December 2019

      

We are at the end of 2019! One more month and then we get to head into the '20s!! But for now, we have a lot packed in to these last 3 weeks of preschool! 

Thank you to all of you who joined in our Purdy's Fundraiser this year! We far surpassed our goal of selling $1000 worth of chocolate and in fact sold over $3100!! Our preschool made a profit of $730! Wow! Amazing! Thanks for supporting the children by supporting our preschool!! We will be holding our Samosa fundraiser again in January if you missed it the last time!

IMPORTANT DATES & EVENTS

DEC. 5 - CLASS PHOTO ORDERS DUE (3s & 4s)

DEC 11/12 - CHRISTMAS SERVICES - 6:00PM (children arrive 5:45pm)

DEC. 18/19/20 - CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PARTIES (in class)

DEC. 20 - LAST DAY OF CLASSES BEFORE WINTER BREAK

JAN. 6 - FIRST DAY OF CLASSES AFTER WINTER BREAK

JAN. 31 - STAFF PRO D DAY - PRESCHOOL CLOSED

FEB. 1 - CURRENT FAMILIES REGISTRATION FOR SEPT. 2020

FEB. 3 - COMMUNITY FAMILIES REGISTRATION FOR SEPT. 2020

DISCOVERY TWOS - ARSI, DANIELLE, MARJAN, VIBHA

What a busy month we had in our Discovery Two’s.  We spent time exploring our Senses through touch, sight and sound and we also learnt about the 3 Primary Colors – Blue, Red & Yellow.

While learning about ‘our senses’ at circle, we spent time listening to a Sound CD where we matched the sound to the pictures. We read stories about what different sounds that animals make and we read the book “Tails”. We sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” & “Shake it, Baby Shake it”.  We also enjoyed spending time with Tiffany, our music teacher who sang songs with instruments with us.

We had LOTS of fun exploring our senses at Art time with mixing shaving cream & powder paint with our fingers. We also painted bubble wrap and felt the bumps as we rubbed it to make prints. We then spent time feeling different textures of materials to glue on corrugated paper eg. feathers, rough & smooth paper. We also changed the playdough for colored rice and last week we experimented with cornmeal instead.

We moved onto exploring primary colors while still using our senses.   For circle we listened to the CD story “Pete the Cat and his White Shoes”. We listened to the felt rhymes 5 Umbrellas, 5 Monkeys and played a guessing game with different Color Houses. We also listened to Old Macdonald and sang ‘If you are wearing red, shake your head’. We also sang some of our favorite songs.

For Art we experimented with coconut conditioner and blue water color to see how it would feel.  We used glue, blue paint and salt to make designs onto smooth paper. We also used paper cups to make red circles.  Next we made a collage of yellow tissue & crepe paper with yellow paint…all fun & exciting things.

Just a few reminders: Please encourage your child to walk up and down the stairs at school, place their snack bag in the basket and if you are starting toilet training at home, let us know as consistency is the key…

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us,

TREEHOUSE ROOM - KAREN, SUSAN, BRITA, MARJAN, CAROL

We ended the month of October with Halloween, so we thought it would be a great time to start talking about healthy eating after all the Halloween sweets that would have been eaten. 

Thank you to all the parents that brought in their child's favourite fruit to share. For this activity each child was given a plastic knife and cut their fruit into bite size pieces  which turned into a fruit salad that we shared at snack time. 

We discussed what foods were a healthy choice and which ones were not by playing a game at circle where the children came up and put what food item they had in their hand on a happy tooth or a sad tooth. On the back board in the classroom we made a large fruit basket filled with apples, bananas, grapes, oranges and pears. At snack time we talked about what the children were eating and talked about healthy choices. 

Everyone was very happy to talk about what they were eating. In the hallway there was a board that had apples that we made from egg cartons and hung them from branches. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". 

For Remembrance Day we made paper poppies and talked about what we were thankful for. 

Before we have our snack/lunch we also say grace to give thanks for our food and the song we sing is Johnny Appleseed. We watched a video and then talked about how important seeds are and what they provide for us. 

