February Newsletter
2018 - 2019 Academic Year
Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser
Chip, Chip Hooray!!! Our Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser is underway and we're super excited! Okay so we know that Otis doesn't exactly offer the healthiest of options... But they sure are yummy! Aside from the delicious cookies offered they also offer pizza from Hansen, soups from Soul Warming soup bags (Panera Bread), Cheesecakes from Atlanta Cheesecake Company and pretzels from Auntie Anne's. The Otis Spunkmeyer warehouse is located locally in Bradenton. A small detail that makes this fundraiser just a wee little bit eco-friendly.
The fundraiser will run from Monday, February 11th - Friday, February, 22nd . The profits made from this fundraiser will help purchase new playground toys and materials. If you would like to support our fundraising efforts, but do not want to purchase anything from the catalog, families are welcome to make donations. As well we will have a wish list in the office that families can choose to sign up to either purchase the item or give a donation for that specific item.
We appreciate your support with our fundraising efforts and are super excited to have some new playground toys for the kiddos to enjoy!
Dental Health Month
In honor of Dental Health Month, The Cottages will be welcoming Kidsmiles Dentistry on Tuesday, February 12th. They will do a presentation for our Bumblebee and Dragonfly Cottages on proper tooth brushing, flossing, and foods that are healthy and unhealthy for our teeth. Kidsmiles Dentistry is located at 5561 Broadcast Court, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34240.
Fairytale Dance is back at The Cottages!
Join us every Wednesday as we explore classic children’s literature and creative movement. Our program introduces basic dance concepts, while building confidence and encouraging self-expression through the use of fun costumes and props. Our teachers are highly trained, supportive and caring. We aim to inspire children not only to dance, but to love to dance.
Spaces are limited. Register in the school office today! Classes are prorated from the time of enrollment. $15 drop in, space permitting.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences will begin in March. We will be offering the conferences over several days for each cottage. This will allow us to offer more morning and afternoon time slots. Additionally, you can also choose to have a phone conference if that suits your schedule better. A sign-up sheet for a scheduled time slot will be available in your child’s classroom. During this scheduled time with your child’s teacher, you will have the opportunity to discuss your child's days here at school as well as your child’s growth and development.
Pizza Fridays
Parking Lot Reminders
- Please drive slowly and cautiously and keep distractions down while in our parking lot.
- Please enter the lot from the rear near the dumpsters and exit in the front near The Cottages sign.
- Please park your vehicle using only one parking space.
- Do not park in the handicapped spaces unless you are indeed handicapped and have a handicap sticker.
February Birthdays!
2/3 - Layna D.
2/6 - Ms. Judy
2/13 - Jack S.
2/16- Colleen O.
2/19 - Josie B.
2/21- Brynnlee E.
2/21- Lorelei E.
2/25 - Joey S.
2/25 - Jasper B.
2/26- Harper C.
Cricket Cottage News
January Recap
Where did January go? We were so busy this past month that it just flew by. We were immersed in our black and white theme, reading books, playing with our themed sensory bottles, and black and white puppets. We enjoyed clapping patterns to help with math skills, stacking the blocks and watching them tumble. Our youngest enjoyed the display of black and white patterns for them to focus on and enjoyed listening to the stories. Our older friends enjoyed finger painting with white on black card stock while our youngest used their feet and created stomp art.
Love is in the Air
This month we are going to focus on kisses and hugs. Our tree mobile is covered with a variety of hearts giving the infants something to gaze at. We will be blowing kisses and hugging our infants all month long. We will introduce a new “Valentine” treasure basket and sensory bottles with colors of red, white, and pink items. We will be reading our babies our new themed books of the month.
Baby Love Rituals from Ms. Judy
Imagine what it’s like to be an infant. The world is all brand new, fascinating, and full of sensorial experiences. Constant transitions and surprises can be intense and overwhelming to infants. At this age they are growing and changing more rapidly than they ever will. Infants are the happiest when they are able to predict what will happen next. They love rituals! For example, after their morning bottle and a diaper change they will go to a familiar place to play otherwise known as our beloved Cricket Cottage. Perhaps after their evening bath, mommy will read a book, then close the shades, hear a lullaby and be gently placed in a sleep sack then to bed for sleep. Creating routines and love rituals is one of the most respectful and empowering things we can do for our babies.
