October 2024
Whole School News:
October has been so much FUN!!!! The children are accepting school as “their” time and “their” place, and the support from home has been outstanding. THANK YOU!
October has introduced us to so much!!! The children are working hard and also learning how to tend to a group safely and respectfully.
October has introduced the shape, triangle and the color orange; orange is fun as it lends itself to many “red and yellow” color experiments. We celebrate the number 2 in October! We have discussed the letters and letter sounds A-H; have you noticed the children touching their faces while doing their letter sounds? Our “phonics” rap brings awareness to the parts of the mouth/face/neck that help create the sound for each letter.
Octobers’ themes were fire safety, the season of autumn, and Halloween safety. The children took fire safety very seriously. We learned our 911 song, discussed fire dangers, talked about where we sometimes see fire and who is in charge of it, what to do if you find a “fire maker” (lighter/matches), discussed smoke, the importance of smoke detectors, and then finished the unit with many fire drills. We read the book Fireman Small; repeatedly, throughout the month to reinforce the fire safety theme and build familiarity with this books rhythmic language. Repeatedly reading aloud (the same book), while using fun/goofy voices, using your finger to point to the words as you read and finding details in the pictures are some keys for building early literacy skills. Early Literacy Hack. . .learned this from one of YOU at the Open House. . . .any time your child is on a screen be sure the CLOSED CAPTIONS are turned ON. . . such an easy way to reinforce the connection between letters/language/and READING!!!! So imactful!
Don’t forget to check those smoke and carbon monoxide detectors batteries, when you change your clocks back on NOVEMBER 3RD!!! The children are growing familiar with hearing the smoke detector and learning to evacuate safely. . it’s important to practice your evacuation plan at home too!
Halloween safety is FUN!! The preKers carved pumpkins! The children are experts at the steps to carving a pumpkin: 1. Clean the pumpkin 2. Have Mom/Dad cut the top off 3. Scoop out the pumpkin guts 4. Pick the face you want to make 5. Have Mom/Dad carve the face 6. Put the light inside the pumpkin 7. Put the top back on. Our pumpkins came out really great! The children had fun participating in our play of how to appropriately and safety “trick or treat”!!! We pretended to cross the street, walk on the sidewalk (while using a flashlight), and knocking on the doors our parents said was okay!!! Be safe. Not to be a buzz kill, but there is an article by the Massachusetts Dental Society about Halloween attached to the end of this new letter!
Morning & Afternoon Preschool News:
Our Preschoolers have been very busy throughout the month of October. We began talking about our new Color (Orange), new Shape (Triangle), new Number (2) and last but not least our new Month (October). We talked about the season and the changing weather, what we are noticing outside; and needing warmer clothes, as it gets colder. We are taking notice of the fewer leaves on the trees and the many on the ground that will need raking.
The Preschoolers have been working very hard on their self-help skills. Reinforcing this at home is much appreciated. Having your children be responsible to dress themselves (right down to socks and shoes), put on and take off their jackets, pack and unpack their snack bags (especially practicing unzipping and zipping the bags) and backpacks reinforces those skills and is empowering/confidence building.
Your smart little cookies have settled into our daily classroom routine and are loving to choose and execute their “job” each day. . . some favorites are shape builder, song picker and sit-upon cleaner. Ask your child which job they like best!
We have also introduced Blueberry the Bear! He will be going home for a 1 week sleep over with each child from now till the end of the year, so be on the lookout. Your children have also started using scissors at school, and are getting familiar with how to use them; put their thumb in the little hole and fingers in the big hole and always chomp away from themselves.
Our first two weeks this month were dedicated to fire safety both at home and at school. I hope your children dazzled you with their (911) song! Our last two weeks were all about Halloween and how to enjoy a safe and happy holiday. Thank you so much for your donations and the volunteers who helped “good manners” trick or treating as well as those who helped with our foot print ghosts, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Your children are amazing and we love being able to spend time with them. They are very much learning how to fill buckets by being Kind, Respectful, Safe, First Time Listeners and Optimists!
Happy Halloween!
Pre-K News:
October has been a wonderful month in Pre-K! We have been very busy and have had lots of fun! The children are amazing us by working so hard to be "great students". We continue to talk about how important it is as a Pre-Kindergartener to be a first time listener.
This month we completed work on the letters D, E, F, G and H; learning each letters sound as well as learning about the lines and/or curves needed to form each letter. The Pre-K children are doing well with making the letter to sound connection! For each letter we learn about, the children have a turn using our Handwriting Without Tears wooden blocks to make the letter.
