At our most recent Parent Advisory meeting, the board asked us to better inform you of how we distribute information about upcoming events, etc. to you. We have placed 2 bulletin boards in the front lobby. One contains information that is new or upcoming (the one on the right) and the other holds information that is more constant. We try to keep the boards pretty organized, but let us know if you have any questions. Sign-up sheets will remain on the front desk for any upcoming events, as well as the most up-to-date newsletter. To contact you about school wide issues we also use email, newsletters, and letters sent to you in your child's cubby when needed. We hope this helps. Always feel free to drop in or call with any questions and/or concerns.

Due to a scheduling problem, we have changed the date of our Scholastic Book Fair. It will now be held during the week of October 19th..... still in plenty of time to pick up some holiday gifts! I have asked them to send books appropriate for infants all the way through smaller chapter books, to better suit the needs of all children of all of our families. Please plan to attend and help us make it a success!

As we discussed in an earlier edition, we are well aware of greater concern surrounding the flu this year. Please note, that with this being said, we will be following our health policy very diligently and will be asking you to be up sick children within one hour of being notified. They cannot return to until they are fever free and medication free for 24 hours. Please help keep our children and staff healthy and safe. We recently placed a copy of the health policy in every mailbox. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Please send ice pack in your child's lunch to keep items cool. We are trying to reserve classroom refrigerators for group activities, snack items, and cooking projects, etc.

Speech Weekly

Baby Sign Language and Speech Development

A common myth about sign language is that it delays or prevents speech development. Sign language has actually been proven to enhance speech development. There are many benefits of communicating sign with your baby, which include, stimulating intellectual development, enhancing self-esteem, strengthening parent/infant bonding, accelerating the speech process, decreasing frustration, and increasing vocabulary. Tips to begin using baby signs:

1. Begin early-Usually by nine months, your baby shows interest in wanting to communicate with you. There's no harm in starting even earlier. Most babies begin to sign back to you between ten to fourteen months.
2. Keep it natural-Make sure the sign language comes natural to both you and your baby. A simple gesture that corresponds with a word or phrase can work for signing. For example, rubbing the tummy for "hungry."
3. Give your baby the signs they need- use the basic ones your infant needs on a daily basis - eat, drink, sleep, etc.
4. Be consistent- sign the same signs repeatedly and your baby will learn them quickly and begin to imitate them back to you.
5. Speak and sign simultaneously- this is to ensure your baby is getting both the sign and the spoken word.
6. Make it a family habit- anyone your baby interacts with regularly should know the most important signs. This will help with retention.
7. Follow your baby- sometimes; your baby will make his own signs up. If so, make sure you use his signs, as he will remember these easily.
8. Don't push the signs- all children will develop at their own pace, including signing. If your baby seems resistant, don't push the issue.

Financial Memo

Automatic credit cards will be charged on Friday, September 25. When the 27th falls on a weekend or holiday, payments are made the closest day prior to the 27th.

October tuition is due by Wednesday, September 30th to avoid late charges.

What's Cooking?!?!?

Applesauce

1. Chop 4 apples (Leave unpeeled).
2. Boil in 1/2" water
3. Add 3 Tbsp. honey, boil and stir.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

Kindness Cookies

1. Mix 1/3 cup honey, 1 tablespoon oil and 2 eggs
2. Add 1 tablespoon grated orange rind, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 1/2 cup of oatmeal
3. Drop spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes
5. Be kind and share your cookies with friends!

Class Notes

Pelican-
Ms. Sue and Ms. Meredith

This week the pelicans had so much fun coloring leaves for fall! Berkeley, Maggie and Maegan put paint on the leaves and pressed down to make a print. We then helped the other Pelicans make a print as well! Jackson and Sami had a blast making music with our drums and toy piano. Ms. Sue and Meredith would then sing silly songs, and the other pelicans would join in with other musical instruments. They loved dumping apples from a bucket and watching them roll. Ashlyn would crawl towards them, but as soon as she put her hand on the apple, it would roll some more! We also did an activity where we tossed balloons everywhere for them to catch and play with! A couple popped; frightening the children, but they wouldn't hesitate to go for more! We also enjoyed hiding toys under the sheet to see who could find the first one. While they searched, we waved the sheet over top of them to play hide and seek and hello and goodbye. All of their eyes got so big and they were so cute with their little smiles on their faces! Fall is coming so please check their spare clothes to make sure they have the right ones to wear for the weather! We had the best week! -- Everyone enjoy your weekend and be safe. See you Monday!

Kangaroos-
Ms. Jen and Ms. Kim

This week the kangaroos are working on being big helpers. Here's our song- "My hands are helpers all day long They help me do things that are strong. They stay with me throughout the day to help me work and help me play." We are helping others by helping with puzzles, cooking and taking care of babies together. For art, we enjoyed painting with balls; so much fun! We made a fall color collage and made balls out of playdough. We compared our playdough balls by size and color. We played games like "Are you listening", "Hiding the doggie, where did it go?", and "Find that sound". We also had a great time with stuffed animals; did you see the large stuffed Dalmatian that visited us today??? Have a great weekend!

