November Newsletter
2016 - 2017 Academic Year
Welcome November!
All Faiths Food Bank Food Drive
During the month of November, The Cottages will be holding a food drive for the holiday season. Food that is collected during our drive will be donated to All Faiths Food Bank. Donations needed for All Faiths Food Bank are non-perishable items, preferably meals such as soups and stews. Peanut Butter is also a great item!
We are asking all Cottage families to donate food for others that are in need during this holiday season if you are able. This is such a great opportunity to talk with your child about how others are less fortunate than we are and to show the importance of giving back and paying it forward. What a great life lesson! We appreciate your support of our community service efforts and are grateful to have such generous families! Please look for the collection boxes that will be located underneath the Parent Information Board outside the office.
Fall Fundraisers
We are still in need of many more recipes. If you haven't had the chance to submit recipes from your family yet, please try to do so by next week. We have paper copies available in the front office, or if you need us to send you another pdf via email, just shoot us a line and we'd be happy to do so. We are really excited to see our first Cottage Family Cookbook come to life and are so grateful for all your help and support!
Pumpkin Pie Parties
Tuesday, Nov 22, 2016, 03:30 PM
602 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL, United States
Important Dates
- 11/11- Veteran's Day
- 11/24 - Pumpkin Pie Parties at 3:30pm
- 11/25-11/27- TCMLC Closed in Observance of Thanksgiving Holiday
- 11/29-11/30 - Fall Portraits with PLPP
Have a GREEN Thanksgiving!
Are you looking for ways to be GREEN this Thanksgiving? We found a few websites with
helpful tips to help you along the way.
• For 8 Easy Green Thanksgiving Tips check out www.earth911.com
• On Mother Nature Network you can find 9 green
Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas at www.mnn.com
• www.treehugger.com has several tips on how to
go green this Thanksgiving.
• For eco-friendly recipes and try www.thedailygreen.com.
Thanksgiving Break
The Cottages will be closed Wednesday, November 23rd - Friday, November 25th in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. We wish all of our families a Happy Thanksgiving and are so thankful for you all!
Weather Appropriate Changes of Clothes
Now that weather is starting to get cooler, we ask that you provide us with additional changes of clothing for your child. Because the weather is so unpredictable during this time of year we highly recommend bringing in items that can be layered. We suggest keeping 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of pants, 1 short sleeved shirt, 1 long sleeved shirt, socks, underwear, and 1 sweatshirt for your child at school. Please remember to bring in additional clothing replacements as your child is sent home in the extra clothes. Thank you!
Looking for Unique Holiday Gifts?
So what can you expect? The Mercato is made up of several vendors who each bring with them their own style and creative genius. When it comes to style, they bring it! Some of the styles you'll find are farmhouse, shabby chic, rustic, coastal, and so much more! They carry everything from handmade jewelry to custom made barn doors. Many of the items that you'll find are vintage, repurposed, or made from salvage. If you're looking to redecorate and want a stylish new piece of furniture - they have it! Or you can get creative and attend one of the furniture chalk paint classes they hold, purchase Junk Gypsy Chalk Paint while you're there, and create your very own beautiful piece!
The next show will be on Saturday, November 19th from 9am-5pm and Sunday, November 20th from 10am-5pm. They are located at 607 Spur Street, Venice, Fl 34235. I hope to see you there!
November Birthdays!
Swirling autumn leaves of orange, red and gold, November has a beauty that's easy to behold. A birthday wish for you of happiness and more, may your days be full of what you're thankful for.
Happy Birthday to all of our friends born in November!
- Ms. Kaitlyn- November 5th
- Julian D.- November 8th
- Olivia R.- November 12th
- Bella F.- November 17th
- Olivia M.- November 29th
Fall Portraits with Precious Little People
Say Cheeeeeeese! On Tuesday, November 29th and Wednesday, November 30th, Precious Little People Portraits will be at The Cottages for School Portraits. Be sure to check out the picture day sheet in your child’s classroom to see which day your child will be getting their picture taken. The Parent Info Board in front of the school will have the backgrounds posted that the photographers will be using.
