January Newsletter
2016-2017 Academic Year
Welcome Back & Happy New Year!
We hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed the extra time spent with your loved ones over winter break. All of the staff here at The Cottages took pleasure in having quality time with our family as well as a little extra time to relax and rejuvenate for the new year. We want to extend our sincerest gratitude to all of our families from the bottom of hearts for your continued support of our staff and your genuine appreciation for all of the work we do each and every day to ensure we are providing a high quality early education program for our children. The Cottages wouldn’t be the special little gem it is without the support of our families. May this new year continue to bless us all!!
Winter Assessments - Teaching Strategies GOLD
During the month of January, the children at The Cottages will be assessed using the Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment system. This will be the second assessment on your child for the 2016- 2017 academic year and will be marked down during the winter timeframe. Please note, the assessment will be kept in your child’s portfolio throughout the year as the assessments will be documented in each child’s personal assessment booklet. Parent/Teacher conferences will begin in February to review your child’s assessment.
January Birthdays!
Celebrate your being born on your birthday but celebrate happiness every single day of your life.
- Arianna C- 1/16
- Ania W.- 1/2
- Emmaline B.- 1/20
- Cole H.- 1/28
- CJ W.- 1/9
Happy Birthday to all of our friends born in January!
Cricket Cottage News
Stretch and Grow
The Topic for the month of January will be Stretch and Grow. We will be concentrating on our fine motor and gross motor skills. Our older friends will work on rolling over, sitting up, grabbing, and holding on to toys. Our younger friends will focus on grasping toys and reaching. The Crickets are growing on a daily basis and we want to continue to promote and encourage their independence.
Sign Language Review
This month we will be reviewing the sign language signs we have been learning since
August. We will be focusing on the signs “eat’ and “more”. Please try using these signs at home with your child as well. We have more sign language resources in the Cricket Cottage for reference if you’d like to learn more.
Feelings
We will be talking and showing our friends the difference between happy and sad. We will be imitating happy and sad faces by incorporating it through stories and songs. One of the stories we will be reading is, Baby Happy-Baby Sad, by Leslie Patricelli and we will be singing the song, “If You’re Happy and You Know It".
Welcome and Farewell
We would like to welcome our new friends Ava, Camilia, and Jack to the Cricket Cottage! We are so excited and happy for you to join our Cricket family. It is with mixed emotions that we say farewell to our friends Ella, Isla, and Oliver. They have graduated to the Ladybug Cottage and we know they will have a blast learning and playing with their new friends.
Family Photos Needed
If you have not done so yet, please provide us with a family photo or pictures of family that we can make into a family collage. If you prefer, you can email them to liz@thecottagespreschool.com and we will print them out for you. The babies really enjoy looking at the pictures of their family members! Thank you!
Friendly Reminders
It is cold and flu season and we are asking families to please remember to remove your shoes and wash your hands upon entering the room. We try very hard to help keep the room as germ free as possible to ensure healthy and happy babies. Also, please remember to label all bottles and pacifiers with your child’s first and last names. Thank you for doing your part to make the Cricket Cottage a safe place for everyone!
Ladybug Cottage News
Reflecting on December
During the month of December, the ladybugs enjoyed exploring the light and reflection by using the light table creating beautiful artwork with mirrors and playing with bubbles! Also, the children became more successful when using utensils. Moving forward into January our classroom will sadly be saying goodbye to Cammy and Myla, while warmly welcoming Ella, Isla, and Oliver!
Pattern and Shapes
The ladybugs will be starting out the new year learning about patterns and shapes. During the patterns and shapes unit, we will be using math, music, and language to explore these concepts. Also, Miss Sami and Miss Kate will be introducing a new felt board game at circle time that ties into the patterns and shapes theme.
Patterns in Math
The focus in math this month will be on shapes, colors, and patterns. We will build with soft and wooden blocks to demonstrate patterns and discuss the different shapes of the blocks. The children will also count and sort different objects such as feathers, Legos, and shells in the sensory bin.
