Welcome Back!!

Thanks for your flexibility as our last week of school was cancelled. We got so much snow! Our family really enjoyed sledding, making snowmen, hot cocoa, and the extra time to play together. I hope everyone enjoyed the Holidays! I missed your kids….I’m excited to get back into our routine with preschool.

Extended Preschool Year

We have decided to extend our preschool year by one week to make up for our lost time in December. Our last day of preschool will now be June 4th. You will not owe any tuition in June. Your December payment will cover this week of school.

January Fundamentals

Letters: I, N, Y
Number: 6
Color: Blue & White
Shape: Crescent (moon)

Nursery Rhyme Time

Welcome Mother Goose to our preschool! This month, the kids will be learning all about Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Hickory Dickory, Hey Diddle Diddle, and many more of our favorite nursery rhymes. I recently attended a early child literacy training that emphasized the importance of teaching young children nursery rhymes. I have included an article with this newsletter.

Early Literacy

Our goal is to develop a love of books in each child at our preschool. It is important to provide our children with the tools, resources, and skills needed to promote reading. We want to make this a positive experience for each child! Learning to read and write begins years before your child enters school. You are your child’s first--and most important--teacher. The time you spend talking to and reading with your child will help him or her get the best possible start and be ready to learn to read. It is important that your home has the tools needed to prepare your child.

School Closures and Delays

I wanted to give you the link to the Y-C school district website that contains calendar information and other useful links and info. Our first day of preschool after the holidays will be Tuesday, January 6th.

http://www.ycsd.k12.or.us/

The school district is part of an emergency alert system called flashalert. This will notify you of any school closures due to inclimate weather. It is a free service you can sign up for. Flashalert will send you an email or text message if your school district is closed or delayed. You will get this information immediately sent to your phone or computer as the superintendent reports it.

Here is a link to the system flashalert.net

Preschool Canned Food Drive

In observance of our November theme "Thankfulness" we are conducting a food drive to benefit Joseph's Storehouse, a food bank located right here in Carlton. We will be explaining to the children that it is important to be thankful for the things they have, and that it is good to help others in our community who may not have the things they need. Please have your child bring in non-perishable food items beginning Thurs Nov 6. We will bring donations to circle time and talk about how the items may help a family in need (we might even get in a little chat about nutrition!). The kids will then drop their donations in the bin, which we will deliver to the food bank before Thanksgiving. Please consider having your child bring in items throughout the drive so that they can "donate" each day we get together and watch the pile grow! Our goal is to have 100 items for the food bank!

Heiser Family Pumpkin Patch

On October 14th, we traveled to Heiser Family Farms with Mrs. Johnson and her Kindergarten Class. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time picking out pumpkins, petting animals, tractor riding and much more. This was the first time most of the kids rode on a big yellow school bus. They loved it!

Community Helpers

This month we have been learning all about our community helpers, including…librarian, police office, mailman, crossing guard, fireman, etc.

We set up a post office in the preschool for the kids. They have had fun taking turns dressing up like the mailman and delivering the mail. Throughout the day the kids can draw pictures, write letters to other members of the class. They can even purchase (with play money) a one cent stamp. This has been fun.

Next week, the real mailman is coming to preschool to get letters the kids will mail home. On the 21st the firemen will be coming to teach the kids about fire safety and allow them to sit up in the fire truck. The kids also spent sometime this month practicing street safety. We took them up to the crosswalk and the crossing guard showed them how to safely cross a street. The police officer is coming today to teach the kids some basic safety too. He is going to finger print the kids. It should be fun!

October Newsletter Items

We had a great first month of school. Each day gets better and better for our kids! Most kids need a few weeks to transition to a new schedule and preschool is a big change in their lives. As this is our first year, we are still working out some “kinks”. Thanks for your patience as we are all learning. I wanted to make you aware of some details for October.

Drop-off time:
Our teachers need every minute they get to set up class for the day. Please do not bring your child to preschool before the scheduled time. Morning class begins at 8:15 am and afternoon class begins at 12:15 pm. Carlton Elementary begins at 8:10 am. You may need to wait just a few minutes if you are dropping off older kids. If you need to make special arrangements with the teacher please talk with Lynn for the am class and Amber for the pm class. We can make exceptions for those that absolutely need it. Please be respectful of the teacher’s prep time.

Field Trip:
Our first field trip!! We are scheduled to go to Heiser Family Pumpkin Patch on October 14th. Both preschool classes and the kindergarten classes will be traveling together by bus. It will be a fun filled day! We will need lots of adult helpers. Siblings are welcome to come as long as we know ahead of time and plan for the additional people. The cost is $3.50 per child. Adults are free of charge and siblings will also cost the $3.50. The price includes a hayride, a pumpkin to take home, petting zoo, hay maze, and much more. You can check out their website for more information www.heiserfarms.com. All preschoolers will meet in the gym that day at 9:00 am. Make sure to dress for the weather and mud. See attached permission slip for more info.

Color Day Celebrations:
Each month we will designate a special color day. Please dress your child according to the color of the day. During circle time, your child will participate in a color fashion show with Miss Debby. In September we celebrated the color red. The kids painted with red, made red pasta necklaces and red apple art projects, read books about the color red. They also ate red Jell-O, apples and drank red juice. Look at the October calendar for black and orange day. It is a great way for the kids to have fun with colors!

Separation Anxiety:
In September, our preschool kids have been adjusting to a new school and being away from home for a few hours each week. If your child has a special blanket, stuffed animal, etc., they are welcome to bring it with them to school. We would ask that it stay in their backpack and used only as needed. It is sometimes helpful to have a little comfort from home. A few children have been bringing their “item” out during circle time, which is a quiet time to learn about the calendar, sing songs, and listen to a read aloud. If you think this may help your child, feel free to pack something for them. It has been very helpful for the children already doing this.

Halloween Party:
On October 30th we will have a classroom Halloween Party. The kids are welcome to bring a costume to change into. After snack time, we will help the children change into their costumes and participate in a costume parade upstairs in the school. It will be easiest if the costumes could be put on over the clothes they are wearing that day. You are welcome to come help your child change into their costume. The am group will change at 10:15 am and the afternoon group at 2:15 pm.

Fundamental Cards:
We sent home with each child a manila envelope filled with some flashcards. At the end of each month a new set of cards will come home to add to your collection. The cards will coordinate to the fundamentals that we learn about each month. This is a great way to reinforce learning at home.

Crosswalk Safety:
The first week of October we will be talking about street safety. The children will learn all about the crossing guard and will be make their own stop sign. We will take each class up to the crosswalk right in front of the school. The crossing guard will be there to teach the kids how to safely cross the street. We will then practice crossing the street safely with our crossing guard.

Preschool Beliefs

We Believe…In a World of Possibilities
There is nothing more important than to give a child the chance to develop a deep love of learning. We want to help children develop positive attitudes toward themselves and everything associated with learning.


We Believe…In the Joy of Knowledge
Self-directed learning requires that students do the work, while teachers help students learn to manage their own learning and capitalize on teachable moments. All of our students will get hands-on exposure to literature, mathematics, the sciences, computers, sensory development, dramatic play, arts and crafts, music, and a diverse collection of fine motor manipulative.


We Believe…In the Security of a Community
We all need support and we all need to offer support. And when we work together we are capable of accomplishing great things. We build stronger communities.

We Believe... In Great Toys
Play is not idle behavior. It is imperative to discover how things work. It is essential to discover our place in our world.