December Newsletter
2017 - 2018 Academic Year
Happy Holidays!
Portrait Viewing with PLPP
Community Service Project - The Twig Warehouse
Every year The Cottages hosts a drive during the month of December to collect items for local non-profit organizations or families in need. This year for our community service project we will be collecting items for The Twig Warehouse located in Venice.
The TWIG stands for "The Way to Inspire and Give".
Thousands of children in our area are in the foster care system. These children go to our schools, our churches and play on our playgrounds. Many of these children come into the system without anything and yet they are expected to go about their life as if nothing has changed, and yet for them everything has changed.
On average a foster child will go to 6 different foster homes. 50% of children that go into foster care will not graduate from high school. The Twig wants to encourage these children and inspire them to be all they can be in spite of the bad choices of those around them. Giving these children clothes isn't just about meeting their needs. It is about empowering them with the tools they need to succeed.
The Twig helps by providing an upscale boutique where children in foster care can shop and forget about their cares, at least for a while. Children are encouraged to come once a month, each and every month that they are in foster care. Everything in their store reflects the latest fashion trends in new or "like new" condition, all provided free of charge to children in foster care. Every month, each child is welcome to select seven items, along with undergarments, socks, and accessories.
The Twig also provides an environment where the foster parents will want to come and shop. The store has dressing rooms and sizes for everyone from babies to teens. They also have volunteers who would love to hold a baby while the foster parents shop. It is their goal, at The Twig, that both the foster parent and the child in foster care would be reminded that God cares about them.
The Cottages will be collecting the following items for The Twig from Monday, December 4th - Friday, December 15th. Sizes for children from newborn - 18 years old. All items must be new or look new.
- Socks
- Shoes
- Underwear
- Pajamas
- Clothing
- Books
Santa & Mrs. Claus Visit The Cottages!
Polar Express Presentation
Pat Sanders (a previous grandfather in our program) will be returning this holiday season for his annual presentation of The Polar Express. He will be coming to The Cottages on Friday, December 8th and will be dressed up as the conductor. He will talk about his adventure on The Polar Express with our Bumblebee and Dragonfly students. This is always such a fun event for the children and we are grateful to have this opportunity every year at The Cottages!
School Wide Pajama Day
9th Annual Festival of Lights & Winter Holiday Celebrations
Please say you'll join us for our 9th Annual Festival of Lights & Winter Holiday Celebrations on Friday, December 15th at 3:30pm. The children and teachers will be working very hard on their special light projects and are excited to show off their creative masterpieces. Children in all cottages will be given many experiences to explore with light, reflection, and shadows. It's a magical time of year at The Cottages! There will be a sign up sheet posted in each cottage from your Room Parents for food and drink donations. We hope to see you there!
Friday, Dec 15, 2017, 03:30 PM
602 McIntosh Rd, Sarasota, FL, United States
Pizza Fridays
Every Friday cottage families have the opportunity to purchase pizza for their child. For only $3.00, your child can get two slices of cheese pizza, fruit, and a cookie. If you'd like to create a pizza account, you can give more than $3.00 and we will keep track of pizza payments. A notice stating pizza money ran out will be put in your child's lunchbox prior to the next pizza day. We ask for cash only please and you can drop the pizza money with your child's name on it into the silver tuition lock box.
We Need Your Help!
Winter Break - School Closed
The Cottages will be closed from Monday, December 25th through January 2nd for Winter Break. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2017. Please remember, as per our handbook policy, tuition is still due during winter break as this is a paid vacation for our hardworking and dedicated teachers. We can't begin to explain how appreciative we are of your support of our program and our teachers. Without the amazing support that we receive from our families we would not be able to offer the high quality of care and education that you have become accustomed to. We wish all of our families a joyful holiday season and many blessings for a healthy and prosperous new year!
December Birthdays!
These birthday wishes
are special and sent to you,
to wish you a world of happiness
which lasts the whole year through.
