January Newsletter
2018-2019 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!!
Celebrate Literacy Week
January 28 - February 1, 2019 The Just Read, Florida! Office and the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), in partnership with other FDOE offices, the Office of Early Learning (OEL), school districts, early learning coalitions and numerous other state agencies, are pleased to announce the 11th annual statewide Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! (CLW). The event will take place the week of January 28 – February 1, 2019.
The 2019 CLW theme is Spreading Literacy, One View at a Time, which OEL has chosen to expand into a garden-focused theme as we Spread Literacy, One Book at Time. As educators, we are spreading seeds, growing readers and harvesting the love of reading every day with the young children we serve. Brain development research shows that the development of language and literacy skills begins at birth and reading aloud to children every day increases their brains’ capacity for language and literacy skills. Reading a book to young children is not only one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills, but it also builds motivation for reading along with curiosity and memory.
The Cottages will be incorporating Celebrate Literacy Week 2019 by reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault to our infants and toddlers (Cricket Cottage-Butterfly Cottages) and Planting a Rainbow, by Lois Ehlert to our preschoolers (Bumblebee & Dragonfly Cottages).
We are excited to have a special guest come in this week to read to our VPK students. Ms. Tracey Cardenas from Sarasota County Schools will be coming in to read to our Dragonfly Cottage at 9:30 on 1/29/19. She will be bringing a copy of Planting a Rainbow and presenting it to the Dragonflies after she reads it.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”— Dr. Seuss
Successful Winter Community Service Project
Our Community Service Project, Adopt a Senior for the Holidays, was a huge success! Thank you so much for helping to make the holidays a little brighter for others who are less fortunate. Because of your generosity, we were able to bless several senior citizens at Heron East Assisted Living Facility who otherwise may not have had anything to open on Christmas morning. The residents were so grateful and appreciative of the many items that were collected for them to enjoy this holiday season. The gifts were given to the residents on Saturday, December 15th by our VPK students after they sang holiday songs and passed out treats to all the residents.
We are so lucky to have such a kindhearted group of families at The Cottages! We feel so grateful to have such wonderful families in our program. You all are truly the BEST! Thank you for being a blessing to others!
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 2018- 2019 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.
- Margot R.- 1/19
- Ania W.- 1/20
- Ms. Myah- 1/25
- Cole H.- 1/28
- Samuel K.- 1/30
Happy Birthday to all of our friends born in January!
Cricket Cottage News
December Recap
December our friends enjoyed listening to the sounds of bells, and hearing holiday stories of Hanukkah and Christmas as well as some winter favorites. Our tree “mobile” was transformed from fall to a winter theme with animals and shiny mirrored ornaments and the babies really seem to love this change in the environment. The children especially enjoyed our messy finger painting activity in which the teachers also had so much fun watching the babies expressions as they touched the paint and slid it around on the paper. Our babies did amazing and their art work was exceptional! We practiced our sign of December “All Done” using it after their food, bottles and playing.
Developmental Milestones
We are so excited for the second half of our academic year in the Cricket Cottage! It's always so heart warming to watch our Crickets meet each developmental milestone and we are looking forward to what's to come. This past month a few of the little ones started rolling over. We also have a few friends that have recently mastered getting up on their knees and are on the verge of crawling as well. So exciting!!! We use these developmental milestones as a guide. It is important to remember that every infant is unique and will develop in their own time. So don’t worry if your child seems a bit behind, they will do it in their own time. At The Cottages, we complete an ASQ (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) which is a screening tool. We complete these on the the children during their birth month and every 6 months thereafter to keep an eye on their development. Parents always receive a copy of the completed ASQ and if we notice that your child may be falling behind, we will provide some activities that you can do at home with your infant as well.
