Director's Note and Newsletters to parents of First Step Petite Academy students
JANUARY 2012
CALENDAR:
Monday, January 2nd is our first day back from our Holiday Break.
CompUChild classes will resume on Thursday, January 5th as a make-up class for Monday, January 2nd. Normal class schedule will resume on Monday, January 9th.
Menu for Jan:
1/3 – Pizza
¼ - Chicken Fingers
1/10 – Hot Dog
1/11 – Pizza
1/17 – Chicken Fingers
1/18 – Hot Dog
1/24 – Pizza
1/25 – Chicken Fingers
1/31 – Hot Dog
FUN FRIDAYS:
1/6 – A-B-C DAY (We provide the activities)
1/13 – HAT DAY (Wear your favorite hat)
1/20 – OPPOSITE DAY (Be creative )
1/27 – JAN BRETT DAY – She is one of our favorite Authors.
We will provide the fun.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
Miss Sue and Miss Karen’s class will have their art featured this month on our Student Art Gallery in our front lobby. We are very excited to see what kind of art projects they can dream up for us!
Teacher of the Month for January is Miss Karen, our Pre-K teacher. Congratulations to Miss Karen! She has shown a commitment to excellence in her classroom, been a team player, and has gone the extra mile in order to help her students to learn according to their individual needs.
We are asking parents to please leave an extra set of gloves and a hat at school for your child in the event that they forget these items at home. With the weather getting much colder in the next couple of months, we want to make sure that your child will be nice and warm when it’s time to play outside during their school day. Thank you very much.
Please remember that you must inform the front desk as well as your child’s teacher if you have given your child medicine before they arrived at school. Also, if your child had a fever or any other illness symptoms before they arrive at school we ask that you please inform us.
If your child has a fever of 101.5 or higher, they cannot come to school and must be fever-free for twenty four hours before returning to school. Thank you.
Regarding snow/inclement weather closings and delays:
- Please call the school to listen to the recorded message
- Please check our website for closings and delay announcements
- Please check our Facebook page for closings and delay announcements
Please label all of your child’s belongings - i.e. lunch boxes, sippy cups, hats, gloves, etc. Feel free to leave hats and gloves in your child’s classroom during the winter months.
Please let us know if there have been or are going to be any changes at home, as it does significantly affect your child’s day at school.
Remember to direct any and all major concerns to Lynne and Jill.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
TWOS
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a nice holiday! I am very exciting to start off the new year with a lot of fun projects!
Our themes for January are:
Week 1- Winter Weather
Week 2- Let It Snow
Week 3- Winter Animals
Week 4- Goodnight Moon
Our vocabulary words for the month are boots (las botas), hat (el sombrero), potato (la papa), and rocking chair (mecedora). Our colors for the month are blue (azul) and white (blanco). This month in art will we be making hand-print penguins, and frosted windows! We will also use our little fingers and pretend they are ice skating through cold paint! Our songs this month are The Itsy Bitsy Snowman and I'm a Little Snowman. A few of our books this month are, There Was A Cold Lady, by Lucille Colandro and The Snow Family, by Daniel Kirk.
We will continue working on our colors and numbers 1-10 in English and Spanish. We are also continuing to sign the alphabet.
Please remember our special days this month: 1/6 ABC Day, 1/13 Hat Day, 1/20 Opposite Day, 1/27 Jan Brett Day.
I'm looking forward to a great month!
Miss Katherine
YOUNG THREES
In December, we had quite an exciting month! Your children experienced December holidays from around the world such as Kwanza, Saint Lucia Day, Hanukkah, Saint Nicholas Day and of course, Christmas! We also did various art projects related to each holiday, which the children really enjoyed creating. As far as fine motor, we focused on cutting strips with paper and properly gripping crayons. I have seen improvements with all children! Practice with these skills at home is vital too, and the children get to do something fun at the same time. Your child has been learning more Spanish as well; and they have been doing very well with remembering months, numbers and colors! At the end of December, we had a holiday celebration where we had delicious foods and decorated cookies for our families. After the holiday break your children will be welcomed back to a new year and more exciting things planned for the month of January! Children will be able to recognize the colors white and blue, as well as other colors previously learned. We will focus on the season of winter and create different projects relating to snow, penguins, snowmen and snowflakes. Not only will we be focusing on winter, but children will get the opportunity to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. as well. As always, your child will be learning different finger plays and songs throughout the month. Gross and fine motor skills will also be practiced too. I look forward to starting the new year with you and your child!
THREES
Happy New Year to all! This month we read many great books like, "The Mitten," and "Snowmen At Night."
The children predicted how many items can fit in a mitten, then filled it, very fun. The children learned songs like;
Hibernation, Hibernation, which also taught them about animals that sleep in the winter. The children will be
learning to recognize their last names and counting to 20 starting this month. The letter "C" is for Christmas
is the letter we left off on, so I will review A,B,C then continue with D and so on. I hope to play outside as much
as possible all winter so please dress your children with hats, mittens and boots. We will have lots of fun bringing
the classroom outside in the winter and observe our environment!
In February we will celebrate Valentines, and set up a post office in the classroom!
Miss Katy
PRE-K
December was full of fun activities, laughter, learning, and adventures! The children were introduced to some sight words, counted to 20 in Spanish, introduced to some colors in Spanish, and did some fun craft activities. Thank you for bringing in things for the Holiday Party! The children had a lot of fun making Christmas Trees out of different food and eating some good food!
In January, the themes are as follows:
Winter Animals (ex: polar bears, penguins)
Animals that hibernate (ex: chipmunks, bears, frogs)
Black History
Winter Scene
The letters and words for the month are:
Oo-on, out, off, of, one
Pp-pop, play
Qq-quit
Rr-run, run
The children will continue to practice writing the letter of the week on the chalkboard or dry eraser board. They will continue to work on writing numbers 1-20 as well. They will continue practice writing their first names and focus closely on writing last names. We will work more closely on counting. We are striving for counting up to 50!
We will be teaching the children their first names in Spanish! The children will continue learning to count in Spanish, colors, and be introduced to different objects in Spanish.
Some fun crafts the children will be making is a polar bear craft, a bear craft, a rabbit winter scene, and painting on the easel every Thursday. The children enjoy painting different things on the easel!
We hope that there will be some snow this winter for the kids to play! Please be sure to bring in appropriate clothes for the weather. If you have a snowsuit and boots, please bring them in! The children should always have a hat and gloves to keep them warm. Make sure they also have an extra pair of clothes.
We will continue doing our Show and Tell on Wednesday through Friday (depends on when your child is here). Please be sure you are not writing the word or drawing the picture for your child. We do not care what it looks like, it is the process that is important! Thank you.
