Fall is here! October 2012.

There's something so special about Autumn; something in the air as it turns from the long drawn out warmth of summer days into shorter days and crisper evenings. I think when you spend your days with young children as we do here at St. Catherine's you are lucky to experience this change very intimately.

We see the clothing changes from summer dresses, shorts and sandals to rain boots, long sleeves and woolly hats. We hear the stories of puddle jumping and brand new umbrellas. We feel the excitement build as Halloween nears and talk turns to witches, ghosts and pumpkins.

As I walk through the classrooms each day I feel the warmth of friendships forming, smell the aromas of freshly baked apple muffins and see the colours of orange, red and yellow fill the rooms as the children's art reflects the change of the season.

One of the very best parts of being part of a preschool community such as ours is the fact that the season's change is always filled with wonder for us. We notice it, we draw from it and create with it. We go outside and we run, skip and dance in it. We embrace it in our stories, songs and paintings. We don't let it slip by as just another part of the year. Fall is here and at preschool we know how important it is to celebrate it!

Recently I asked our teachers to tell me why, when there are so many differing ideologies surrounding the way we teach young children, they believe that play is by far the best way for children to learn?

 For myself I think that play is simple and it is naturally what children love to do. I think free play allows children to experiment with their own ideas about the world, it gives them the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them and it creates little people who are confident and follow their hearts.

Christine Rowe Reverend, St. Catherine's Anglican Church

I have been the reverend here at St. Catherine's for six years now and I thoroughly enjoy my work. I am originally from the UK and have called Canada home since 2000 when I arrived here with my husband (who is also a priest) and our three wonderful children.

St. Catherine's Preschool was founded in 1990 as a mission of St. Catherine's Anglican Church and we continue to share our values of love and care for families especially in this community. The Preschool and Church enjoy many close links, and these are especially apparent during the Christmas and Easter services when the children are able to spend time in the Church, and then share their talents for us. This is a very special experience for the children, families and for members of the Church congregation.

One of the highlights of my day is peeking out of my office and seeing all the little faces on their way to the gym or music class and hearing their happy chatter. Truly the children and their families bring this space to life with warmth and happiness and it is an honour to be so connected with such a wonderful part of the community as St. Catherine's Preschool.

I would like to let each family know that they are welcome to attend a Church service or to meet with me in person at any time and for those families with new babies come and talk with me about baptism. My door is always open!


A note from the Church...

St. Catherine's Church is happy to welcome into our family  baby James who was baptised with help from big sister Maegan, and baby Harry, with sister Sophie helping the Reverend Christine. We welcome with love, all the families who attend St. Catherine's Preschool.

For those who contributed in the spring, to the collection of craft material for children's summer camps in the far north, we extend sincere thanks from the "On Eagles Wings" ministry. We plan to repeat the collection next spring.

Marion Porter Developmental Resource Teacher

Play is a child's work and it allows them to learn about sharing and caring every day. Their play grows from solitary play (by themselves) to parallel play (side by side) and then onto associate play (some interaction with peers) and finally co-operative play (sharing aims of play). There are so many teachable moments throughout each day and it is our job as teachers to take the time to observe and be able to use these moments to enrich each child's preschool experience.

 I am so excited to renew connections with returning families and to help new families embrace their preschool experience.  It is always a learning curve for everyone during the first few weeks, but remember the teachers are here to help you and make it an easy transition for you and your children. 

There is a Parent Resource Library outside the Rainbow Room.  Please come down to the office and I can help you sign out any resources.  If you have any questions please talk to your teachers or come down and see me. Together we will have a great year!

Tina Spencer Administrator

This month I would just like to remind families that as it is flu season (yes already!!) to please give us a quick call in the office or an email if your child will be sick or absent. Let us know your child's name, what class they are in and the reason for their absence.

Your child must be fever and medicine free for at least 24 hours before they can return to preschool and they must be free of any vomiting/diarrhoea symptoms for at least 48 hours before they return to preschool.

Following these guidelines helps hugely in preventing the spread of germs and viruses!

I would also like to remind you about our Monday afternoon drop-in program which runs from 12:30-2:30pm in the Rainbow room. Please feel free to bring friends and share this wonderful program with them too!

Cheryl Hebb Creative Music Teacher

Three's music class

October came with pumpkins, ghosts and Halloween scares! We read a book Mouse's First Halloween which talked about how Mouse was afraid of the different things that he saw and heard at Halloween, before he found out that they were actually just regular objects and "Not so scary after all".

