The seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree.’
This month will be great to experience new things outdoors, and learning at the same time, enjoy the nice weather and have a great month!
“Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments not the composer” -Geoffrey B. Charlesworth
Our Fun days in April will be:
-April 3rd wear your spring pastels
-April 11th Inside Out Day
-April 15th Design your own shirt day (Please bring in a white t-shirt)
-April 26th wear your favorite sports team shirt
Love Miss Stacy
ONE YEAR OLDS
Greetings Parents!
As March and its wintry weather comes to an end, our Bouncing Butterflies will be happy to embrace the liveliness of spring! Hopping into the blooming season, our class will first begin by exploring the fun and cheeriness of Easter. From decorating eggs to our very own Easter egg hunt, April is sure to please our little ones with many surprises.
We will continue to investigate colors as we move along to what is yellow and blue? From these noted colors we will explore the outside and the changes in weather. Beginning with the heat and golden rays of the sun in contrast with April's infamous showers, our Butterflies will explore the quirkiness of good ol’ Mother Nature. Along with the sun and the rain, springtime animals will be highlighted this month (i.e. ducks, rabbits, frogs, and caterpillars). We will discover how these particular animals move, feel, look, how they 'talk' and what they eat. As we gather all of these thematic elements, we will then highlight them within Circle Time and in our artwork.
Examples of new books include, 'The Tiny Seed' by Eric Carle and Anne Rockwell's 'My Spring Robin.' Some of our art projects include creating Paper Mache eggs and umbrella inspired mobiles. As we bounce along to Mother Goose's rhyme, 'March winds and April showers, bring forth May flowers,' our Butterflies will be encouraged to get creative and smile. Let's have fun!
Sincerely, Miss Ashley & Miss Amanda
March 2012
Director’s Notes
Calendar of Important Dates:
March 2 - Wear Red & White for Dr. Seuss’ Birthday.
March 6 - Ice Cream Social
March 17 - The wearing of the green for St. Patrick’s Day.
March 20 - Bring your favorite “Spring” stuffed animal in.
March 28 - Bring in your favorite book.
Spring will be arriving mid month and with it many more opportunities to get our
little friends outside to enjoy the fresh air. Remember to always dress your child in
clothing and shoes with this in mind. Be sure to send in hats and gloves as it can still be
chilly especially earlier in the day.
Some highlights and reminders this month include:
Fundraiser - Help support our school wide fundraiser, Cards for a Cause. Handmade cards for all occasions at a cost greatly reduced from card stores, benefiting our playground. Please see samples displayed in our lobby.
Shot Records-As your child receives scheduled vaccinations, please be sure to send
in any documentation so we can keep our records up to date.
Parenting Series- Be sure to pick up Part 2 of our parenting series in the lobby. This
helpful series addresses issues challenging new parents. Next month we will be focusing on potty training.
New Staff-As Baby’s First Step continues to grow, we are adding new staff members to the First Step family. Please help us welcome two of these new staff members, Miss Terri and Miss Amanda, who will be splitting their time between the younger and older toddler rooms.
Suggestion Box- Coming Soon… Please place any suggestions you might have that might make things run smoother for you in the box located in the lobby. Each suggestion will be individually addressed.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
BUSY BEES
Our month of hearts and the colors pink and red is coming to an end. We had a great time learning the shape heart and decorating them. Our groundhogs saw their shadows so I guess a longer winter we have in store. We got some great additions to our room this month including a kitchen, BBQ grill, tool bench, and even a Dora doll house. We are having a great time enjoying all our new toys. This month we really worked hard on singing our ABC’s so keep your ears open and you may just hear them!!! Thank you so much for all the donations for our Valentine’s Day party, we had a blast and enjoyed all our fun snacks! We also enjoyed handing out our valentines to all our friend’s. Thanks for all the support in helping our class enjoy Valentine’s Day 2012.
March will come in like a lion as we prepare for many fun lion, shamrock, rainbow, pot of gold, kite and go out like a lamb projects. Our sensory will include green Jell-O, limes, green items, Mardi Gras beads, and even coffee filters. The signs we will be working on this month will be windy, cloudy, lion, lamb and our shape of the month will be diamond. You can reinforce this at home by pointing out things at home with that shape like a kite! We will be learning the colors green and yellow this month’s so keep encouraging color recognition at home!!
