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Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Held around Valentine’s Day each year, each site plans and implements a variety of heartwarming activities for grandparents or Special Friends. We’ve held brunches, singalongs and shared poetry, handmade cards and yummy cooking endeavors. Our guests usually bring a camera and capture the memories!
Family Picnic and PreK Graduation
One evening at the end of the school year, from 6-8 PM, Bright Beginnings classes perform songs and celebrate the graduation of our PreK classes. It's always a lot of fun, and everyone is welcome to attend.
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Newsletter March 5, 2010
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS PRESCHOOL
Experienced Quality Child Care Since 1984
www.brightbeginningsva.com
Crozet Newsletter
March 5, 2010
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, March 9th, Brownie Bake Off!
Friday, March 19th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Shining Shamrock”
Tuesday, March 23rd, Kindergarten Registration! Registration will take place at the school that you which will be attending. Please see the informational sheets posted on the front Bulletin Boards and Pre-K classroom for details!
Monday, March 29th, Re-registration Fee Charged to Accounts Except Rising Kindergartners
Friday, April 2nd, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Hop into Spring”
Thursday and Friday, April 8th and 9th, Closed Completely for Spring Break
School News and Notes:
Reminder: Scholastic Book Orders are due March 18th!
Don’t forget about the Brownie Bake Off next Tuesday!
What’s Cooking?
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
3/4 cup raisins
2 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients.
Mix eggs and buttermilk and add to dry ingredients.
Add raisins and mix.
Pour dough onto lightly floured board and knead 10 times.
Shape into round loaf adding flour if necessary.
Place into lightly greased pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Speech Weekly Notes from Stacy Torrence:
Intelligibility Guidelines
Can you understand what your child is saying?
Does your child speak clearly?
Do you have to translate your child's speech to others?
This is called intelligibility. The term intelligibility refers to how much a listener can understand the speaker. In typical development, as children learn to talk, their comprehensibility to those around them steadily increases.
In young children there is often quite a marked difference between understanding:
Single words vs. conversational speech
Known conversational topics vs. unknown conversational topics
Parents and close family members are usually experts at understanding their own child's speech attempts. We have seen many parents "translate" even the most unintelligible efforts made by their children! With regard to families, siblings may sometimes be more adept than parents in comprehending what their little brothers and sisters are saying! Unfamiliar listeners, on the other hand, are often unable to decipher a young child's speech.
Approximate Age
Percentage of
Understood by Parents
18 months
A typical child is 25% intelligible.
2 years
A typical child is 50-70% intelligible.
3 years
A typical child is 80% intelligible.
4 years
A typical child is 90% intelligible.
Stacy Torrence M.S. CCC-SLP
Class Notes:
The Pelican Class
This week the Pelicans mixed food coloring in water to play and splash around in! Gray is testing out the toddler room so that he can get adjusted to their schedule with Ms. Jen and Ms. Kim; so far he is doing wonderfully! Sami and Ashlyn really enjoy the game "Hand and Hand" where you give them a toy to play with and it's their job to try and move it to the other hand without dropping it! In art we made lion's manes and cotton ball lambs. We practice our counting during meal times which Sami has enjoyed learning and even trying on her own! Keaton is really doing well sitting up and loves to play and laugh with is friends!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Sue
The Kangaroo Class
This was another wonderful week in the Kangaroo classroom! To work on developing our gross motor skills we practiced walking like animals! We hopped like a bunny, walked on all fours like a tiger, slithered like a snake, and even tried to crab walk! We did several art projects helping us work on our fine motor skills including making sheep and even lions! During our practical living time we set up a pretend vet office! This week we also worked on opposites by making smiling and frowning faces!
Have a nice weekend!
Ms. Jen
The Bunny Class
Hello Bunny families! The Bunnies had a great time discovering new things this week! For math we worked really hard on recognizing all of our shapes. We drew them on the white board and played Pooh flashcards. Martin and Addie loved going around the room to see what shapes they could find. During science time this week we learned about circus animals. Emily and Nathan loved the stories we read about different circus animals. We even got to have a pretend circus in our room! For language arts we concentrated on rhyming. We read rhyming stories from the Discovery Quest reading series and practiced saying rhyming words. Jake and Makayla's favorite rhyming story was "Over in the Meadow"! The Bunnies did a lot of great art projects this week. We painted with green, made lemon playdough and created circus animal puppets. Conner and Elara really enjoyed making lion masks this week! Thank you for another wonderful week in the Bunny room! Have a great weekend!
