"'Tis like the birthday of the world,
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There's crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers."
- Thomas Hood
May 21 - Victoria Day (Preschool Closed)
All
aboard the Discovery 2 's train! This month, the children explored the
different modes of transportation, such as buses, cars, planes, trains,
trucks, and boats!
For
Art, the children painted a huge school bus and used it in housekeeping to
travel far! We painted stencils of boats and trains. The 2 's made sailboats
out of paper plates and decorated them. We created a track print with car
wheels and paint.
This past month we talked about Spring, planting and farms.
The children enjoyed making pigs in the mud, flowers, lambs and ducks. After practicing for our services, the children could go back to old favorites such as Old MacDonald Had a Farm and Five Little Ducks. The children are also busy working on a
surprise for Mother’s Day and are proud of their accomplishments.
I thought I should introduce myself as the new teacher in
302. My name is Carol Sutherland, and although I'm originally from North
Vancouver, for most of my career I have worked in Scotland. I have a Special
Education background but for the last 15 years I've been in a Preschool
setting. I'm really enjoying getting to know the children at St. Catherine's
Preschool, and must thank all the staff for being so helpful and
welcoming.
For the month of April we've been focusing on Farms and Farm
Animals. We've planted seeds and watched them come up, and we drew plants growing
from seeds. We've painted and decorated tractors, horses, ducks sheep and pigs.
Wow, after having 3 months off I was amazed to see how much
the boys have matured & grown. I can
see that friendships are developing, their listening is improving and their
understanding of new concepts has increased.
Following Spring and a great Easter Service we went into
‘Bugs”. We read 10 Lucky Ladybugs and
listened to the felt story “The Hungry Caterpillar". We used water colours &
diffusing paper to create our own butterflies. We also traced a Beetle and
decorated it with tissue paper.
We then moved onto Dinosaurs. That was a lot of fun. We discovered that you
can have two types of dinosaurs – Plant or Meat eating Dinosaurs. For art we
used crayons & water color to make a fossil print of a Triceratops. We decorated T-Rex’s, used dinosaur stencils
to make a hat and used our hand prints to make our own dinosaur. We become Paleontologists and used a hammer/
chisel and a brush to find our own Dinosaur Fossil. We played ‘What’s the Time Mr Dinosaur?’ and
danced to the ‘Dino Pokey’. We even helped a paleontologist find fossils
outside in the playground. We were very
busy exploring and discovering all about dinosaurs.
For the month of April the children were busy practicing for
the Easter Service and what a wonderful little group of singers they were. We
also talked about Spring, planting, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The children
really enjoyed the classics such as Goldilocks
and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs in different forms such as CD stories and with felt pieces.
Just a word about our art activities. We have three
different kinds. One is the Make It Table where the children are free to create and
explore with the materials on the table and shelf, such as collage, glue sticks,
scissors, felts and crayons.
Welcome to May. April was a busy month around
the preschool. The children worked hard on their songs for the Easter
Services, especially for the “Rockin Robin” song and dance. We hope
everyone enjoyed the “Tea” afterwards.
As I go through the class rooms I
am noticing a different energy. The 2s are playing with their peers in
small groups. They are sharing and using their words and following
directions and transitioning from one activity to another with just a little
verbal encouragement. They are going up and down the stairs independently
while holding the railing. Their self-help skills are improving and it is
great to see how many of them have mastered toileting. Yeah! Please help
them build their self-confidence by allowing them to try to do things by
themselves with supervision.
Meanwhile, the 3s are demonstrating their keen
awareness of how to interact with peers and how they can play together cooperatively. Circle time is more of a time of sharing and learning
about new things. Their attention span has increased and they are now
able to complete more complex tasks.
It's May!! Wow! It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of the school year! This is our last full month so look ahead to see what is coming up and then check out the classroom blogs to see what the children have been up to!