We could use a few recycled items this month for a few projects; if you have any of these items your donations would be appreciated! Thank you.
-Large buttons
-Coffee Filters (Round ones)
-Left over streamers
-Material Squares
-Paper towel rolls
Sound like we will have a very fun, yet productive month!!!!
Love Miss Stacy
CRAWLING CATERPILLARS
Happy March!
It has been a busy month with the Crawling Caterpillars and March looks
to be just as busy!!
This month we’ll celebrate Dr Seuss’ Birthday and St Patrick’s Day. Other themes this month include the color green, bread and Spring.
As always, we continue to ask parents to label all dishes, utensils and bottles
that come into school to avoid confusion and/or being sent home with the wrong child.
Miss Liz
Miss Tish
Miss Alli
ONE YEAR OLDS
Greetings Parents!
As we welcome the breezy month of March, our Bouncing Butterflies will continue to explore the seasonal joys and excitement of the spring season. We will begin by introducing the theme of what is green and yellow? From frogs to flowers, limes and lemons, to the sun and the grass - our toddlers will be busy discovering new, colorful and sensory delights as our season prepares to bloom.
As we move along into mid-March, our class will celebrate the luck o' the Irish on St. Patty's Day. We will explore the beauty of rainbows and shamrocks within our art projects. Also, our circle time will be brightened with new books like Dr.Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham and The Foot Book, to encourage this month's theme, as well as new rhymes and songs like 'Row Your Boat' and 'Ring Around the Rosie's.'
In addition, with more toys and learning resources in the classroom, our Butterflies will continue to flutter and flap their wings into broader horizons.
Sincerely, Miss Ashley & Miss Amanda
February 2012
Director’s Notes/Baby’s First Step
Calendar of Important Dates:
February 2 Wear Red
February 7 Miss-match Day
February 14 Valentine’s Day Parties/Card exchanges
February 20 School closed/President Weekend
February 22 Red/White/Blue Day in honor of our Presidents
February 29 Backwards Day
Welcome to February. Despite the mild winter we have been having, we here at
Baby’s First Step are still hoping that our friend the groundhog, doesn’t see his shadow
so we can have an early spring.
Some highlights and reminders this month include:
Parenting Series:
Part 2 of our helpful hints parenting series is available now in the front lobby. This month we address common sleep problems and mistakes and myths in addressing them. We also offer many helpful hints in getting your little ones to sleep through the night.
Valentines Day:
Teachers will be individually posting information on how they will be celebrating Valentines Day with their classes. Look for letters to go home or postings on the doors of the classrooms.
Progress Reports:
A progress report for each student was recently sent home.
If you did not receive one, please advise the teacher. These reports are simply a guide into the growth and development of your child. Keep in mind that every child develops at his/her own pace.
Winter Weather:
Winter weather alerts regarding delayed openings and closings can be found on our website
or by checking our answering machine for related messages.
BFS Art Gallery:
Stop by and visit the art your children have created in our Art Gallery located in the hallway
leading to the infant room across from the car seat parking lot. New creations are being displayed
weekly, so be sure to stop by.
Staffing Changes:
Please join us in welcoming the following new staff members to our school, Miss Ashley, Miss
Sarah and Miss Kristen. We feel they will be very valued additions to our school.
Tissue Donations:
As always, tissue donations are welcomed and appreciated.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
LITTLE LAMBS
Greetings from the infant room and a Happy New year! The babies are really growing up fast and learning more and more each day. We will be welcoming more friends this month. We all enjoy story time and spending time at the table playing. Well that’s all for now!
Miss Amanda and Miss Clara
CRAWLING CATERPILLARS
Happy February! Can you believe we are already 2 months into the New Year?! January was a busy month! We welcomed new friends Lucas, Sofia and Miss Tish to our class. We also celebrated Ava C.'s first birthday.
February promises to be just as busy. We'll be celebrating both Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day, and four friends- Adam, Ava C., Kaitlyn and Liam- will all turn one this month! Our themes will include the woodland animals, Valentine's Day and the color red.