Ms. Whitney
The Peacock Class
Hello Peacock family and friends! We have had so much fun learning and playing in our classroom this week! We have really started to focus on our ABC's. We are learning what the letters sound like and coming up with a few words that begin with each letter we're learning about! For example, we discussed how the word "apple" begins with the letter A and we practiced making the sound, verbally. We are using our ABC books and flashcards each morning in order to help us learn our letters and letter sounds. This week we have also been working on our vocabulary with simple words and uses. In order to better understand this concept we did an activity where we found an object in the room, named it and explained what it is used for (ex. chair-we sit in chairs). In addition to all of these activities we've also been working on sorting blocks as well as shape recognition.
We have had a lot of fun with arts and crafts this week. We used glitter, paint and long yarn in order to create colorful lion masks! We also used a lot of green this week in our coloring and painting activities as we are preparing our room for St. Patrick's Day! We were finally able to get outside this week (yay!)
All of us really enjoyed being able to run and run out in the fresh air! If you ever have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to stop by! Thanks! Ms. Lee
Ms. Lee
The Walrus Class
Welcome March! Spring is on it's way and the Walrus class was so thrilled to run around on the playground this week! We were happy to find it almost totally clear of snow this week! We've been working hard and learning lots. In math we have been focusing on shapes. We were re-introduced to our shape friends! We met/reviewed Ollie Oval, Tommy Triangle, Cindy Circle and the rest of the gang. We counted the number of sides on the triangle and square and learned that "tri" indicates 3! We also played a few rounds of "Shape Shop" which is one of our favorite file folder games. By doing these activities we are able to visually recognize shapes and identify them by name. In science we've been learning all about dental hygiene! We counted our teeth and discussed what kinds of items are beneficial to our dental growth and strength. Clifford the Big Red Dog helped us out with these lessons as he had us working hard on some of his favorite class activities! We worked together to distinguish healthy vs. unhealthy tooth related items and learned about what each item had to contribute to our dental hygiene. We learned about what an apple a day can do and how milk helps not only our bones but our teeth too! In language arts we had our weekly community meeting with the Rooster Class where we read about "The House That Jack Built". We also were introduced to the letter D. We learned about the sound that D makes and made a list of words that begin with D. Matthew really loves to make D's and reminds us that the word "Daddy" begins with D! In art we made lion masks complete with a beautiful mane! We also painted with toothbrushes and Q-tips! Our art lessons focus on fine motor development as well as creativity and self confidence. We are constantly reminded that each individual is unique and that all artwork is beautiful in it's own special way. In social awareness we have been working really hard on respecting differences. We learned how to say the word "peace" in many different languages and discussed how there are many different faces all over our world. Alan and Remmer love to say "goom gi gi" and Lucy's favorite is "kurtuku" which both mean "peace". We also learned what the word "cooperate" means and how important it is to be cooperative in the classroom. Our project green lessons were all about planting trees! We discussed all the necessary tools needed in order to plant and grow a tree. We discussed what trees provide for us and how important they are in maintaining a healthy environment. For our cooking project we made Irish Soda Bread in celebration of the month of March! We love to cook together and really enjoy eating what we worked so hard on. In children's humanities we have been discovering nature stations and building our character. We played with nuts, rocks and shells in order to learn more about nature. We've read stories about and discussed the importance of building strong character and being the best person that we can be! Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine!
Reminders and Information: Please refer to daynotes for reminders regarding upcoming events! We have show and tell every Friday and I would prefer that students not bring any toys from home except for Fridays. We are trying to minimize the amount of toys lost or broken plus we have lots of great toys in our classroom that the children enjoy!
Ms. Erin
The Rooster Class
It was a busy week in the Rooster room! In science, we focused on appreciating nature, especially now that we can venture outside again! We discussed ecosystems in danger and took a nature walk to better appreciate the nature around us.
In math we focused on shape recognition, playing musical "shapes" and creating patterns with shape blocks! We know: circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, hexagons, octagons, diamonds, ovals, hearts and stars!
In language arts this week we began working with a new Letter of the Week, Dd. We worked with the phonics and sounds of D and brainstormed words that begin with D. We also practiced writing D's and d's in our writing journals. Finally, we worked with two new sight words: very, us.
Creatively this week, we worked with two themes: the circus and lemons! We created lion masks and pretended to be lions and lion tamers! We also used cut up lemons to make lemon prints. Finally, we made lemon-scented playdough and sculpted different fruits.
In social studies and awareness we worked on aspects of character building, specifically cooperation and team work. We played a variety of group-based and team building games, such as operator, a three legged race and puzzle races!