The children have danced like scarecrows and moved and twirled to the lollipop drum. They have played the claves to Twinkle Twinkle and the children had to wait to the end of each line to play their instruments, Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are. This is a very hard thing to do!!

Four's music class

Goodness me is it the end of October already? We are back into the swing of things and enjoying being back in music class. So far we have worked on a song called "Little Bird".

Little bird up in the tree, in the tree, in the tree.
Little bird up in the tree... Sing a song for me.

Sing about the mountains, sing about the sea.
Sing about the rainbow... Is there one for me?

We have played the rhythm sticks and the triangles and have read the story Little Scarecrow Boy. During the acting out of the story the children got to pretend to be the scarecrows, crows and the musician, and the best part was getting to pull tongues and silly faces at me!

 

We would like to welcome our newest staff members, Gabi and Krystal to the St. Catherine's team!

My name is Gabriella Pasek (Gabi)  and I was born and raised in Hungary and lived in Austria for a year before I moved to Canada more than 15 years ago. I have a 13 year old daughter Rebecca who is also my fashion adviser, language pathologist and event planner!

 E.C.E. is my new field, although I took courses in teaching before the adventure of moving over to this side of the world. I spent the 5 years prior to taking my E.C.E. working in the financial sector, before faith helped me to realise that I should be doing something that makes me happy.

I have always enjoyed the company of young children. I love to watch how smart, independent, lovable and unique each of them is. I like to observe the interaction between them; some of their conversations are priceless! I admire their simple (and if not hungry or tired!!) usually happy outlook on life.

I feel privileged, accepted and welcomed in the St. Catherine’s community, where I have met loving families and witnessed amazing teachers plan and implement programs and activities just the way I imagined that one day I would do!

In my spare time I like reading, hiking, biking and snowboarding.

I also enjoy spending time with all age groups when I volunteer my time at folk-dance events, swim meets or theatrical performances.

My Name is Krystal Ripolo and I am a recent graduate of Capilano University from the Early Childhood Education Program. I have been working in the education field for the past two years. When not working I spend my days with my 4 year old daughter, exploring nature and creating with every art medium you could dream of. I am excited to be a part of the team at St. Catherine's and also to get to know all the families and children. 

I was fortunate enough to be a part of two Halloween parties with both the 2's and the 4's and they were so much fun! The children loved all the special activities which were set up for the day and were so engaged with them. Seeing all the costumes and hearing the conversations between the children about how they came to choose their costumes was so fascinating.

Thank you Tree!

Discovery Two's Vibha, Danielle, Estelle, Karen, Cheryl, Gabi and Krystal

Play is an important way for children to learn how to use their imagination and to develop social skills, language and communication. It allows them to build their self confidence and self worth so that when they are older they can find their place in society. Play is a great opportunity for children to learn about their world at their own pace all the while, enjoying themselves in a safe, happy environment. (Danielle Moore ECE, INFTODD)

The extended summer has given us an amazing fall with changing leaves in the most beautiful and vibrant colours. Most of the children have now settled into the program and are enjoying exploring the classroom and our outdoor space. Our playground is quite shaded, so please remember to send a warm jacket for outside time.

These past few weeks we have focused on Fall and Thanksgiving as our themes and for the rest of the month we have talked about Halloween. The children have enjoyed finger painting with shaving foam, roller painting and making turkeys.

We ask that you please send your children in clothes that can get messy and dirty as we love to do messy art projects and lots of painting! We do have smocks, but if the children are uncomfortable wearing them we prefer to encourage them in their exploration of the art materials in whichever way they feel the most comfortable and happy.

For circle time we are singing songs and doing finger plays based on the themes we are working on, as well as lots of name game songs. Before snack we sing grace and at the end of the day we sing our Goodbye Song. As requested, here are the words to these songs!

Grace

Hands together softly so...
God is great, God is good,
And we thank him for our food.
We're going to thank Him in the morning, noon and night

We're going to thank Him 'cos He's out of sight!

Amen!

The Goodbye Song

Goodbye my friends, goodbye! Goodbye my friends, goodbye!

Goodbye my friends, goodbye my friends, goodbye my friends goodbye!!

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to come and talk to us before or after class.

Downunder Room: Owls and Room on the Broom story

301 Joanna, Sali and Karen

Play is extremely important for the development of physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills. It is important for children to have adequate play in the early years to lay a solid foundation for more structured academic learning. 