Infant expert Magda Gerber emphasized the importance of establishing a daily sequence of events formed together with our babies in response to their individual needs. In a predictable environment, and with regular dependable schedules, they will feel more comfortable, cry less, and life will be easier for both infant and parents. We can begin by getting into the habit of telling our infant what will happen next. “I’m going to carry you to the diaper table. Then we will unsnap your pajamas.” Soon our baby learns what he can expect. He feels more like a participant in the experience and will be be able to predict and anticipate it. As our infants become toddlers even the simplest rituals empower them. And when children know what to expect, they are inspired to immerse themselves in an experience and gain more pleasure from it. Babies love rituals! My favorite memory of Love Rituals that I did with my own children was a bath then rub down with lavender lotion, fresh diaper, lastly a warm bottle before bed. As they were toddlers it was adapted to include reading books before bed. Do you have rituals that you currently do with your baby? Please share your “Love Ritual” with our class by writing it down on the notebook near the sign in sheet. Perhaps if you don’t have one you will be inspired from one of the ideas from another parent. I will post your “Love Ritual” on our Valentine board next to your baby’s photo.
Make New Friends but Keep the Old
We are happy to have new friends Piper Borgia-Howard and Nicholas Gould join the Cricket Cottage! Farewell to Sam Kison who graduated to the Ladybug Cottage in January. We will miss him but very excited for his new journey. We wish Coco Olson farewell as she is graduating to the Ladybug Cottage this month. We will miss her but know that she will enjoy her new environment and continuing to learn and grow.
Circle Time with Ms. Claudine
Claudine is excited to expand on your child’s learning experience by reading our books of the month” Guess How Much Do I Love You?” and "Llama Llama I Love You". Ms. Claudine is excited to rock the classroom with the tune by the Beatles, “Love is all you need,”and a few other tunes from her personal Beatles collection. We will be listening to Becky Bailey’s Love Rituals Cd as well. Ms. Claudine will be doing the Baby Hokey Pokey too. Everyone will be will be moving and grooving with the babies while shaking bells and swaying pink and red scarves.
He"Art" Work
Ms. Teresa will be enjoying doing art with your child during the month of February. We will be working on a special Heart project from your child to you. Our finger painting this month will be with red and white paint. We hope our inspiring artists will discover that combining the two colors they will create an additional color “pink“.
Ladybug Cottage News
Healthy Hearts & Minds
Our Ladybugs have had quite a transformative January in so many ways! We’ve said farewell to no less than three graduates this past month and have welcomed one new student with another one currently visiting in order to prepare to transition into our cottage soon. As our oldest students have moved onward and upward, our new, younger students are just beginning to enjoy their new room and – especially – their expanded territory and freedom! They are also getting to know our established ‘bugs and enjoying interacting and playing side-by-side with their new friends. Not to be upstaged in any way, our veteran ‘bugs who are remaining with us are now shining brighter than ever; they certainly realize they are now the “new big kids” in the class and are having fun showing off all their skills to their peers!
Makeover
We have managed, as planned, to also introduce more tranquility to the room with the help of a complete room makeover (courtesy of our director, Ms. Michelle), the deliberate addition of soothing nature sounds, new scents, constant air flow and a “tone down” of our goings-on, noise level and pace. Most of our parents and teachers have remarked how different the room feels – how calm and peaceful. We think the todfants are enjoying the relative serenity after the busy December and transitional January we’ve had!
An Artistic Month
It’s never too early to introduce art to children as all babies are born creators! This is a subject The Cottages feels very strongly about and one which we will be focusing on this February in our little Ladybug classroom. While we do have the children use some tradition mediums to create with such as crayons, markers and dot dabbers, we will expand their repertoire outward with non-toxic finger and dipping paints and age-appropriate pastels. Because todfants are so young and need such close supervision during their periods of artistic expression and experimentation, we will be breaking up our larger class into smaller groups of three or even two at a time for most of these tryouts, especially early on as we get to know how our newer students react to art time. We do have smocks your ‘bugs can wear, but also ask that you provide an oversized shirt that you do not mind getting very messy so that your little one can show us what he or she plans on creating with the materials we give them. We look forward to seeing how each and every one of our students chooses to create. We will display their work as it is produced.