Rhythm and Movement
As we continue our topic about patterns, we will move into beats in music. We will dance and move to different types of music with slow and fast beats. We will be using our musical instruments in the classroom as well making our own. If any parents have c.d.’s or musical instruments from home that you think the children would enjoy, please feel free to bring them in to share with the class.
Language
Throughout the month we will be focusing on building our vocabulary by identifying shapes, colors, and counting. By pointing out colors, shapes and counting objects to the children, this will help them recognize and recall the mentioned patterns. Also, we will be playing felt board games that help us identify these items as well.
Items Needed
If you have any children's board books at home, about shapes, patterns or colors and would like them to be read to the classroom, please bring them in. These books will be kept separate from our class books and returned at the end of the month. Just make sure your child name is written inside. Thank you for your continued support and partnership, looking forward to starting the new year with all of you.
Caterpillar Cottage News
December Recap
The children loved the Winter Wonderland theme last month! With all of the lights and sparkling snowflakes, they made it their own winter wonderland inside the classroom. We experimented with fake snow and made our own snowflake soup to scoop and pour in the sensory bin. Since we don't have snow here in Florida, we thought we would bring it to the Caterpillar Cottage. We also made our mommies and daddies a special gift for the holidays.
January
As we move forward with the new year, our kids will be visiting the arctic. We will be focusing on specific animals such as polar bears, penguins, seals, and whales. The Caterpillars will be using their binoculars and quiet feet to help spot these beautiful animals.
Building a Home
Through the cold days and nights, the Caterpillar Cottage will need a place to "sleep". The children will work together to paint boxes and we will work on our building skills by putting them together to create an igloo. The children will learn about igloos and why they are built and where you can find them. We will know how to stay warm this January!
Math
As we search for these arctic animals, the children will be finding footprints along the way. We will play a matching game by identify the footprints with pictures of the animals. We will also practice our counting skills by counting how many feet each animal has.
Circle Time
Since the children will be learning about arctic animals, we will be focusing our circle times around learning which animals live in colder weather. We will read stories such as "Polar Bears" and "Planet Earth Baby Penguins". We will also learn new songs about arctic animals and fun finger plays.
Great Big Polar Bear
Walking Through the arctic (teacher)
Walking through the arctic (children)
And what do you think I saw? (teacher)
And what do you think I saw? (children)
A great big polar bear (teacher)
A great big polar bear (children)
He said, "stand up tall!" (everyone jump up)
And shake, shake, this way, shake, shake that way (everyone shake)
Shake, shake, this way and then sit down (sit down)
Welcome and Goodbye
The Caterpillars will be including two more friends into our classroom this month. We are very excited to welcome Cameron and Myla from the Ladybug Cottage into our room. As we welcome Cameron and Myla, we will be having to say goodbye to Kailee as she moves up to the Butterfly Cottage. Although we will miss her, we are excited for her to begin her new journey with Ms. Jamie and Ms. Cassidy and we know she will have a lot of fun!
Butterfly Cottage News
December Recap
We hope everyone had a very happy holiday season! Our class was really on track last month with the creation of the Polar express train. The children worked very hard on this special project and had a blast pretending to be the conductor and passengers on the train. We also enjoyed making the ticket booth where we sold tickets to go on this special trip.
Topics
The Butterfly Cottage is going to be a real zoo this month! We will be reading books and singing songs about visiting the zoo. The children will also create cages for our zoo animals and build a mini zoo in the Blocks Center. In our Zen Zone, the children will practice yoga poses representing different zoo animals.
Math
During our zoo theme, the children will be participating in some fun math activities. We will be matching animals to their skin patterns, measuring animals using Legos, and sorting animals into different categories. The children will work together and individually to show their problem solving skills.
Circle Time
The Butterflies will be learning new songs and felt board games about the zoo this month. We will also be movin and groovin with our animal activities cards and practicing our animal yoga poses. these movements are great for practicing balance and gross motor skills.
Objective: Demonstrates Positive Approaches to Learning
The objective we will be focusing on this month is demonstrating positive approaches to learning. As we practice our math activities, the children will be learning persistence and problem solving skills. Showing flexibility and inventiveness in thinking will be practiced in the Blocks Center as we create our zoo with the wooden blocks and animals.
