Dear Parents,Happy New Year! We are glad to be back with everyone. The year started very well and the kids settled in very well.
CalendarMonday, Jan 16th- School closed in observation of Martin Luther King DayWednesday, Jan 18th at 9 am- Green Room Parent CoffeeTuesday, Feb. 7th at 6:30 pm- Green Room parent potluck dinner.Thursday, Feb. 23rd, 6:30 pm- Yellow Room parent potluck dinnerFamily transitionsWe are delighted to be welcoming three more families into the Green Room over the next two months.( names removed for web posting) Please introduce yourselves. Then our classroom and the school will be full. Hooray!Parent PotlucksWe will be having the Green Room first parents potluck on Tuesday night, the 7th of February and the Yellow Room’s potluck will be on February 23rd.. It is a chance for parents to gather together and enjoy an evening of community and conversation. Please arrange babysitting now so you can join us for this fun evening. There will be a sign-up sheet at the front table for food and beverages. If someone would like to help decorate the tables in the afternoon, please let me know.Tuition PaymentI want to review the tuition procedures as there were a few questions.A few days before the end of the month, you will receive an invoice for the next month tuition. It will give a summary of current charges ( tuition, after and morning care, etc) and any past due amount. These charges are due at the first of the month. Afterschool and morning charges will be computed to the 25th of the previous month and added to the bill. The remaining days of previous month’s afterschool and morning charges will appear on your next month’s bill.Late payments per the contract arrangements will incur a $20 late penalty on the 10th. If you know your payment will be delayed, please talk to Deborah to make arrangements.CurriculumWe have some exciting things going on this month. In the Yellow Room, four families will be helping us celebrated “chinese” New Year the way that their countries have adapted it.During the week of Jan. 23rd, we will have costumes and discussion about new year’s in Tibet; we will be making dumpling soup with two Korean parents; we will be making also be making paper dragons, as this will be the year of the dragon. We will decorate the room with traditional red paper cut into festive designs.We will also be making Stone Soup as we cook from the book of that name. Every child will bring a vegetable to add to the vegetable broth on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 17th and 18th. We will throw in some barley and herbs and enjoy a feast together with parents at going home time.We look forward to a wonderful month together.Warm regards,Deborah, Ty, Aracely, Maya, Marilyn, Esme, Mye, and Allison
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Sep23
No CommentsDear Parents,
We have strived to have organic produce at the preschool since the beginning. That effort just got a big boast. We are now getting a weekly delivery of farm-fresh and ripe organic fruits and a few veggies from a company in Eagle Rock named Auntie Em’s. Monday afternoon feels like Christmas as I open up the insulated containers to find beautiful food. In the last two weeks, we have received a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes, grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines, cucumbers, squash, watermelons, etc. The children have really enjoyed them.
We made an omelet this week in the Yellow Room using the little yellow tomatoes and basil from our garden. Everyone! ate the omelets. We used three eggs per omelet and added the tomatoes they halved and small torn pieces of basil.We also made delicious yogurt pops. We mixed plain yogurt with some small mixed berry yogurts and then added blueberries that I had cooked briefly in a little water. They were a big hit with the afternoon group on a warm day.
Cooking is a wonderful project that integrates math skills with measuring and counting , the chemistry and physics of science, gardening, tasting, and enjoyment. We will be doing lots more of it during the year in both rooms.
Have a great weekend.Tweet
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Sep17
No CommentsDear Parents,
We are off to a great beginning. The Friday morning kids settled into their play and were busy all morning. As parents, you were fabulous and remained in your parent chairs and visited with each other. We appreciated receiving all of the forms, changes of clothes, labeled swimming suits, earthquake kits, and -6-8 family photos. For families starting this week, please bring all of those outstanding items on your first day. Thank you. I also have a few important school rules to share with you to ensure a smooth transition for you and your child; please read carefully.A Word about Signing In and Out
It is VERY IMPORTANT that the person bringing your child signs in and out. This is a legal document that transfers custody of your child from you to us and back again. In our CPR/ First Aid class this weekend, I was reminded that i can NOT seek treatment for your child if I do not have that legal custody. Also it is part of the way, in an emergency, we cross check who and who many children we have.