The highlight of our week was our Thursday cooking project: shamrocks! We used Pillsbury breadstick dough and formed shamrock shapes by ourselves. We then rolled them in green sugar and baked them! They were delicious and full of the Irish spirit!
Classroom reminders: toys from home are not allowed in the Rooster room except for Fridays for show and tell. Please discourage these as they are distractions from our learning.
Thanks,
Ms. Amanda
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Newsletter March 5th
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS PRESCHOOL
Experienced Quality Child Care Since 1984
www.brightbeginningsva.com
Millcreek Newsletter
March 5, 2010
Upcoming Events:
Friday, March 5th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Over the Rainbow”
Tuesday, March 9th, Brownie Bake Off starting at 5:30
Friday, March 19th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Shining Shamrock”
Monday, March 22nd, Parent Advisory Meeting, 5:00-6:00
School News and Notes
The sun was shining bright here at Bright Beginnings. Everyone was working hard and I hope everyone can enjoy their weekend! We had a wonderful turnout for the Children’s Night Out! Be on the look out for the next one! Do not forget to sign up for the Brownie Bake Off! The signup sheet is up at the front desk. There will be a Parent Advisory Meeting coming up on the 22nd of this month. Please sign up to come and chat! That signup sheet is on the board outside of the gross motor room. I know there have been concerns about the gate to the older kids’ playground. The fence company has been called to come next week and fix the latches on the gate to the older childrens’ playground. We have a fantastic project coming up. It is the Original Works Fundraiser! Families will be able to order different items with their children’s art work on them! There is stationary, mugs, t-shirts, tiles, magnets, and more! Art is so important and precious for kids, it is a great idea to save and preserve their art in a whole different way! The gross motor room for the older kids is up and running and we are always looking for donations to put in the room! Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Monday!
Speech Weekly
Can you understand what your child is saying?
Does your child speak clearly?
Do you have to translate your child's speech to others?
This is called intelligibility. The term intelligibility refers to how much a listener can understand the speaker. In typical development, as children learn to talk, their comprehensibility to those around them steadily increases.
In young children there is often quite a marked difference between understanding:
Single words vs. conversational speech
Known conversational topics vs. unknown conversational topics
Parents and close family members are usually experts at understanding their own child's speech attempts. We have seen many parents "translate" even the most unintelligible efforts made by their children! With regard to families, siblings may sometimes be more adept than parents in comprehending what their little brothers and sisters are saying! Unfamiliar listeners, on the other hand, are often unable to decipher a young child's speech.
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Approximate Age
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Percentage of
Understood by Parents
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18 months
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A typical child is 25% intelligible.
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2 years
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A typical child is 50-70% intelligible.
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3 years
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A typical child is 80% intelligible.
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4 years
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A typical child is 90% intelligible.
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Class Notes
Penguin
Hello everyone! We had another wonderful week in class. We were really busy working on our colors this week! Everyone really loved the games we played to help us learn our colors. We also have been busy with arts crafts. The children made cotton ball lambs, tissue paper “D’s,” and made a lion mask. Some of the other projects and activities we did included, pretending to be zoo animals by crawling around on the floor and making their sounds. For our cooking project, we made muffins, and they were sure yummy! We also played in our water table, had bubble fun, and did some awesome puzzles. We read some great books also like, 123 Zoo, Grandpa’s Quilt, Who’s Peeking? and ABC Touch and Feel. This pretty much wraps up our week. Do not forget to check your child’s cubby and day notes daily.
Ms. Danielle
Starfish
Throughout March, we will be focusing on colors, shapes and number recognition/counting in Math. To help reinforce our knowledge of colors, we have been doing a lot of math and science activities with the rainbow. We used a mirror, a small dish of water and the sunlight to make a rainbow while outside on Monday. We used milk, dish soap and food coloring to make another rainbow on Wednesday. Talking about rainbows is educational in itself, but it also affords us the opportunity to talk about many colors on a daily basis. We matched colored blocks to like-colored paper (R, O, G, Y, B and P) and, on Friday, we will have matched skittles in the same way (as well as used them for a yummy counting activity). Additionally, we have been using our science time to identify new animals. We have been using lots of play and movement to understand sea creatures (this week). A counting chart has aided in the identification of particular sea animals and helped us to associate a grouping with a number. The same active-activities have helped us to understand feelings (as part of our humanities curriculum).
For Project Green, we are building the foundation to do experiments and activities related to the well-being of the environment and the upcoming seasonal change. We acted out and talked about the qualities of winter and did the same for the spring.
