February 2020

Okay! We have just made it through another month of winter and we are hoping we have seen the last of the cold and ice! We are ready for some longer days and some milder weather to kick-start Spring!

REGISTRATION FORMS for September 2020 Preschool classes should be handed in to the preschool office before Feb. 1st if you want PRIORITY REGISTRATION.

PRESCHOOL CLOSED on FRIDAY, JAN. 31st for our teacher's Professional Development Workshop.

SAMOSA ORDERS due FEB. 13TH! Thanks for supporting our school!

UPCOMING DATES & SPECIAL EVENTS
JAN 31 - PRO D DAY - PRESCHOOL CLOSED
FEB 1 - REGISTRATION FOR CURRENT FAMILIES
FEB 3 - REGISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY FAMILIES
FEB 12/13/14 - CHILDREN'S VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
FEB 12 - SCHOLASTIC ORDERS DUE
FEB 13 - SAMOSA ORDERS DUE
FEB 17 - FAMILY DAY - PRESCHOOL CLOSED
FEB 25 - CHURCH PANCAKE SUPPER
MAR 6 - 4'S SKATING PARTY
MAR 16-20 - SPRING BREAK - PRESCHOOL CLOSED

The teachers had a Professional Day on Jan. 31st and we watched a great documentary on the importance of Play. Please check it out below:
The Power of Play - Episode of The Nature of Things: https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/features/unstructured-play-can-create-mentally-healthier-kids

Please note: The red gate at the Ridgewood Drive entrance to our parking lot is being moved. Preschool families should be parking in the main parking lot (entrance on Wellington) and can park in any space in the main section. The smaller section, behind the red gate, will be for Church staff and Church visitors only. Please do not park in the small parking lot section that enters off of Ridgewood Drive. 

DISCOVERY TWOS - Arsi, Danielle, Marjan, Rose, Vibha

Thank you parents for all the lovely gifts and kind words of encouragement and appreciation expressed in your Christmas cards to us.

We wish you all the best in 2020!

What a fun and exciting month of January we had learning about winter.  We discovered that penguins and polar bears live where it is very cold.  We also learned about what clothes we would need to dress ourselves for winter weather.  Some winter art activities that the children enjoyed doing were decorating mittens with tissue paper, making winter collage, gluing igloo with white pieces of paper, melted snowmen with shaving cream and glue,  ice- cube painting, decorated penguins with different shapes, made polar bears and made winter hats with roller brush.

At circle time, we talked about winter animals, Five little penguins felt rhyme, snowmen, snowmen what do you see and colour recognition winter mitten game. 

Here are some of our favourite songs:

Snowball, Snowball

Cold and round

Behind which mittens can you be found?

Snowflake Dance

( Sung to: Are you Sleeping)

Dance like snowflakes,

Dance like snowflakes,

In the air, In the air

Whirling, Twirling snowflakes

Whirling Twirling snowflakes

Here and there, Here and there

 

Gung Hay Fat Choi- we also celebrated Chinese New Years.  For art, we created fireworks with red and gold paint.  Our 2’s really enjoyed exploring and pouring red and white rice.  At circle we read a book about my first Chinese New Year followed by five little red dragons felt song.

202 had the opportunity to learn a little about Australia as Danielle had been there on a holiday.  They did dot-to-dot patterns using q-tips on boomerangs and read ' I am Australian '. We acted out the way Australian animals walk or fly using hand puppets..

 

We would like to ask that you as parents continue to support your children’s independence with a few simple tasks when they come into the classroom.  Please continue to have your children walk up and down the stairs by themselves holding the railing and/or your hand.  When they get to their cubbies, please have them hang up their jackets on the hook. And encourage them to put their own snack bag in the basket.

Our theme’s for February will be Love, Friendship, Feeling and Transportation.

As always, please come and talk to us if you have any concerns.

TREEHOUSE ROOM- Karen, Susan, Brita, Marjan, Carol

Welcome back to the Treehouse room for January! It was a busy month of learning for the children. For the first week, we explored the topics of winter, snow, and snowflakes. For week two, we covered the topics of snow, ice, the cold, and winter clothing. For the third week, we explored the world of Black and Grizzly bears of B.C., and Chinese New Year! We finished off for the last week by having fun with teddy bears!