The process is simple. In the beginning of the morning, at the table by the entrance gate, please sign your child in as you LEAVE the school, not as you come in because you have custody of your child until you leave the classroom. If you are remaining for a coffee, please sign-in when you exit the classroom to come to the coffee.
At departure, please sign out when your are leaving WITH your child rather than as you arrive as you do not yet have custody of your child as you enter the classroom.
Thank you for your cooperation and for putting up with all of the capitalized letters.
Clothing
There are several clothing and footwear strategies that help children stay safe and learn self-care skills. For safety, children’s footwear should be securely on your child’s foot. Tennis shoes are ideal, especially when they have velcro closures. Sandals that are securely on the foot with a front, back, and top strap are fine and open toes are Ok if the sandal is secure. Please no clogs, crocs, flip-flops, boots ( not enough flexible for climbing), etc.The other goal is helping your child to develop self- care/ self help skills. The first weeks of preschool are the time when children learn to put on their shoes and socks and pull up their underwear and pants. Mastery of these skills is a big boast to their self-esteem and independence . We will work on these skills with your child and help them to develop the competence and the confidence. Please help your child by sending them in wardrobe that they can handle. For example, elastic waist pants that they can easily get over their underwear. Young children are often not yet able to do snaps, buttons, zippers, and drawstrings. Velcro shoes are fabulous and make life so easy for children. Check to see that your child’s shoes are not too tight. Socks with stretchy elastic tops help. Please no lace up shoes.Thank you for your help in supporting your child’s growth.Toys and stuff at school- In short
Books, Science Stuff, and transitional Objects -Yestoys- No
We ask that you help your child learn what is appropriate to bring to school and what is not. Books, transitional objects, science related things are welcome. Toys and trinkety things are not as they are too hard to share and pose an attractive nuisance problem in a child’s cubby. It is asking to much of a child to see a great toy in a cubby and be told they can’t; they have hard time focusing on the preschool’s play items and keep trying to take their toy out of the cubby. then other kids want it. You can see how things get complicated quickly. Thank you for your help. We have found that if you make a plan that the item will wait for your child in the car, it helps them and frees them as they enter the school to focus on what is ahead. Thank you for your help.Calendar Items
Parent Coffee- Sept. 16th- 9 am in the office or perhaps the social hall open to all parents whose kids come on Friday. Please join us!Parent Coffee- Sept. 22nd- 9 am open to all parents whose kids come on Thursday. Please join us!SCHOOL CLOSED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY- Sept. 29th and 30th for Rosh Hashanah- we rent form a temple and are closed for the High Holy days of which there are these two this year.We look forward to seeing all of you this week. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to bring them up with me. Thank you for entrusting your children to us.Warm regards, -
Sep5
No CommentsDear Green Room parents,
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day holiday. I wanted to share a few things with you in anticipation of the first days of the Fall Schedule. Please bring in all remaining forms as we can not admit a child who does not have all of their forms on file; this is the Department of Social Services requirement. SCHEDULEWe will begin this Friday, the 9th, for any child who normally attends that day. It is a morning only- 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.. No afternoon session.Monday, the 12th, begins the regular full day schedule for all of the returning children and the regular morning schedule for Sept. starting children. Please see the separation process discussion to understand the timing of afternoon children who are beginning in Sept..Parent Coffee- Friday, Sept. 16th at 9 am. Parent Coffees are a parenting discussion group that talks about the topics parents are interested in. For all GR parents whose children attend on Friday.Parent Coffee- Thursday, Sept 22nd at 9am. Parent discussion group for all GR parents whose children attend on Thursday.SEPARATION PROCESSThe process begins with a visiting day ( for the fall families) and the gathering before the regular session begins. One or both parents are welcome and it allows the child to meet the teachers and children without any concern about their parents leaving.Then, on the first day of your child’s regular schedule, only one parent will remain with him/ her for the whole morning even if your child is going to remain for the afternoon in their regular schedule. We have found that children have a successful separation process when it is broken down in small steps. All September starting children leave at 12:15 on their first day.As parents, you will be there for support and encouragement and we will have chairs