For our younger friends, we make tummy time part of their daily routine. Tummy time helps your infant practice his/her new skills as well as strengthen their muscles. While your baby is on his/her tummy we give them toys and safe objects for them to reach for, hold, and explore. We strive to give your baby lots of loving attention. We talk to him/her throughout the day, describing what we are doing and naming familiar objects. We read books together and sing songs. We share cuddles, play games, and encourage their efforts to roll over, grab toys, and "talk" with us.
Between 4 to 7 months your baby will be fully engaged. We will see them smile, laugh, and have babbling conversations with us. Around 7 months we will see our infants roll from their tummy to their back and then back to their tummy again. They will sit up on their own and are able to support their weight with both legs. Infants are now using a raking grasp to pull objects closer and can hold toys and move them from one hand to another. Around 7 months your infant should also know their name. Peekaboo becomes one of our favorite games during this stage and is great for teaching object permanence.
Welcome New Friend
Let's give a warm welcome to Piper. We are so delighted to have her join us in the Cricket Cottage this month!
Sign of the Month
The sign of the month is "Please". Take your hand with your palm facing in and rub it in a circle on your chest.
January
This month, we hope to pique their interest by setting up provocations and continuing to offer new and interesting age appropriate experiences. We will incorporate a daily circle time with reading, singing and sharing a monthly treasure basket. We will also have another fun painting activity with the Crickets this month as they will finger paint on a mirror.
Patterns
This month we will be creating patterns with our infants. Clapping is one way to introduce them to patterns and encourage your infant to mimic those claps. When your older infant falls down, stands up and does not cry, and you applaud them saying, “Yay!” (and they do it again to get the same response), they have recognized a pattern. Children are never too young to be engaged in finding patterns. Their brains are wired to light up when patterns are detected (patterns of behavior, daily schedule, of voices, etc.)
This month our treasure basket will include black and white books of pattern and shapes. Simple lines and bold patterns are easier for babies to see. Our babies enjoy when we read books to them. Looking at patterns and shapes help your baby learn to focus. We will talk about the pictures by describing them. We will take your baby’s hand and gently trace circles, squares and wavy lines.
Ladybug Cottage News
Hopes & Dreams
When a new year begins, all dreams seem possible and possibilities appear endless, and so, we introduce you to the theme of the month in our little Ladybug cottage: “Hopes and Dreams.” As educators, we want the best for the todfants in our care and for their young lives, but most importantly, we wish them happiness, peace and fulfillment wherever they may go and strive to create an environment that facilitates these outcomes in our little Ladybug cottage. As we take a moment to reflect on the amazing past month the Ladybugs have had, we’re also planning for not only an exciting and educational January, but one that is filled with joy and stippled with intentional moments of serenity after such a busy season.
Reflection
In December, the Ladybugs took in the sights and sounds of the season with delight and “helped” Ms. Joanne and Ms. Jessica transform the Cottage into a Holiday wonderland. Some of the todfants’ favorites included our dancing lights projector and our seasonal music CD. Your babies unanimously love the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and wanted to dance to it whenever it played! They noticed each new decoration or strand of bulbs that was hung up and either wanted to touch it or observe it up close (usually both) in short order. They also were introduced to several “Winter”-themed concepts like “cold” (using icepacks) and “gift-giving.” During imitation and pretend/play time, we role-played that Holiday tradition. The older Ladybugs developed a game involving giving Ms. Jessica “presents” of whatever room items they could find and waiting for a silly reaction that would make them giggle away.
Little did they know all the fun was covert learning. We discussed colors when changing our projector lights. Science was the hidden gem when they played with ice packs and speech and language development were at work when singing about Rudolph and his glowing – like a light bulb! – nose. Imitation gift-giving taught social skills (taking turns, traditions, etc.), and the list goes on. No, we do not need to bore the todfants to teach them – play does it so much better and it’s what they are meant to do!