We started off the month by painting snowflakes with salt water that crystallized when dry. The children created melted snowmen by painting with shaving cream and glue and placing the pieces of the snowmen on the snow. The water table had snow and ice in it. The play dough table had snow slime that the children could manipulate and play with. At circle, we read the books “ The old lady who swallowed some snow” and “ Winter, winter cold and snow”. We learned a felt rhyme “5 Little Snowmen”, and talked about winter activities and what you can do in the snow.

For week two, we continued our theme on winter and added ice and the cold. At art, the children created penguins by gluing the pieces on the penguin, ice painting, and stamp painting mitten shapes. At circle, we read the felt story “The mitten” and played find the missing mitten.

The children learned about the Black Bears and Grizzly Bears of B.C. and Chinese New Year for week 3. For art, we painted Black bear shapes, made paper plate Grizzly bear faces, painted lanterns, and fans. At circle, the children explored the world of our B.C. bears. They learned about where they live, diet,  appearance, and other fun facts. We read the books “Yodel the Black Yearling” and “Bear is Hungry” and the rhyme 5 Black Bears. For Chinese New Year, the children were educated about the celebration. They were shown pictures about the lantern celebrations, fancy foods, and dress. We talked about the year of the rat and gave out good luck red envelopes and coins for good luck. We talked about the different animals on the calendar and the meaning of each one. We played the find the missing lantern game and we made rice for some fun snack!

Finally, we finished off the month with a teddy bear theme! For art, the children created a teddy picnic scene by gluing on a blanket, teddy, and food. At snack time, the children had a picnic on a big blanket with their stuffed animals.  At circle time, the children played hide the teddy game, danced and sang to the teddy bear picnic song. It was a lot of fun! It was a great way to finish off the month!

Don’t forget about your children’s show and share time at preschool!

The fours will begin to take home Echo, the Killer Whale on February the 6th.

SUNFLOWER ROOM - Arsi, Danielle, Carol

Wow! Christmas break sure went by fast! We hope you all had a great time celebrating with your loved ones! We’d like to thank you all for your wonderful gifts and very thoughtful cards!

January brought us a little bit of cold winter weather, so we decided to dive into some stories from one our favourite author, Robert Munsch! In the first week, we read “Deep Snow,” “Zero Below,” and “Just One Goal.” These stories brought some giggles to the children. 

The children also enjoyed watching a “cut and tell story” called “Winter Fun with Friends.” It was neat to see a piece of paper turn into a snowman right in front of their eyes. Moreover, we enjoyed the felt rhymes “5 Little Snowmen,” and “5 little Snowflakes.” For art, we decorated our own snowmen. We also used water-colours on snowflake shaped diffusing paper, and we decorated our own winter boot shape using various materials. The following week, we looked at penguins and polar bears. We learned about where each

  animal lives, what they eat, how they move, and what they look like. We read the books, “Be Brave Little Penguin,”and “Where’s Home Lil Pip?” There was a lot of laughter when we looked at the silly felt rhyme of “5 Little Penguins on the ice.” They all fell down and bump their heads. For art, the children used oval and heart shapes to create their own penguin. 

The next animal was a polar bear. It was a great opportunity to compare the 2 winter animals. The stories we read were “Good morning Polar bear,” and the felt story “Polly the Polar Bear.” We used a fork to give the polar bear head a special furry effect. What an interesting way to paint!

The children sure had missed Danielle and she had missed them too! We also wanted to thank Brita for helping us out! She was great fun! The topic was Australia and the amazing animals in the outback. There was talk about emus, kangaroos, snakes, koalas, kookaburras, and echidnas. The children listened to the stories called “Hunwick’s Egg,” “ABC Dreaming,” and “I’m Australian too.” These books were a great introduction to the various animals in the outback and about Australia. We even got a chance to listen to Danielle sing the song “Kookaburra,” and the children sang with her too. At the art table, we practiced our hand eye coordination by tracing and cutting a boomerang shape. We then used Q-tips with red, white, and black paint to decorate them. They looked great. 

Furthermore, we also made a collage of the Australian outback by using the same method with the Q-tip. Once the children decorated their scene, they picked one animal, either an emu, kangaroo, or a frill necked lizard, to glue on their scene. All the kids were super excited to get a little surprise from Danielle from Australia. She truly had missed them all!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! We learned how to say Happy New Year as we learned about the customs of Chinese New Year. The children listened to the story called “Bringing in the New Year,” and enjoyed the felt rhyme “5 Golden Dragons.” We talked about the many animals and how this year was the year of the rat! We danced with streamers with beautiful traditional music and the children all got a red envelope to take home for good luck! What a fun day!