We continue to build upon self-help skills. The children are making progress, independently unpacking their belongings upon arrival and packing up at the end of the day. We encourage them to put on and zip their jackets and backpacks and expect them to clean and pack up after snack (even wash their chairs and tables). They are so proud when they accomplish these tasks by themselves. Breaking large tasks down into smaller pieces, then organizing the sequence of the process, and staying with them, while giving them verbal support, space and time achieve each smaller task (BUT NOT DOING IT FOR THEM) will very quickly build an independent self-helper! It would be wonderful for them to practice packing their snack into their backpacks at home. . . . developing those all important organizational skills will serve them well down the road and is a major confidence boost. A seemingly minor task, to our adult brain. . . is actually a rather large task to a 3/4/5 year old brain. . . . breaking tasks down into SMALLER PARTS, helps children develop the executive functioning part of their brain. . . the part that can organize a task, break down the required tasks parts, and then perform those parts in an order that finds success. . . .As an educator, rather than say “pack your backpack”. . . we perform the “executive function” by breaking a task down into smaller parts. . . communicating achievable, smaller, parts in a sequence that makes sense and celebrate the minor wins along the PROCESS. For example, asking a child to pack their backpack. . . is actually a large ask.. . . . at school, we start with, put your backpack on the floor, unzip your backpack, put the snack bag inside. . . now zip the backpack closed and lastly hang the bag on their hook. Breaking tasks down into much smaller parts. . . then “organize” the sequence of each step, and giving them TIME to achieve each part is time consuming in the beginning. . . but throughout this repeated practice, we quickly have independent little students!! Practice makes progress!!
The Pre-Kers start each day with this question. . . “why are you so lucky?” Asking questions innately puts our human brains into problem solving mode. . .starting off the day by counting our blessings and expressing gratitude. . . well, I can’t think of a better way to start. Then we find our 20 Triangles (Octobers shape) and dive into “name practice”. . . already some of the children are reading each others names! Then it’s onto our workout. . . we must take care of our bodies!!! We do combinations of lumps, up and down and lateral with foot-taps; to ON TOP OF THE WORLD, By Imagine Dragons!!! Then we stretch out our warmed up muscles with yoga. Once our bodies are warmed up. . . then we workout our BRAINS!! Starting with calendar practice, #100 chart, then letter of the week work, mystery can, estimating jar with a letter formation finisher. The “estimates” and guessing how many items are in an “estimating jar”; seems like a simple game, but is super stimulating for young minds and the development of numbers sense. The children look at group of items and make a relevant estimate. Please practice counting to 20 with your student. . . I’m noticing that things get wonky after number 12. . . . 13,14,15 are turning into one number. Also, when playing with your children, it would be wildly helpful to organize items in groups of 5, left to right and down. . . (while sitting next to them. . . not across. . perspective is skewed when trying to teach while sitting across at this age), then start counting by 5’s. . . . In the mornings. . .I hide 20 triangles. . the children automatically know that we should have 4 ROWS of 5 TRIANGLES. . .I give them 2 minutes to seek. . . then when we organize the found triangles in 4 rows of 5. . . they can visually see how many triangles they have left to find, by looking at how many complete rows we have. . . verses how many are missing. . . they are so brilliant!!! Halloween is AWESOME for math skills. . . organizing/counting candy would be so fun! Included in morning work, is the “mystery” can, using their senses to guess what is inside the can. . . something that begins with the letter of the week. . . by the sound it makes inside the can, is it heavy. . . are there more than one. . . .what would make sense?? We reveal the amount in the estimating jar and the item in the mystery can on Thursdays and Fridays.. The PreK morning is PACKED!
I am very proud of how lovely this group has come together. . . they look very happy and are making beautiful friendships. . . I’m also really excited about the "great student" behavior the Pre-Kers have been showing me! They are having FUN, learning a lot and are working hard...and it shows!
We have had a great month!
My best, Miss Holly
Coming Up:
November will be all about “Thanksgiving”. Our “Thanksgiving story”, takes place hundreds of years ago, way before our Moms and Dads were born, and is about a group of people called “pilgrims” who left their mean king in search of a better life. They boarded a boat, named the Mayflower, sailed across a huge ocean and landed in Plymouth, long before there were any houses or streets. . . . or Targets. . . . only woods. Thankfully, there were Native American People already here, who taught the Pilgrims how to grow food and make teepees!! The two groups were so thankful for each other; they celebrated being together, and named that first celebration “Thanksgiving”. We continue to celebrate being thankful, with the holiday “Thanksgiving”. What will you be this Thanksgiving?? A Pilgrim or a Native Person?? A wonderful family outing that would GREATLY support our curriculum would be a trip to Plimouth Plantation or the Mayflower! Reading Suggestions that we love are:
Today I Feel Silly, by Jamie Le Curtis
It’s Okay to be Different, by Todd Parr
Wonderful You, by Marianne Richmond
Incredible You, by Dr. Wayne Dyer
Unstoppable Me, by Dr. Wayne Dyer
Your Skin & Mine, by Paul Showers
A Potluck Alphabet Feast, by Crescent Dragonwagon
The Story of Thanksgiving, by Nancy J. Skarmeas
The Berenstain Bears And the Prize Pumpkin, by Stan & Jan Berestain
Thanksgiving With Me, by Margaret Willey
House Keeping
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IN SCHOOL 2025-2026 ENROLLMENT: starting November 4th through November 8th, you will receive an enrollment link. There is a $75 enrollment fee per family.