Music
Music is also important in our Ladybug cottage and our todfants absolutely love to sing, dance and use the percussion instruments in the classroom. Not only do they know certain songs word for word, but your children request their favorites and the actions that go along with them. For example, several will go over to our rocking boat and say, “Row, row?” to Ms. Jessica to initiate a song and ride and the boat (which go together)! How amazing are these children? We sometimes cannot believe they are only around one years old. To build on their love of music, we would like to add a couple of new choices to their current music collection, one CD with classical music and one CD of another genre. We will be talking to the parents for ideas and suggestions before we make our final decision (Oldies? More children’s songs? Anthems?), but ultimately, it will be the kids who decide what gets played and what doesn’t. We saw this principal in action back in December when we played our kid’s Holiday music CD – some tracks held no interest, while others were instantly adored and repeatedly asked for over and over!
Loose Parts & S.T.E.M.
In last month’s newsletter, we discussed loose parts a bit, and this is something Ms. Joanne and I are working hard on. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this aspect of the creative curriculum, loose parts are multiple, non-specific “found” objects that the children play with in whatever way they see fit. Loose parts can be moved, stacked, grouped, etc. and encourage your todfant to use their imagination. Loose parts should be appealing and inviting which is where we teachers can help by displaying them in a manner that the kids cannot resist. For example, we have been using a basket of colorful hair rollers the past week as our loose parts and lining them up on the tops of our shelves while the children sleep to “invite” them to get into them once they awaken from their naps. Before that, we had some lovely wooden napkin rings we used and even a few colorful scarves. Loose parts like these also stimulate early science and math skills as the todfants sort, group and classify these objects. Since S.T.E.M. learning is so important to us, this is another great reason to continue to keep the todfants’ minds stimulated with new, interesting loose parts. If you have any great ideas for safe, size-appropriate non-toxic loose parts for this age group, let us know!
Speaking of the Group…
For our new students coming in, our veterans will quickly let them know what behaviors are valued by the group …and which ones are not. We also have some directions to keep our young charge’s bodies safe.
In the Ladybug Cottage, we work off a few basic community guidelines:
We use gentle hands and touches;
We keep our bodies separate;
We do not touch our friends faces;
We use our mouths and teeth to chew food;
Our arms are for hugs;
We choose toys that no one else is playing with;
We only eat off our own plate/drink out of our own cup;
We always sit when we are eating or drinking;
We keep our feet on the floor and walking (while inside);
And, most importantly, we have fun every day!
Caterpillar Cottage News
January Recap
We continued our light and reflection inquiry during the month of January. Various materials were 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 was added to enhance the experience of this month's inquiry. These different resources allowed the children to explore pattern, shape, form, color, and color mixing as well as creating mirror art. We also used mirrors on the ground outside inviting the children to mimic their surroundings above.
Friendly February
For the month of February the children will be learning about friendship, feelings, and kindness towards others. We will be creating artwork with friends in pairs, taking kindness action shots of the children, modeling kindness through baby-dolls and teddy bears, creating a friendship fruit salad together, and collaborative art piece as a whole group! We may make a difference in the world, just one random act of kindness at a time.
Art
We will be creating friendship artwork with various art media. This includes sharing paper and playdough between friends. We will be making a collaborative art piece as a whole group to practice sharing art tools and creating a magical masterpiece together. These experiences will help enhance social and emotional development by sharing and taking turns with crayons and complimenting each other's artwork.
Kindness Action Shots
Kindness is love in action! This month the children will be caught on camera when the teachers witness random acts of kindness from the children throughout the month of February. For example, when a child gives a hug, shares a toy, shares a crayon, helps put the toys on the shelves, and holds the door open for friends. Photos will be uploaded to Shutterfly weekly. Additionally, we will be using baby dolls to model empathy and kindness to the children.
Valentine's Day Party- Friendship Fruit Salad!
We will be creating and eating a friendship fruit salad together to celebrate Valentine's Day this month. Items in the fruit salad will include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, and pineapple. Please keep a lookout for a fruit donation wish list which will be posted on the parent bulletin board. Please also sign the permission form if you allow your child to eat this Valentine's Day treat.
Congratulations Ms. Kendelynn!
Ms. Kendelynn will be away for a couple weeks this month as she will be getting married! Congratulations Ms. Kendelynn! She will be enjoying her wedding and honeymoon starting on February 1st and she will be returning on February 19th. Although we will miss her during her celebrations, we are so very excited for her!