As always, we continue to ask that all bottles, cups, bowls and spoons be clearly labels to prevent items being misplaced or sent home with the wrong child.
Miss Liz
Miss Tish
Miss Alli
BOUNCING BUTTERFLIES
As we continue into the new year, feeling the wintery air of February, our Bouncing Butterflies will sure to be busy exploring all that makes this heart- filled month 'beat.' We will begin by introducing the theme of what is red and what is pink? From hearts, to cherries, to pigs, and cotton candy, our toddlers will have fun investigating the beauty and excitement of color. Also, as Valentine's Day approaches, we will be introducing more signs for you and your toddlers to learn and love with. (i.e. happy, 'I love you,' hugs, gentle.) Circle time will be filled with fun, silly rhymes such as Little Miss Muffet, O Susanna, as well as, new books If I Had a Red Dragon, The Giving Tree, and The Snowy Day. As we celebrate President's Day this month, our toddlers will be encouraged in more dramatic play. Complete with wigs, top hats, and Abe Lincoln inspired beards, our art projects will serve to smile. Other projects include creating personal Valentines, a class collage, fun with paint, and an art book for each toddler's stack of creations. With lots to enjoy and learn this month, let us encourage our toddler's imaginations to run wild.
Miss Ashley & Miss Melissa
BUSY BEES
February looks like tons of fun we will be making lots of heart projects and even doing a few projects with President Lincoln and Mr. Groundhog. Who thinks more winter or early spring???? We will be working on our colors red and pink; hopefully with all those hearts we will have no problem with these two colors. Our sensory activities will include material, bubble wrap, confetti, Jell-O, pasta, rice, marshmallows, flags, and even cool whip!! The FUN has only just begun. We will be reading books about friendship, presidents, and groundhogs and of course Valentine’s Day!! We will be making lots of fun Valentine’s Day projects. Our signs for the month of Love will be hot, cold, love, and red, pink and happy. Please see me to show you the sign so you can reinforce the signs we learn at home. We will start working on the shape of a heart this month. We look forward to a fun month and don’t forget about your sweetheart on Feb 14th 2012.
Love Miss Stacy
January 2012
Calendar of Important Dates
January 2 School Re-opens
January 4 Blue Day
January 10 Pajama Day
January 19 Stuffed Animal Day
January 24 Silly Hat Day
DIRECTOR's NEWSLETTER
Happy New Year and welcome back! We hope you had a very relaxing week off shared with family and friends. We are looking forward to starting the New Year with a sense of renewed energy and enthusiasm.
Some highlights this month include:
Move-up
Those students notified that they would be moving up will do so starting January 2nd.
Parenting Series
A “Helpful Hint” series of child development and parenting information including such topics as positive attitudes towards food, lunch ideas, biting problems, sleeping concerns, behavioral concerns and more will be available at the front desk.
Progress Reports
A basic child development evaluation will be going home in late January under the heading “How’s my Infant, Baby, and Toddler Doing?”
Reminders:
Flu Shots
All documentation is required by December 31st . An audit will be performed by the Hunterdon County Board of Health, and anyone not having their paperwork, will be ineligible to come to school.
Winter Weather
Winter weather alerts regarding delayed openings and closings can be found on our website www.firststeplc.com, or by checking our answering machine for related messages.
Illnesses
Please keep the spread of contagious infections to a minimum by keeping you child home if they are sick. Children must be fever free (101.5 or less) without medication for at least 24 hours before they should return to school after an illness, or 24 hours after medications have been started.
Outdoors
Please send in appropriate outdoor clothing including hats and gloves as we make an effort to go outside each day.
Tissues Donations
As always, tissue donations are welcomed and appreciated.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
BEAR CUBS
December was a great month. We had tons of fun with the holidays. We decorated Christmas
trees, painted Menorahs and even hung Christmas lights. We sat by our fireplace and read about
Santa Claus, reindeer, Sammy the spider and his first Hanukah, and even learned about the
Christmas Crocodile.