Ms. Sue and Ms. Karen
FIVES
During the month of December, we focused on holidays celebrated this month. Children learned about Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. For Hanukkah, children learned how to make latkes and played with a Dreidel. During our study of Las Posadas students learned the history of the poinsettia. During our Kwanzaa week the class created Kinaras and weaved paper to make Mkeka. For Christmas students made sugar cookies and decorated a paper tree. Students also sang and did a short holiday performance for their classmates the last week of school.
In math, we learned about coins and the one dollar bill. Children were also introduced to time, focusing on the difference between the minute and hour hand. We also discussed graphing and counting by 2’s. Our letters for the month of December were Kk, Ll, Mm and Nn.
In January we will be learning about Prehistoric Animals, Martin Luther King, and the Chinese New Year. Our letters of the week will be Oo, Pp, Qq and Rr. In math, our focus will be on symmetry, classification, addition, and shapes.
*We try to go outside whenever possible. Please remember to send your child with a hat and gloves every day. Thank you!
Miss Laura
DECEMBER 2011
Calendar:
Friday, December 23rd Last day before Holiday Break.
Monday, January 2nd School Opens After Holiday Break
Petite Academy is holding a food drive for the Hunterdon County Food Bank starting on December 5th. Your donations to this worthy cause are greatly appreciated.
Our Teacher of the Month for December is Miss Laura, our Kindergarten teacher. Congratulations to Miss Laura! She has shown a commitment to excellence in her classroom, been a team player, and has gone the extra mile in order to help her students to learn according to their individual needs.
We are selling the Hunterdon / Somerset County coupon books until December 9th for our school fundraiser. Thank you to those of you who have bought the books- we greatly appreciate your support of our school!
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
You must inform the front desk, as well as your child’s teacher, if you have given your child medicine before they arrived at school. Also, if your child had a fever or any other illness symptoms before they arrived at school, you must inform us.
Please remember that if your child has a fever of 101.5 or higher, they cannot come to school and must be fever-free for twenty four hours before returning to school.
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.
There will be no more soccer classes after December 1, 2011. We will continue to offer Jam-Nastics, Yoga, and CompU Child classes starting in December/January. Please see the Parent Information Center for more information.
Regarding snow/inclement weather closings and delays:
- Please call the school for all important information
- Check our website for all important information
Please label all of your child’s belongings - i.e. lunch boxes, sippy cups, hats, gloves, etc. Feel free to leave hats and gloves in your child’s classroom during the winter months.
Please let us know if there have been or are going to be any changes at home, as it does significantly affect your child’s day at school.
Remember to direct any and all major concerns to Lynne and Jill.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
OLDER TWOS
We had lots of fun doing Thanksgiving crafts and being Indians at our Thanksgiving feast in November. Thank you for your help.
In December our themes will include: holidays around the world, sharing, and the zoo. The shape is a star and colors are red and green. We will be learning Spanish on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. If you would like to know what Spanish words we are learning, you can talk to Miss Erin or Miss Sam.
We will be having a holiday party so please look for the information to follow.
Have a great holiday and New Year!
Miss Erin and Miss Sam
YOUNG THREES
During the month of November our class learned about Thanksgiving and the importance of giving thanks to other people. Your child learned about the Pilgrims and Indians and how Thanksgiving was created. We also had a special Thanksgiving Feast and enjoyed many delicious foods! Not only did the children learn about Thanksgiving, but they learned about triangles, harvest time, how to fringe with scissors and the colors purple and brown.
In the December, children will learn about holidays around the world. The colors of the month are green and red, and we will also focus on the shape of a star. As always, your child will be practicing fine and gross motor skills which include cutting strips of paper with scissors, jumping, and pushing and pulling objects. As always, children will continue to learn how to recognize and manipulate patterns.
Spanish has also been incorporated into our curriculum, so this month we will be focusing on verde (green) and rojo (red). Not only will children be learning the colors of the month in Spanish, but we will continue learning the days of the week, numbers and weather. We look forward to an exciting month!
-Miss Emily
THREES
Thanksgiving is simply a wonderful holiday. It focuses on the importance of family gathering around and enjoying a meal while enjoying each other. It is time to be thankful for those simple things in life. We asked the children what they were thankful for and their responses were great. One of the children said he was thankful for another friend in the classroom, how wonderful! Another child said he was thankful for himself and his family! These, after all, are the most important things in life, simply our family and friends!
The children enjoyed many things this month but the highlight was the construction site. They banged and screwed and measured boxes with their hard hats on. They had a great time! The children also read many amazing books like "Owl Moon," and "The Littlest Owl." We read lots of simple books about Thanksgiving as well. We mixed blue and red and made purple in science. In math we continue to count to ten. The children did a lot of patterning, too.
Next month we will focus on holidays around the world. The children will make many wonderful ornaments and tasty things to eat!
Have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy your families!
Ms Katy and Ms Tish
PRE-K
During the month of Thanksgiving, we continued to work on the letter of the week, numbers, writing names, and learning some new Spanish words. The children are learning to count from 1-20 in Spanish and learning a few colors. Thanks for helping your child with their “show-n-tell”. The children absolutely love sharing with the rest of the class what they drew and wrote.
The Thanksgiving feast was a full success, and thank you for bringing in gallon jugs! The children loved making their Thanksgiving centerpiece with the jugs!
During the month of December, we will be learning about the different holidays. The themes for the month are:
Kwanzaa
Hanukkah
Christmas
Los Posados/St. Lucia
We will continue to work on identifying numbers, writing numbers, writing names, and working on the sounds of letters as well as different words that begin with that particular letter. The children will be introduced to the letters Kk, Ll, and Mm. The last week in December we will review all past letters.
When we come back from the holidays, I will start teaching the children their names in Spanish. Also, start getting your child’s snow gear ready because we hope to be using it this winter at school!
Miss Sue and Miss Karen
FOURS and FIVES
Our class has been very busy during the month of November. We learned the difference between migration and hibernation. Students also learned about the history of Thanksgiving. Our class pretended to be Pilgrims riding on the Mayflower. We also created Pilgrim and Native American outfits. Our Thanksgiving brunch was delicious. Thank you to the parents who donated.
Math lessons this month included measuring, subtraction, and counting by 5’s. Our letters of the week were Hh, Ii, and Jj. Students are being encouraged to sound out simple words. We have also been practicing our sight words/word wall words each morning.
In December, we will be learning about different holidays and cultures. Our themes will be Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Letters of the week will be Kk, Ll, and Mm. In math, our focus will be money, time, graphs, and counting by 2’s.
Miss Laura
NOVEMBER 2011
CALENDAR:
November 23: Thanksgiving Party
November 24 & 25: Closed for Thanksgiving
DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTER
Petite Academy is happy to announce our Teacher of the Month Program. We began this program in August and we will be continuing through the rest of the school year. Past Teachers of the Month: Miss Emily (August), Miss Katherine (September) and Miss Katie (October). Our Teacher of the Month for November is Miss Katy, who is our Older 3’s Teacher. Congratulations, Miss Katy!