Story Stretchers - The Giving Tree
'Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy.'
So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.
Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave.
This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.
Gardening with Ms. Erin
During the month of October, the Caterpillar, Butterfly, Bumblebee, and Dragonfly Cottages worked very hard in the school garden. We planted beans, lettuce, carrots, and flowers. Some of them have come up and some have not. We will continue to water our garden and see what gets strong and big. While we wait, we have started to decorate the garden with rainbow stepping stones and some beads we strung and hung on sticks. We have started our rock lady bugs and our sun catchers. If anyone wants to donate some veggie starts, please bring them any Tuesday and we will be happy to help them grow. Zinnia and I love being part of the Cottages and seeing all the children. Thank you all.
Cricket Cottage News
Welcome
We would like to welcome Jack to the Cricket Cottage. We are so happy to have you join us. Jack has an older brother named Charlie who is a student in the Bumblebee Cottage. We love to be the beginning part of a child's journey through our program!
Stretching and Growing
This month we will be concentrating on fine and gross motor skills. Our older friends will work on rolling over, standing, sitting up, and holding/grabbing toys. Our younger friends will focus on grasping and reaching for toys. The Crickets are growing and changing on a daily basis. Our goal is to continue to promote and encourage their independence.
Sensory Play
This month we will be continuing our sense of touch. Last month we had lots of fun touching the inside of a pumpkin. We will introduce a variety of materials and toys for our friends to explore. Through this activity, we encourage the development of their fine motor skills as well as their eye/hand coordination.
Sign Language
During the month of November we will be teaching the babies to sign 'thank you". To sign this word, use the fingertips of a flat hand, touch lips, then hand falls forward towards the person being thanked.
Turkey Footprints
To track your baby's growth, this month we will be making turkey footprints. Gobble gobble!
We are so Thankful
November is a special month of the year. It's a time of self reflection and love of family. We are so blessed with the beautiful babies in our care! We would like to add "leaves" to our tree. On these leaves, we arte asking families to write what they are thankful for. We will then add your "leaves" to our thankful tree to display.
Ladybug Cottage News
October Recap
Hello, Ladybug cottage families! In the month of October, the children worked on developing fine motor skills by using paintbrushes, chalk, and crayons to create the artwork you see displayed around the classroom. The Ladybugs are really starting to effectively commutate with us and each other. We have been seeing a lot of head shakes indicating a "yes" or "no" to questions we ask the children. To promote language and future vocabulary, you will see the teachers using a technique called "sportscasting". Listed below is a link we encourage you to investigate with more information pertaining to this technique.
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2013/04/5-benefits-of-sportscasting-your-childs-struggles/
Topic
We will be learning all about farms during the month of November. The children will explore farm animals and identify the animal by name and playing with sounds the animals make. The Ladybugs will also be using items that can be found on farms such as hay, corn cobs, and "eggs". We will be singing songs about farms this month as well.
Bathing Farm Animals
During the month of November, the farm animals in the classroom will be taking a bath! We will put the toy farm animals in a sensory bin with soapy water. Using sponges, the children can scrub the animals. During this activity, we will be focusing on developing social and emotional skills, guiding the children as they work and play together. Also, we will be focusing on cognitive development as we use classification skills to sort out the animals.
Painting with Hay and Corn Cobs
The children will be enjoying some messy fun at the "farm" participating in some group art activities. We will be rolling corn cobs in paint and then moving them around to make imprints on poster paper. Hay will be bunched together, tied, and used as a painting tool.
Gathering Eggs
Jennie's House will be transformed into a chicken coop. The children will help us collect and gather "chicken eggs". The children are beginning to understand object permanence (just because I can't see it doesn't mean it is not there). We thought this will be a fun experiment.
