August 2015 Newsletter
Back to School Reminders
Welcome Back to School!
This morning, the children have been busy exploring their classroom environments and getting to know some new friends. The first couple of weeks are transitional times as we all adjust to our new groups. You may notice that your child might have a difficult time at first, but not to worry as this is typical in the first few weeks of school. Please feel free to call or email us any time to check in on your little one.
General School Reminders
- Please remember to sign your child in upon arrival and then out when you pick them up. The attendance sheets are posted on or near the parent information board in each classroom.
- Please drop your child off with a teacher. Make sure to make eye and verbal contact with the teacher so they know that you are leaving and your child is in attendance for the day. The playground and classrooms are rather busy areas during drop off and pick up times so we ask for your assistance to help us keep the children safe. Please note, children of all ages are never allowed to wander around the school alone. Please do not drop off and leave your child in the classroom or on the playground alone. We ask that you escort them to their classroom to put their belongings away and then to the playground or other designated area as outlined on the daily schedule.
- As per our parent handbook, no personal toys are permitted to be brought into school unless otherwise directed by your child's teacher. This is in order to avoid lost and broken toys. This policy is to proactively try to eliminate the tears that will surely follow when a toy is lost or broken. Children are only permitted to bring a cuddly nap time friend (that will fit in their bedding box) and a book to share during story time.
- Please do not allow your child to bring money to school as it is a chocking hazard.
- Please remember to wash your hands and your child's hands upon entering our classrooms. This is to ensure the health and safety of all of our students. Hand washing is the #1 thing that we can do the reduce the amount of germs that enter our learning environments. As well, we have children in our program with peanut/tree nut allergies and this policy helps to ensure that there is no cross contamination and keeps them safe. We know that it can be a pain when you are in a rush, however we greatly appreciate your help with maintaining the healthiest environment for all of our students!
- If your child will be absent, please call the school that morning to let us know.
- If your child is out with an illness, please notify the school office so we can alert the classroom teachers to clean the classrooms accordingly and notify the other families in the program.
- Please be sure to follow our sick policy to help reduce the spread of illnesses within our program. Children must be symptom free without the aid of medication for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school. This includes fevers of *101+ degrees as well as stomach related illnesses. We ask that you do not mask the illness with medication and bring them to school as they will inevitably spread the illness to other students and their families. If your child has an undiagnosed rash, they must have a doctor's note stating that they are not contagious and can return to school. *Please note, we have increased the temperature from 100 degrees to 101 degrees, effective 8/24/15.
- We are happy to administer any necessary medication to your child while in our care. However, please note that all prescriptions must be in the original prescription container with your child's name and dosage instructions. Any over the counter medication must be submitted with a medication form completed and signed by your child's pediatrician.
- We ask our early families to please help us out by not bringing in any items that contain peanut or tree nut products for your child during the breakfast club. The early morning drop off is a very busy time and we have a few children that have allergies to peanuts and or tree nuts.
- Please be sure to complete and return all of the 2015-2016 paperwork that was emailed by the end of this week. It is important that we have updated information on all of our students. If you did not get the email or if you would like hard copies, please stop by the front office. Thank you!
- Be sure to check out Shutterfly each week to see pictures of all the fun we're having!!!
Open House for Cricket, Ladybug, and Caterpillar Cottages
Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Thank you!
Wednesday, Sep 9, 2015, 06:15 PM
602 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Open House for Butterfly, Bumblebee, and Dragonfly Cottages
Please be sure to RSVP so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday, Sep 9, 2015, 06:45 PM
602 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Labor Day Closing
Cricket Cottage
- When entering the Cricket Cottage please do so quietly as there may be babies sleeping or trying to rest.
- Please be sure to have a minimum of 3 changes of clothes for your child at all times.
- Please remember to remove your shoes and wash your hands when entering the infant cottage.
- Please label all of your child's belongings with their first and last names. Inchbug has some really great options for labels of all sorts. You can check out their site at www.inchbug.com.
- Please remember to include the date that any breast milk was expressed as well as the amount and of course your child's first and last name.
- Please remember to write the name of the food item as well as the date it was prepared on any homemade pureed foods.
- Please be sure to check the Cricket Tidbits daily to see if your child is running low on supplies such as diapers, wipes, diaper creams, extra clothes, etc.
- Please bring in a family photo or photos of immediate family members so we can add it to our family board in the play area. The babies love looking at their families!
Ladybug Cottage
Reminders for the New Year
- Please remove shoes and wash your hands and your child's hands when entering the cottage.
- Make sure ALL food is labeled with your child's full name and date. This includes dry foods in the snack bin as well as sippy cups. A marker can be found on the fridge for your convenience.
- All children must sit a t the table when eating and/or drinking. Please do not allow your child to walk around with food or drinks. Thank you!
- Please do not let children wander in the gated area where cubbies are during drop off and pick up.
Family Photos Needed!
Please send in a family photo to keep at school. You do not all have to be in the same picture. Send a few in if necessary. The children LOVE to look at these photos.