We are going to be following the example of Baby’s First Step by starting our own Children’s Art Gallery. Every month we will display artwork from one class in the front office. This month will feature artwork from Miss Laura’s Kindergarten class.
Petite Academy will be having a Pajama Drive beginning in November 7th and ending December 9th. There will be a letter sent home explaining the Pajama Drive in detail.
We will be selling Hunterdon/Somerset County coupon books at the front desk. These books contain coupons to places such as T.G.I. Fridays, Somerset Patriots tickets, Burger King, and many other family-friendly places in the Hunterdon and Somerset areas. If you would like to purchase one of these books, please see Jessica for details. Thank you!
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
- You must inform the front desk as well as your child’s teacher if you have given your child medicine before they arrived at school. Also, if your child had a fever or any other illness symptoms before they arrived at school, you must inform us.
- Please remember that if your child has a fever of 101.5 or higher, they cannot come to school and must be fever-free for twenty four hours before returning to school.
- 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.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
TWO YEAR OLD’S
Happy November! This month our themes are:
Week 1- We Give Thanks
Week 2- A Colorful Harvest
Week 3- Friendship
Week 4- Turkeys
Our vocabulary words are castle (el castillo), ball (la bola), cupcake (pastel), and shopping cart (carrito de la compra). Our color of the month for November is brown (café). We are continuing to work on counting one to ten in both English and Spanish, and well as learning the sign language letters to accompany the ABC’s.
We will be making our very own pilgrims and Mayflower this month as well as a friendship quilt. We will also be making turkeys using our hands and pinecones!
We are really excited to dance to the turkey pokey and follow some surprise turkey tracks around our classroom.
We would like to wish Jack L., Jack H., and Joshua good luck in their new classroom!
Look out for upcoming information about our Thanksgiving Celebration at the end of the month!
Miss Katie and Miss Katherine
THREE YEAR OLD’S
Welcome to Ms. Tish and to three new children, Ryan, Keira and Sophia! October has been a month of cooking! The children made applesauce and pumpkin pancakes. The children love to cook and it teaches them many things.
Some of the books we read were; "Applesauce Season," The Spooky Old Tree," and "The Lady With The Alligator Purse."
In Math, we continue to count and measure. The children also did many comparisons with apples and pumpkins. We did small medium and large as well. Autumn is a wonderful time to go out and explore and we did that as well. The children found leaves and acorns and pinecones and we did an art project using these items they found, Lots of fun!
Next month we will focus on giving thanks. We will also do some cooking and play lots
of games. We will learn new finger plays and songs as always. We are learning so much and having fun doing it!
Thanks for all your support,
Ms. Katy and Ms. Tish
PRE-K
During October, the children made projects that were related to the letter of the week and related to the theme. The children had a great Halloween parade and party! Thanks for all the donations and being a part of the children’s festivities!
During the month of November, the themes are:
-Migration
-Nutrition
-Home and Family
-Thanksgiving
-Harvest Times
We will be reviewing the past letters and will introduce letters Hh, Ii, and Jj. The sight words for the letters are house, her, him, hat, in, I, and just. The children will continue to practice writing the letter of the week on the dry eraser board during circle time.
In the sensory table, the children will use marshmallows and toothpicks to make things as well as using marshmallows and pretzel sticks. The students will also use beads, straws, and yarn to make necklaces and to string beads.
Our focus for math this month is making sets of 2 and 3, and to identify and trace numbers 0 to 10. They will also do simple addition by adding two sets of objects together. The students will practice tracing and making circles and lines.
Some of the crafts we will be doing this month are making animal tracks, decorating boiled eggs for migration week, corn rolling, family tree, and a paper plate turkey. Every Thursday we will be doing easel painting. The three Thursdays this month they will mix black and white paint to make gray, painting red with an apple, and painting their house.
We will be having a Thanksgiving feast during the week of Thanksgiving. Details will follow soon!
**When December comes, please be sure to have a snow outfit, boots, gloves, and mittens for your child. We would like to take the children out when it snows. They would have so much fun in the snow and making things like snow angels!**
**Also, please be sure to label your child’s jacket. It makes it easier to know what jacket belongs to the child, especially if it gets misplaced. Thanks!**
Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!!
Ms. Sue and Ms. Karen
FIVE YEAR OLD’S
Fall is in the air as temperatures drop and leaves change colors. We focused on the letters Dd, Ee, Ff, and Gg. Students practiced sorting, creating and continuing patterns, counting by 10’s, and were introduced to addition. In Science and Social Studies, students studied fire safety, spiders, and pumpkins. Our class also started “Star Student Week.” The children really look forward to taking home our classroom friend Pugsley during their special week. Everyone had a wonderful time during our Halloween parade and party. Thank you to all the parents who donated!
Next month our themes include migrating and hibernating animals, Pilgrims, and Thanksgiving. Our letters of the week will be Hh, Ii, Jj, and Kk.
Don’t Forget:
Show and Tell is every Wednesday. Look for the index card in your child’s mailbox on Monday. Please encourage proper letter formation. Please do not have your child trace his or her word in all uppercase letters. Lowercase letters need to be practiced as well. Thank you!
Check the whiteboard by the mailboxes for a quick view of what we are learning during the week. I will also post reminders or upcoming events.
Miss Laura
OCTOBER 2011
DIRECTOR’S NEWSLETTER
As our 2011-2012 school year begins, please keep in mind the following dates and information:
- Please return all 2011-2012 registration information if applicable.
- October tuition is due on October 1st. Please be sure to have your tuition in by then. You may drop it off or mail it to Petite Academy.
- Please pack a change of clothing for your child, clearly labeled in a clear plastic Ziploc bag. If you have borrowed clothing from our school, we kindly ask that you return it.
- Please remember that Petite Academy is a Nut-Free school. This means that you cannot send your child to school with any nut product. This includes products such as Nutella, as it is made of hazelnuts.
- Our Halloween Parade will take place on Halloween, starting at 9:15. Please join us for the parade if you are able!
- We are offering the following special classes this fall, beginning the week of October 3rd. Please see the Parent Information Center for more information on signing your child up for these classes.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday at 2pm: Comp-U-Child
Tuesday at 2pm: Yoga for 4’s and 5’s
Wednesday: Jam-Nastics (Begins 9/28)
Thursday: Soccer (Begins 9/29)
- Also, our Back to School Nights will take place the week of October 3rd. They will run from 5:30-6pm.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, October 3rd: 4’s and 5’s
Tuesday, October 4th: 3’s
Wednesday, October 5th: 2’s
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
YOUNG TWO’s and TWO’s
As we officially say goodbye to summer and welcome fall, we have a lot of fun activities going on inside the classroom!