Transitions
This month we will welcome two new students to our little group while three of our “big kids” get ready to move up to the Caterpillar cottage! Transitions usually include a couple of weeks of the todfant visiting the new cottage to make the switch as smooth as possible for them when it occurs. At the same time, we will have our new students visiting/starting, as well. This will be a busy month for us as everyone gets settled into their new rooms, and our New Year’s wish for peace and contentment for each todfant will be in the forefront of our minds as we work on keeping all the babies on track and comfortable during this brief period of change.
We will miss our graduates and are so proud of what they’ve learned in such a short amount of time! Not only have they mastered sitting and eating at mealtimes in their own chairs, but they have gone from sleeping in cribs to sleeping on mats, baby steps (literally) to running (also literally) and are all highly communicative and ready for their next set of challenges. Hopefully they will visit us once in a while! We look forward to getting to know our new children and helping them learn the routines of the Ladybug Cottage – very exciting!
Winter Plans, An Interesting Mix
On the subject of communication, we have noticed two major trends in our current group that we plan to explore further this month. We’ve touched on this briefly in past newsletters, but we seem to have a cottage of ‘Bugs right now with strong interests / strengths. One of these is early communication – several in our cottage are highly verbal and expressive, able to convey their thoughts and feelings through actions, voice, gesture, early speech, etc. Another set of students (and some children overlap, of course) has a fascination with building, stacking, puzzles and early science / math. We’d like to expand both areas of interest here to engage all the students even more. For our social butterflies and communicators, we’d like to add more American Sign Language signs beyond what we normally teach (especially the words we think they are trying to use most often). For our math and science bunch, we would like to try to introduce more small parts (hand size, not mouth size for you parents who donate toys and activities to the cottage, but you know that) for them to arrange, sort, count and do what they will with. Both strategies are Cottages-specialties, child-guided and creative-curriculum friendly - and will hopefully provide great brain food for the Ladybugs! We will let you know what your own todfant is enjoying and see where the class takes these new/expanded learning opportunities.
Dream Theme
What kinds of things do you notice about your little one that make him or her unique? What do you picture him or her enjoying in the next few years? Parents are the first ones to “call” certain personality traits or penchants in their offspring (amazingly present even before age one) and we always love hearing your observations. Sometimes we can even add experiences or circle times directly corelating to something you’ve noticed that your baby likes! Do you have any dreams for your child? Of course you do!
This month, as we continue to expand the Ladybug’s awareness of all things connected to them - building outward off of the me-mommy-daddy-school-world paradigm we’ve been using - we will also begin talking about jobs and careers in very broad, todfant-appropriate terms. The todfants are very loosely aware that their parents “go to work” every day and may even have heard what they do (“Daddy is a Chef”), but by discussing these ideas further and with some props (we have dolls and figurines that represent various professions), we expand their awareness of the world around them and maybe even plant the kernels of curiosity about their own life paths in their young minds. (Look, this is stuffy is a doctor! See his doctor’s bag? Doctors take care of you when you are sick. Ach-choo!”) We will also role-play “going to work” with our todfants and also continue to emphasize that baby’s work is playing and that they are safe and cared for while mommy and daddy do their jobs – and of course, that mommy and daddy will always come and get them at the end of each day!
About Routines
Speaking of routines, many parents ask us how on Earth we are able to get all the ‘Bugs to sit at the table together and eat – or sleep. Usually the answer is simple: routine and tons of repetition and then positive reinforcement. Any parent or grandparent who has been with us during mealtimes will hear us utter the same statements over and over (“we sit when we eat”) or repeat the same actions again and again (putting a child back in his or her chair during snack time). The kids absolutely do figure it out, though – it just takes a little time. Praise and enthusiasm for the todfants helps, too, once they are making progress (and progress can be staying in their chair a few minutes longer than yesterday – it doesn’t have to be nailing the whole sequence at once). If we have an excellent lunch/nap/circle time, we will praise them all at once, which makes them super proud of themselves: “That was a great meal time today, guys, you all did so GREAT staying in your seats! High fives all around!”