Although young-twos are learning words at a rapid rate, we have been taking advantage of our reading time this week to point out both familiar and unfamiliar objects; building vocabulary has been a goal of our literature activities. To that end, we have been picking objects out of a bag and naming their function.
Art is always a blast in the Starfish room. Shaving cream art and the lion masks we made were a big hit! We made cotton ball lambs and rainbow suns. On Friday, be sure to look for our lemon prints. An overarching theme of the week has been the color yellow—we had a scavenger hunt to find yellow things, wore yellow on Wednesday and sang a song to go along with our sunshine-clad outfits.
Our book of the week was “The Teddy Bear” by David McPhail.
Ms. Victoria
Seals
Hello again from the Seals! This has been another great week! This week we learned about the letter D and reviewed some of the letters from past weeks. We also played a game called pass the shape where the students had to pass the shape but, before they could pass it to their friends they had to first say what the shape was. We also did some practice with patterns. During this week we practiced the skills listening, following directions, walking in a line, learning our letters, and reviewed placement of body parts. I would like to say goodbye to Naomi whose family had to move. We will miss you good luck at your new preschool and new town! I would also like to turn and welcome Kalen who just started this past Monday! I hope you will have a great time in our class!
In art we made lion masks, roar! The children colored the masks with a brown or tan crayon and then used a pink one to make the nose. Then they glued yarn on for the mane. We also made cotton ball lambs. This used fine motor skills of grasping and placement. The children also made smelly play dough we put some lemon in the dough to make it smell lemony fresh. We also made animal puppets and lemon prints.
In gross motor we played follow the leader, dance, pretended we were in a circus. We were everything from clowns to lions when we played circus. For the follow the leader we pretended we were wolves, tigers, lions and dogs. Pretending we were lions and tigers helped them to practice their R sounds. Being the wolf let us practice our “ou” sound. We also used the gross motor skills of crawling and stomping. The children also went on a bear hunt and exercised.
I hope everyone enjoyed our fun week! I will see everyone next week. Until then have a great weekend! Reminder: Brownie Bake off March 9! Next Children’s Night Out March 19!
Ms. Cheri
Dolphin
This week, the Dolphin Class roared its way into March! We did everything from going on a nature walk in our classroom to doing letter groups, to making lion masks to learning all about Venezuela! We had a rocking time!
This last weekend I went to an inspiring, insightful conference through Applebaum institute called "One Heart, One Voice for Children." I learned so much and one of the things I learned is about knowing what kids have eaten for breakfast and when. I am going to start a new chart system that will be on the side of the cubbies. Each day, it would be great if you could fill in an idea of when your child went to sleep, woke up, ate breakfast, and what they had. I know morning times are hectic and rushed and I realize you probably might forget sometimes but it will help me so much in helping your child!
In math/science, I did an assessment of one-to-one correspondence (counting one object at a time). Then they played pass the shape, talked about people building and destroying animals habitats for Project Green, went on a nature walk around our room, and made a graph of our favorite parts of Spring!
In letter's time, we read our "Dd" book, had letter's groups to play letter's games, wrote easel "D's," had a "D" scavenger hunt, and read a book, then talked about the objects in the book.
In art, we painted with water color, made cotton ball lambs, crated lion masks, had music class with Ms. Melissa, and made animal paper bag puppets.
In social studies, we talked about Venezuela, looked it up on the map, learned some Spanish, found the Venezuelan flag, and looked at pictures I took when I was there.
In humanities, we planted fake seeds in rice table, dug a garden in rice table, made lemon play dough, had a cooking project, and sorted yellow things we find in nature!
Overall, we had a blast this week! We cannot wait for another fun-filled week!
Ms. Kimberly
Walrus
It is always fun starting a new month! New songs, nursery rhymes, letters, and art projects! The Walrus group started the week off with complex patterns. I was amazed on how well they did. We made the patterns with shapes. I created the first two patterns, then had two of the students complete them. Then I had two students create their own complex patterns and then they picked two of their friends to complete them. We also “passed the shape”, which meant having a friend ask for a shape and their partner had to pick it out of a large assortment of shapes and hand it to them. For project green this week we talked about the destruction of habitats and what happens when animals homes are destroyed and their population begins to shrink. Our cooking project consisted of peanut butter, graham crackers, and raisins, which made our famous peanut butter boats! We made sure we had enough passengers and crew members (raisins and chocolate chips) to help lead those boats right to our bellies! Our letter for this week was "Dd," and we made the longest list yet of "Dd" words! I think we had over twenty words! We wrote some great ones down in our journals. We learned a lot about some furry friends this week including rabbits, kangaroos, fish, and more! It is always fun comparing different animals and really look at why they are built the way they are. Listening to our friends was a big theme this week. When we listen to our friends, they will listen to us, and that is when we can help each other, work together, and really have a fun time together! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and we will see you on Monday!