Our clay exploration was fun! We hope you have seen the board in the hallway with what the children discovered while rolling, molding and cutting it. We also brought in the book "Boo boo bird and the grump bird" figures to play in the clay. Shape cutters were used also which lead to a shape partner matching game. Some of the children also made clay pizzas with their favourite toppings. 

Marion came in to class and shared fire safety with the children in a video starring fireman Dan. It's a classic here at St. Catherine's. We practiced Stop, drop and roll. Also how to crawl low to the ground to stay out of the smoke. 

Christmas is just around the corner and we are getting started with our letters to Santa and our Christmas surprise that the children make to give to their parents. In just a few weeks we will also be having our Christmas Service that our music teacher Tiffany puts together for us. If you hear your child singing them it is because we will be practicing them a lot! 

Also in the month of December we will be going on a walking field trip to the library, caroling in the village and having our Christmas parties. Please keep a lookout for the food items we would like the parents to bring in and share. 

Last but not least we will be having bins for any donations you may have (non-perishable food, clothing and toys) to donate to charity. This is the time for giving after all. 

SUNFLOWER ROOM - ARSI, DANIELLE, CAROL

November has sure been a busy month! We started the month in our Pajamas while we listened to Robert Munsch’s book “Pajama Day” and talked about what we need to do before we go to bed. It was a perfect day to enjoy some delicious pumpkin pancakes that the children helped to make and taste at snack! What a fun day!

Our next topic was one that will continue throughout the school year! We read the book “Have You Filled A Bucket Today?” and “Only One You.” We talked about how bucket filling means saying and doing nice things for friends and family such as sharing or helping at home. We also learned that everyone has an invisible bucket that they carry around and throughout the day depending on what they say and do, they fill or dip into their bucket! Furthermore, we learned that bucket dipping hurts our friends and families. Bucket dippers are people who don’t share or say things that are hurtful. We decided as a class we are going to do our best to be bucket fillers and fill our classroom jar! (Once it’s full of our bucking filling hearts, the class will get a surprise....Ssshhh!) Furthermore, each child got a bucket sticker sheet to fill throughout the day as they learn to bucket fill. For art, the children decorated their own “buckets” and as a class we finger painted two big buckets for our board.

For Remembrance Day, we read a book called “A Soldier’s Puppy,” and the felt rhymes called “Five Brave Soldiers,” and “Five Colorful Poppies.” We discussed how a long time ago men and women had to go far from home to help bring peace and safety to Canada. Moreover, we talked about how we remember the brave men and women who weren’t able to come back home by wearing red poppies. For art, the children traced and decorated a poppy.

All the children were super excited when we introduced Echo. Echo is our real adopted whale that is part of pod A55. Since he’s happier swimming in the ocean, the children take turns taking Echo, our class stuffy, home for a weekend! It’s a great way for them to share their adventures with Echo with their friends at circle time. We are excited to see all your pictures, drawings, or mini stories in the coming weeks! The children made their own orca by using white paint to decorate the spots on their whale. This led to our week of sea life where we read the story “Whales Passing,” and sang “Old MacDonald had an Ocean.” We also looked at jellyfish and learned how they do not have brains and can be very dangerous to the touch. We read the book “Vincent & Spencer: the jellyfish brothers.” For art, the children used their hand-eye coordination to cut out the tentacles of their jellyfish and paint them too. It was a fun week exploring sea life!

Our last two weeks of November, we looked into the people in our community who help us out! We took a closer look at police officers, dentists, firefighters, construction workers, and mail carriers. The children were very interested and had their own stories to tell at circle. There was great discussion about what police officers do and how they help keep our communities safe. The children enjoyed the rhyme called “Five Police Officers.” For art, the children had to sequence various shapes to make a police officer. Furthermore, we looked at what the dentist does to keep our teeth clean and what we need to use to keep our teeth clean such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss. We also played a game of “Happy tooth, Sad tooth.” This was fun as the children had to decide which tooth the food item they were given went on. For art, we used real toothbrushes to “clean” the yellow teeth into white teeth. 