We always strive to use positive, affirming language with each Ladybug every day as it’s so important for them to hear encouraging messages about themselves from an early age. Your kids are told they are good, smart, handsome, pretty and awesome routinely. Additionally, when your child does something awesome – like share a toy or give a gentle hug all on their own without prompting – they are praised for it. The distinct qualities we perceive are named and celebrated within the cottage. (This is also positive reinforcement – “That was a very sweet hug, Sarah – Thank you!”)
Caterpillar Cottage News
December Recap
During the month of December we merged from learning about farms to Christmas tree farms. Our primary focus was on the wonder and magic of lights and reflections while incorporating pine tree branches into art experiences and our Festival of Lights project. We enjoyed exploring lights using mirrors, painting on reflective aluminum foil, using pine tree branches as a tool for painting, and creating a snow effect on our pine tree branches in the classroom for our light project.
Jumping into January
We will be continuing our light and reflection inquiry during the month of January. Various materials will be used such as rope lighting, solid and transparent objects, and shiny materials. Natural lighting, an overhead projector, mirrors, flameless candles, flashlights, and the light table will be added to enhance the experience of this month's inquiry. Using these different resources the children will explore pattern, shape, form, color, and color mixing as well as creating mirror art. Mirrors will also be used on the ground outside inviting the children to mimic their surroundings above.
Light It Up!
The children will be introduced to flameless candles and we will allow them to experiment with them by turning them off and on. We will be asking thought provoking questions such as, “What makes them light up?” The children will be encouraged to design and build block structures and use the flameless candles to light the structures that are created. This exploration provides an opportunity to explore light and shadow in a creative construction project.
Flashlight Fun
Flashlights will be used this month and inquiries will be made as to what makes it light up and what is inside. We will cover the flashlights with different colored cellophane sheets and overlap the colors to create other colors. The classroom lights will be turned off to create a darker environment to shine the different colors throughout the classroom.
Music and Movement
We will be incorporating finger plays, songs, and rhymes into our circle time this month. We will be singing the song, "Mr. Sun,” and using the finger play motions to go along with it. Another song we will be singing is, "My Shadow Likes to Move". Music will be brought outdoors and we will be dancing with our shadows outside. Do you think our shadows will be able to keep up with our awesome upbeat dance moves? Please see below for the words to the songs we'll be singing this month if you'd like to sing along at home.
Sing-a-long Songs
Mr. Sun Song
Oh Mister Sun, Sun.
Mister Golden Sun.
Won't you please shine down on me?
Oh Mister Sun, Sun.
Mister Golden Sun.
Hiding behind the tree.
These little children
are asking you.
To please come out
so we can play with you.
Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun.
Won't you please shine down on me
My Shadow Likes to Move (Tune: “if you’re happy and you know it”)
Oh my shadow likes to move, just like I do.
Oh my shadow likes to move, just like I do.
Whatever that I do, my shadow does it, too.
Oh my shadow likes to move, just like I do.
Healthy Living
Smoothies are a great way to get more fruits and vegetables into your toddler's belly! They're easy, fast, and delicious. We found a great smoothie recipe we'd like to share with our families if you are interested in trying it at home. This green smoothie is naturally sweetened with frozen fruit and packed with vitamins and antioxidants.
Immune Booster Sweet Green Smoothie
Servings 2 smoothies
Ingredients
• 1 cup roughly chopped spinach and kale packed tightly
• 1 1/2 cups Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almondmilk (or any preferred substitution)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mix of mango, pineapple, and kiwi chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
Add the spinach and kale to a blender with the milk and blend well.
Add the frozen fruit, ginger and lemon and blend until smooth. If the smoothie is too thick, add more almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Enjoy!
Butterfly Cottage News
Hi families! We missed The Butterflies so much over winter break! I hope you all got a visit from Santa and spent every minute you could with each other!! We have a lot of new ideas and activities will be introducing with the new year. We can’t wait!