Literacy
We'd like to thank Jack and his family for donating Valentine's Day books from our Scholastic wish list. We are always excited to get new books for the room! The new books are, The Biggest Valentine Ever, by Stephen Kroll , Valentine Mice, by Bethany Roberts, and The Little Engine That Could Valentine's Day Surprise, by Monique Z. Stephens. We will be reading these three books during circle time throughout the month of February.
Songs
We will be learning and singing new songs this month in honor of Valentine's Day. Please see below if you'd like to sing along at home!
(Tune of: '3 Blind Mice')
Love, love, love, love, love, love
See how it grows, See how it grows.
I love my friends and they love me.
We love each other that's plain to see.
There's plenty for a big family.
Love, love, love, love, love, love.
Will You Be My Valentine
(Tune of: 'London Bridge Is Falling Down)
Will you be my Valentine, Valentine, Valentine.
Will you be my Valentine, Be a friend of Mine.
At Home Recipe- Heart Shaped Graham Crackers
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor or mixer combine the first 6 ingredients. (If using wheat germ or flax seed add here.)
- Add cubed and chilled butter to the mix and pulse/mix until it resembles coarse meal.
- Add honey, water, and vanilla and continue to mix until it all combines.
- Remove and shape the dough into a flat disk and place between two pieces of wax or parchment paper.
- Roll dough out until ¼ inch thick. Cut into crackers or (heart) shapes. Combine the dough scraps and roll out again to cut more shapes.
- Place cookies on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes. (For softer graham crackers that are more cookie like, bake for 10-11 minutes.)
- Cool and enjoy!
Butterfly Cottage News
January Recap
January was so delightful! Who would have thought the first month back from winter break was going to go by so fast and be so much fun! The Butterflies have been practicing the first letter of their name all month long and it shows! They all can recite their full name when asked and how to identify their names on large laminated name tags at circle time. Nursery rhymes ended up being our “theme” last month and now we are rhyming and singing Humpty Dumpty all the time! The Butterflies loved Humpty Dumpty so much they wanted to use real Band-Aids to put him back together again! They worked SO hard on making their own little story books with construction paper, computer paper, and markers! The children used, “Once upon a time”, to inspire their imaginations tremendously! The Butterflies also explored in bins full of Rice Krispy cereals with ribbon spools, paper towel rolls, and measuring cups which helped improve their senses and mathematical skills. Look for the awesome tree branch we collected on a nature walk that they glued, beaded, wrapped, and painted that’s nicely displayed in the classroom now!
February
February is such a sweet month! We will get to focus on being a more loving, caring, and helpful friend because of the Valentine's Day holiday. All of the Butterflies know what it takes to be a best friend and we are always practicing helpful hands, listening ears, and kind words. We will take it to the next level and go over WHY it is important and how to be a BETTER best friend. Sometimes we even slip up and say things like, “so and so is not my best friend,” or, “you can’t sit/play with us”. When really, “we are all best friends,” and “the more the merrier,” as I tell them.
Kindness Hearts
Throughout February you will notice little pink and red hearts hanging or posted on the walls of the classroom. Please stop and enjoy them because we will write down every nice gesture I have spotted your child doing during the day. Whether it be offering to come with the teacher to run errands around the school (which they already love to do), helping a friend get their shoe on, or getting a friends cup. Butterflies love helping their friends without being asked! I know that we will see more friends stopping to help a friend or invite a friend along a lot more this month and it will be praised more from both teachers and parents.
Friendship Song
Will you be a friend of mine,
Friend of mine, friend of mine?
Will you be a friend of mine
and (twirl, dance, hop) around with me?
Valentine's Day
We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on February 14th by exchanging Valentine's and eating a special snack. We ask that each Butterfly bring Valentine's cards to share with each of their classmates. There are 14 butterflies including your little one. No need to write in the "To" line as we ask for you to just fill out your child's name in the "From" line. We will also be making Valentine's Bags and this is where each child can drop off their Valentine's to their friends. We ask you to please not include any candy as we will be enjoying a sweet treat for afternoon snack instead.
Valentine's Day Snack
We will be eating strawberry shortcake as a special afternoon snack on Valentine's Day. Please keep a lookout for a signup sheet for the ingredients we'll need for this yummy holiday treat and the parental permission sign off for this special snack.