September was a lot of fun. We learned so much about ourselves, books, the color red, and apples. We also explored different foods.
October is going to be great! It will be filled with warm colors, and sweet smells, our themes are:
Week 1- Field of Emotions (identifying different feelings)
Week 2- Count Dracula’s Haunted House (counting)
Week 3- Transportation and Fire Prevention (fire safety)
Week 4- Fall Fun (characteristics of fall)
Our vocabulary words are firefighter (bombero), car seat (asiento de coche), helicopter (helicóptero), and wagon (vagón).
Our sensory experiences this month will focus on pumpkins, such as the inside of pumpkins and the taste of pumpkins. We will also be working with textures of mud and leaves. As always we will be letting you know the week prior and if you would not like your children to try something, let us know and we will provide another activity.
We will be learning some new songs, if you would like any copies please feel free to ask!
The weather is beginning to get cooler, so please provide a change of weather appropriate clothes. Please be sure that all clothing, cups, and utensils are labeled.
Be on the lookout for information about our Halloween Party and parade! Happy fall!
2 ½ and THREE’S
Our first month of school went by so quickly. It was a great success. We made new friends and saw our old friends. We discussed our classroom rules and our manners. We are off to a great start and continue to grow and learn each and every day.
During the month of October we will have many new things to learn and explore. The themes we will cover this month are classroom safety and home safely, farms, to catch and throw a ball, snipping with scissors, sensory toys, different ways to walk, fire safety, the colors orange and black and last but not least Halloween. It will be all fun and we look forward to teaching your children.
Always, any questions or concerns please let us know.
Miss Emily and Miss Tish
OLDER THREE’S
The children and I have had a wonderful time getting to know one another!
We have read some fantastic books like ‘No, David’ and ‘I Was So Mad.’ Also, we spent a week reading Bill Martin books like, ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Who Do You See?’ After reading all his books we became authors and wrote our own version! Look in our classroom so you can read it.
In Math, we sorted and counted manipulatives. In Science, we went on a nature walk to find bugs, worms, caterpillars and whatever else was crawling around! We even found a giant caterpillar, ask your children about it!
Next month we will be focusing on Autumn and Halloween. We will continue to learn shapes and colors as well as read a bunch of great books!
Have so much fun with the 3's!
Ms Katy
PRE-K
We sure had a great first month in Pre-K and excited for October activities!
In September, the children worked on fundamentals such as holding a pen/crayon correctly and practiced cutting. The students were introduced to the letters Aa, Bb, and Cc. They were introduced with how to write the letters, the sounds of the letters, and different words that the letters begin with. The children also wrote a class story for each letter and started to write and draw in their journals.
The students also had some fun playing on the two playgrounds, jumping in hula hoops, kicking and throwing balls, and playing in the sand. They made some fun crafts such as an apple, friendship tree, friendship circle, people dolls, apple tree, and a leaf collage.
During the month of October, the children will continue working on the same skills as well as be introduced to new ones. The students will experiment with birdseed in the sensory table, letters Dd, Ee, Ff, and Gg as well as review past letters, make
Playdough from scratch, and sort numbers.
The themes for October are:
Weather Changes
Fall Environment
Fire Safety
Halloween
We are looking forward to another wonderful month full of learning and fun!!
Ms. Sue and Ms. Karen
FIVES
September has been a busy month. Students spent the first week of school meeting new friends, learning classroom expectations and routines, and practiced spelling their names. The second week of school we officially started our academic lessons. Our class focused on the letters Aa, Bb, and Cc. Lessons included recognition, handwriting, and making the letter sounds. Students were also introduced to sight words that begin with the letter of the week. In math, we practiced recognizing, and writing numbers 0-15. We also focused on one to one correspondence. The class had a lot of fun with science. Students explored their environment by focusing on a different sense each day; seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling.
In October we will focus on the letters Dd, Ee, Ff, and Gg. We will study fire safety, spiders, and pumpkins. In math, our class will be sorting, counting by 10’s, creating patters, learning about the number 15-20 and we will begin adding. We will continue to practice writing our names. This is a great skill that can also be continued at home. Encourage your child to only write the first letter of his or her name in uppercase and the rest in lowercase.
Miss Laura
SEPTEMBER 2011
TWO YEAR OLD’S
Welcome back to school! We have so much to look forward to in the year ahead and we are excited to get started.
Miss Katie will be working with the young twos and Miss Katherine will be working with the older twos. We also would like to welcome Miss. Samantha who will be helping with both groups.
We have had a very busy fun filled summer! We really dug into sensory and explored new materials. We also learned some new games and songs. This will all continue into the school year as well. Each month we will explore a color, 4 new vocabulary words (that we will learn in spanish!) and we also will be learning to sign the alphabet! We will be breaking down into developmental small groups each day to work on age/level appropriate cognitive activities. In the older two classroom we will continue potty training. As for the younger twos we will continue to introduce and encourage potty training.
For September, we will explore the color Red (Rojo). Our vocabulary words for September are worm (de tierra), Raccoon (el mapache), leaves (las hojas), and stop light (semaforo).
Our weekly themes are:
Introductions- understanding of self.
Book week- match literature to art and discuss.
Paint the town red- recognizing and identifying the color red.
An Apple a Day- exploring apples.
We will continue sending up daily sheets to give you an idea of what each day consisted of. We also will be letting you know what sensory/food we will be exploring and digging into ahead of time as well as reminders for the following week. As always please feel free to contact us with any concerns or with specific things you would like us to work on with your child.
REMINDER: as always please be sure to send in a spoon, bib, extra change of weather appropriate clothes, and water cup each day. Please also be sure to label all belongings so nothing is misplaced! Thank you!
We are all looking forward to a fun and eventful school year!!
Miss Katherine, Miss Katie, and Miss Samantha
2 1/2 and THREE YEAR OLD’S
Hello and welcome back! We are looking forward to another great school year with you and your children. As always, we are excited to see familiar faces and we cannot wait to meet our new friends too! This September our class will be focusing on how to share, our manners, the way we feel, making new friends and the school rules.
Not only will students be engaged with hands-on learning (counting, sorting, patterning, and interactive bulletin board), they will also have the opportunity to work in both small and large group settings. The colors we will concentrate on this month are red, yellow and blue. Children will be able to identify different objects of those specific colors inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition, children will discover the different parts of the body by simple teachings such as Simon Says and the Hokey Pokey. Our class will also be practicing gross motor skills such as balancing on one leg. Various fine motor skills will be taught too, such as ripping different sizes of paper. Again, we are very excited for the new school year! We are eager to help each of our students to learn and grow together!