- Cain B. - 12/5
- Fiona T.- 12/8
- Athena G.-12/11
- Isla D.- 12/12
- Naomi W. - 12/14
- Finnely K.- 12/15
- Ella G.- 12/16
- Ms. Kendelynn - 12/28
Happy Birthday to all of our friends born in December!
Cricket Cottage News
Tis the Season
During the month of December, we will be introducing the holidays of Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza. We will discover these holidays through activities, stories, songs, and colors. Please feel free to bring in favorite holiday books or songs to share with our friends. Holiday colors will be introduced this month such as the colors red and green for Christmas and blue and yellow for Chanukah.
Holiday Songs
The Cricket Cottage will be filled with holiday music this month. We are taking this opportunity to learn new songs as well as promoting music and movement. We will give our friends bells to ring while listening to the classic song, Jingle Bells, and for Chanukah The Dreidel Song.
Sign Language
We will be working on the sign "share" during the month of December. We will promote “sharing is caring” throughout this holiday month.
Exploring Light & Reflection
This month the children will discover light and reflection through hands on experiences. They will have the opportunity to discover light using the light table and a variety of materials as well as using natural light. Reflective materials will be added as well to further encourage their natural sense of wonder.
Art Experiences
We will be working with various colors of paint during the month of December to coordinate with the holidays we will be learning about. The children will be making a special holiday item using these colors while we make our special family surprise.
Family Photos
We are in need of your family photos for our main play area. Please either bring them in the classroom or email a few to Liz. It’s amazing how the little ones recognize and go to the board throughout the day to find their loved one! Thanks.
Ladybug Cottage News
November Recap
The children learned about farms. We explored farm animals and identified the animals by name and played with sounds the animals make. We also used items that can be found on farms such as hay, corn cobs, and "eggs" for sensory and art along with singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Unexpectedly, Florida had cool weather so the Ladybug children and teachers took advantage and enjoyed spending time on the lanai, in Jenny’s House, and on buggy rides! We are looking forward to continuing the outdoor activities through the month of December!
Hello December
This month the children's senses will be delighted! We just love this magical time of year! The sights, the sounds, the smells… We will be discovering light and reflection through hands on experiences this month. Children will have the opportunity to explore light using the light table and a variety of materials. We will also incorporate light and reflection into a winter wonderland masterpiece as paint on a mirror and transfer it to paper. Reflective materials will be added to our sensory bin to further encourage the children’s natural sense of wonder!
Magical Melodies
The Ladybug Cottage will be filled with songs and finger-plays about the winter holidays. Singing to the children helps develop both receptive and expressive language. The teachers will help strengthen these skills by singing different holiday songs this month. If you have any favorite sing-along songs that your child enjoys at home during the holidays, please share them with the teachers!
Gingerbread Play-doh
We are super excited to have the children experience playing with gingerbread play-dough this month! Play-dough is a wonderful medium to help develop fine motor skills. Our little Ladybugs will also work with cookie cutters as we attempt to make gingerbread cookies! You may enjoy making and creating with gingerbread play-dough at home as well! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan.
- Cook slowly over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- While stirring, the play dough will begin to form into a ball. When it is all incorporated remove the dough from the heat.
- Let the dough cool to the touch so that you can knead it.
Christmas Tree Green-Smoothies
As parents, we all want to provide nutritious meals for our children. Yet with busy days and picky eaters, this can sometimes be a challenge. Kale, spinach and spirulina are greens that are safe for children 8 months and older. These greens can be incorporated into a smoothie, bypass your todfants taste buds, and go straight into their belly’s. There is no set way to make a smoothie. This recipe is meant to play around with. Feel free to substitute and experiment.
Ingredients:
1 banana
1/2 apple or a handful of pineapple chunks
1 cup spinach, kale or a tea spoon of Spirulina
1-2 cups water, apple juice or coconut water
1/2 avocado
Blend and serve!