Mrs. Waddles
Mrs. Waddles! If you haven’t already heard about Mrs. Waddles, let me introduce you to her! She comes from the North Pole (yup, she knows Santa) and she’s here to watch us follow directions and be the best friend we can be! We are going to pick one student a week on Friday that Mrs. Waddles will go home with for a whole weekend! The special Butterfly gets to bring her home Friday (back on Monday) and along to any events you guys attend, cuddle in bed, or even just go along to the grocery store! Parents get to take all the pictures they can of Mrs. Waddles and their child and email to Ms. Liz to print. We are going to start a big poster board with all the pictures once everyone has had their weekend with Mrs. Waddles! This should be a really fun activity that will bring families closer to school or even a great incentive to get a child fully potty trained. For example, "you wore underwear this whole week with no accidents, it’s your turn to take Mrs Waddles home for the weekend!" Another example, "We noticed you helped clean up every day this week, you get to take Mrs Waddles this weekend!"
Loose Parts/ Random Items Wish List:
recycled tin cans
old cds
ribbons or fabrics
scarves
buttons
old measuring cups
uncooked noodles, beans or rice
cornstarch
tinfoil
Circle Time is A Special Time
The children are continuing to work on self help skills, using words, and sharing with their friends. We are responsible for giving them the tools to be successful in these areas. The activities we have planned this month will encourage a desire to be independent, provide them with appropriate language to solve problems, and nurture those already forming friendships. Our circle time will include fun games associated with rhyming, counting (1-10)/number recognition (1-5), letter recognition, patterns, and memorization. These games will require the children to follow directions and wait their turn. We know that with each circle time their attention span will improve and their love of learning will continue to grow. We all know that circle time is never complete without music and movement. The music we choose gets them to stretch, bend, twist, and hop which encourages gross motor and brain development while allowing them to express themselves. To wind down, we will choose some fantastic books about love, friendship, and family. These books will offer us various opportunities to discuss our families and friends which will enhance their ability to connect with others around them.
Let’s Get Creative
The children will enjoy several art activities that will include painting with marbles, loose parts, and lots of glue. We will be working on their fine motor skills, overall hand strength, and eye-hand coordination. Self expression is an important part of a child’s development. We will strive to give them the materials needed to show their individuality.
Art & Science
We have a few science experiments and art activities planned this month. We will enjoy introducing the children to painting with marbles and exploring color mixing with paint. The science experiments we do this month will involve observation, communication, senses, and critical thinking. We can’t wait to see them learn while having a blast.
Bumblebee Cottage News
January Recap
It is exciting to see the Bumblebees signing in each day during drop-off. This will help not only to continue to hone their skills at writing and letter-recognition, but they will become more confident when they are asked to do so in the Dragonfly Cottage later this year! In January we explored England and some of the famous structures such as London Bridge, and Big Ben. We even were able to have an English High Tea of our own during snack time with a delicious English Trifle the Bees learned to make. This tied in well with our extended inquiry into winter with the concept of animals who hibernate, compared with animals who are built to live in places such as the Arctic and Anarctic. South Africa was another stop as we learned about music and animals local to this part of the continent, comparing them with those with which we are familiar. This culminated in an invitation to make and try some delicious South African Style 'Crunchies'!
Lights and shadow came into play with the lengthening of nighttime and shorter days during the winter season. This meant taking a good look at light and how it interacts with reflective, clear, and opaque surfaces. Doing so allowed us to consider the interplay of light and objects and how shadows can lengthen or shorten, depending on the position of the light source. We related this to the sun's position in the sky during winter, which brought us back around to the animals who need to hibernate versus those who do not, due to a lack of warmth and food supply. Our Bees have indeed been busy!
February Letter of the Week & Sign-In Sheet
Our letters of the week through the month of January will include T/t ,U/u, and V/v, with the last week being a review. We daily review a variety of letters and their sounds, helping each child no matter where they may be in their development. With the younger Bees, the focus continues to be on recognizing the letters in their own name, as well as those in their friends. Therefore, in February as we look forward to Valentine's Day, we will place a special emphasis on recognizing and writing out the names of friends and other loved ones!
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 in Dollar Tree to maximize these inquiries.
The 5 Senses & Dental Awareness Month
The overall theme for the month will be the five senses. The different topics this month will be supported as we focus on the function of each of these senses. Let us not also forget this is Dental Awareness month! As Valentine's sweets fill the grocery stores, this is an especially great time to discuss not only the sense of taste but also to learn how we can keep our smile clean and healthy. We certainly love our busy, inquisitive little Bees!