Ms. Ryland
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Newsletter February 26th
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS PRESCHOOL
Experienced Quality Child Care Since 1984
www.brightbeginningsva.com
Millcreek Newsletter
February 26, 2010
Upcoming Events:
Friday, March 5th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Over the Rainbow”
Tuesday, March 9th, Brownie Bake Off starting at 5:30
Friday, March 19th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Shining Shamrock”
School News and Notes
The children have had a blast here at Bright Beginnings this week! Nothing could be better than playing in the snow with your friends! Please continue bringing extra clothes, socks, and shoes. Make sure to sign up for Children’s Night out with Ms. Cherie and Ms. Ryland! “Over the Rainbow” is the theme and it is going to be a blast! We are having a BROWNIE BAKE OFF on March 9th! Please sign up at the front desk if you want to participate! The Octopus Room is being turned into a gross motor room for the older kids and we already have some great things in it but we are always looking to add more! We would love any donations. Some of the things we are interested in getting are hula hoops, a small basketball hoop, a keyboard, and a tent.
Speech Weekly
Toddlers and young 2’s
We began by building our vocabulary by reaching into my function bag and naming objects and talking about the use of the specific object. We discussed around 25 items as well as their functions including a spoon, chair, bed, cup, phone, comb, etc. We also read another noisy story and worked on the sounds /m/, /s/, /n/, /r/, /e/, and /w/. We also reviewed sign language as well.
Older 2’s
Each student reached into the function bag and had to name the object and tell their friends the function of each object. We also read a noisy story and focused on the sounds /m/, /s/, /n/, /r/, /e/, and /w/. Finally we worked on oral motor skills to exercise the muscles in our mouths by blowing cotton balls across the table with straws.
3’s and 4’s
We worked on rhyming sounds and used our rhyming houses. Each student had 2-3 cards in front of them and had to match their cards with the specific rhyming house. We also addressed the use of objects and were able to list 6 things you can do with a ball, discussed the use of keys, quarters, phones, bikes, and several others.
Stacy Torrence M.S. CCC-SLP
Sea Turtle
Hello! Welcome back! This week, we learned about the dentist and we pretended to be one! We also learned more "Bb" words like bumble bee and boat! Learning our numbers is always fun, and we read "Skippy Jon Jone's 1,2,3's" to help us out! We were able to learn the numbers 1-10. This week for art, we made cotton ball art, sponge art, marble art, toothbrush art, and Q-tip art. We used many different materials this week and if was fun to explore the different techniques! Parents, we have a new diaper cream form that is right above the changing table. So, if your child needs diaper cream, you no longer have to see Ms. Amy for a form. You can simply sign your child's name, the type of cream being used, and you signature! The signature is very important. We cannot apply the cream without a signature. Have a wonderful weekend, see you Monday!
Ms. Erin
Penguin
The Penguin Class had a great week! We worked on our colors with this really fun matching game. Everyone did a great job match the color cards together. We worked on using our words, learning more about out body parts, taking turns, recognizing animals and their sounds, and more! We pretended to listen to our hearts with a toy stethoscope, discussed words that started with the letter “Bb,” and made fairy wands! The children loved our toothbrush art activity, q-tip painting, and free art. We also did a floor puzzle and exercises in the gross motor room. Pushups were not as easy as we thought! We had lots of fun this week and the best part was having our friend Ming Ming join us again! She took a wonderful trip to visit her family and friends and now she is back! Welcome back Ming Ming! We missed you! And just as a reminder, do not forget to sign up for the BOWNIE BAKEOFF. It is on March 9th at 5:30 and the signup sheet is at the front desk. And now for the best news ever! We have a new form for the diaper cream. It is much faster and there is less writing. You do not have to ask for a form at the front desk; just sign your child up on the form in the Penguin Room on the wall by the changing area. Please be sure to put the cream in your child’s cubby with their name on it. We will see you next week!