November Songs
Learning the animal sounds through the timeless classic, Old MacDonald Had a Farm.
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
And on his farm he had some chicks,
E-I-E-I-O.
With a chick, chick here,
And a chick, chick there,
Here a chick, there a chick,
Everywhere a chick, chick,
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
2. Duck - quack
3. Turkey - gobble
4. Pig - oink, oink
5. Cow - moo, moo
6. Cat -meow, meow
7. Mule - Heehaw
8. Dog - bow wow
9. Turtle - nerp, nerp
Caterpillar Cottage News
October Recap
We took our art activities and turned our classroom into a haunted house with spiders, ghosts, and mummies! The kids really enjoyed decorating their pumpkins and t-shirts for the parade. We hope you enjoyed the pumpkin parties and parade as much as we did! Thank you for all the yummy donations for the party.
November
Now that October has passed, we are ready for some November fun! The children have been showing a lot of interest in the animals in the Block Center. Because of this, we have decided to learn about animals on the farm this month. The children will learn each animal’s name and where they live on a farm. The Thanksgiving holiday will be discussed as well and we are looking forward to having some fun with turkeys and turkey trails.
Donations
We are still in need of items for your child’s end of year portfolio. Please bring in a 2inch binder, sheet protectors, dividers, and a ream of copy paper.
Welcome
Last month we had a new friend join our cottage. Her name is Athena and her older brother, Atticus graduated from The Cottages in May. Athena’s parent’s names are Kelly and Justin and her birthday is December 11th. She loves playing with puzzles and dancing. We are happy to have you join us Athena and we are looking forward to watching you grow and learn!
Matching, Counting, and Colors
This development is best learned in a young child's everyday life. We will be doing activities at circle time and throughout the day. Our children will be exploring new methods with the toys we have in the classroom. For example, the play piano. We will discuss the patterns of sound by the beat we hear. We will also count and identifying the colors of the keys on the keyboard. Puzzle pieces from our Table Toys shelf will be used for matching and counting and sorting as well.
Manners
This month we will be learning the importance of giving. The children have been doing a great job saying “please” and thank you”. Every morning we will be greeting our friends and giving high fives. We have also been practicing using the words excuse me if we are trying to get by a friend who may be in our way.
Butterfly Cottage News
October Recap
We really carved out some fun during the month of October! We explored the inside and outside of a pumpkin, played with pumpkin playdough, and had a spooktacular time in the sensory table with bats! We also created some felt-tastic projects to decorate our classroom.
November Topics
During the month of November, we will trot through some fun Thanksgiving activities. We will make turkey tracks, pumpkin pie using playdough and pie tins, and play with leaves in the water table. We will also go on a Fall scavenger hunt on the playground.
Circle Time
We will be learning new songs during circle time. The songs we will be singing are called “I Eat Turkey” and “Thank You Rhyme”. If you’d like to know the lyrics to these songs, please see Ms. Jamie.
Classroom Helpers
This month we will begin having classroom helpers in our room. The jobs will include door/gate holder, line leader, mat helper, errand runner, circle time helper, and playground sweeper. Every week we will select new helpers so everyone gets a turn. This is a fun way for the children to learn responsibility and helping others.
Thank You
We would like to give a big thank you to our parents who donated items to our classroom last month. We received decorations, sensory and art materials, and of course yummy treats for our party. We really appreciate all of these items and the children had a blast using them!
Manners
We will be continuing to work with the children on using their manners. The children will be encouraged to say “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me”. We encourage families to work on manners at home as well. We will have such kind, respectful little Butterflies this month.
Bumblebee Cottage News
October Recap
During the month of October, our bumblebees learned the letters I, H, and W. We played Letter of the Week BINGO and practiced tracing our letters. We also used our sensory bins with water or sand and played with fun letter items. We used a lot of our Fall items such as gourds, corn, and pumpkins! With these items, we discussed Fall colors, what grows during the Fall season, and counted and sorted corn kernels and pumpkin seeds. We discussed how in other places of the world the air outside gets cooler and the leaves change colors and fall to the ground.