Important Dates to Remember
Apr. 30 - May 4 - Jeans Week
May 11 - Staff Pro D Day (Preschool Closed)
May 15/16 - Music Open House
May 21 - Victoria Day (Preschool Closed)
May 25 - Scholastic Orders Due
June 15 - 4's Graduation
June 15 - Last Day Preschool Classes
June 18/19 - Picnics
DISCOVERY TWOS - Arsi, Brita, Danielle, Susan & Vibha
All
aboard the Discovery 2 's train! This month, the children explored the
different modes of transportation, such as buses, cars, planes, trains,
trucks, and boats! 
For
Art, the children painted a huge school bus and used it in housekeeping to
travel far! We painted stencils of boats and trains. The 2 's made sailboats
out of paper plates and decorated them. We created a track print with car
wheels and paint.
At
circle time, the children identified some modes of transportation and sang
songs like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat , Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Fire Truck
and Down By the Station ". The children experimented with a yoga
boat pose. We rowed our boats to the other shore and drove our fire trucks to
put out a fire!
Please
remember to help your child's gross motor development, by allowing them
to practice walking up and down the stairs by themselves!
301 - Estelle & Susan
Spring is finally here! April was a busy month with the
children practicing and learning their songs for the Easter Service and what a
wonderful job they did!
This past month we talked about Spring, planting and farms.
The children enjoyed making pigs in the mud, flowers, lambs and ducks. After practicing for our services, the children could go back to old favorites such as Old MacDonald Had a Farm and Five Little Ducks. The children are also busy working on a
surprise for Mother’s Day and are proud of their accomplishments.
Just a word about our arts and crafts. We do both kinds of
arts. One where the children can freely explore with different art materials
such as paint, glue, sponges, finger painting etc. The children are free to do
what they want and it may not look like much to us as adults but the children
are enjoying the process and are proud of their work. The other one is more of
a Language Art activity such as a cutout of a pig that goes with our theme. We usually explain how to do the art and have a model. The
children also enjoy this and also have some freedom in how they do the art.
Next we have a Make It Table where children can use the materials offered on the
table or on the shelf to make free art and by using their imaginations. They can cut, draw,
trace or glue it whatever way they like, all the while practicing their fine
motor skills.
The children are growing and maturing and getting ready for
the 4’s. They are using their words to better communicate with each other and us,
they can put their jackets on by themselves or are at least trying to, as well as many
other things.
This past week we have experienced beautiful weather and the
children have finally been able to enjoy the sandbox. Please remember to send a
hat and to put sunscreen on your child for the really sunny days.
302 - Carol, Karen, Brita & Lisa
Hello Everyone.
I thought I should introduce myself as the new teacher in
302. My name is Carol Sutherland, and although I'm originally from North
Vancouver, for most of my career I have worked in Scotland. I have a Special
Education background but for the last 15 years I've been in a Preschool
setting. I'm really enjoying getting to know the children at St. Catherine's
Preschool, and must thank all the staff for being so helpful and
welcoming.
Carol
April started with final preparations and rehearsals for the
Easter Service, and then of course, the big day arrived. The children were so
excited to be in the church, singing their songs, dancing, and waving to family
and friends.
For the month of April we've been focusing on Farms and Farm
Animals. We've planted seeds and watched them come up, and we drew plants growing
from seeds. We've painted and decorated tractors, horses, ducks sheep and pigs.
At the beginning of the month we had lots of days inside,
but today we were outside playing in the sun and sand, and it was actually
warm. It's official, Spring is Here!
401 - Karen & Rosie
(On it's way! Check back on Monday!)
402 - Arsi, Danielle & Rosie
Wow, after having 3 months off I was amazed to see how much
the boys have matured & grown. I can
see that friendships are developing, their listening is improving and their
understanding of new concepts has increased.
We have been very busy this month continuing learning our
Alphabet. The Alphabet Box is a huge
hit. It encourages the boys to think
about the letter they have been given and what words go with it. The sharing
at Circle Time is a huge confidence booster as they try to get their friends to guess
the word.
We spent the first week of April learning about Spring
alongside practicing for our Easter Services.
We grew our own alfalfa sprouts from seeds to a plant. Did anyone eat theirs?
Following Spring and a great Easter Service we went into
‘Bugs”. We read 10 Lucky Ladybugs and
listened to the felt story “The Hungry Caterpillar". We used water colours &
diffusing paper to create our own butterflies. We also traced a Beetle and
decorated it with tissue paper.