Ms. Danielle
Starfish
We spent a lot of time this week talking about our teeth, the dentist, keeping our teeth clean and the tooth fairy! We made sparkly fairy wands and sprinkled them with "fairy dust" (glitter). We used toothbrushes to make two different paintings--the first, a rainbow collective and the second, a pink-painting to match the color of our tongues and gums! In science, we made "bubbles" by mixing baking soda and vinegar--this was a big hit. We also listened to and felt our hearts using a stethoscope, our ears and our hands. The Starfish were introduced to classifying this week, a skill they already utilize as they pick up their toys and that can be reinforced with the card-game we have been playing. Upon Ms. Stacey's recommendation, we have also been building our vocabulary through the same game and another activity involving naming the functions of particular objects. We used straws to blow cotton balls around the table top (a good oral motor activity), and it was much fun! On Monday, we used our play fruits and vegetables as a means to classify and understand healthy foods. We had a toss and threw fruits into one basket, vegetables into another. In humanities, we did lots of exercising songs and activities--jumping jacks, pretending to be bicycles, hopping on one foot and even jumping rope! Using a rope ladder, we played jump-over-the-ladder-rungs (like hopscotch). We have been reading a lot of books and will have a new book of the week for Monday. Thank you parents for making that program a success in our classroom!
Cheers!
Seals
Hello again from the Seals! This has been another great week. This week we learned” I’ve been working the railroad.” We reviewed the letters J, I and a few others. This week we talked about teeth and how to keep them health. The children discussed the tooth fairy. Since we talked about the tooth fairy we made tooth fairy wands. The children also sorted food into groups. During this week we practiced the skills listening, following directions, walking in a line, learning our letters, and placement of body parts. Great job seals on the skill walking in a line. You did an awesome job, keep it up! :) In art we made Fairy wands and a train picture. For the fairy wands and train picture they practiced fine motor skills. For the fairy wands they had to peel the stickers off the back of the foam stickers. For the train picture they had to use crayons and draw a background for the train. We also made soap prints using bubbles and paint. The children used straws to spread the paint. We also finger painted and with white paint on black paper. The children made a picture using tooth brushes and paint. The last thing they did was make a picture using Q-tips and paint. They activities practice fine motor control of a object to make designs on paper. In gross motor we played follow the leader, dance, pertained we were driving a train and riding on a train. For the follow the leader we pretended we were wolves, tigers, lions and dogs. Pretending we were lions and tigers helped them to practice their R sounds. Being the wolf let us practice our ou sound. We also used the gross motor skills of crawling and stomping. I hope everyone enjoyed our fun week! I will see everyone next week. Until then have a great weekend! Remember: There will be a CNO (Children’s Night Out) on March 5. I will be hosting it along with another teaching. Be sure to sign your child up before it fills up!
Ms. Cheri
Dolphin
This week, the Dolphin Class has really "hit the books," and definitely had fun doing it! We have done everything from making a food pyramid poster, to learning "Old Mother Hubbard," to drawing with stencils, to learned dances from different cultures!
These next month’s are going to be a little crazy with Scholastic orders. They are going to come up quickly so we n catch up and get them out as fast we possible. The March catalog is online already and will be available in the lobby around March 1st. They will be due March 10th. I will keep you updated about April! I will be sending out an email with all of these details soon! Thanks for understanding!
In math/science, we made a food pyramid poster that is on display above our sink, listened to our hearts with a stethoscope, talked about trees making oxygen, compared different measuring tools, and had group recognition activities.
In letter's time, we read books, had reading class with Ms. Fisher, wrote "B's" in our journals, did the "B" scavenger hunt that we missed last week, and learned "Old Mother Hubbard."
In art, we made soap painting, drew with stencils, made fairy wants, created toothbrush paintings, and painted with Q-tips.
In social studies, we read a book about people's differences, looked in the mirror to talk about our differences, looked at pictures of people and picked out differences, played games from different cultures, and danced dances from different cultures!
In humanities, we had free play in centers, played in the gross motor game room, played with Ms. Kimberly, and played with puzzles.
Overall, we really enjoyed this week! I loved playing with your children and I cannot wait to see what next week brings!
Ms. Kimberly
Walrus
The Walrus team had loads of energy this week and we tried to get outside as much as we could! Please make sure the children are still bringing extra pairs of shoes, socks, and other clothes for next week. We looked at an old painting this week with Ms. Fisher and compared it to today’s art by showing one of the student’s drawings. This was a great activity for them to really look at the differences of each picture and what key things they might look at to see if a painting is from centuries ago or from today. Ms. Stacey worked with them on rhyming words and used a cute activity that involved little houses. We continued to work on our lower case letters and teen numbers. We have started a new thing where I have two students whisper a word to me that I then write down and we all try to sound out the word together. We start out by sounding out each letter separately and then trying to blend them all together. They have done a great job with this activity. The Walrus Class has the month of March for the creativity board so we have been preparing the decorations for that. Please be on the lookout when entering the school! The children continued working on their number book and wrote 7, 8, and 9, leaving us only 10 to write! We estimated how many teeth we have in our mouths and our predictions went between 13 to 1002 teeth! They wrote more "Bb' words in their journals and we are excited to move on to our next letter next week, “Dd.” I hope everyone has a great week and we will see you on Monday!