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We are already preparing your students observation report, and will hand them out in January; parent/teacher conferences will be available in January.
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Please keep your Brightwheel App updated. . . Miss Lori is awesome at sending photos of her classroom happenings!!! (I’ll do better!!)
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Children VIP: The children will take turns being the VIP (very important person). Over the next several months, you will receive a blank book in your students backpack, to be completed together with your child, a week prior to their VIP turn. Thank you!
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Please keep your child’s doctors/immunizations records up to date; with every “well visit” be sure to upload the new form to Brightwheel The student records are open for state inspection on any given day, and each form is valid for 1 year.
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Reminder: tuition is due on the first of the PRIOR month
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Here’s a link to making bone broth. . . . I swear by this stuff. . . it’s so easy to make, crazy nutritious . . . . my college athletes drank this after every game and had amazing recovery. . . (and thank God, healthy knees). . . . I’m telling you, this stuff is fantastic, and your kids won’t even know they are eating it when you make soup with it. Here’s a soup recipe that I’ve been making almost weekly (both chicken and beef) this fall!!! Good luck!
https://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/
Check out my recipe for Kale and Sausage Soup here: http://www.pepperplate.com/sharedrecipe.aspx?id=5a2998ed-d1d4-4e8b-9e41-33d42c83d8c5
THANK YOUS:
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Thank you for all of the donations made our Halloween parties so much fun!!!!
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Thank you to all of our Halloween party volunteers!!!!
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Thank you to our “ghost feet” volunteers!
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Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the donations of paper towels, toilet paper and hand soap!!! We go through these supplies at an exponential rate.
Child Development Ditty 101: The Emotional Child
Last month, the “ditty” was about how important it is to think about the whole child; emotionally, socially, cognitively, and physically (both gross and fine motor), and their interrelatedness. This month, I’d like to expand on the emotional piece of a young child.
A newborn is capable of “feeling” only a handful of need-based emotions, some examples: feeling hungry or full, being tired or rested, and feeling uncomfortable or comfortable. In just two short years, a child’s capacity to “feel” grows from a handful to almost the full spectrum of human emotions. The difficulty is, their brains don’t have the experience, the skills or the development, to “manage” the rush of newly acquired emotions; and very often misbehave or tantrum in response to these “feelings”. Hence, the misunderstood “terrible twos”.
At school, we work to create an emotional climate that encourages and supports mutual cooperation, respect, trust, and acceptance; examples of this work are: maintaining a predictable (but sometimes flexible) schedule, CLEARLY AND REPEATEDLY communicating/defining acceptable behavior choices, positively reinforcing/celebrating desired behaviors, modeling desired behaviors, and relationship building (ie: making a connection).
When a child is experiencing a negative emotion (and reacting negatively), we try to help the children identify what they are feeling. We begin by saying, “you look” (whatever it looks like they are feeling). Many times, they aren’t even aware of why they are feeling badly; instead of exploring the why, in the moment, we work on building skills to manage the emotion positively. For example, we may explain to an unhappy child that, “it’s okay to be sad, but it isn’t okay to scream while you are upset.” Then, we brainstorm about what their choices are for managing that feeling, right now. After some practice of identifying what they are feeling, the children, together with a teacher, start to explore the “why” a negative feeling emerges. For example, a child who is saddened by the transition from home to school, will discover, with teacher support, how to manage that sadness by choosing to be sad successfully (ie not screaming) and then learning how to make themselves less sad, and eventually happy by choosing to do something that makes them happy. These are the beginnings of developing COPING SKILLS. The development of coping skills start NOW. . . with the teachable moments that present themselves daily. . . we don’t get to pick when/where the “teachable moments” occur. . . the only control we have is our response. . . the adults loving, yet consistent response is key for a young child to develop coping skills.
It is very much all of our role, collectively, to help our young students develop positive attitudes, and we do this by beinging interested in the child, modeling positive behavior, being respectful of each other, consistently expecting positive behavior, focusing on the positive, and lots and lots of hugs. Even when the whole class is “happy” we joke about the different “feeling faces” that are posted all around the classroom; and ask the children what they think each child is feeling by looking at their face. Then we ask the children, what could’ve happened to make the child feel like that; what could they do to make themselves feel better? It’s an opportunity, during a happy moment, to speculate and maybe, begin to realize that other people have negative feelings too; and begin the journey of expanding their innately egocentric horizons.
I couldn’t write about emotions without mentioning the impact sugar and sometimes gluten has on the ability to regulate emotions. Maintaining a healthy blood sugar level is wildly impactful for ones ability to cope..
Lastly, it is very important to reflect on our expectations as care givers. . . are we expecting too little from our children emotionally. . . . and are we incrementally increasing our expectations as our children age? They love being a part of the brainstorming/problem solving process, and are wonderful in helping each other!!! I hope you find this information helpful