We learned the sign for “Happy” this month and continued to work on “Thank You”. We enjoyed lots of fun sensory items which included cookie dough, peppermint and gingerbread flavored marshmallows and even wrapping paper. We worked very hard on our special holiday ornaments. Playing with plaster is more fun than you think!!
We are welcoming Owen and Madisyn to our room in January. We will be sad to see Sofia move up,
But we wish her the best of luck!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Miss Stacy
BUNNIES
December was a hit month with our themes about lullabies, things that ‘Go’ and Holiday Express. The kids liked making their holiday gifts for their parents along with their party!
For the month of January, our themes each week include active play, snowmen, winter
clothes and polar pals. Our color is blue, shape is a heart and nursery rhymes include “Hey Diddle
Diddle,” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”
Books we will be reading are “Snow!” by Christine Ford, “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jaclk Keats and “Hey Diddle Diddle” by Jeanette Winter.
Art projects include creating pictures with balls, finger painting with glue, paper plate snowmen, paint with craft sticks and hide and seek polar bears.
Since the weather keeps getting colder, don’t forget heavy jackets and hats for when we go outside!
Kristen
DECEMBER 2011:
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Thanks to all the parents who supported our Thanksgiving Food Drive
benefiting the Flemington Food Pantry. We collected 2 full baskets of
food that were donated just in time for Thanksgiving.
A few helpful reminders as the winter weather nears:
· Winter weather alerts regarding delayed openings and closings
can be found on our website or by checking our answering
machine for related messages.
· Please send appropriate outdoor clothing including hats and
gloves as we make an effort to go outside each day. Be sure to
label these clothing items.
· Please check with you child’s teacher to make sure that their spare
clothing is appropriate for the season.
· Written notification of seasonal flu shots are required by the Hunterdon
County Board of Health and are due no later than 12/31/11.
· Keep the spread of contagious infections to a minimum by keeping
your child home if they are sick. Children must be fever free (101.5
or less) for 24 hours before they can return to school after an illness.
· Tissue donations are always welcomed and appreciated during the cold
and flu season.
Please note the following important dates this month:
· Closed December 26-30 (Winter Break)
· December 2- Wear Green
· December 8- Wear Red
· December 14- Late Day Story Hour* (other dates available)
· December 21- Wear Holiday Shirts
· December 23- Holiday Class Parties ( See teachers for details)
* Late Day Story Hour is an opportunity for parents to come in at the end of the
day and read a story to your child’s class. This month’s theme is Holiday Stories.
Please see your child’s teacher if you are interested.
We wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season with your families.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
BEAR CUBS
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey! We had a great month as we learned new signs and the children are using them to communicate with us what they need throughout the day. Great job to all the parents who continue to use the sign language at home! The children seem so much happier when they can communicate their needs with us and you. Our signs this month will be Cereal, Milk, Cat, Fish.
As we move into December we have a lot going on, lots of holiday projects and fun sensory activities planned. We will be making stockings to hang by our fireplace, decorating presents to put under our tree, and putting ornaments and lights on our tree as well. To celebrate Hanukkah we will glue candles on our Menorah, decorate a Dreidel and making a Hanukkah stamp collage.
Our holiday related sensory table with include cinnamon, cookie dough (YUM), wrapping paper, tissue paper and dreidels. We will be reading some holiday favorites like ‘Dinosaur’s Night before Christmas,’ ‘Snowman In Paradise,’ ‘The Bears Christmas,’ ‘Little Miss Spiders Christmas Wish, Run Away Dreidel, Pearl’s Eight Days of Chanukah, and Sammy Spiders First Chanukah.’ We will have a holiday cookie day so keep your eyes out for details. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!
Love Miss Stacy and Miss Ashley
BUNNIES
November was such a delightful month! The kids enjoyed every minute of it! They had a blast from making turkeys, running around saying “turkey, turkey,” “gobble, gobble,” helping wash toys, playing with gourds and having our pictures taken with pumpkins and pilgrim hats.
We will be busy little elves during December! Our themes are Lets Go! and Bedtime Stories. The purpose for these two themes is to learn about things that go and to talk about bedtime stories and what you need to prepare for bed. A couple goals include providing opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills and to help encourage creativity.
