Spring has sprung!
Finally we can enjoy some warmer weather as we coast through the last three months of preschool. That's right!! There are only three months left!! So let's make the best of it while it lasts! Please check out what is happening in the classrooms. It is amazing how much the teachers do each day and they are proud to share this with you.
Important Upcoming Events
APRIL 10/11 - Easter Services & Tea (Threes & Fours)
APRIL 19 - Good Friday - Preschool Closed
APRIL 22 - Easter Monday - Preschool Closed
APRIL 22-26 - Jean's Week for Children's Hospital
MAY 8/9 - Music Open House (Threes & Fours)
MAY 10 - Staff Pro D Day - Preschool Closed
MAY 20 - Victoria Day - Preschool Closed
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUMMER PROGRAM REGISTRATION BELOW
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUMMER PROGRAM REGISTRATION BELOW
Discovery Twos - Brita, Danielle, Vibha
For the month of March, the children explored the world
of insects, spiders, and worms. The theme was set up throughout the classroom
so the children could experience this wonderful world! For example, we had
insects in the water table , spiders in the sand table, incredible puzzles of
different insects and huge insects on the science table!
For art, the
children made egg carton caterpillars and bumble bees. They created butterflies
by using tissue paper and decorated paper plates to make spiders. The children
made wiggling worms in mud and beautiful lady bug stamping.
During circle time, the teachers read books like “ The
Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “ The Very Busy Spider”, “Wiggling Worms at Work“,
and “ Creepy Crawly”. We sang songs like the Enzie Wenzie Spider and Baby
Bumble Bee. We wiggled our bodies like worms and learned the butterfly yoga
pose. We watched the Hunger Caterpillar movie and listened to the felt rhyme 5
Butterflies. The children loved the 10 Lucky Lady Bugs felt rhyme!
It was a very busy month and we look forward to learning
about farms and Easter next month! We hope everyone got some rest during Spring
Break!Class 301 - Carol, Susan
March certainly was true to form this year. It "came
in like a lion and went out like a lamb." So cold in those first weeks,
and then so lovely and warm and sunny.
Our theme at the start of the month was Books and
Reading; more specifically, our favourite children's books. We turned the house
corner into a library, complete with a wall of books, some computers, more
books, and of course some stuffed animals for us to read to! We hope you were
able to come into the classroom at some point and have a look, and maybe you found
your favourite book.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Blueberries For Sal
The Grouchy Ladybug
And many more by Eric Carle.
We then enjoyed a sunny, relaxing Spring Break, and we do
hope you all had a good time as well.
The last week of March has been perfect spring weather,
especially for our theme of Spring and Planting.
We planted seeds in little pots to take home; the
children were given a choice between radishes or beans, both chosen because
they are fairly quick to germinate. Instead of playdough this week, we've been
exploring trays of seeds to play with, first with spoons and cups, then with
tractors and trucks...lots of fun, and lots of sweeping up!
We also learned about seeds we eat such as peas, beans, popcorn,
lentils etc.
The children made a picture of seeds growing into plants.
Look for these on our display board outside the classroom.
We've begun preparation and rehearsals for the Easter
Service, to be held on Wednesday April 10th for Class 301. More information
about that later, but we hope to see you all there. The children are really
looking forward to showing you some of what they do at Preschool.
Enjoy the better weather.
Class 302/404 - Karen, Susan, Carol
Greetings parents of 302/404
We hope you all had a relaxing Spring break, the weather was definitely in our favor.
For the first 2 weeks of March we talked about the author Eric Carle. The children were familiar with most of the books we read which made the interaction while reading them a constructive group circle. Picking what books to share with the children was the hardest part as there are so many great stories but we narrowed it down to The Greedy Python, The Mixed up Chameleon, The Grouchy Ladybug and Papa, Please get me to the Moon. Please check out the art boards outside of the classroom to see the art the children made.
Once we came back from Spring Break we starting talking about Spring. We put out a tray of different seeds for the children to explore. From this came an art project about what grows from a seed drawing. The children were very imaginative and their finished art is on the walls outside the classroom. What are some things we are finding in the garden….Snails. We went outside to the garden to look for snails and other insects. The children made paper plate snails and are on the wall in the back of the room. 