Peacock-
Ms. Lee

Great week in the Peacock class! This week we have been practicing our ABCs and our counting. We have been counting from 1 to 10 on our fingers, as well as out loud with the group. In art, we all enjoyed painting with real apples! Our masterpieces were beautiful! We then discussed different types of apples and compared them by color, size and shape. Also in the spirit of fall, we went on a nature walk to discuss the signs of the changing season and what was going to happen to the trees and leaves. Changes are coming slowly, but we will keep an eye on things! Back to art; we forgot to tell you about one really cool thing we enjoyed early in the week..... It was shaving cream art. It is so much fun and so easy to do. We loved painting our table with it! If you would like to donate a can of shaving cream, we would most appreciate it and promise to put it to fun use! Thanks and have a wonderful weekend! Bunny- Ms. Whitney What a great week for the Bunnies! We are busy at work with our counting; we've made it to ten, now we are working on going all the way to fifteen! Lucas and Martin like it when we use blocks or seashells to help us count. For science it was all about apples! We discovered the colors of apples, apple seeds, stems and trees. On Friday we even "planted" our very own apple tree! Riley and Makayla really enjoyed learning about and eating apples! We are also still learning the days of the week. Addie and Martin love the song we sing to help us remember! For social awareness we talked about feelings. Emily and Nathan loved acting out the feeling of the day (happy, sad, scared, angry, shy). We had a lot of fun in art too! We are practicing cutting, using glue and everybody's favorite-painting! Have a great weekend and we look forward to next week!

Walrus-
Ms. Erin

Apples, apples everywhere! The Walrus kids have become quite the apple connoisseurs! We've been learning lots about the delicious fruit including its growth pattern and its parts. For our cooking project we used apples to make scrumptious apple brownies! We measured the ingredients and discussed the concept of time. In math we worked on our counting by singing "5 Little Apples" where we pretended we were apples falling from a tree! We also counted steps from place to place around our classroom. In language arts we worked on recognizing the letters of our name as well as tracing the letter L. We also colored and read our "Ready Readers". In art we made name mosaics, sponge art and a friendship wreath. We also created textured collages using pom poms, buttons and feathers. We identified the item and discussed whether it was hard or soft. Alan chose to use all buttons which made for an awesome piece of art! For project green we went on a super fun nature walk! Ava Jordan held a collection bowl for us and we all picked up leaves from the ground to bring back to our classroom. We discussed all of the different colors we saw as well as the changing of seasons. Matthew really enjoyed our adventure and found some big, colorful leaves! When we returned from our expedition we used the leaves we collected to create leaf prints! We painted our leaves with fall colors and pressed them on paper! In social awareness we shared with each other what makes each of us happy. We all really love our moms and dads, and family is what makes us all smile! In children's humanities we practiced using yoga breathing to regroup and calm our bodies. We've been working on our sharing skills by doing show and tell each Friday. We've had bubble trains, bags full of cars, magnets, remote control cars and even a ballerina Barbie! By doing show and tell we are working on our language skills as well as building confidence, as we are given the opportunity to speak in front of the entire class. We all love show and tell Friday and really love playing with all of the fantastic toys! Have a wonderful weekend!

Reminders and Information: We are now using antibacterial hand sanitizer after we wash our hands and throughout the day. Ms. Erin gives us each a squirt in order to minimize the spreading of germs. Also, please remember to include an ice pack in your child's lunchbox if it needs to stay cold. Please bring in a photo of your student to place in their personal portfolio and be on the lookout for Book Fair information as it's coming soon to our school!!

Rooster -
Ms. Amanda and Ms. Michelle

This week in science, the Rooster class talked about the different types of apples we saw and tasted on our field trip. We compared and contrasted! We also discussed the signs of fall in honor of the first day of the season! In math we graphed Rooster birthdays and voted for our favorite apple type from the orchard! In language arts, we talked about the letter "T", our letter of the week. We sang a song about the letter "T", brainstormed for words that begin with "T", and practiced writing them too! In art we used apples to paint apple shapes. We also used real leaves from Ms. Amanda's garden to make autumn sun catchers! In social studies/awareness, we focused on feelings. We brainstormed types of feelings, and then discussed sadness and happiness later in the week. In children's humanities, we continued our focus on sign language, learning color signs. We also learned some great new Yoga poses! The highlight of our week was certainly our field trip to Carter's Mountain Orchard! We had so much fun picking, eating, playing, and enjoying autumn's bounty! A special thank you to all the parents who drove and joined us- we couldn't do it without you! Have a great weekend- see you Monday!