Miss Tish and Miss Emily
THREE’S and FOUR’S
Welcome to all my new students! I am very excited to meet you on Tuesday September 6th. We will be reading some wonderful books this month including," The Kissing Hand," which we will read on the first day. Also, on the first day we will make First-Day Floats as a special snack.
During the month we will also read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin and Eric
Carle. The children will make a classroom version of the book that they will read to you!
Next, we will read, "If YouTake a Mouse to School," and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie."
The circle is the shape of the month so we will bake and eat cookies. We will sing lots
of songs such as, Families Are Special and Do you see the color ______? Show and Tell will begin at some point during the month. I will assign a Tuesday or Thursday to your child so they can bring in a small toy, book or anything special to share with their classmates.
As you can see learning is fun! I can't wait to get the year started!
See you soon,
Ms.Katy
PRE-K
Hello and welcome to the beginning of a wonderful school year! For the month of September, our Pre-K class will be busy little bees! The children will be introduced to the letters Aa, Bb, Cc, and Dd (one letter each week). Children will also be making a weekly class story. They will be becoming familiar with the letter of the week by identifying the letter in the story. They will also practice tracing and writing their names. The children will work on counting up to 20 and work on sorting objects by color and shape. The class will also use their fine motor skills to practice holding a crayon/pencil/paintbrush correctly and practicing ripping paper.
Some fun activities for the month include making a “tornado painting”, painting on the easel, making crafts relating to the letter of the week, and making and playing with Playdough!
The themes for the month are Making Friends/Rules and Routines, Manners, Using Our 5 Senses, and Leaves (Jumping into October).
We will be utilizing the wonderful playgrounds outside and the children will be playing on the jungle gym, practice jumping in hula hoops, and kicking balls. When it is raining outside, we will be using the Gross Motor Classroom to play with the parachute, stretch, yoga, and roll a ball to our friend.
We are looking forward to a wonderful school year and very excited to be working closely with you and your children!
Thank you,
Ms. Sue and Ms. Karen
FIVES
Welcome to another great school year at First Step. I would like to welcome all my students and parents new and old. Each week our class will focus on different topics in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Our class will also have 2 to 3 authors of the week each month. Starting the second school week we will begin our letter of the week study. Each week we will focus on a different letter of the alphabet. Students will practice letter recognition, handwriting both capital and lowercase, and the letter sound. Students will also write in journals and will begin learning sight words (word wall words) in the coming weeks. Below I will list the topics we will be covering for the month of September.
September
Week 1: Names, 1-to1 correspondence, Classroom expectations, and Friendship.
Week 2: Letter Aa, Numbers 0-10, and 5 senses.
Week 3: Letter Bb, Number 10-15, and 5 senses.
Week 4: Letter Cc, Shapes, and Leaves.
Our authors of the week for the month of September will be Norman Bridwell and Marc Brown.
If you have any questions about what we are doing in class please let me know. In October we will start show and tell and star student. More information about those two topics will come in the following weeks. I look forward to getting to know your child and having a fantastic year together.
Miss Laura
Previous Newsletters:
JUNE 2011
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
As our 2010-2011 school year winds down, please keep in mind the following dates and information…
- May 30 (Monday) School Closed for Memorial Day
- June 16 (Thursday) Graduation 6:15 pm (Invitations will be sent out)
- June 30 (Thursday) Last day of 2010-11 School Year
- July 5 (Tuesday) First Day of Summer Camp
- Please be sure to return all 2011-2012 registration information and applicable
deposits ASAP.
- If you have not already returned sunscreen/Benadryl permission slips, please do so ASAP. Make sure we have a bottle of sunscreen (SPF 15 or above) with your child’s name on it, for use during the day. Children should arrive to school with sunscreen already applied.
- Please be sure that all extra clothes for your child are seasonal. Also be sure to label
all clothing as well as hats, sunglasses, etc.
- Please be sure to have your child wear shoes suitable for running and playing outside.
- Thanks to all that participated in our Joe Corbi’s Fundraiser. Profits earned will be going toward playground improvements.
As always, this time of year is so bittersweet for the staff here at First Step. We are always so amazed to see the growth and advancement your children have made with us during the course of the past year, but we are saddened by the fact that some are moving on. Best of Luck to all of you leaving us, and “Thank-You” to the parents for sharing your precious little ones with us. We have treasured every moment they have spent with us here at First Step
News From The Classrooms
Infant and Baby Rooms
Happy June!
It is hard to believe the school year is almost over, what an exciting time it has been in the infant & baby rooms. This month we wish Gregory and William good luck as they move up to the 1-year-old class, and welcome James to the baby room! We also celebrate Peyton and Alexa’s first birthdays on the 4th and 13th, respectively.
Our themes this month will include snacks, cold, veggie week and the last day of school. Our ASL for the month is "father" which is signed by placing the thumb of your hand against your forehead; Your hand should be open in a "5" shape.
As always, we ask that all food, bottles, dishes and spoons be properly labeled to avoid being misplaced or sent home in the wrong bag.
Thank you!
Miss Liz
Miss Heather
Miss Alli
Miss Mzia
Miss Clara
ONE YEAR OLDS
Spring is quickly coming to an end and summer is soon approaching. This month we learned about bugs, flowers and “Humpty Dumpty” was our nursery rhyme for the month. We worked on signing the words bug, mom, flower, purple and orange. Our sensory themes included smelling flowers, listening to bug noises, tasting carrots and oranges and even feeling how cold ice pops were. As May ends we have to say “Good-bye” to Carter and wish him lots of luck as he moves out of the area to his new home. We also want to say “Good-bye” to Abby who will be moving up to the next class!! Good luck and we will miss both of you. We will be welcoming Gregory and William to our room and cannot wait to teach them all of our signs!! This summer looks like lots of fun with water play, more time outside and our fun themes which will include: The Pets I Love, Let’s Have a Picnic, The 4th of July and Ocean Life.
Let’s not forget next month when we will be celebrating Father’s Day by making our dads something special. Happy Father’s Day to all our DADS!!!
We are looking forward to moving to our new school and being able to expand our gross motor skills with the new gross motor room and playground designed just for our climbing toddlers. If you have any questions regarding summer time activities, please feel free to ask. We look forward to a fun and enjoyable summer!
P.S. Don’t forget to send in extra summer clothes for the days we get messy!!
Miss Stacy
Miss Amanda
Two’s
The month of May started with a "Mother's Day" gift for mom. We hope you enjoyed them! Our main focus this month was process art and textured art. We painted with yarn, toothbrushes, rollers, spongers, and straws. We have also been working hard on learning our colors! Some of our favorite projects are swans and ducks. Come in and see our picnic bulletin board!
The month of June will be filled with water fun, summer foods, zoo animals, sand and sun!