*Starting April 2nd we will be sending Echo home with our 4’s. On the container there will be an explanation about Echo. We will talk more about it in class, but if you have any questions please ask.
*We will also be starting the children's weekly journals with the 4’s.
We will be continuing on with Spring and Easter in April.
Last but not least we will be practicing songs for our Easter service.
Class 401 - Arsi, Karen, Lisa, Marjan
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
A told B and B told C, “I'll meet you at the top of the
coconut tree.”
Amongst our everyday learning we have been busy exploring
our ABC’s. We have collaged some of our
letters, made animals out of others like elephants and ducks. Our children also practiced tracing the
letters and cutting them out. 
We have continued working on our journals and there are
some great pictures and stories to tell.
We are also nearing the last few turns with Echo. It’s been really great hearing about Echo’s
adventure so far.
Just a reminder, although the sun has been shining a bit
more, our yard tends to be shady and cool.
Please pack a jacket for your child.
We are continuing to practice being more independent by putting on and
zipping up our own jacket, opening and closing our own snack containers, and
pouring our own water into cups.
Please
continue to encourage your child to do these activities at home to help with their readiness for Kindergarten.
As, always if you have any questions or concerns please
do not hesitate to ask.
Class 402 - Arsi, Danielle, Marjan
We hope everyone had a great Spring Break! What beautiful
weather we had as well!
Before we went off for our break, we started our
Alphabets! In our first week, we looked
at A, B, and C. We listened to the stories, “Alligator Baby,” “Bad Kitty,” and
“Clumsy Crab.” We traced the uppercase and lowercase A and used sponge dabbers
and red paint to make them into apples!
For the letter B, we used our hand eye
coordination to trace the upper case B and then decorated it with yellow tissue
paper to make it into a school bus!
The letter C was turned into a cat! The
children used their cutting skills to cut out the cat’s triangle shaped ears
and nose!
While learning our alphabet, we have also talked about Spring! The children had a chance to observe the Persian tradition of Nowruz
(Persian New Year) as Marjan showed them what a traditional Nowruz table looks
like. The children learned that there are 7 items displayed on the table that
start with the letter S. Furthermore, Marjan let the children know that Nowruz
was celebrated as a welcome to the season of Spring!
We also have been talking
about the sights and sounds of spring as well and read the story “Mouse’s First
Spring.”
Before our break, our 4’s had a fun time skating at Harry
Jerome! Thanks everyone who came out! What a fun 4’s tradition!
After spring
break, we dove right back into our alphabet with the letters G, H, I. The
children listened and acted out the story of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” For
art, we turned the letter G into a goat! We listened to a little penguin eat
spicy tacos and get Hiccups and we looked at a little worm who outsmarted a
nightingale in the story “Inch by Inch.” For the letter I, the children made
ice cream cones and we were super lucky to have some vanilla ice cream at snack!
Yummy!
We have also started our journals and this will continue
until end of school year each week.
We have started tracing our upper case and
lower case letters. Please continue to encourage your children to write their
names at home!
Just a few reminders:
*encourage your children to zip up and down their own
jackets
*please leave all toys and stuffed animals at home especially for
children who go over to other classes, they have lots to carry over
*please
take your child to bathroom in the morning before coming into class
*please
remember to give them a quick goodbye in the morning, sometimes staying a bit
longer may lengthen the process of goodbye in the morning and may upset the
child
In the following weeks, we will continue our alphabet,
kindergarten readiness, and we will be talking about baby animals, Easter, and
Jeans week!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Class 304/403 - Karen, Susan, Brita, Carol
Hello Parents of 304/403
We started off the month with the ever popular author Eric Carle. The books we shared were enjoyed by all the children as they were familiar with what we were reading. So what did we read you ask….The Mixed up Chameleon, The Greedy Python, The Hungry Caterpillar, Papa, Please Take me to the Moon, The Grumpy Ladybug, The Very Busy Spider and Pancakes, Pancakes.
Along with these wonderful books comes wonderful art. Check it all out on the boards outside of the classroom. The one art you will not see on the board is the homemade chocolate chip pancakes we made in class on the Friday😊.