November Topics
During the month of November, we will be learning about Colors and Thanksgiving. The colors unit will be explored through a variety of mediums and we will also continue learning different letters each week.
Colors
The children will be learning a lot about colors this month. We will begin with learning primary colors which will lead to mixing. We will mix colors to see if a different color appears which will lead us on to learning about secondary colors. Pastels will also be explored and children will learn the colors to add to create a lighter or darker shade of color.
Letters of the Week
The letters the children will learn this month will be N, M, and K. The Bees will learn the sound of the letter and come up with words that begin with the letter based on the sound. They will also practice writing the capital and lowercase letters in the Handwriting Center. Letter of the Week BINGO will of course be involved during the month of November.
Thanksgiving
The Bumblebees will be learning about the holiday of Thanksgiving during the month of November. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we will create a Thankful Tree. An activity we will be incorporating in our Thanksgiving topic will be a Thankful Tree. Bumblebees will make and decorate leaves and let us know what they are thankful for. We will write down their answers and add the thankful leaf to our Thankful Tree. Small acts of kindness from one friend may cause another friend to feel grateful or thankful. We will also be learning some fun Thanksgiving songs.
Thanksgiving Songs
Ted the Turkey (Sung To: I'm A Little Teapot)
I'm a little turkey, my name is Ted.
Here are my feathers, here is my head.
Gobble, gobble, gobble, is what I say
Gobble, gobble, gobble, It's thanksgiving Day!
Thanksgiving (Sung To: Where is Thumpkin)
Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving
Here it comes, here it comes.
Turkey on the table, turkey on the table.
Mmm-good, mmm-good.
Let's Be Thankful
(Sung To: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
Let's be thankful for this day
For our friends and our play
Let's be thankful; let's be glad
For our food and the things we have
Let's give thanks for you and me
And our home and family.
Pumpkin Pie Party
We would like to invite all of our Bumblebee families to our annual Pumpkin Pie Party. We will be putting up a parent donation list for items needed to make the party unforgettable. The party will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd at 3:30pm. We are very thankful for all our Bumblebees and families and can't wait to celebrate together!
Dragonfly Cottage News
October Recap
What a wonderful fun filled month October was! We explored so many Autumn inspired items and topics. We made homemade pumpkin spice playdough and explored the parts of a pumpkin- both inside and out! We planted and took so much loving care of our bucket garden. Our Pumpkin Parade and party was a huge success. Thank you to all the parents for all of the donations. We are so grateful for all you do!
November in the Dragonfly Cottage
During the month of November, we will be studying birds. We will be learning about different kinds of birds each week and be reading books about birds. We will be setting up different provocations to extend bird inquiry and learn new vocabulary pertaining to birds.
Collaborative Project
We will be using various items to make a bird feeder for our feathered friends on the playground. Some examples will be a milk jug, plastic bottles, cheerios, and pipe cleaners. If you are able to donate birdseed to be used for our bird feeders, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all our awesome Dragonfly parents! We hope to see everyone at our Pumpkin Pie Party the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at 3:30pm. We are so grateful for all of you everyday! We will be starting a family tree in our cottage so please bring in a family picture.
Friendly Reminders
This school year already seems to be flying by! We can't believe it's already November! We have been very busy these last few weeks and have been working hard in all areas. Small group times are going well and all of the children seem to be growing in all areas. Here are just a few reminders from us-
- Please drop your child off to VPK no later than 9:00am. It's still very important for the children to arrive to school on time.
- Allow your child to sign in when they arrive to school and please not help them make their mark.
- Please change out extra clothes that are kept at school. Some clothes may be too small. We also have cooler weather coming up. Please provide clothes that can be worn on the cooler days.