On our last week in January, we turned to the classic Ukrainian stories of Jan Brett. We read “The Mitten,” “The Hat” and a few others of her collection. For art, the children traced and glued the animals onto the mitten and decorated their own hats too. We also looked at the felt rhymes “5 Little Mittens” and “5 Colourful Umbrellas.” What a great way to end this month!

In the coming weeks, we will be talking about Valentine’s Day, kindergarten readiness and continuing our bucket filling!

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask your teachers!

MUSIC PROGRAM - Tiffany

January was a short month for music and we worked mostly on the Rhythm family. We can play the different members of the Rhythm family on various handheld instruments we have been introduced to. Such as, the clavi, tambourine, cymbals, maracas and triangle. One of the children’s favourite activities, which doubles as a reward for hard work, is doing a ‘parade’ around the classroom. With our collection instruments in hand and big smiles on our faces, we are heading for big success in the months to come. Our Easter Service, in April, is going to be fantastic.

To wrap up January, we are going to build our skills in recognizing the Rhythm family members, in a real piece of music; March of the Toreadors, composed by George Bizet, during the Classical music era.

Some goals for February are, learning to use the Rhythm family notes in small sequences to make rhythmic patterns that we can clap. Singing the notes of the rhythmic patterns and guessing the rhythmic pattern based on what we hear. We will also continue with our ‘listening’ portion of the class and begin learning about the Woodwind family.

Stay tuned for a surprise, take home, music class craft! 

RESOURCE ROOM - Marion

Routines: Everyday Magic!

Children in the preschool years thrive on routines.  They like their lives to be clear and predictable, and they enjoy the security of comfortable repetition (which is, incidentally, one of the easiest ways for young children to learn).  

A familiar routine in the morning, at mealtimes, and at bedtime can eliminate the need children often feel to test their boundaries.  Clear expectation and predictable activities can smooth the rough spots out of a youngster’s day (and that of his/her parents and teachers).

As children grow older and begin school, using routines can eliminate many of the hassles surrounding chores or homework, especially when the child is old enough to help create family rules and routines.  When the child knows the routine, the parent or teacher just has to asks “What is our routine?” and everyone knows what should happen next.  Routines will vary from family to family, from preschool to preschool, but they are useful ways to take the struggle out of the terrible trio of sleeping, eating and toileting. 

January 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Welcome to January 2020

 It's hard to believe we are in the year 2020! Sound a bit futuristic to me! (We are just as far away from 1990 as we are from 2050! EEK!)

But now that we are here in 2020, our vision for the rest of the year will be perfect! We have a lot of fun things planned for the new year so keep watching your classroom bulletin boards for upcoming special events. And please remember, preschool is closed on Friday, January 31st so our teachers can have a Professional Day. We will be taking a workshop on Anxiety in Children.

IMPORTANT DATES & EVENTS

JAN 31 - PRO D DAY - PRESCHOOL CLOSED
JAN 31 - CURRENT FAMILIES SEPT. 2020 REGISTRATIONS DUE
FEB 3 - COMMUNITY FAMILIES SEPT. 2020 REGISTRATIONS DUE
FEB 12/13/14 - CHILDREN'S VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
FEB 17 - FAMILY DAY - PRESCHOOL CLOSED
FEB 25 - CHURCH PANCAKE SUPPER

SNOW DAY!! We are getting into snowy weather soon! If you wake up to snow, check the media and if School District 44 is having a snow day, we also will be having a snow day!

SEPTEMBER 2020 PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION

We will be handing out registration forms for currently enrolled families for September 2020 on Monday, January 13th and Tuesday, January 14th. You will need to fill out your form and attach your deposit cheque (which consists of your September fees plus a $50 registration fee).

Because you are currently enrolled, you will get priority placement but ONLY IF YOU HAVE YOUR REGISTRATION SHEETS IN BEFORE FEB. 1ST.

If you have a child born in 2018 that you want to register for the 2s program, stop by the office for a registration form.

I know it was a long time ago...but here is what happened in the classrooms last month, last year and last decade!

DISCOVERY TWOS - Arsi, Danielle, Marjan, Rose, Vibha

Happy New Year to All!

Please extend a very warm welcome to the newest member of our teaching team: Rose! She will be teaching in class 201 and 202 as we had 7 more children join our preschool in January. Please take the time to say hi!