Please remember to put sunscreen on your child in the morning. Also, check to see that extra clothes are appropriate for the warmer weather.
Please remember to empty cubbies each Friday.
Lastly, we would like to welcome our new friends Jack H, Jack L, and Leo! We're excited to have you in our class!
Miss Katherine and Miss Sue
2 1/2 /Threes
Throughout the school year, we have had the opportunity as educators to watch our children grow as individuals and gain useful knowledge and skills. The children learned about making friends, manners, farms and farm animals, colors, numbers, months, holidays, insects, reptiles and much more! Children also worked on fine and gross motor skills, engaging in different activities for each. Our students enjoyed creating different crafts each day and learning new songs to sing with their classmates and teachers. We are very pleased to say that it had been a successful, fun school year! This summer, we are looking forward to more outside activities, including water play a few times each week. The children will continue to recognize information learned during the school year such as shapes and colors as well as learn about new items; for instance sea life, camping, sports and even authors of our favorite stories! We look forward to a great summer with lots of fun and learning!
Young Fours
May has been an exciting month! The children made beautiful, heartfelt
gifts for their mothers for Mother's Day. All the children worked so very hard to make their
Mother's Day gifts so very special! We hope you will cherish them forever!
My favorite book this month was "Black Eye Susan." We read
many other fantastic books like "Mister Seahorse," and "The Foolish
Tortoise," and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." I think the
children's favorite book was "Strega Nona," because a town in Italy
fills up with pasta. The children spent a lot of time playing with all
sorts of pasta. Sorting and counting pasta kept the children very busy.
Stacking cups continues to be a favorite with the children and they are so
creative! We all wore our favorite team shirts, Go Red Sox! We also
played sports on the playground. We have some inspiring athletes!
Next month we are focusing on bugs of summer. June is all about the
Dads. The children will be creating a memorable gift for all those
deserving Dads, because you are so loved!
We are having such a great time learning!
Ms. Katy and Ms. Karen
Four – Six Year Olds
Many things have been happening during the month of May. Our class was invited to the Whittemore Wildlife Sanctuary. Students enjoyed a hayride, used nets to explore critters and vegetation in the pond, planted tomatoes and squash, went on a nature hike, and participated in face painting. Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend and drive.
This month students learned about mammals, insects, and Memorial Day. In math, our class reviewed symmetry, sorting, patterns, and opposites. Our sounds of the week were br, cr, dr, fr, sk, sl, sn, sm. Students continue to practice handwriting, comprehension skills, and are beginning to sound out unknown words.
In June, students will be preparing for graduation, reviewing material learned throughout the school year, and exploring dirt and the 4th of July. I will also be individually assessing students’ academic growth. Our class will start an author of the week study in mid June.
Miss Laura
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MAY 2001
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Some important reminders to get us through to the end of
the school year.
- Spring specials have just started up again including kiddie soccer,Jamnastics and Compu-child. They will be running until the end of the school year. Late registrations are always welcomed.
- If you haven’t already returned your child’s progress report, please do so ASAP. We will only be sending home re-assessments if we have the returned progress report.
- May lunch envelopes are due (cash only) by 4/27/11.
- Please return your signed permission slips for sun-screen and Benadryl ASAP along with an appropriate sunscreen.
- Please be sure to update your seasonal clothing changes and to send in sun hats and sunglasses if you would like your child to wear while outside.
- Please be sure to have your child wear shoes suitable for running and playing outside.
DATES TO REMEMBER
- Cinco De Mayo May 5
- Mixed Up Day May 13
- Favorite Team Shirt May 20
- Pet Day May 27 (Bring in a photo of your pet)
- Closed (Memorial Day) - May 30
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
BABY ROOMS
Happy May!
It has been a busy time in the infant & baby rooms. In April we welcomed new teacher Miss Heather and new friend Logan to the baby room. This month we welcome new friends Adam and Auggie to the infant and baby rooms, respectively.
Our themes this month will include Mother's Day, flowers, the color orange and Memorial Day. Our ASL for the month is "mother" which is signed by placing the thumb of your hand against your chin; Your hand should be open in a "5" shape.
As always, we ask that all food, bottles, dishes and spoons be properly labeled to avoid being misplaced or sent home in the wrong bag.
Thank you!
Miss Liz
Miss Heather
Miss Alli
Miss Mzia
Miss Clara
TODDLERS
April was full of lots of rain which will hopefully blossom into beautiful colors in May. May will be full of a lot of exciting and colorful events in the toddler room. Thank you for all of the recycled products that we were able to turn into some fun and interesting art projects.
Mays vocabulary words are ringmaster, bear, lion and lizard. We will also be working on these words in Spanish! For sign language we are going to start signing the alphabet. Mays color is yellow which we are hoping will coordinate with all the sunny days we hope to be having.
Our May themes are flowers and gardens, Eric Carle book week - Take Me on a Picnic and Welcome to the Circus. We hope to be spending slot of time outside and doing a lot of colorful art work.
Some reminders, please be sure to check your that your child’s extra clothes are appropriate for the weather. Remember to also check out the special lunches (pizza day, pasta day etc) it's always a nice treat and something new for your child to try.
Thank you!
Miss Katie and Miss Kristen
ONES
Well April brought lots of showers and we are ready for some nicer weather so we can get outside in the fresh air. We learned the color purple this month by painting with purple, playing with raspberry yogurt, and purple colored pasta. We enjoyed special projects including t-shirts for earth day, our recycled piggy banks and making Easter baskets. Our signs for this month were drink, cracker, water, and cereal. All of which are our favorite snack time items. We read books about baby animals and we really loved "ROAR" because roaring like lions was lots of fun. May will be a blast with our bug theme, flowers, and Mothers day and colors orange and purple. We will work on signs for mom, bug, flower, purple and orange. A few of our sensory items will include oranges, carrots, flowers, yarn, tissue paper and even confetti. We welcome Carter to our room this month and hope for an easy transition! We also want to thank all the parents for donated items, some of our best projects wouldn't happen without your help so THANKS!!! We would like to wish all the moms a special Happy Mother’s Day!!
Miss Stacy
Miss Amanda
Two’s
The month of April was all about spring! Come in and look at our beautiful bulletin board made by the two’s! There are butterflies, clouds, flowers, and caterpillars. We also created marshmallow sheep and frogs with very long tongues.
The two’s have been working on their fine motor skills this month by stringing pasta and taking apart and putting together colorful Easter eggs.
In our sensory table we have used Easter grass and mini marshmallows. We have also had fun playing with shaving cream and planting sunflower seeds in the dirt! Some are growing very tall!
Our themes for May are process art, colors, and flowers. Some of the things we have planned are straw painting, paper towel tie-dye, and a special surprise for Mother’s Day!
We are looking forward to a month of sunshine and lots of playground time!