Here are some examples of  "learning through play".

When children are playing co-operatively in the house corner, they are using their imagination, developing social skills such as how to work as a team, they are also role playing to learn how to work through problems.They are developing language by practising the art of conversation.

When children are playing with blocks, they are learning pre-math skills such as spacial awareness, shape, size and quantity.

At the art table, children are developing fine motor skills and hand and eye co-ordination in preparation for reading and writing. They are also developing self confidence and self expression. It is a great way to express their feelings.

When children play with dough, they are developing fine motor skills. It is also a good place to go when they feel aggression; dough is safe to hit and pound.

The water and sand tables are also a great place to learn pre-math skills such as pouring and measuring. Sand and water is calming for a child  when they are feeling anxious.

Playing outside or in the gym is becoming increasingly important in our world where children spend a lot of time in the car.It is a chance for them to get physical exercise and fresh air. When children play with balls and ride tricycles, they are developing large motor skills and learning how to take turns.

When children have 'free play', they are learning about making choices, what they enjoy and learning how to take risks in trying something new.

Play is a child's work! (Sali Chippett ECE INF TODD)

Can you believe we are two months into preschool? How two months have flown by! It is so interesting to see all the children’s little personalities come out as they start to feel more comfortable with the classroom, teachers and their friends. Now it is time to fully get into the real fun of preschool, start learning, socialising and playing. We learn best when we are most comfortable.

In September we started talking about Fall. The children decorated the hallway and classroom with some beautiful Fall artwork. Leaf collages with red, yellow and orange tissue paper, the tree we had in the hallway was constructed and painted by the children, and they made paper plate scarecrows and beautiful pictures of leaves falling off of trees.

Close to Thanksgiving we were talking about all the great things we can be thankful for such as our family, friends, preschool, houses and food. It was so nice to sit at circle time and hear all the wonderful things that the children were thankful for. All three teachers agree a very sweet response was “That my Daddy brings me to preschool.” We as teachers are very thankful that you bring your children each day to come play with us!!

As talk turned to Halloween we noticed that a few of the children were having a hard time deciphering between the idea of Halloween being something scary as opposed to it being a time to be silly and have fun dressing up as something special.

 We decided to keep art on the more tame side and made sure that children were still having a great time with it. We made spiders webs, cotton ball ghosts, silly monsters and hand print black cats. The children had such a blast carving the Jack-O-Lantern with Sali on the day of the Halloween party. 

 Thank you to everyone who brought in goodies for the party and don't worry, there will be lots of opportunities for you to bring in something if you did not get a chance this time.

Just a few notes for housekeeping:

1.       Please make sure that you are sending 3 choices now with your child for snack. Those little tummies are hungry by snack time and we are finding that one small container for snack is not always enough for these growing three year olds!

2.       Please send your children with warm winter jackets now, as well as mittens and toques. On Friday mornings we go outside to the playground first and at 9:30am the playground is pretty chilly! If it is too cold or raining hard we will not be going out but still a hat and mittens are always appreciated just in case we do decide to brave the elements!

3.       When the children come in it is a good idea to have them hang up their own backpack and jacket.  In class we have started having the children try to put on their own jackets. A technique we use is called flip-flop-over the top. Lay the jacket on the floor, have the child stand at the hood and bend down to put their arms through the arm holes. Then comes the flip of the jacket up over the head from front to back. If it helps you can put the jacket on a raised surface like a table.

4.       Lastly please make sure that you are taking your child to the washroom before they come into the class. We are finding some children are frequenting the washroom early into class and we just don’t want them to miss out on playing with their friends or circle time.

      Please remember  you are always welcome to come and talk to us if you have any questions or concerns. 

301 Cotton ball ghosties

302     Rachel, Stephanie and Joanna

I believe play is so important because it encourages children to be creative and learn at their own developmental stage in a fun way.

Each child is unique in their own way and everyone has different ways of learning, but through play you can accommodate an appropriate level and type of activity which can be enjoyed by each child differently.

 Instead of sitting and learning through worksheets, play encourages children to be more social and involved in what they are learning. When this happens children are more eager to want to learn about the things around them, and learning becomes more enjoyable when children are interested in what they are learning.

There are so many opportunities in a child's day where you can incorporate play into teaching skills which help them to explore the world around them. Play plays a big role in helping children practise life skills such as problem solving, decision making, and communicating.