Family Photos
We are asking each of our families to bring in a family photo. The children really enjoy looking at pictures of their family while at school. Please bring in a family photo or email it to liz@thecottagespreschool.com. You are welcome to send in a few photos to include everyone in your immediate family as well. Thank you!
Welcome Ms. Kendelynn!
We are excited to welcome Ms. Kendelynn to the Ladybug Cottage! Ms. Kendelynn will start training on Monday, December 4th and will be working 8:45am-5:45pm. Ms. Kendelynn has always dreamed of becoming a teacher and is currently taking classes towards her Child Development Associate.
Caterpillar Cottage News
November Recap
During the month of November the children enjoyed spending time outdoors. We kicked off the month with our teddy bear picnic and during this special event the children took care of their furry friends and fed them lunch. Afterwards the children had a picnic of their own with their own lunch. For sensory activities we hosted multiple themed water plays such as bathing farm animals and measuring and scooping bubbles. We also got some new toys for sandbox play and brought out new puzzles.
Light and Reflection
We are so excited about December! During this upcoming month we will be introducing the large light table with translucent toys and reflective materials. Additionally, we will be enhancing block play with rope lights and reflective aluminum containers. Mirrors, light and reflection we be a large part of this month’s unit.
Winter Art Projects
The children will use paint pens on recycled cd’s to create multidimensional art. These reflective masterpieces will be displayed in the window to capture light. In addition to individual art, we will be creating some collaborative pieces as well as a snowflake painting. We will cover the table with white paper and use blue painter’s tape to mask off snowflakes as the children work together to create a winter wonderland.
Peppermint Playdough
The children seem to really enjoy working with playdough so we will be making peppermint playdough for the holidays. We will make red and white dough for the class to create candy canes as they learn to roll and twist the playdough. This will be an excellent fine motor activity that also incorporates many of our senses.
Materials Needed
We are in need of the following materials for our winter projects. If you are able to donate any of these we'd really appreciate it!
- Old CDs
- Reflective materials
- Tree trimmings
- Pinecones
Butterfly Cottage News
November Recap
During our circle times last month our friends discussed the new month and what holiday that comes during the month. We made turkeys and decorated leaves for the start of the holidays. Our big thing was getting in touch more with nature. We have been going on nature walks and collecting materials we later used in art projects. We have also been working on finding our whole name at circle and recognizing individual letters of the alphabet.
Holiday Season
With December being our biggest holiday season and with us having a diverse class, we thought it would be nice to learn about all the holidays celebrated during the month of December! Ziva's mom Jessi will be coming in to talk to the children about Chanukah and read some stories about this holiday. We will be doing some fun holiday activities and enjoying stories this month about Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Chanukah. We would love to incorporate parent participation with all holidays so please let us know if you're interested in coming in and reading a few stories about a holiday your family celebrates anytime throughout the academic year. Our class loves when family members come in to visit with us at school!
December
This December we will be working on fun sensory and science projects! We will be cooking in our class, seeing if we can make crystals, ice experiments, and plenty of snow slime! We are going to pretend that it's cold in Florida and do cold holiday fun in our candy land classroom.
Light Project
This month we will be working on a fun collaborative light project that will be displayed at the Festival of Lights and Winter Holiday parties on the 15th. Please look for a donation sign-up sheet for this project posted in the classroom as we are requesting additional items to use for this project.
Cooking
Our friends will enjoy some decorating and baking experiences this month. Cooking is a great way for us to incorporate literacy, math, and science while also creating something yummy to eat!
Snowman Song
We will be learning a new song this month. Here are the words if you'd like to sing along at home.
I'm a Little Snowman (Tune: I'm a little Teapot)
I'm a little snowman
Short and fat
Here is my scarf
And here is my hat
When the snow is falling
Come and play
Build a snowman everyday!