Our main color is green, shape is a square and the Nursery Rhyme is Twinkle, Twinkle. Art projects that we will be doing are bedtime collages, paper plate cars, tomato soup paintings, foot print reindeer and our Holiday surprise gift! A few books include “I Want to Ride” by Sarah M. Hensley, “The Bear Santa Claus Forgot” by Diana Kimpton and “Rabbit’s Bedtime” by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.
We would like to say farewell to Ella and Max who have moved up! And a huge welcome to our new friends Alexa, Ava, Peyton and Sofia who have joined our class!
Miss Kristen
NOVEMBER CALENDAR:
November 1- Begin Food Drive
November 3- Backwards Shirt Day
November 11- Silly Sock Day
November 17- Crazy Hair Day
November 18- End Food Drive
November 23- Wear Your Turkey Colors
November 24-25 Closed/Thanksgiving
DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTER
Welcome to November! Leaves are changing, days are getting
shorter and the weather is getting cooler. Be sure to dress your
child for the cooler temps as we strive to get them outside at
least once during the day for some fresh air.
IMPORTANT SCHOOL INFORMATION
· A food drive to benefit the Flemington Food Pantry will be held from November 1-18th . Suggested items will be posted at the front desk and our collection basket will be in the front foyer.
· Check us out on Twitter (firststeplc) and Facebook (First Step Learning Center) for important information and “fun” postings.
· Please keep all children HOME when they are sick. Children must be fever free (without Acetaminophen/Ibuprofen) for at least 24 hours before they are allowed to return. We implore you to follow this important standard to keep infections out of our school and our students and staff healthy.
· The Hunterdon County Department of Health is requiring all children between the ages of 6-59 months attending a pre-school be vaccinated for Influenza. Please submit your documentation by 12/1/11 as the Board of Health comes in for their annual audit in early January.
· Whenever possible, it is best that medications be given at home. We are happy to help when multiple dosing is required, but we would ask that you give all single dosing medications and vitamins at home. When medication is required, remember to stop by the front desk to fill out a medication permission slip and send any prescriptions in their original packaging with the doctor’s name and dosing information.
· Be sure to check out the monthly calendars posted outside each classroom for information on what will be happening in your child’s
class.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS
LITTLE LAMBS
Greetings from the infant room!
We are happy to have a new little lamb start in our room and will be looking forward to another one starting soon. We are really getting around and moving like crazy. A couple of us are working on getting some teeth and learning to crawl. That's all for now!
Miss Amanda, Miss Brenda, and Miss Clara
DUCKLINGS
It has been busy in the Duckling Room; we welcomed new friends Adam S., Ava G. and Kaitlyn. We also said goodbye to Adam D., James and Nicholas and wish them lots of luck in their new class.
This month two friends, Madisyn and Owen, will turn one! Our themes this month are Colors of Fall, Indians, Pilgrims, Thanksgiving and Textures. We will continue to work on our signs and expand our words to include milk and water.
Please remember to send in all bottles, bowel and spoons clearly labeled, thank you!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Miss Liz
Miss Melissa
Miss Alli
BEAR CUBS
Happy Halloween! Wow we had a lot of great costumes, thank you so much for sharing your little goblins with us. Thank you to everyone who donated snacks for our party it was a blast. We had a busy month we made lots of pumpkin art projects and even tried a bite or two of pumpkin. November brings us one month closer to Christmas, we have many activities planned for November including paper plate wreaths, owls with big google eyes, cornucopias, handprint Indian corn and pilgrim hats! With Thanksgiving right around the corner our signs for the month will be please, thank you, friends and share. We will have a very messy month with sensory that will include pumpkins, fruit, apples, mashed potatoes, and even pies. We will have a Thanksgiving party so keep checking in for date, time and sign-up sheet. We also would like to welcome Adam, James, and Nicholas to our room and wish William best of luck as he moves up!
We look forward to a busy, but productive November!
Happy Thanksgiving
Love Miss Stacy & Miss Ashley
BUNNY ROOM
First off, let’s thank all the parents who brought stuff in for our Halloween Party! The costumes were so adorable! The kids had fun making their Halloween craft along with the gourd tossing!