December was such a fun month for our 2s! We dove right into the month with the Nativity scene on our light table. Baby Jesus was surrounded by Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men and some of the animals. We read the book “Silent Night” and for art we decorated angels with beautiful gold foil paper!

 Next up was the book “Where’s Rudolph?” and our favourite “Shake it Santa” song with a Santa shaped shaker. We also played a fun, colourful ornaments felt board game where the children guessed which colour was missing. Moreover, we also enjoyed the felt rhymes “5 Santa’s” and “5 Little Gingerbread.” We decorated gingerbread people with Christmas stickers and used crayons to give them different colours. We also decorated mini Christmas trees with colourful tissue paper and Christmas sequins that made them so shiny.

 

At circle, we enjoyed the felt story “Christmas tree, what do you see?” Our house corner transformed into Santa’s bake shop and the children enjoyed “baking” Christmas cookies and cupcakes. They even tried using real spatulas to flip and carry the cookies!

Our table toys were so much fun too. We had Christmas puzzles and sparkly red playdough with various Christmas shape cookie cutters. Our sand box was fun to hang out spot too with red and green coloured bowls, buttons, and scoops! The children really liked hiding the buttons and then digging to find them.

The children also had fun working on their special surprises for their Moms and Dads. They worked really hard using sparkly red, green, and gold paint to salad spin their ramekin gifts. Later, they also helped the teachers make Rice Krispie treats and coconut clusters that went inside their decorated ramekins. Furthermore, the children also decorated pine cones with lots of sparkles to hang on their trees at home! So much fun!

 

In the water table, we enjoyed scooping and dumping red and white rice with scoops and cups! What a nice change to have for Christmas!

On our last few days before our break, we made stockings and turned ourselves into reindeer with really neat reindeer headbands! Our party was so much fun too. We practiced our songs such as “We wish you a Merry Christmas,” and “Jingle Bells” to sing for our awesome parents at our mini in-class concert. Thank you to the parents who brought in the yummy food for our party! What a great way to end the year!

We would also like to thank all our parents for your kind words and your very thoughtful gifts. We hope you all had a relaxing and fun filled holiday season!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be looking at winter and winter animals! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your teachers.

TREEHOUSE ROOM- Karen, Susan, Brita, Marjan, Carol

Hello all Treehouse Room families! Happy New Year to you all!

The month of December was very busy. We all love the holidays but know there is a lot to get done. The spirit of Christmas was kicked off with the Christmas Services held in the church. As teachers, we always know the holidays are very near when practicing for the concerts are in full swing. We love seeing the children sing, dance and laugh as they recite their Christmas songs. Everyone at St. Catherine’s Preschool hopes you all do too. We would like to acknowledge our music teacher Tiffany’s hard work during this time. Thank you, Tiffany!

While practicing for the Christmas Services we began teaching the children the importance of the traditional Christmas story. Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus were discussed at great lengths in our classroom within December. The back wall was made into a barn and stable. Farm animals were created, and books were read to the children such as “A Christmas Story”.  

            In the Treehouse Room we enjoy creating spaces for the children to learn, explore, and socialize with their peers.  The two exciting spaces we created to allow the children to grow were, the “Ice Cave” under the tree house stairs and the house corner was transformed into Santa’s sleigh. We saw smiles, sharing, socializing and friendships created within these spaces. Santa’s sleigh always fosters the opportunity for the children to share the small sleigh. As teachers, we enjoy watching the children navigate sharing and socializing together and always step in if we feel the students need our help.

            Our Treehouse students were very excited when a letter from Santa was received at the preschool! We all wrote to Santa within the first week of December in the hopes he would write back before we went on Christmas break and he did! Each child drew a special picture for Santa and his elves. We think Santa loved them because he wrote back to tell us how beautiful they were. The children enjoyed listening to the letter Santa wrote back as they all sat at circle.

            Circle time within our classroom is an important time for the children to learn the benefits of listening to others, waiting your turn and sitting in a cross-legged position (we don’t want anyone’s toes to get stepped on). This month at circle, we listened to many Christmas themed felt stories, heard some tape stories and interacted together with Christmas action songs. Some highlights were: “The Nutcracker” tape story, “5 Little Reindeer” felt story and “SANTA” sang in the tune of BINGO.

            The teachers of the Treehouse room would like to thank each of the parents who kindly contributed to our Christmas parties that took place in the last 2 days of school. As mentioned before, these parties wouldn’t be possible without each of you and your contributions. The parties are always a fun way to cap off the end of the year. The children LOVE the party food and often ask for more once the food has finished!