Our next community helper were firefighters! We also talked about the importance of their job and how they help the community in case of emergencies. We also watched the dvd with Fireman Dan. As the children watched, they learned about fire safety such as stop, drop, and roll. They also learned about staying low in case there is smoke and even practiced it under our “smoke” sheet. Fireman Dan also talked about how only adults are allowed to use matches or lighters and the importance of fire safety in a house.

 On our last week of the month, we looked at construction workers and read the book “Let’s meet a construction worker.” We learned how a blueprint is so important from an architect and how the construction foreman makes sure his workers are safe by wearing safety gear. Moreover, we all enjoyed the rhyme called “Construction Bear.” For art, the children used their cutting skills to cut out a tool belt shape and decorate it with various tools like a hammer. 
The last community helper we looked at was mail carriers. The children enjoyed telling each other what the mail carriers job is and how it helps letters and packages go to their spots. We read the books “Penguins Post” and the funny story called “Millie waits for the mail.” It was great timing as the children drew a picture to Santa to let him know what they’d like for Christmas. We also started on our very special surprises for Christmas!

We would like to thank all our parents for being so understanding on our day with no power! We were glad to see everyone again on Friday! This actually led our class to an awesome discussion at circle time about power generators and how we need electricity to give us light and heat!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be focusing on the story of the Nativity and many fun filled Christmas stories, songs, and art! We will also be practicing our songs for our Christmas concert, we will head to the library for story time and we will have our classroom Christmas party to end our year!

MUSIC - TIFFANY

Happy Holidays, families! As our Fall term comes to a close, we have had fun celebrating our hard work by playing musical chairs. We have spent most of the month rehearsing and we are excited to show you what we have prepared for the upcoming, Christmas Service. We are signing loud and proud, ringing our bells and we might even do a little drumming! Laugh along with us and sing as we celebrate the birth. Together, with joy and music!!

Our service will include traditional Christmas carols as well as some seasonal poems that have been set to music. Please encourage your children to sing loud and proud for the Christmas services. We have worked so hard!

The New Year brings opportunities to explore even more instruments and to officially meet ‘The Rhythm family’. We will learn how to read and count basic rhythms in duple time. Prepare for lots of clapping, tapping and stomping as we enter the new year with style and a sweet beat!

RESOURCE OFFICE - MARION

Here we are heading into the busiest time of the year.  So many things to think about and do.  While shopping for toys this year remember that toys that do too much don’t allow a child to use their own imagination.  Dolls and stuffed animals that talk or sing or direct children to press certain buttons essentially take charge of the play situation when the child should be the one directing the action.  The best toys are often the simplest ones – like Lego blocks – because they allow children to be creative and spontaneous.  When my boys were little I learnt that having too many toys out at one time made it harder for them to focus on any one of them.  I would rotate their toys from time to time and found that they were so excited to see the old toys come out.  The same toy can also carry a child through many different developmental stages, so don’t be in a rush to replace old toys with new ones.  Children enjoy toys that they can master and that are right for their particular stage of development.  Preschoolers learn a lot about socialization and do a lot of pretend play.  Miniature farm and house sets allow them to exercise their imagination, while large crayons, finger paints and Play-Doh help develop creativity.

Children also make huge gains in both fine and gross motor skills throughout this period, so puzzles, Lego, and other construction toys are perfect age appropriate toys.  Toys that require physical testing are best for two-year-old as well as those that help them with their language and social skills.  Playing pretend also allows them to get a sense of the real world.  It is important to buy toys that involve brain activity and hand or muscle movements.  Allowing preschoolers to participate in crafting with scissors and crayons, playing outside and memory building is ideal.  Toys are more than playthings, though, and while they should be fun, they should also be age-appropriate, stimulating and safe.

Tiffany, the teachers and the children are practicing every week for the Christmas Services.  This year we have decided to do a Christmas Clothing/Toy and Food drive.  Please drop off donations in your classrooms or bring them to the Services and St. Nicholas will be there to greet you and your family.

Wishing you and your family and Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!