Miss Katherine and Miss Sue
YOUNG FOURS
Spring is officially here! Getting outside is what the spring weather is all about. The focus this
month, is on the signs of spring and getting outside to notice them. The flowers are popping out
And the birds are chirping. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and "The Tiny Seed," both by Eric Carle are two books we have read and the children really enjoyed. The Tiny Seed is about the life of a giant sunflower seed which is carried by the wind, goes over mountains and finally rests outside a child's house. The children each planted a sunflower seed and they are taking care of them.
We will be observing and measuring their growth. Ms. Jackie also ordered a butterfly kit and the children are observing the metamorphous of a caterpillar/butterfly. They are loving it!
Dinosaurs roamed around our classroom for a week. We had a room filled with dinosaurs and lots of books thanks to a student who actually knows more about them than most people. In Math we continue to count, ask your child about the ‘One Little Duck Swimming in the Sun’ counting song. We are counting, sorting and even adding plastic eggs this week. For our spring party we are decorating table cloths and having an egg hunt. Should be so much fun!
Next month we are focusing on sports and exercise. Keeping fit is an important part of a healthy life and to start young is the key. We will continue to talk about "healthy grow food" and also to get exercise everyday!
Having fun while learning is what we do best!
Ms. Katy and Ms. Karen
FOURS and FIVES
April has been an exciting month. Our seeds have sprouted and have moved to larger pots inside the classroom. We even have some corn growing. Every few days our class records the tallest stalk. We also had our classroom caterpillars arrive. Students loved watching the caterpillars eat and grow each day. The caterpillars have made chrysalises. Soon we will see the butterflies emerge. Besides plants and butterflies, topics this month also included spring celebrations and Earth Day. Our sounds of the week were ch, sh, wh, th, ck, ph, bl, and cl. Students reviewed patterns, time, and money in math.
In May, students will explore mammals, insects, and Memorial Day. Our sounds of the week will be br, cr, dr, fr, sk, sl, sn, sm. Students will review symmetry, sorting, opposites, and patterns in math.
Miss Laura
APRIL 2011
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Spring has arrived and with it lots of opportunities for outdoor play and exploration. Be sure to always dress your children for outdoor activities including safe shoes. It is usually a good idea to dress in layers as the temperature fluctuations during the day can be dramatic this time of year.
Thanks to all the parents for their usual generosity in getting Miss Laura’s garden off to a great start through their generous garden donations and art sale proceeds. Look for updates on the garden’s progress.
School specials, including soccer, begin shortly. If you are interested in your child participating, please get the registration forms in ASAP. April lunch envelopes (cash only) are also due.
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Silly Sock Day April 5th
- Red Shirt Day April 15th
- Spring Parties April 21st
- SCHOOL CLOSED April 22nd
- Rainbow Day April 28th
As always it is important to closely observe your designated drop-off and pick-up times. Our staffing is based on these numbers. If a change is needed in your schedule, please feel free to discuss it with us at anytime. Thank you for your usual cooperation in this matter.
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS:
INFANT and BABY ROOMS
Yay Spring!
With spring came new teacher Miss Rachel! We wished Amalia, Jake, Payton and Miss Amanda good luck as they join Miss Stacy's class. Nina joined the older babies in Miss Liz's room! Happy Birthday to Gregory and William who will both turn 1 this month April.
The themes for April will include, the color yellow, water and Earth. Our ASL for the month are "please" and "thank you." The sign for "please" is made by placing your flat right hand over the center of your chest. Move your hand in a clockwise motion (from the observer's point of view, use a circular motion towards your left, down, right, and back up) a few times. The sign for "thank you" is made by starting with the fingers of your dominant hand near your lips. Your hand should be a "flat hand." Move your hand forward and a bit down in the direction of the person you are thanking. Smile.
We would also remind parents that all bottles, cups, bowls and utensils should be clearly labeled to avoid loss and/or being sent home in the wrong bag.
Thank you!
Miss Liz
Miss Alli
Miss Rachel
Miss Clara
Miss Mzia
ONE YEAR OLDS
March came in like a lion and it looks like warm weather is on the way! We had a lot of fun this month making shamrocks and doing other St. Patty's day activities! Our Sensory table was exploding with messes including jello, yogurt, apples, green ice cubes, lucky charms, and even a McDonalds Shamrock Shake. We learned lots of new signs this month including fish, potty, please, thank you and sorry. Next month our signs will be drink, cracker, water, and cereal. Please see the sign for the week posted outside the room! We are hoping that April doesn't bring too many showers becuase we look forward to getting outside more as the weather gets nicer! We will be learning about all kinds of baby animals this month and also looking for that Easter Bunny and seeing what he leaves in the room for us!!!! We also want to say welcome to Jake, Amalia, and Payton who will be joining us in our room and Thanks to Miss Amanda for coming over to help us!!
Have a great Spring!
Miss Stacy
TWO YEAR OLDS
March was such a fun filled month! This month we’ve been working a lot with the calendar by practicing our “Days of the Week,” song and counting the number of days in each month. We have our footprints on the floor to celebrate The Foot Book! We also made a Loopy Leprechaun for a craft and searched for gold coins in our sensory table!
Our themes for April are:
Week 1- Bugs
Week 2- Baby Animals
Week 3- Easter
Week 4- Earth Day/Elmo Goes Green
In April we will be making worm tunnels with brown finger-paint, and also painting with carrots! At the end of the month we will be planting seeds. For our Earth themed week we are collecting bottle caps, plastic milk cartons, newspapers, magazines, and paper bags. Anything you could bring in would be greatly appreciated! We’re looking forward to a great month!
Miss Katherine and Miss Sue
FOURS and FIVES
As March comes to an end, we say goodbye to the snow and hello to warmer weather. In the classroom, students learned about the water cycle, precipitation, clouds, wild weather, and simple machines. Children also practiced the months in order, their address, phone number and birthday. Addition and subtraction were also reviewed. Our letters for the month of March were Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz. A leprechaun also made a visit to our classroom on St. Patrick’s Day. He hid shamrocks around the room for the students to find.
This month First Step held a fundraiser for our school garden. The classes created artwork which was sold to help raise money. The students have been very excited throughout the whole process. I would like to thank all the parents and staff for your participation in both the art fundraiser and donating items. Our seedlings are growing in our classroom greenhouses right now. Once they are large enough, we will be moving them outside.
In April we will be learning about seeds, plants, the lifecycle of a butterfly, and Earth Day. In March we completed our letters of the week. Students will now be exploring “Sounds of the Week” through blends and diagraphs. In April, we will learn about the sounds ch, sh, wh, th, ck, ph, bl, cl. Students will review patterns, money, and time in math. Our show and tell will now correspond with our sounds of the week. For example: the first week in April our sounds will be ch and sh. Your child can bring in 1 item that starts or ends with ch or sh (chicken, shoe, mulch, brush). If you have any questions, please ask.