We all hope you enjoyed your child’s take-home Christmas gift. Each one was made with love and enthusiasm. As teachers, we love seeing the children proudly create a gift to give to their family. We hope they found a special place on everyone’s Christmas tree this year.

January is always a month for organization and motivation and as teachers we plan to dive deep into our curriculum and allow your children to excel at preschool. We will start the new year off with an exploration on the season of winter. We hope to even experience some real life snow this month so we can maybe bring it into our classroom!

Thank you for taking the time to read our class blog! Check back here next month for more exciting updates on your child’s preschool experiences.  

SUNFLOWER ROOM - Arsi, Danielle, Carol

How time flies…Oh what fun we have had these past 4 months! We have been so busy playing with our new friends, exploring & learning new things.

For the month of December, we started with the Nativity. We used Popsicle sticks to make our own stable and shapes to make Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. This was a great way for the children to tie their songs & costumes for the Christmas Service in with their school environment. The Christmas Concert was AWESOME!!  They all looked great and performed like naturals.

The following week we read ‘The Gingerbread Man’ and decorated gingerbread men with glitter glue and squares.  Then we listened to the story the ‘Christmas Angel’ and cut our angel wings and made our own angels. 

Next, we read ‘There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell’, ‘Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story’ and ‘Santa’s Underwear’. We then made Paper Plate Santa’s. 

In preparation for next year, we attempted to write our names in Christmas Cards to our parents, along with some pictures.  Lots of fun was spent decorating our Christmas glass star gifts for our parents plus helping prepare the YUMMY coconut clusters for the inside of the gifts.  We listened to the story ‘The Littlest Christmas Tree’ and finished off tracing, painting & decorating our own Christmas tree.

We enjoyed listening to the CD stories ‘Santa Knows’, ‘The Three Bears Christmas’ & ‘Russel’s Christmas Magic’.  We listened to the felt rhymes ‘5 Christmas Trees’, ‘5 Christmas Stockings’ and ‘5 Gingerbread Men’ and we played guessing games with Christmas lights and stockings.

Thank you to all the parents who provided the party food. A fun time was had by all. We would also like to thank the families for their Christmas wishes and gifts.

In January we will start encouraging more self-help skills & kindergarten readiness.

Any questions, please feel free to ask us.

MUSIC PROGRAM - Tiffany

Happy New Year, families! 

This is an exciting time for our music class as we start 2020 off with beat and rhythm recognition and counting. We have been introduced to the Rhythm Family and they are so cool! Big Daddy whole note  is very slow and only gets one clap per measure. But watch out for Little Sister eighth note, she’s really fast and gets a total of eight claps per beat! Next up, the ‘Cousins Three’. Each family is a representation of duple and triple time.

January is a great month to introduce new concepts and dive deeper into what we have already learned. Adding to our music vocabulary, we are going to learn about the difference between, the ‘beat’ and the ‘rhythm’. We will also learn some basic conducting patterns and how to ‘feel’ the beat.

By next month, we will be singing loud and proud OR quiet and careful! ‘Tempo’ will teach us how fast, or how slow, to go. Furthermore, we will be confident in following the beat and we will be creative with the rhythms we choose! Next up, ‘how to be your own conductor and instrument making!

RESOURCE ROOM - Marion

Happy New Year!  

But before we move into 2020, I would like to say how wonderful the Christmas Services were and the church was filled with so much love, smiles and song.  Thank you to Tiffany who put together the wonderful program.  

At preschool the children learn songs and rhymes with lots of repetition.  We sing the same Hello and Goodbye songs in the classrooms and often repeat stories either in felt or book form.  They love the ones with catchy phrases where they raise their voices and say silly things.  

Just looking forward to the next 6 months and all the play/work the children will be doing.  Our 2s will start to engage in parallel play and co-operative play, this means sharing and turn taking with their peers.  The 3s will be encouraged to be more independent

when following their daily routines.  They will be encouraged to put their own coats on and hang them up when they come back from outdoors.  Kindergarten Readiness will be the focus for our 4s and there will be a letter to each family telling them what the teachers as they enter Kindergarten.  It will be a big transition but they will be ready.  If you have any questions please speak to the teachers or drop by the office.

Thank you for all your lovely gifts and well wishes and I am really looking forward to 2020 as I will be a first time Gran-mere!

         

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!