Goodbye and Welcome
This month we must say goodbye to our friend Darren as he moves up to the Bumblebee Cottage. Although we are sad to see him go and will miss him lots, we know he will have fun in the Bumblebee Cottage with his old friends. On a happier note, we will welcome a new friend into our classroom. We are very happy to announce that Kailee from the Caterpillars will be transforming into a Butterfly this month. We are so happy you are here!
Bumblebee Cottage News
December Fun
During the month of December, we enjoyed singing new songs and being visited by special friends for the holidays. The Bumblebees learned the letters W, C, and D. We enjoyed making our Christmas tree and decorating it with ornaments for our light project. We enjoyed making collages using items from nature and we also learned about arctic animals such as penguins, polar bears, and seals.
Letters of the Week
The letters the Bumblebees will be learning this month will be V, J, and S. The children will learn the sound of the letter and words that will begin with the letter. We will also practice writing the letter in the Handwriting Center and tracing the letters in sand using items that begin with that letter.
Five Senses
Our Topic for the month of January will be The Five Senses. Each week in January will be focused on a specific sense. We will be asking for parent donations to help enhance this topic, so please look for a signup sheet that will be located on the parent board. Thank you in advance for all the love and donations.
Sight
We will be using the light table a lot during the week we learn about sight. The children will use transparent objects on the light table and talk about what colors and shapes the items are. We will also be bringing binoculars outside during playground times to explore items outside that are magnified by using binoculars. ISpy books will also be provided this week for the Bumblebees to search and find the different items on the pages.
Sound
During the week we explore our sense of sound, we will be using a lot of musical instruments. The instruments will be used to create rhythms and patterns and we will also use the instruments to create music that is loud and soft. The children will also be making rain sticks of their very own to create music as well.
Touch
The sensory bin will be used a lot during the week we explore our sense of touch. We will be using different items each day in the sensory bin such as sand, rice, cotton balls, and feathers. The Bumblebees will talk about how each item feels and work on learning new words that will expand our vocabulary.
Smell
One of the activities we will be doing to learn about our sense of smell will be smelly jars. The children will get to smell different scents of extract and try to guess which scent is in each jar. We will then ask each child what their favorite smell was and document the results on a language chart. We will count what scent was the most and least favorite in the class.
Taste
The Bumblebees will be exploring different tastes this week. We will be having a taste test to where the children can explore their taste buds by eating various foods. The Bumblebees will explore foods that are sweet, sour, and salty. We will then ask each child what their favorite food was and document the results on a language chart. We will count what food was the most and least favorite in the class.
Dragonfly Cottage News
Welcome Back Dragonflies!
Happy New Year to all of our Butterfly friends! We hope your new year is filled with love and laughter. We are very excited for the awesome things ahead. Last month we explored the magic of a forest and did lots of hands on exploration. We would like to give a shout out to Evan and Noah's family. They own Sarasota Sign Shop and provided our classroom with all of the amazing vinyl decals and wall decorations you saw the first half of the academic year. Thank you so much! You guys rock!
Winter
During the month of January, we will explore more into winter. We will take a more in depth look into hibernation and adaption. We will learn how animals live during the winter months. We will also go into cold, ice, and wintery weather. Hopefully it will be a bit more chilly here in Florida during this topic.
Small Groups in Full Swing
Small groups will be in full swing this month! We will be doing various small group activities on writing, letter recognition, letter sounds, phonological awareness, mathematical thinking, number sense, adding, and subtraction. A lot of inviting provocations to engage each child's learning style.
Cooking Soup is On!
There isn't anything more cozy than a nice bowl of soup on a cold day. The Dragonflies are going to put their chef's hat on and get busy chopping veggies for a yummy vegan soup.
STEM Activities- STEM for Preschoolers
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEM activities support and engage the left side of the brain. We are kicking off with a few STEM projects this month. We will be building bridges, ramps, and towers. We are so excited to bring this into the new year!
Books
Books we will read this month are, "Animals in Winter", "The Mitten", "Hibernation", "The Hat", "Sleep Big Bear", and "The Snowy Day". If you have any winter books at home to share with us, we would appreciate it.