Now, that we’ve moved into November we have a new theme, purpose and goals. Our theme this month is ‘In the Woods’ and the purpose is to explore animals and plants that live in the woods. A few goals include continuing to review basic colors, help children become familiar with several animals and plants in the woods and to stimulate more language development. Our Nursery Rhymes are “There Was a Little Turtle” and “I Saw a Little Turkey.” Books that we will be reading are “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen, “Deep in the Forest” by Heather Williams and “Forest Babies” by Kristen McCurry. Look forward to seeing art projects such as decorated hiking hats, paper bowl turtles and decorated turkey finders. Other projects that pertain to our Thanksgiving and Colorful Harvest theme include making a turkey, paper plate pilgrims and much more! We also will be exploring cardboard squares, fake turtles in water, gourds and many more fun things.
Have a great November and a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
And don’t forget to look for the Thanksgiving Day Party Sign-Up Sheet that will be posted soon!
Miss Kristen
OCTOBER 2011:
CALENDAR
October 6 Dress like a Spider or Bat (wear black)
October 13 Picture Day- Wear a smile
October 14 Wear Orange
October 20 Wear your favorite Halloween shirt
October 31 Little Goblin Party
DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTER
Baby’s First Step is off to a WONDERFUL start!! We have been in our new
space for almost 3 months now, but it looks and feels like we have been here much longer.
Some new features to look for in the coming month:
· Baby’s First Step Children’s Art Gallery- Art work created by your children will be featured by class and is located in the hallway nearest the infant room.
· Our “Featured Educator” will be displayed in the front foyer. Information about a
featured staff member including their educational background and previous experience as well as some personal facts to help you get to know our staff.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
· Tuition is due by the first of the month unless a prior arrangement has been made. Tuition can be dropped off or mailed to:
2 Lake Drive
Whitehouse Station, NJ 0888
or given to the front desk.
A $40.00 late fee is assessed after the 3rd of the month if tuition is not received.
· Please call the school if your child will not be coming in.
· Please direct any schedule changes or requests for extra time to Patti Horensky, Director. Extra time is available at a rate of $10.00 per hour provided adequate staff and space is available.
· Flu Shots are required for all children 59 months and under that are enrolled in school. Please be sure we receive documentation of your child’s shot by 12/01/11 as the Board of Health comes in for the annual audit in early January.
· With the cold and flu season approaching, tissue donations are always welcomed and appreciated.
· Our Little Goblin party will take place on Halloween. Children will be dressed into their costumes after rest time and will be having a holiday party. They will be“showing off “ their costumes as moms and dads pick up. Teachers will be posting party wish lists outside their rooms in the upcoming days. We feel given the young age of our students, that this is a more age appropriate way to celebrate Halloween.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
DUCKLINGS
Happy October, it has been a busy first month in the duckling room! We welcomed new friends Ava, Maxwell and Own to our class. We’ve been learning through art projects and sensory play, and enjoying time with our friends.
This month our themes include Our 5 Senses, In Motion, What’s Up, and Halloween. We will also continue to work on our sign language, continuing to focus on the signs for eat, more and all done.
Have a great month and see you at school!
Miss Liz and Miss Melissa
BEAR CUBS
Wow, where did September go?!? We had a great start to a new school year! Everyone has adjusted well and we are looking forward to welcoming Ava to our Room!!! We will also be welcoming our new helper Ashley, who will be helping us a few days a week. Let’s make her feel welcome to our room!
Looking ahead to October we will be having a lot of new sensory experiences including the different parts of a pumpkin, leaves, gummy spiders, and cotton spider webs. We will be working on more signing this month to expand our vocabulary including ‘play’, ‘cat’, ‘dog’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’.
It looks like are will be very messy for October with lots of orange and black paint! If you would like to send in an art smock or an oversized shirt, that would be great. We are also looking for empty plastic (cleaned and washed well) peanut butter jars, or something similar, for an upcoming Halloween project.
And speaking of Halloween, we can't wait to see everyone dress up. We will have a small afternoon party on Halloween for all the children in their costume, so don't forget your cameras!!! Keep an eye out for our sign-up sheets for snacks that can be donated for the party.