Miss Laura
MARCH 2011
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
- Thanks to all of the parents for your generosity in our efforts to raise money for Cookies For Kid’s Cancer. Our Valentine’s Day bake sale was held as a tribute to Liam Witt’s memory who was memorialized that day. We appreciate your help in keeping his memory alive and his parent’s fund raising efforts successful going forward. For more information, visit the website at www.cookiesforkidscancer.org.
- Thank you for all of your Food Pantry Donations for the month of February.
- Progress reports were recently distributed. It is always so delightful to see the progress the children are making. Please remember to return the signed progress reports so we can re-assess their skills at the end of the academic year.
- As always we appreciate your caution and low speeds through our parking lot.
- We have a sign-up sheet at the front desk for donations of healthy snacks. We appreciate any contributions you can make.
- Please avoid bringing any “outside” toys into school with the exception of show and tell. We have a wonderful variety of things for the children to play with during their time at school. This also eliminates the chances of toys being lost or broken at school.
Dates to remember in March
March 11- Bring in your favorite stuffed animal
March 17- Wear something GREEN
March 25- Wear your favorite hat
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS
INFANTS AND BABIES
Happy March!
This past month we welcomed new friend Carter and look forward to new friends Ethan and Katherine joining us soon! We wish Max and Ella good luck as they move up to Miss Stacy's class, and Peyton and Alexa will be joining the older babies in Miss Liz's room! Happy Birthday to Jake and Carter who will both turn 1 this month on the 19th and 21st, respectively.
The themes for March will include, the color green, St. Patrick's Day and Spring. Our ASL for the month is "all done" which is made by placing both of your open hands in front of you. Each hand should face you, with your fingers pointing upward. Twist both hands quickly a couple times ending with the palms pointing (somewhat) forward.
We would also remind parents that all bottles, cups, bowls and utensils should be clearly labeled to avoid loss and/or being sent home in the wrong bag.
Thank you!
Miss Liz
Miss Amanda
Miss Alli
Miss Mzia
Miss Clara
TODDLERS
March roars in like a lion and hopefully out like a lamb. We want to thank you for your understanding and corporation with all the snow closings, delays and early closings that this winter has brought! Hopefully the snow will not make any return appearances!
March is an exciting fun filled month for the toddler room! We want to welcome Ian and Brooke who will be moving up this month. March will be filled with lots of sensory including oatmeal, lemons, dirt and more. The vocab for the month is butterfly worm flower and nest. Sign language- happy Spanish- hola and the color purple.
Our weekly themes are:
Week one- show me that smile
Week two- color me happy
Week three- st. Patricks day
Week four- spring is here
Week five- weather
Please remember to make sure your child has extra clothes, as well as sneakers so that we can take advantage of the nice weather as it starts to come our way! We are looking forward to a great start to our spring season!
ONES
Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day! Love was our theme this month with lots of pink and red hearts. We enjoyed lots of new sensory items like grape jelly, Kool-Aid, whip cream, toothpaste and even tin foil balls. We read a lot of book including "Clifford’s Pals", "Silly Sally" and our favorite "Surprise Puppy".
Looking ahead to March we have a lot planned with Mardi-Gras, St. Patrick’s day, Johnny Appleseed day and even Dr. Suess' Birthday. We will be working on the signs for Milk, Juice, Cat, and Dog, But don't forget to keep using the signs eat, all done and water at home!
We would also like to welcome Ella and Max to our room and say Good Luck and Congrats to Brooke and Ian on moving up to Miss Kristen and Miss Katie's room! We look forward to spring and all that March has to offer!
Miss Stacy
TWO YEAR OLDS
February was a great month for the children! We started off the month making groundhog puppets. We also made lots of heart projects. We painted with marbles and decorated with pink macaroni. Our Valentines Party was so much fun! We had lots of snacks and exchanged valentines. To end the month we celebrated President’s Day by making cherry trees and log cabins.
We are looking forward to our exciting projects in March. Our themes are:
Week 1- Dr. Seuss
Week 2- Triangles
Week 3- Green/St. Patrick’s Day
Week 4- Here Comes Spring!
We are going to paint our own green eggs and ham and search for fish in water in our sensory table. We also plan to make a triangle collage and triangle people. Making green Jell-O is also on our list for the month, as well as making a pot of gold! Don’t forget to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day! At the end of the month we will be making handprint flowers. We’re looking forward to a great month!
Miss Katherine and Miss Sue
2 ½ YEAR OLDS
February was all about wonderful water and Valentine's Day. We read many books about our animal friends that love water and created beautiful art pieces inspired by our books. Please be sure to take a look at our art work hanging in our classrooms. Our Valentine's Day party was a success. We would like to thank all of the parents for their contributions to make our party possible. Our class also read about and discussed dental health and our first visits to the dentist.
For the month of March we look forward to celebrating spring and all the changes that come with this wonderful season as well as remembering St. Patrick's Day. Be sure to wear your green.
Miss Tish
Miss Emily
THREE YEAR OLDS
The thing we will remember about February 2011 is the snow! Our class made the best of it by going outside to play and when we could not go out we brought the snow in! The children played for hours at the sensory table that was filled with snow. We read such interesting books such as; "Animals in Winter," "Animals that Hibernate," and some funny books as well like, "Silly Sally."
In Science we took the outside temperature everyday and then made a graph to compare the big differences in temperature. The lowest temperature was 19 degrees and the highest was 59 degrees. (Check out the graph in our classroom) In Math we continued to count and sort. We focused on identifying the numbers 1-12 as well.
Please also take a few minutes to look at your children's artwork that adorn the classroom walls. We have the letters A through G decorating the walls with animals of corresponding letters.
We will continue to work on letters of the alphabet next month and celebrate Dr. Seuss on March 2 and St. Patrick's Day on March 17th. Our main goal is to learn while having fun and next month will not disappoint!
Ms. Katy and Ms. Karen
FOURS AND FIVES
February sure has been a month full of winter weather. The children have had a wonderful time playing in the snow. As the snow begins to thaw, we will start to look for signs of spring.
In the classroom, students learned about Chinese New Year, color and light, Valentine’s Day and Presidents. Children also worked on subtraction, fractions, matching and comparing, as well as, probability. Our letters for the month of February were Rr, Ss, Tt, and Uu. Our class also celebrated the 100th day of school and Valentine’s Day with class parties and activities.
In March, we will be learning about weather. Topics will include precipitation, types of clouds, and storms. We will also spend two weeks discovering what simple machines are and how we use them every day. Our letters of the week will be Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz. Students will continue to learn about the months, addresses, phone numbers, and practice addition and subtraction.
Miss Laura