December Recap
First let’s recap our December. The first couple weeks we found our shadows! We danced, traced, and have been pointing out shadows EVERYWHERE now. We turned off the main lights and explored the classroom with flash lights which was awesome. After introducing some LEGO people and stampers that were emotion themed, we talked about our own emotions. We are even using big words like REFLECTION after looking into mirrors and practiced our emotions that our faces show! We were so intrigued by the Holidays that we decorated our room with bright lights and light table activities that were ongoing. Blue and white gems and loose parts were a huge hit to make into snowflakes or snowmen that we read about in our Winter books. Of course, Santa was the main topic and we talked about what Traditions meant and all about being “nice” to get on Santa’s list at circle time.
January
January will give us a fresh new start as we add some new activities to circle time! We will continue our circle time song (that I’m sure some of you have heard them sing). "Who’s here today", "Weather song", "Days of the week", etc. Everyone's names have been laminated so they can start to identify their own name as it will help them identify more letters in the long run. We will start learning ASL! I will sign the ABCS with them every day and introduce one new sign a week, like "butterfly" or even a whole song like, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
Art and Science
Once we take down our Christmas decor we will need some new classroom decor. That’s where our art and science will come into play as we will let the butterflies collect nature like leaves, rocks, etc. and decorate with loose parts like fabric pieces, beads or art utensils. Keep a look out for some really expressive masterpieces hanging around the room.
Gross Motor
Last but not least we are in the process of planning some fun obstacle courses for the butterflies. We will have them help us set it up. While they are busy having fun going through it, they will be gaining muscles, problem solving skills and learn to work as a big team!
Thanks for being amazing parents and we look forward to continue teaching and guiding your butterfly into a new year!
Bumblebee Cottage News
December Recap
Here we are in 2019 and our Bees "flew" through half the school year already! First, let's take a look at what we explored in December. With the Holidays on our minds, we were able to experience the eight days of Hanukkah, which allowed us to take another peek at Israel and the delicious treats such as latkes and the lighting of the menorah. St. Nicholas Day was also covered, as well as the countries involved in its celebration, including Hungary, Germany, and Greece. We had a special focus on Greece due to one of the Bee's ancestries being rooted in this country, including an introduction to the traditional Zorba dance, as well as visuals of various cities covered in snow during the winter time, and trying out the different ingredients involved in a Greek salad.
With winter being a highlight, we discussed the cooling weather temperatures and recreated a variety of snow scenes. A favorite involved experiences with fake snow to help us better understand what life is like in climates where this occurs. We explored snowflakes and their shapes, and recreated an ice kingdom of our own with natural objects and loose parts to help us experience a "winter wonderland." Friendships were strengthened and continue to develop as children worked together to play, build, and create new understandings of the world around them.
Letter of the Week & Sign-In Sheet
Our letters of the week through the month of January will include Q/q, R/r, and S/s, with the last week being a review. The children take pride in practicing tying the letters to their sounds as we focus on a new word to spell each day, related to our topic of inquiry. Now, as they begin the second half of the school year, we introduce even more experiences to help them gain confidence with their approaching graduation to Dragonflies. Many children are increasing their interest in writing letters, their names, and words. Therefore, beginning in January, we are taking on a Dragonfly practice of implementing a sign-in sheet. We invite families to encourage their Bees to sign-in during drop-off each day!
Winter Reflections
Our inquiry into winter will become even more prevalent with the season officially having arrived on December 21, 2018. Now we will be putting those clear, loose parts, mirrors, tea lights, and flashlights to explore the interplay of light and shadow. Invitations will be provided to deepen mathematical concepts of patterns we see in reflections. Scientific inquiry will be furthered as we experience how light and shadow interact with a variety of objects. Further experiences with ice will be offered to experiment with the changing of properties of a variety of materials and living things with a variety of plant life. We encourage further donations of flashlights such as those found at the Dollar Tree to maximize these inquiries.