Ms. Ryland
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Newsletter February 26, 2010
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS PRESCHOOL
Experienced Quality Child Care Since 1984
www.brightbeginningsva.com
Crozet Newsletter
February 12, 2010
“When children feel good about themselves, it's like a snowball rolling downhill. They are continually able to recognize and integrate new proof of their value as they grow and mature.”
-Stephanie Marston
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, March 9th, Brownie Bake Off!
Friday, March 19th, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Shining Shamrock”
Tuesday, March 23rd, Kindergarten Registration! Registration will take place at the school that you which will be attending. Please see the informational sheets posted on the front Bulletin Boards and Pre-K classroom for details!
Monday, March 29th, Re-registration Fee Charged to Accounts Except Rising Kindergartners
Friday, April 2nd, Children’s Night Out, 5:30-8:30
“Hop into Spring”
Thursday and Friday, April 8th and 9th, Closed Completely for Spring Break
School News and Notes:
Thank you all for another wonderful week. Please turn in your parent survey if you have not already done so! Thank you all for your feedback!
Thank you Shannon and Alan Franklin for the generous donation of toys!
March 15th through 19th is the Virginia Festival of the Book! We have several fun events planned. See the front desk/current events bulletin board for more information!
Financial Memo:
Tuition is due by March 3rd this month since February is short (and with a 3 day grace period).
What’s Cooking?
Marshmallow Pops
Ingredients:
20 lollipop sticks (found at cake decorating or craft stores)
20 large marshmallows
1 cup Nestle Tollhouse Premier White Morsels
1 cup Milk Chocolate Morsels
Decorating icing
Assorted candies and chocolates
Directions:
1. Line baking sheet with wax paper
2. Push each lollipop stick halfway through a marshmallow
3. Melt white chocolate morsels. Immediately dip 10 marshmallows lightly into the melted chocolate for a thin coating. Set the stick on the baking sheet.
4. Repeat step three but with milk chocolate morsels.
5. Refrigerate marshmallow lollipops for 10 minutes or until hardened. Use decorating icing as glue to decorate with assorted candies.
Speech Weekly Notes from Stacy Torrence:
2.26.10
These are the skills that were addressed this week. I was at Mill Creek and Crozet this week and will be at the Forest Lakes location this coming Tuesday.
Toddlers and young 2’s
We began by building our vocabulary by reaching into my function bag and naming objects and talking about the use of the specific object. We discussed around 25 items as well as their functions including a spoon, chair, bed, cup, phone, comb, etc. We also read another noisy story and worked on the sounds /m/, /s/, /n/, /r/, /e/, and /w/. We also reviewed sign language as well.
Older 2’s
Each student reached into the function bag and had to name the object and tell their friends the function of each object. We also read a noisy story and focused on the sounds /m/, /s/, /n/, /r/, /e/, and /w/. Finally we worked on oral motor skills to exercise the muscles in our mouths by blowing cotton balls across the table with straws.
3’s and 4’s
We worked on rhyming sounds and used our rhyming houses. Each student had 2-3 cards in front of them and had to match their cards with the specific rhyming house. We also addressed the use of objects and were able to list 6 things you can do with a ball, discussed the use of keys, quarters, phones, bikes, and several others.
Class Notes:
The Pelican Class
This week, every morning during circle time, we sang the song “Who is here?” We pointed to each one of our friends and called out his name! We played with soap on our blue water table, making soap prints! Gray and Sami had so much fun! Keaton has been cooing and trying to talk a lot and has been smiling all week! We are all walking (except Keaton!) and we had fun marching around the room to music. All of the children would laugh! Sami, Gray, and Ashlyn have learned to put the play rings on their arms! They like to keep them on all day! We enjoyed playing the number game! We have tried to count our toys as we pull them out of the container! We also counted our teeth to see who has the most! We all really enjoyed painting with toothbrushes! We always have so much fun in the baby room!
