June 2017

WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!!

WOW! That went really fast! It feels like the last ten months just flew by!! The last day of preschool will be:

201: Wed., June 14th

202/302/304: Thurs., June 15th

301/401/402/403: Fri., June 16th.

Class Picnics will be on Monday, June 19th (201/301/401/403) and Tuesday, June 20th (202/302/402/304) at Mahon Park from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. 

Summer Program begins in July---SPACES AVAILABLE!!

Word of Mouth is our BEST ADVERTISING so please tell others about our fantastic Preschool! We have plenty of spaces left for September for 2s, 3s and 4s. Spread the word!!

Here are some things that happened in our Classrooms this past month:

RESOURCE OFFICE

June already!.  It has been a year full of learning and exploration.  The Christmas and Easter Services are always very special.  Thank you to Rachel for all her hard work.  The 2s are all developing the necessary skills to be successful in the 3s program.  They have become more independent and able to sit and listen at circle time.  They follow the daily routines and are interacting with their peers.  The 3s have moved on from parallel play to co-operative play.  They can carry on conversations during play and are starting to problem solve.  They are following 3 to 4 step directions when doing their art activities. The 4s are certainly showing us that they are ready to move on.  They have been working on the skills needed to be successful in elementary school. I want to wish all the 4s and their families all the best in Kindergarten and for the future.  Some of the families have been part of the Preschool family for several years and we will certainly miss you.

 

We had 25 butterflies emerge and we are starting to release them into the Memorial Garden this week.  All the classes have had an opportunity to visit them in all their stages of development.  

Cheryl and I are looking forward to seeing some of you during the Summer Program in July.  We have a few spots left in the afternoons.  I don’t like to say good bye, but see you in the Village.  

Marion 

DISCOVERY TWOS

It is hard to believe that school is almost at the end. The Two’s in September have grown from sad toddlers to engaging, exploring and communicating Three Year Old’s.

They are now playing and talking with friends. They are becoming so much more independent with their snacks, jackets, bags, walking up & down the stairs and circle time.

In the Month of May, we were very busy learning about the Jungle and what animals you will find there.

We read many exciting books like ‘Rumble in the Jumble’ & ‘Walking Through the Jungle’.  We sang ‘The Hokey Pokey Jungle’, ‘5 Naughty Monkeys’ & ‘Jungle Animals Action Song’. We learnt Yoga poses of a Snake and a Monkey and we also played a guessing game about which animal were missing?

For Art we painted snakes, collaged Geckos, used feathers to decorate parrots, sponge painted leaves and flowers and used paper plates to make Lions.

We have started looking in transportation for June.  How there is many different ways we can get around and that there are many different types of trucks.

Thank you in advance for those who signed up to bring food to end of Year Party.

Have a lovely summer and we hope to see you all next year.

Any questions, please feel free to ask us.  

Arsi, Danielle, Stephanie, Susan & Vibha.

301

Here’s to our last blog for the year. I can’t believe we are already in June. What a year we’ve had with an unusual winter of many snowy days.

We are talking to the children about their upcoming move to the four’s in September and what will be expected of them. They are well on their way to being prepared.

We have had a busy month; the Card Project, Jean’s Week, Mother’s Day and starting on Father’s Day surprises and our theme of Fairy Tales. The children worked hard at preparing Mother’s Day gifts, working on the Card Project and many other art activities to tie in with our fairy tale theme. They also enjoyed hearing the classic fairy tales such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and many others.

We have a new addition to the class, the chrysalises have become butterflies and we will be releasing them soon into our garden.

Have a great summer! We look forward to seeing you in September in the fours.

Estelle, Gabi and Karen

302

We have been busy as ever in the past few weeks at preschool by exploring the many wonders of classic children stories. We visited some far-away magical lands with all the wonderful creatures coming alive in picture books, on felt board or through songs and riddles.

We also incorporated some science and art projects into some of our well loved stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs.

We even planted a magic bean that we hope you are enjoying taking care of, as it is your homework to keep it alive!

The children were excited to work on a very special present for Mother's Day, and they are delighted to prepare a surprise for another famous family member we will be celebrating soon.

Another highlight in the classroom was the butterfly display.  It is amazing to witness caterpillars growing double in size in just a few days, move into their cocoons, and in the final stage, butterflies emerge to fascinate children and adults alike. They were intrigued to see the life cycle stages known from books so close and personal! They were also wonderful hosts as 'the little 2's' or 'big 4's 'classes came to visit in groups to see the wonder ( thank you Marion for making this happen every year!)

Thank you for your trust, your support, and for sharing your wonderful girls and boys with us. We have been fortunate to have such a lovely group of children, each so unique, such strong personalities in those tiny bodies! We will miss each and every one!

We both wish you a healthy, happy, sunny summer, and all the best in your new adventures!