Forest Friends & Hibernation
As we explore the world around us, we can take a closer look at how nature reacts to the cooling temperatures. It is especially prevalent in the hibernation of a variety of wildlife. We turn our attention to forests of the world and the animals who sleep through this chilly season. As we familiarize ourselves with a comparison of those animals who hibernate versus those who do not, we ask for donations of pine tree clippings to help us recreate a forest scene to explore this concept. Addition, these clippings will be useful during our math and science inquiries where we explore properties of plants as they interact with ice and snow.
South Africa, England, & Japan
In January, we look forward to introducing the children to the people, geography, and wildlife of South Africa, England, and Japan during the hanami (cherry blossom festival). We continue to learn both similarities and differences in language, writing, and customs such as in clothing, dance, and transportation!
Parents who have signed up for these countries are encouraged to submit a recipe, and/or to bring in any items representing the traditional or modern cultures of these places for a show-and-tell. We also invite you or a family member or friend to read a story from these countries, or to simply teach a few words in the official language, or both! Please contact Ms. Cat or Ms. Stephanie to schedule a visit if you would like to come in to feature a song, story, or even to "model" and discuss traditional dress and customs from these countries.
Friendly Reminders
Baby, it's cold outside! As the weather tends to get especially chilly this time of year, please be sure to have your child come to school dressed in warmer clothes. Please remember we encourage you to have a backup set of clothing such as long sleeves, warm pants, socks, and a sweater here in the Bumblebee Cottage so that we can help your child change as the temperature tends to fluctuate.
Remember to keep an eye out on the sign-in/sign-out board. This is one of the places where we post notices about upcoming events to keep you informed as to our great happenings here at The Cottages. Don't forget to also give a glance to our whiteboard on the back of the front door to our cottage. On it you will also find special announcements, in addition to a daily overview of what your child did in class that day. We look forward to continuing a fun and exciting school year with both you and your child!
Dragonfly Cottage News
December Recap
What a month! We can't believe how fast the first few months together flew by! Our light project was literally the most magical one to date. It was a beautiful piece of loose parts, children's artwork, and natural materials. It was so beautiful!
Heron East Assisted Living Facility
Some of our Dragonflies made it out to sing at Heron East Assisted Living Facility last month for the holidays. We really enjoyed singing our songs, passing out the goodie bags to all the residents, and passing out the Giving Tree gifts to the seniors we adopted for the holidays. It was an awesome and magical experience to be a part of and we are so proud of our Dragonflies as they were confident, happy, and filled hearts with joy!
Thank you again to all families for taking part in our holiday cheer and supporting The Cottages! We wish you a very happy and healthy new year. Love, Ms. Amanda and Ms. Gabriella.
January
Our theme this month will be diving into all things space! We will learn about the moon, stars, sun, and planets. We will tie in all domains such as literacy, art, math, and science while exploring space. It's going to be out of this world!
American Sign Language
The month of December was so busy for the Dragonflies. We got to put our ASL skills to the test when we preformed and signed, "One Small Voice", for the residents at Heron East Assisted Living Facility. We rocked it! We learned the signs for Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,
Santa , and forest animals such as deer, bear, mouse, and lots more. January we will be learning words like star, moon, and sun. Dragonflies will also get the chance to vote on a new song to learn to sign!
Creative Constellations
Each dragonfly is going to make their own constellation. We will be asking for donations of mini marshmallows and pretzel sticks. We are so thankful for how awesome our families have been with donations! Dragonflies will create their own constellation with a name and a story. Make sure to be on the lookout for our pictures and stories around the classroom.
New Year's Resolution
Happy New Years! The dragonflies will make a 2019 goal list. Each dragonfly will come up with one goal or task they would like to complete before the VPK school year is over. It can be anything from a skill they want to master, behavior goal, or even trying something new. If you have a New Year Resolution, talk to your dragonfly to get the ball rolling. Let's make 2019 the year of confident and kind kiddos ready for kindergarten!