Ms. Sue
The Bunny Class
Hello Bunny families! The Bunnies had another wonderful week discovering new things! This week we worked really hard on our colors and shapes. We played games and made collages to help us remember the names of our colors and shapes. Elara and Nathan really enjoyed using glue to make shape collages. This week in language arts we read rhyming word stories. We also used the white board to write our names. We practiced saying the letters that make up our names. Emily and Riley did a great job naming their letters! We also talked about the letter “B!” Martin and Jake really enjoyed making “B” art with buttons! We also talked about our teeth this week! We learned about what our teeth are used for, how we lose teeth, and how new ones grow, and how to keep our teeth clean! Addie and Makayla loved telling the class about how they brush their teeth! Thank you for another wonderful week in the Bunny class!
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Whitney
The Peacock Class
Hello Peacock family and friends! I hope everyone has found the transition to the Peacock room and great experience! I believe that all of the classmates in the Peacock room are adjusting very well to the new environment. This week we have been learning about the letter “B.” We have played the “B” game, where each child had to go into the classroom and find a toy that starts with that letter! We also stamped bunny pictures as well! This week we practiced our counting, sorting, and stacking tall, tall towers. We really have enjoyed borrowing some of Ms. Whitney’s story books for reading time during the morning, the whole class enjoys the story called The Hairy Toe. It is very silly but full of suspense! If you ever have any questions or comments please feel free to stop by!
Ms. Lee
The Walrus Class
Snow, snow melt away! The Walrus kids are checking the progress of the playground everyday and can’t wait to get out there and run around. We’ve been super busy learning and getting to know our newest addition, Ms. Ann! In science we’ve been learning all about healthy bodies. We discussed what our favorite form of exercise is and even made a graph with our results. Dancing was the most popular form of exercise in our classroom. By doing graphs we’re working on being able to interpret results by using our visual skills; we also get practice with counting! We’ve also been working on sorting. We sorted M&M’s by color and counted how many of each color we had. We also sorted different foods into their appropriate food group. We were introduced to the concept of food groups but would love to practice this at home as well! In order for us to practice using our fine motor skills we used beans, noodles, and paint brushes to spread glue on our paper plates, placed the food item on the glue, then painted over them with our favorite colors! We also made jeweled “J’s” and soap prints! For our cooking project we made scrumptious chocolate chip banana bread! We measured, discussed wet vs. dry ingredients and stirred the batter. We all enjoyed making the bread together and most of us enjoyed eating it too! Sam and Rye particularly enjoyed the tasty treat! In social studies we read The World Turns Round and Round which is a wonderful book about differences in people all over the world. We read about a girl from India with a beautiful Sari, a boy from Nairobi with a dashiki so grand, and many more. We discussed how important it is to respect differences in people! Ava Jordan really enjoyed learning about other cultures and was quite inquisitive during the story! In children’s humanities we’ve been doing all sorts of puzzles. We love the giant puzzle that can either be an underwater or jungle scene. Mia, Caitlin, and Lucy really like to work on this one as a team! Again we’d like to welcome Ms. Ann into our classroom as our new teaching assistant as we’ve enjoyed getting to know her! Have a fantastic weekend!
Reminders and Information: New Classroom Rule: Please do not bring any toys from home to school unless it is show and tell day (Friday!) We have wonderful classroom toys and would like to minimize the amount of things brought in from home as they may be lost or broken. Please remember to bring in sheets and blankets each Monday! Thanks!
Ms. Erin
The Rooster Class
This week in the Rooster class, we worked with the themes of healthy bodies and healthy teet! In science we learned about the food groups and which foods are healthy. We also discussed what our hearts do for us and listened to our heart using a stethoscope. We also discussed the proper way to brush our teeth and keep our teeth healthy! We are a very healthy class! In math this week, we continued our healthy theme and sorted foods into healthy and unhealthy groups. We also observed and counted our own teeth. In language arts, the Roosters were hard at work with our letter of the week, “Bb.” We practiced writing “Bb” in our writing journal and brainstormed words that begin with “Bb.” We also worked with new sight words: for, do, but. In addition to these new words, we are always reviewing our previously learned words! A great way to practice these at home is to make sight word soup! Simply write the sign words on large pieces of pasta, like Rigatoni. Let your child ladle out a few pieces into a bowl and have your child identify the letters in the word and then the word, if they can! This is a fun and easy review tool to use at home! In art, the Roosters made “Stethoscopes” and hearts. We also made our own toothbrushes and painted with toothbrushes. Our favorite art project this week was making our own tooth fairy wands – then we pretended to collect teeth and give out money!
A few reminders about our class: Please remember to bring in a sheet and blanket for nap. We no longer have laundry facilities so any school linens used will be sent home to be cleaned and returned. Please use ice packs in your child’s lunch to keep things cool as refrigerator space is limited!
Thank you!
Ms. Amanda
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434-823-7129
1645 Park Ridge Drive