Donations
- spice containers
- small plastic water bottles (hard plastic works best)
- wooden bowls and plates
Caterpillar Cottage
- Please be sure to label your child's AM and PM snacks along with their first and last names and place them in the snack basket on the cabinet near the cubbies. If your child is to have something cold such as yogurt with their AM snack we ask that you leave a note indicating that in the snack basket. This will instruct us to get the item out of your child's lunch bag. We recommend using the pouches for fruit puree, applesauce, yogurt, etc. as the children are still learning to feed themselves and they seem to get more of the food in their mouth. :) The teachers are happy to try to help the children eat with a spoon, however it can become quite difficult when there are several children who are in need of an extra hand. We ask that you do not send in any cold items for PM snack due to the risk of food items spoiling as a cold pack will not keep the item at the appropriate temperature by the time we are ready for PM snack.
- Please remember to label your child's sippy cup with their first and last name and place in the drink basket next to the snack basket on the cabinet near the cubbies.
- Please remember to sign your child in and out each day on the attendance sheet that is located near the parent info board.
- Please remember to wash your hands and your child's hands when entering our classroom.
- Please bring in a family picture or pictures of immediate family members to be used in our classroom.
- Due to our lack of storage and not wanting the classroom environment to be cluttered near the cubbies, we kindly ask that you do bring in any backpacks or diaper bags. Cloth grocery bags work great to bring in items such as bedding other belongings and they can be stored easily. Thank you!
- Please remember to check folders near parent board daily for daily reports, artwork, and memos.
Butterfly Cottage
- Please be sure to bring in a leak proof sippy cup that will fit inside your child's lunch box. This is especially important with sippy cups that contain milk so the milk stays cold and does not spoil.
- Check your child's communication folder daily when picking them up in the afternoon.
- When potty training the children it is so important that there is both communication and consistency between home and school. Parents and teachers should have a discussion prior to placing children in underwear. We want to ensure that the child is ready so that the transition into underwear is successful. Please allow them time to adjust to our new environment before we begin the process. We will keep you posted on their readiness in our environment and schedule a time to meet when they are showing signs of readiness.
- Lunch portions should be child sized. It is nice to offer the children a variety, however keep in mind that they do not eat as much as adults. We have seen a lot of food wasted due to the large amounts. Food safety requires us to throw out any uneaten food as we do not want to risk having the child eat it later and get sick due to the temperature of the food.
- Please remember to wash your hands and your child's hands upon arrival.
- Please remember to place a peanut precaution label on your child's cubby if their lunch contains a peanut or tree nut product. We sincerely appreciate your help with this life saving procedure!
- When signing in and out, please do not allow your child to write on the attendance sheet or on the wall. Thank you!
Bumblebee Cottage
Reminders
- Please remember to wash your hands and your child's hands upon arrival.
- Please remember to bring in at least 2 full extra changes of clothes. This includes underwear and socks!
- All sippy cups or drink containers must be able to fit in your child's lunch box or have a pocket on the outside for their drink.
- Please remember to place a peanut precaution label on your child's cubby if they have a peanut or tree nut product in their lunch box.
Donations Needed
- Plastic grocery bags to send home any soiled clothing
- Underwear and socks for both girls and boys
- Shorts for girls and boys
Dragonfly Cottage
As your child enters the dragonfly room we want you to know how excited we are to set forth on a year of new adventures and learning. In order to best teach your child and help facilitate their growth in the upcoming year we would like to share with you a few simple things that we have learned make our classroom run more smoothly.
- Cloth Grocery Bag: Since we are a green school we ask that you bring your child’s bedding in a cloth grocery bag each week. This will help us at the end of the week ensure everything that needs to go home makes it way there including bedding, art, and other odds and ends.
- Bedding: We ask that the all of your child’s bedding fit inside the bedding box. This should include any pillows, blankets, sheets, and stuffed animals. The only sleep friends we will allow your child to sleep with are those that are completely soft, plastic heads on soft toys are not considered sleep friends in our class.
- Extra Clothes: Please make sure your child has extra clothes. We will send home a reminder if your child has an accident to replace used items. Clothing should be seasonally appropriate and should fit your child.
- Shorts Under Dresses: If your child is a girl she must wear shorts under her dress. This is a very curious age for children and we like to encourage girls to keep their bottoms covered. This also helps when they are playing in the sandbox to keep sand out of uncomfortable places.
- No Toys From Home Policy: One of the most important things that our class enforces is our no toys at school policy. Ms. Gail will take any toys brought to school and only return them to the parents at pickup time. Please do not leave toys in cubbies for later. We don’t want toys to break or go missing while at school. We have a star student week for each child when they will allowed to bring in items from home. Any other time there are no exceptions to this rule unless Ms. Gail or Ms. Claudia request certain items for a lesson. If your child is upset that they cannot bring an item to school remind them that they will be the Star Student once during the school year and during that time they are allowed to bring in items from home.
- We Welcome Books: Your children are always allowed and encouraged to bring in books for us to read during class. We appreciate books relating to the lesson topic the most, however any books are welcomed. Please try to encourage your child to bring in new books and not the same one over and over again. Parents of girls, please encourage your daughters to bring in stories other than “princess” stories.