All You Need is Love
We encourage all of the Bumblebees to bring Valentine's cards to share with each of their classmates on February 14th (there are 18 Bees including your little one). No need to write in the To: line! Simply fill out your child's name in the From: line and we will take care of the rest. Please do not provide candy with the Valentine's as we will be enjoying our own sweet treat that day. We will also be making Valentine's Bags and this is where each child can drop off their Valentine's to their friends as well as to bring their own home the day of our Valentine's Day Party!
Valentine's Day Snack
We will be eating strawberry shortcake as a special afternoon snack on Valentine's Day. Please keep a lookout for a signup sheet for the ingredients we'll need for this yummy holiday treat and the parental permission sign off for this special snack.
China, Japan, & Russia
In February, we start off with a visit to China and it's customs. Of these, we will have the opportunity to observe the Chinese New Year's Day, which falls on Tuesday, February 5 and is also the Year of the Pig! We will discuss the various animals appearing in the Chinese zodiac, appreciate the unique architecture, including the concept of paper walls. Cultural music and examples of the dragon dance will be discussed and the children will have the opportunity to make up a dragon dance of their own! Cherry blossoms and their presence in both Japanese and Chinese art will pave the way to Japan as we learn about the Hanami Flower Viewing Festival. A featured artist will be Guang Qian, a lady whose artistic style represents traditional Chinese paintings, also known as the Xieyi style. The second part of the month we will learn about Russia as one of the countries being featured due to the ancestry of one of the Bumblebees! We look forward to admiring the great architecture and customs there which will serve to inspire our Bees' own inquiries.
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.
Dragonfly Cottage News
January Recap
January was out of this world awesome as we learned all about our solar system. We discussed a new topic each week learning new facts , reading interesting books, and creating lots of space art. We did a sun melting experiment with crayons, graphed our favorite planet, and made 3D rocket ships with blocks. We created amazing dictation's with our space drawings and the classroom was so creative and looked fabulous. The Dragonflies were all so proud of their hard work.
February
During the month of February we will be discussing the importance of being independent. We want all of our Dragonflies to feel confident, take risks, and strive to do things on their own. We want to instill a strong value of friendship, team work, and problem solving. The goals for the next few months will be building creative thinking skills, expanding on our thoughts , brainstorming solutions, and working together to make good choices.
Ways to help your child gain confidence and independence are encouraging them to dress themselves by putting on their own shoes and jackets and encouraging self help skills. Ask them questions such as, "What's the first step?" "What do we need to do to finish this task?" and "How can we work together to get the job done?" We will always lend a hand, but let's give them a chance to figure it out first.
A Few Friendly Reminders-
- Please sign in and out daily and both first and last name is required (no scribbles please or initials).
- Help your child sign in by reading the question we provided on the sign in sheet but please refrain from giving them the answer as we go over it in our first morning meeting time together.
- Always sign the monthly attendance sheet at the end of each month .
- Please keep your child's cubby as neat and tidy as possible. Encourage them to keep the space neat and be responsible for their stuff.
- Please keep toys at home. Large stuffed animals that may not fit in cubby bin are not allowed . We are not responsible for lost items, clothing, tiny toys. Thank you for your support in this .
Sign Language
Dragonflies can now sign the signs sun, planets, earth, alien, astronauts, rocket, outer space, and stars. We will be using the month of February to learn the sign for love and review signs like friendship, help, care, and family. Also a new student will be picked each day to pick a sign or signs they would like to learn. They will learn it and then show the class how to sign it.
Happy Birthday Arrow!
Arrow has spent a weekend with every Dragonfly just in time for his birthday. Monday, February 25th, is Arrow's birthday and we will be celebrating it with a taco party. Because, in case you haven’t heard, dragons love tacos! We will have a taco party during lunch time from 12-12:30 so VPK only friends please stay and join us for our party. A signup sheet will be posted so please keep an eye out.
Valentine’s Day Party
We will also have a signup sheet for our Valentine’s Day party treat. It will be posted on the parent board as always so please take a look. We also ask that if your child is bringing in valentine's for friends to please address them only who they are from. This makes passing them out easier for everyone. We have 19 friends in our class so please bring enough for all.