Play is so open ended that there are infinite possibilities to teach your children through this method and it's so much fun that children aren't even necessarily aware that they are learning a new skill! (Stephanie Mah ECE, SN, INFTODD)

I can't believe we're already nearing November! Lately, we've been talking about friendship, families, Thanksgiving, and Fall. The children have been having fun while doing activities and completing art projects which help them better understand these topics.

The children made family apple trees, each apple representing a family member. They were very insightful about family relationships. Next the children made hand print trees with the Fall colours that they're now recognising all around them each day (red, yellow, orange, green, and brown).

We talked about the  seasonal changes which trees experience. The children were intrigued by the explanation of a tree's leaves changing colours and falling off at the same time each year.

For Thanksgiving, we made festive paper bag turkeys. We read the story Thanks for Thanksgiving and discussed being thankful for what we have in our lives.

A poem that the children enjoyed:

All the leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down.

All the leaves are falling down... It is Fall time!

 They are yellow, red and brown, red and brown, red and brown.

 They are yellow, red and brown... It is Fall time!

Take the leaves and crunch them up, crunch them up, crunch them up. Take the leaves and crunch them up... It is Fall time!

We are now talking about Halloween and doing lots of fun activities and crafts. It's a very exciting time of year for the children and it shows. They love Halloween!



Treehouse Room: Bringing a book to life is a great language art activity!

303 and 403    Stephanie, Vibha and Sali

The time seems to fly by so fast while we are keeping busy at preschool. Gradual entry was a huge success and it was great to meet the parents and the children. It has been a pleasure getting to know each child and what their interests are.

With a small group we were able to build strong relationships with each child very quickly and with the class being multi-aged we really notice how the fours are so helpful with the threes and the threes look up to the fours. It is such a great combination with many benefits. It is also great that we get to go on many walks around the village and get to know the community just outside our front door. 

To start off the year we talked about ourselves,  our families and friends. We made self portraits and shared things about ourselves that we would like everyone to know. We talked about who are the members of our family and spent some time talking about the many different types of families there are. We also played a lot of name games to learn everyones' names in the class and talked about how we can be a good friend. The children were quick to form friendships with each other and it is great to see how well they cooperate and help each other out.

Our one rule we have in the classroom is 'no one gets hurt' and we did a lot of talking about what this means and gave examples of what this looks like in the classroom. We played a "Stop and Go" game to help the children understand what behaviours are a 'Go' and which ones are a 'Stop'.

With Thanksgiving on the way we started talking about the things we are thankful for and made paper plate turkeys. We also spent time talking about who Johnny Appleseed was and why we sing the song about him at grace, before we have snack. Within this topic we made many things with apples such as apple sauce, apple juice, and apple muffins. To end things off we watched a video to visually see who Johnny Appleseed was and to get a better understanding about what he did.

Once Thanksgiving passed, we moved onto the topic of Fall. We read a book called Leaf Trouble and that was a great way to explain to us what happens to the leaves in the Fall. We learned about why the leaves change colours and fall off the trees. We were also lucky to take a walk around the neighbourhood to see all of these changes.

 Our Halloween parties were filled with fun and laughter. The lights were off as we entered the classroom and we could see all of the lights lit in the Jack-O-Lanterns. It was really neat to hear the witches cauldron bubble and see all the fog pour out of it onto the table. We had face painting, pumpkin carving, yummy treats and watched a Clifford Halloween video. Thank you to all of the parents who brought treats for the party. We loved seeing all of the children dressed up in their costumes. We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! 

Our next theme will be all about hibernation.

 

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to speak with us.

Spooky Halloween fun!

401 Stephanie, Rachel and Krystal

Can't believe we are already nearing November! We've been talking about friendship, families, Fall, Johnny Appleseed and Thanksgiving.

 During our families topic the children made a family portrait and we talked about the number of people in each family and how every family is different. 

 At the beginning of fall children were creative by making leaf men using different shapes and colours of leaves. We read the story The Leaf Man  which helped the children to learn the different stages the trees go through when Fall is coming and the leaves change colours until it is time for them to fall from the trees.

 For Thanksgiving the children made paper bag turkeys and read the story Thanks for Thanksgiving. We asked the children what things they were thankful for and made a "Thankful Tree" in our classroom. The children  made apple muffins and watched a video to learn all about who Johnny Appleseed was. 

 A song that the children enjoyed was:

(Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Leaves are falling all around. 

Twisting and turning to the ground. 

