Hello Families!
Welcome to April! It is with sadness that I am informing you that Ms. Bonnie has resigned her position as our toddler assistant teacher. Ms Bonnie’s last day with us will be Tuesday, April 16th. Please join me in wishing her well.
The Front Door now as a sensor that detects when someone is leaving the building. There is no longer a need to press the green button!
Please mark your calendar for our annual Science Fair next Friday, April 12 from 5:30-6:30. Children 4.5+ years are invited to choose a science experiment/activity to present to families (everyone is invited to this event, no childcare provided during the event). If you need ideas/inspiration please talk with the classroom teachers, they will be able to offer suggestions. If you have questions please direct them to the lead teachers. We hope to see you there!
Tumbe Tots will begin another session beginning April 11th from 12:10-12:40 pm, for 6 weeks for $58.00. Enrollment forms are requested by April 11th. Enrollment flyers are available at the front counter.
The Program is closed on Friday, April 19, 2019 (Good Friday).
If you haven’t turned in your fall 2019 application, there is still time! We are also enrolling for our summer camp program. We look forward to continuing our relationship with all of our families this summer and with returning families this fall!
On Monday, April 1, Ms. Emily the Novi librarian read to the children, they all enjoyed the session!
This week in the Toddler Classroom the theme was spring! The children enjoyed hearing,”The Grouchy Ladybug”, “Pete the Cat” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “The Wheels on the Bus”. For the Practical Life lesson the children learned how to take care of the classroom plants by watering them. This lesson shows children how to care for living things; building compassion, respect and responsibility. This is also a good activity for developing gross motor skills, fine motor skills and coordination. The Sensorial Presentation involved a Mystery Bag or Stereognostic bag. The purpose of this activity is to help children develop their stereognostic senses-an ability to identify objects inside the bag based on touch alone, this supports their material visualization. For an art activity the children created a Cherry Blossom Tree using construction paper, paints and an empty bottle to produce the flower effect. The pictures are hanging in the classroom. Other lessons the children enjoyed were the bug bin sensory activity- the children enjoyed and were fascinated with the plasic bugs and the texture of cooked pasta. This is a fantastic tool for imaginative play, fine motor, and language development. A REMINDER TO PARENTS: please put an ice pack in your child’s lunch bag and please write your child’s name on their water bottle, snack box and lunch container. Thank you!
This week in the Pine Room the children and teachers engaged in a discussion of Australia and the different animals that live there; the kangaroo, koala bear and the platypus. The children listened to “Does a Kangaroo have a Mother too?”, “Biscuit Wants to Play”, “Pete the Cat”, “Wheels on the Bus”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, “Old MacDonald had a Farm”, “The Greedy Python” and “How to Catch a Star”. The librarian from the Novi library came this week to read a story about fishes and counting, they children participated in a dance. The Practical Life Presentation involved plant watering and leaf washing (care for the environment). The children are working with Geometric Solids and learning the names of the shapes. The children are progressing well in the language area. For our Science Presentation the children participated in an experiment with an egg in vinegar, ask your child what happened to the egg! The children are working with the large map of Australia, coloring a map and writing facts of Australia. They also worked on the three part cards of Biomes of Australia; it tell about the wetlands, tropical forest, desert and the grasslands. The children are working well in math with numeral recognition, division and multiplication. PARENTS, if your child is 4.5 + years old, please encourage them to join us at the Science Fair on Thursday, April 12 from 5:30-6:30 pm. You can go on YouTube and type in experiments for children, there are alot of activities to choose from. You can also ask one of the teachers for suggestions. Have a great weekend! The Pine Room Staff.
In the Cedar Room there was a dicussion on the Australian Continent with the children working on the large map and coloring the states of Australia. We also read a book of “Kangaroos and Wallabies” by Steve Parish. Individual lessons were given to the younger children on 3 letter blend sounds and beginning sounds. They are progressing on their studies, starting to read and making three letter words. The Science Presentation was given on the parts of the leaf using the three parts cards. Individual lessons were given on beads addition using short beads, the multiplication board, teen boards, carrying over and making complex numbers.
In the MapleRoom the theme of the week was birds. The children learned the various parts of a bird and their habitats. We also read books on birds. The older children are learning sentence formation and improving their reading skills. They are also reviewing math. The children enjoyed the pounding of cereal in a mortar and pestle as well as weaving a mat in the practical and sensorial areas. The continent this month is Australia. Please send books to read for show and tell related to Australia if you are able. The Novi librarian visited this week and the children thoroughly enjoyed the session. The Science Fair is coming up next week, please look for the informational flyer posted outside of our classroom.