Sounds like a fun month with a lot of learning as well!! Happy and happy and safe Halloween!!!
Love Miss Stacy
BUNNIES
The beginning of the school year flew by! Now, off to October we go!
September was a good month, as we welcomed back Payton and Amalia from their long summer vacation!
The kids enjoyed the art projects that consisted of having their hands and feet painted.
For October our purpose is to learn about fall crops and animals on the farm. The few goals also include helping the kids become more familiar with fall crops and farm animals, continuing to review basic shapes, colors and sign language and stimulating more language development.
Our Nursery Rhymes are “Baa, Baa Black Sheep” and “To Market, To Market.” The color is orange and our shape is ‘circle.’
Stories we will be excited to read consist of Little Red Hen by Byron Barton, The Little Pig by Judy Dunn and Orange by Gary Tavali.
October will be a month full of pumpkin and orange fun! Art projects such as painting with orange, creating the color orange, using insides of a pumpkin to paint with and various farm animal and crop projects.
At the end of the month we will be having a Halloween Party, so make sure you bring your costume and please look forward to the sign – up sheet for items to be donated for the party!
Have a great October!
Miss Kristen
SEPTEMBER 2011:
DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the newest member of the First Step family of schools/child care facilities, Baby’s First Step. This facility has been designed with the specific needs of young infants and toddlers in mind. Our rooms have been designed to help your baby maintain a very familiar and comfortable routine while providing stimulating, nurturing and safe care.
Our school has quiet areas for sleeping, feeding, playing and a large gross motor room great for getting out lots of energy. The walking trail and play area provide additional opportunities for our infants and toddlers to be outside. We are very excited about the upcoming year at Baby’s First Step!
Some important things to keep in mind:
· Baby’s First Step is open 7am-6pm Monday-Friday.
· Please remember to sign your child in/out daily at the front desk.
· Please check the front desk for any timely news.
· Please remember to label all items belonging to your child. All bedding goes home at the end of the week for laundering.
· Be sure to fill your child’s teacher in regarding any pertinent daily info needed for his/her optimal care.
· Look for posted information on an upcoming signing class taught by Miss Stacy.
· Please observe your designated pick-up and drop-off times as staffing is based on these numbers.
· Tissue donations are always welcomed and appreciated as we deal with many runny noses.
· Any problem or concerns please feel free to address with Miss Patti at anytime.
As always thanks for your cooperation in all of these important matters.
Miss Patti
Director/Baby’s First Step
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS
LITTLE LAMBS and DUCKLINGS
Happy September and welcome to a new school year in the Duckling and Little Lamb Rooms!
We are so excited to take care of your little ones and to watch them grow and learn through sensory exploration, play and art projects.
Looking forward to a great year,
Miss Liz
Miss Melissa
Miss Clara
Miss Mzia
Miss Ali
BEAR CUBS
Welcome back to a new school year. We hope you all had a great summer. We are looking forward to a great year!
We said goodbye to our friends Maddie, Ella and Max who moved up to their new class. We welcome Peyton, Alexa, and Sofia to our room and can't wait to start learning with them.
We have a lot going on for September with themes including Family, Apples, Fall Colors, Leaves and My Friends. Our sensory play will include Jello, feathers, apples, cinnamon, leaves, and even colored pasta.
We will also be working on our basic signs this month: Mom, Dad, Eat, More and All Done. Please keep an eye out for the Baby signing time class that will be held here at Baby's First Step on September 29, 2011 at 6:00pm. It's a great way to connect with your child and to see what your child is learning here in our class.
Welcome back and we hope this year will bring lots of fun and learning!
Love, Miss Stacy
BUNNIES
Welcome back! I hope everyone has had a relaxing and fun – filled summer! We are very excited to be over at Baby’s First Step and in our new classroom!
The theme for September is My Friends and Me. Topics we will be going through include My New Friends, My Family, My Body and Fall. Two rhymes we will be learning are The Muffin Man and Engine, Engine Number Nine. Art projects include leaf families, family boxes, friendship dolls, stencil art and window art! Goals for the month include continuing to encourage language development and to also enhance self – awareness.
I look forward to a great start to the year!
Miss Kristen