I make piles all around. 

Then jump in them on the ground. 

Leaves are falling all around. 

Falling, falling to the ground!

We are now talking about Halloween and doing lots of fun activities and crafts related to this very exciting time of year!



Spider webs in the Treehouse Room!

402 and 404    Libby, Permjit, Joanna and Gabi  

Play is "children's work" and children learn best by doing and manipulating the materials provided to enable them to enjoy the process of learning. (Libby Beaton ECE)   "The excitement of discovery, the joy of experimentation, the art of self expression, the pleasure of dramatic play, the acquisition of skill, the growth of self esteem are all part of the power of play."  (Quote from Neville Scarf)

Well! It seems a long way from September when we started school, but we have really begun to settle in and  enjoy our time with friends old and new. Gradual entry went very smoothly and we began the process of becoming a community within the classroom. We played name games, made our poster "No One Gets Hurt" and talked about the rules of the classroom and how to get along with all our friends. Listening, mutual respect, no put downs and participation are all very important aspects for the children to understand in order to be able to work and play together.These rules are ongoing throughout the year and afford lots of opportunity for timely discussion when required.

Thanksgiving was busy. We made corn cobs, turkey place mats, cool covers for our relish jars with water colour paints and of course--- the relish! Cranberries and oranges  were washed in the water table and then whizzed in the blender, so much fun!

Thanksgiving wreaths were next and we joined the Treehouse fours and watched a short video about Johnny Appleseed. There were turkeys to paint at the easel, turkey cookie cutters at the playdough table and turkeys and feathers at circle time. Those turkeys were everywhere!

We then began our preparations for our Spooky Halloween. Triangle witches with long stripey legs hanging on the window wall, a spooky forest with mushrooms and little white ghosts floating among the trees and scary spiders sitting, oh so quietly, on their huge web. Owls with huge eyes sat silent on the tree and pumpkins grew in the pumpkin patch. The witches cave was a little spooky and all the little witches in their tall hats cooked up amazing food, bat stew with eye of newt and spider stew.

The Halloween party was lots of fun. We all wore our pyjamas and some of us had crazy, crazy hair. Everyone enjoyed the bubbling cauldron and the glowing bracelets. Thanks to all the Mums who took the time to make everything look and taste so yummy. A great time was had by all.

Then on to something completely different; we entered the world of author and storyteller, Robert Munch. We learned about his childhood, his difficult time at school and his many career choices before he had his first book published. The Paper Bag Princess is a much loved Munch classic.We watched the video and then made our own princess and the pesky dragon.

Smelly Socks is one of his funnier books and after we read it we made our own socks and hung them on the washing line. Cookies is another fun book and playdough was used to made some very yummy looking cookies.

Everyday children say something which makes us adults chuckle. Recently Marion was talking about firesafety to our class and asked the question: What do you do if your clothes are on fire? To which a little voice replied: Change! We had to share that little gem with you!

Please make sure that your child has appropriate clothing for preschool, as we will go out to play when it is not raining.

Please come and talk to us if you have any concerns.


Scary Spiders Sitting in the Downunder Room!

 November dates to remember

Photo days: Thursday November 8th  302, 402, 40

                     Friday November 9th  301, 401, 303, 403

Remembrance day: Preschool is closed on Monday November 12th

Pizza night/Cake walk/Cake auction: Thursday November 22 at 5:30pm-7:00pm.

This is an annual event here at St. Catherine's and it is so much fun! Come have some pizza and meet all the other families in the preschool. Next try your luck at the Cake Walk and see if you win a cake! We have also added a new event for this year; the Cake Auction! Place the winning bid on a speciality cake and enjoy!!

If you would like to donate a cake for the cake walk let us know when you get your pizza forms in the space provided. Remember the more cakes we have the more fun we can have with the Cake Walk!

Please let your family and friends know about this event as everyone is welcome!

We are currently running our annual Purdys Fundraiser. If you or any of your friends or family are planning on buying some Christmas chocolate then please do so through St. Catherine's Group Purchase program and help your preschool! Thank you!!

We are still accepting registration for 3's and 4's families to add an extra 1-3 days to their current preschool schedule. The program runs from 12:15-2:45pm in the Treehouse room from Monday to Friday.

For more details or general enquiries please contact Tina or Jen in the office:

604-980-1326

stcpre@telus.net

www.stcatherinespreschool.com

Don't forget to "like" our facebook page "St. Catherine's Childcare Society".