Thanks to everyone who joined us at Harry Jerome for our annual 4’s skating party. It was great to see so many families participate.
After our week off for Spring Break we started talking about Spring. The weather was beautiful and we decided to go on a few field trips. Our first one was to the Murdo Frazer duck pond. We brought some seeds to feed the ducks and good thing because there were a lot and they were hungry. On our way back we stopped by the village toy store and checked out all the cool toys in the drawers...if you don’t know what I mean you should check it out.
Our second field trip was around the community looking for ‘Signs of Spring’. We talked about what Spring sounds, smells and feels like. We saw many birds, insects and flowers starting to bloom. Back in the classroom we put out a tray of different seeds and the children were so interested in them that we turned it into an art project. Each child picked a seed and then drew what they thought would grow from it. Their art is displayed on a board outside the classroom, some very cool things come from seeds😃.
Check out our back wall as the library has now been taken down to make way for ‘SPRING IS IN THE AIR’. The children have been making paper plate snails, paper daffodils and coffee filter butterflies.
We have lots to look forward to in April….Children's Easter service, Jeans week and our Easter egg hunt. In addition for the 4’s we will be starting Kindergarten readiness, journals and introducing our stuffy whale Echo. Instructions for Echo will be on the container but we will also talk about it in class. Please feel free to talk to us about what you have read in our blog.
Have a great day!
Music Program - Tiffany
Inch by inch, row by row, we’re making our musical garden
grow!
Spring is here and we are prepped and ready for our
upcoming Easter Services. The children have put together a performance filled
with singing, dancing and laughter. We hope you enjoy our songs about
windmills, seeds, sunshine and rain. Watch our fours as they play ‘tic-toc’ on
the xylophone and see the threes' petals pop as they grow to flowers from seeds
in the soil.
For the Spring, we are going to focus on taking turns. We
will explore some of the different elements of music. From the rhythm to the
beat and dynamics too, we now have enough musical language to lead each other
in music and even make up songs of our own! We are great musicians and most
importantly, we’re all together again, we’re here. We’re here!
Resource Office - Marion
I hope everyone enjoyed a nice Spring Break, I know I
enjoyed the sunnier, warmer temperatures. As the weather warms up and you
start spending more time outdoors at the parks and beaches, your children will
have lots of opportunities to make new friends. Play enhances feelings of
acceptance of differences, increases empathy, compassion and sharing.
Play dates are very important, especially for the 4s, as they head off to
Kindergarten. The teachers will post a sheet and families will be
able to write down which elementary school their child will be attending in
September. It is always easier to go into a new environment with someone
you know, so plan play dates before the summer. Younger children
gain confidence from repeating the same song, game or activity over and
over. But, with older children, offering a new activity that provides a
bit of a challenge, will help them become comfortable with new
situations. They will develop confidence in their ability to be
successful. The 4s’ teachers have sent some information home about some
of the expectations for Kindergarten. If you have any questions on what
they are working on please feel free to speak to them. Marion
SUMMER PROGRAM
This summer the children will be blasting off to “Outer
Space”! Registration will be begin Monday, April 15th (first
come – first serve basis). It runs for the month of July. The first
week will be Tuesday to Friday (2-5) and the following weeks will be Monday to
Thursday (8-11, 15-18 and 22-25). This program is open to the community
for children ages 3 – 5 years.
Church Services:
With Easter just around the corner, I would like to let you
know about some of the Church Services this month.
Palm Sunday, April 14th (10 am) Palm
procession, children’s story and a reading of Christ’s passion help us enter
the spirit of Holy week.
Easter Sunday, April 21st (10 am) Family Service
with music, children’s story and Holy Communion. There will be also be an
Easter Egg hunt!
It is with
sadness that we share the news of Sousan Hakimy Kashany’s passing on March 14th.
Sousan taught in the preschool for 5 years and was part of the teaching team
for the Summer Program. Sousan had a loving and thoughtful way of caring
for the children. She was patient and nurturing, especially with those
requiring extra support. A celebration of her life was held on March 21st
here at St. Catherine’s Church. We will miss her and our prayers and
thoughts are with her family.