Reminders
- Coming into this holiday season and slightly cooler weather, we are asking our parents if they can please leave a sweater in your child's cubby. Please also put your child's name on the sweater tag.
- We will be spending more time outside going on nature walks and working in the garden so please send your child to school in sneakers or closed toed shoes.
- Now is a great time for a swap out of spare clothes at school from shorts to long pants.
- If any parents have pictures with Waddles from their weekend that have not been handed in please email them to Ms. Liz at liz@thecottagespreschool.com or hand in a hardcopy to add to our scrapbook.
Bumblebee Cottage News
November Recap
In November we considered autumnal change around us. We noticed the transformation that takes place during harvest, first by exploring seeds of various kinds of produce. Our seedlings have also begun to grow on our back porch and will soon be transported to our gorgeous new garden! We also traveled the world virtually to have a look at some of the countries responsible for the primary export of many of the vegetables we see in the stores today. Cultural horizons were further expanded by jamming out to a new song each week from different places around the world. We tapped into our inner Monet's with paint on mirrors which were then transferred onto paper to make gorgeous, Impressionistic masterpieces.
Letter of the Week
This month we will be focusing on the letters O, P, Q, and R, both capital and lowercase. The Bees are invited to familiarize themselves with these letters not simply by identifying them in their names, but by using loose parts to recreate letters in fun and innovative ways. These letters are given special emphasis in words of personal relevance to the Bees' surroundings, both in the Arts and in Literature during our Literacy Circles.
Color Inquiry: Blue
Blue is a color that invites us, with its cool tones, to contemplate the cooling of temperature we hope to enjoy in our sunny Florida. It lends itself well to a study of light and dark interplays within nature, such as in the skies and the waters which surround our home state. It will be featured in a day or night sky as we contemplate the sunny skies or the sky's expanse full of stars such as what might be seen when camping, and within the context of our featured artist of the month.
Fine Arts: Artist of the Month
December's artist of the month will be Vincent Van Gogh. His Impressionist style will be compared to those of Monet's and the opportunity to explore this art style further will be offered to our young artists. The month of November flew by so fast that we found that we need to revisit this art style, especially as it was such a big hit! Moreover, we will be featuring "Starry Night" which will be a beautiful way to feature the color of the month.
Forests
Where do all those festively decorated trees come from? What kinds of animals live in the forests here in Florida? What fun activities can we do when out in nature? Undoubtedly the Bees will be noticing the plentiful pines that are not only found in nature but are featured in practically every kind of store we step into during the holidays. Therefore, we will be exploring these questions and more for the month of December.
Donations: Pine Tree Clippings
As always, keep a lookout for our donation request lists which help us to undertake the many exciting inquiries within our classroom. A tremendous "Thank you!" from our cottage to all the parents for helping us explore Literacy, Math, Science, Social Studies, the Arts and more through your generous donations. We will be asking for donations of pine tree clippings in December whenever you come across them, such as if you are purchasing a live tree for your holiday trimmings. We will explore, dissect, paint, sort, and apply these in countless ways during our forest inquiry this month.
Dragonfly Cottage News
November Recap
We loved spending time in our new a fabulous garden! So far we have planted lettuce, beans, peas, kale, and edible flowers. The children are natural gardeners! We loved learning about various seeds and how things grow!
December
We have taken on a love of writing! The Dragonflies have been very creative with their stories and the class has shown motivation to engage in written expression. We will encourage this motivation by writing on cards and stationary materials this month. We will add letter starters and enders such as "Dear" and "From/Love".
Numerical Representations
The Dragonflies will be working on numerical representations among numerical written sets of objects and number names. We will also understand ordinal positions first, second, and third.
December Inquiry
We will be incorporating a forest theme during the month of December. We will be learning about hibernating animals and different types of trees. We will be collecting real tree cuttings to add a forest feel to our beloved classroom.
Light Project Donations
Please help us shine our way into the new year! We will be collecting fairy lights to add to our cottage light project. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.