Karen and Gabi

304

During the first two weeks of May we focused on Mother's Day. The children were so excited to make a gift for their moms. We sang songs and read stories about moms during circle time. 

Then we went into talking about fairy tales. Each day we would read a new fairy tale and an art activity that relates to it. For Jack and the Beanstalk we decorated mason jars with tissue paper and then planted bean seeds inside. For The Three Little Pigs we decorated the different houses of each pig. For The Ugly Duckling we decorated ducks with black paint and white feathers, and for The Gingerbread Man we decorated gingerbread cookies with icing and chocolate chips. 

 

We had something special in the classroom for the past few weeks. They started off as caterpillars and we watched them go into a chrysalis and then become a butterfly. It was so neat observing all the changes. Now we have a whole bunch of painted lady butterflies in our classroom that we will set free soon. Feel free to come in and have a look! 

Next month we will be making a special gift for our dads and talking about Father's Day. 

Stephanie and Gabi 

401

Hi everyone,

It is hard to believe that this year is almost over! The month of May was jam packed with activities. Some of the highlights of the month were the preparation of the our Mothers Day gifts, having a Hawaiian Luau and exploring knights and princesses.

The children took lots of time and effort to complete their special gifts for their mothers. The children enjoyed decorating each one. A highlight for all of us in the preschool is the Mother's Day questionnaires that are answered by the children. The children even enjoy describing their mothers and feel proud of their answers. We hope the mothers enjoyed these special gifts made by each of their children with pride and love. We kicked off the month of May with a Hawaiian Luau. The children wore their new tie dyed t-shirts, ate yummy food and danced the limbo! This party is always one of the high points of the school year. The month of May finished off with the explorations of knights, princesses, kings, queens and castles. This in depth exploration was played out with costumes, small knights figures and art relating to this theme. Throughout the weeks the children created their own family crest or shield of arms, decorated crowns and made their own castles. This art work is displayed within our classroom, so please come in and have a look! We are looking forward to the last month with our students and plan to savour every last moment with them.

Stephanie and Susan    

402

Time flies when you're learning and having fun! We can't believe it's almost graduation time!!

Well, our 4's have been busy bees in these last few months.

We all had a chance to take home the Alphabet box and learn our letters from A-Z. It was great to see the children sharing their items in front of the class. In May, we also talked about Mother's Day and what our moms do that make them so special. Moreover, we talked about how families are all different and special in their own way. The children helped make a "surprise" cupcake bath bomb for their moms to enjoy! Hope all the moms had a chance to relax in the tub!!

We then moved onto our topic of castles, knights, princesses, dragons, kings, and queens. We looked at some books about castles that showed us the various part of castles such as the moat, turrets, drawbridge, and the why some castles were different then others. We learned that in the old days castles didn't have electricity and some castles were built just for protection. We made our own castles cutting out the triangles, squares, and rectangles for parts like the windows, doors, and flags. We also learned about how knights had to learn to use shields and swords to protect the castles. 

We then made our own knights forming the body in a certain sequence and drew his head and hands. Our next focus was princesses, queens, and kings. We looked at some funny books such as "Princess and the Pea" and "Princess In Training." These stories showed us how much princesses need to work on being a princess. They have certain etiquette they must follow such as learning to wave properly or learning to use the right utensils at a dinner. We also learned that a princess must have a queen and a king for parents in order for her to be a princess. It was super fun cutting out squares and triangles to make a princess and the children also drew her head and face. We all became kings and queens by making beautiful crowns using jewels. Our last week of this topic, we listened to "Puff the Magic Dragon" and we read "The Paper Bag Princess." The children used their cutting skills cutting certain parts of the dragon and also the paper bag princess. They also had to glue the parts of each art together in a certain sequence.

Our last two weeks of school we will be focusing on going to kindergarten and also Father's Day. It's been a very fun filled year and we will miss all the children. We wish them all much luck as they journey to a new milestone in their lives.

Arsi, Danielle, Sousan

403

This is our last blog of the year and it has been a busy month. This past month we had our Hawaii theme, card project, jeans week, mother’s day and Under the Sea theme. The children greatly enjoyed making their own tie-dye t-shirts and ending the week with a Hawaii party where we did some Hula and Limbo dancing.

The children have worked hard on various art projects, decorating jeans, painting with different mediums, fish, sea horses, making leis and preparing their mother’s day gifts.

We have a new addition to the class, our chrysalises are now butterflies, which we will soon release into the garden.

We have been talking about how the children will soon be going to kindergarten in the Fall and the children have been telling us about their visits to their new schools. They are well prepared for this next big step. We look forward to seeing you at the four’s graduation and celebrating this achievement. Congratulations and good luck for September.

Estelle, Stephanie, Gabi, Karen and Sousan