We then moved onto Dinosaurs. That was a lot of fun. We discovered that you
can have two types of dinosaurs – Plant or Meat eating Dinosaurs. For art we
used crayons & water color to make a fossil print of a Triceratops. We decorated T-Rex’s, used dinosaur stencils
to make a hat and used our hand prints to make our own dinosaur. We become Paleontologists and used a hammer/
chisel and a brush to find our own Dinosaur Fossil. We played ‘What’s the Time Mr Dinosaur?’ and
danced to the ‘Dino Pokey’. We even helped a paleontologist find fossils
outside in the playground. We were very
busy exploring and discovering all about dinosaurs.
We will now move onto Mother’s Day.
304/403 - Estelle, Karen, Rosie & Laura
Hello parents. Hello Spring! Finally some nice weather to
enjoy our outside time.
For the month of April the children were busy practicing for
the Easter Service and what a wonderful little group of singers they were. We
also talked about Spring, planting, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The children
really enjoyed the classics such as Goldilocks
and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs in different forms such as CD stories and with felt pieces.
As the weather gets nicer we would like to spend more time
outside or going on field trips. The children really enjoyed the visit to the
duck pond and seeing the turtles was the highlight. They also enjoyed eating snack
in the park and playing in the playground. Please remember to send a hat and to
put sunscreen on your child for the sunny days.
Just a word about our art activities. We have three
different kinds. One is the Make It Table where the children are free to create and
explore with the materials on the table and shelf, such as collage, glue sticks,
scissors, felts and crayons. 
Then we have a Language Art which is more like a
craft and goes with our theme like a cut out of the three bears. There is
usually a model to follow. And lastly there is a more exploratory art such as
using different medians and materials, such as sponges, eyedroppers or paint
rollers and the children are free to explore and create however they like. The
children enjoy all three kinds and are proud of their work no matter what it
looks to us as adults. For the Card Project, we used the last method of art as
we wanted it to fully look and be their art.
The children are also hard at work on making a surprise for Mother’s Day and are excited to bring it home.
MUSIC - Rachel
(On it's way! Check back on Monday!)
THE RESOURCE OFFICE - Marion
Welcome to May. April was a busy month around
the preschool. The children worked hard on their songs for the Easter
Services, especially for the “Rockin Robin” song and dance. We hope
everyone enjoyed the “Tea” afterwards. 
As I go through the class rooms I
am noticing a different energy. The 2s are playing with their peers in
small groups. They are sharing and using their words and following
directions and transitioning from one activity to another with just a little
verbal encouragement. They are going up and down the stairs independently
while holding the railing. Their self-help skills are improving and it is
great to see how many of them have mastered toileting. Yeah! Please help
them build their self-confidence by allowing them to try to do things by
themselves with supervision. 
Meanwhile, the 3s are demonstrating their keen
awareness of how to interact with peers and how they can play together cooperatively. Circle time is more of a time of sharing and learning
about new things. Their attention span has increased and they are now
able to complete more complex tasks.
Kindergarten, here come the 4s! The children are demonstrating that they are ready for new
challenges. Parents can help with the transition to Kindergarten by:
- Talking with your child about the impending changes
- Helping you child master many self-help skills
- Encouraging your child to ask for help when needed
- Allowing your child to practice working and playing
independently
- Helping your child follow directions
- Helping your child learn his/her full name, address and
phone number
- Teaching your child about rules and how important they are.
Our 30 caterpillars will be arriving May 8th and
will reside in the Tree House Room. All the children will have an
opportunity to see them as they pass through the stages of development into
Painted Lady butterflies. We will release them into the Memorial Garden
in early June.
“Oink, Moo! How Do You Do? The Summer Program still
has a some spaces in the afternoons.
HOW TO MAKE CUCUMBER SANDWICHES FOR 300
1. Butter some white bread.
2. Add cucumber slices.
3. Cut off crusts.
4. Cut into quarters.
5. Enjoy!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS TO HELP SUPPORT THE BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL DURING JEAN'S WEEK AT ST. CATHERINE'S PRESCHOOL!!