set aside for you and we ask that you remain there.. It is important that you be there for support but not as your child’s playmate. This provides the opportunity for the teachers and the other children to begin to create relationships with your child. Also, it supports separation as it is easier to say goodbye to a parent when they have not become a playmate at the school.After the first day, you and I in conjunction with Aracely will meet or speak on the phone and discuss how your child’s separation process will go forward. Every child is different; some have had day care or preschool experience or had a regular sitter whereas some children are doing this for the first time. The goal is to help each child feel comfortable in the goodbye process and develop a goodbye routine.Your child’s separation often takes just two or three days with you leaving for increasing amounts of time. For children with little or no experience being cared for by others, it may take a bit longer. However, every child is different and not always predictable. We will be there to support you through it and find a way that suits your child and family.Children who are scheduled to stay in the afternoon will begin staying after they have completed the morning separation process. We often begin the afternoon transition by having the child stay for lunch on their first long day and then go home. Usually they are ready to stay for the whole time the next day.Please don’t hesitate to talk with us about the process. We want to create a positive experience for both you and your child.PARENT HANDBOOKThe school has a parent handbook that covers a wide range of information. Please read it through as it contains the policies and procedures of the school. It will also answer many of your questions about birthdays, etc. The handbook is online at www.kidslovepreschool.comFORMS, PHOTOS, CHANGE OF CLOTHES, SWIMMING SUIT, EARTHQUAKE KITPlease bring in any outstanding forms, changes of clothes( 2 complete sets), swimming suit, and earthquake kit ( please refer to the email listing the requested items.) Licensing requirements forbid us from starting a child without the proper forms completed. If you need one or need help, please ask us. We have extras on hand. Please make sure that the physician’s form is in your child’s file. Thank you so much for you help. We would really, really hate to turn a child away.We look forward to an exciting year together and will see you very soon.Warm regards,Deborah, Aracely, Esme, and Allison
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Jul11
No CommentsJuly Newsletter
Posted in: Newsletter
Dear Parents,
I hope you are all enjoying the 4th of July. We are looking forward to being back with you tomorrow. As you know, we are past June gloom and are into some lovely warm weather.Outdoors are curriculum will feature water. We will be using the water table, the wading pool, and the hose in the big sandbox. There will be bubble blowing and frozen juice bars. Our garden with its beans, tomatoes, gourds, strawberries, and herbs needs watering everyday.The water theme continues inside with science experiments, the installation of our fish tank, and a pouring table.Summer NecessitiesWe need a few things in order to be ready for all of this fun. Some of you may have brought them. Please label everything.1. Very important, please put sun block on your child, body as well as face before they come to school. Waterproof kind is the best. It is very difficult for us to do while we supervise 18 kids.2. Send a bathing suit if you already haven’t. LABEL IT. The kids often don’t recognize their own suits.3. Check and ensure that we have two complete changes of clothes, labeled please.4. Sunglasses and hats are great but please label them.5. Safe shoes. While it is summer, the loose sandals, clogs, and flipflops are not safe. Please send children in good shoes for playing.VolunteersWe would love some parent volunteers this summer. Readers are always a big hit. Cooking, be it making a fruit salad or perhaps some ice cream with our ice cream maker. Bring you own ideas. We have some kids who are ready to tackle elementary sewing or the simplest knitting. Anyone? Also, it would be great to have some one who loves to build trains or build with blocks. Those are hot areas. We have a lot of boxes. Does anyone want to come in and cut them for creations and help the kids make them what they want? We have the tools. Other ideas?Thank you to the parents who recently read as well as the bringer of the toads.Traveler’s WallWe have a traveler’s picture page on the first door of the children who are away for a portion of the summer. It helps the kids who are in school; they see what their friends are doing and are reminded that their friends will be coming back.Our ClassroomsThe Green Room has begun successfully with Aracely Jimenez and 6 children. She has created a welcoming and lovely space. The group will grow to 16 per day in September and 18 in the November. We have one remaining space for a girl.The Yellow Room, the original class, will be sending 3 children off to kindergarten, one to Franklin, and two to Citizens of the World. There is one girl space available.We wish you all a great July!Deborah, Ty, Maya, Marilyn, Aracely, and Allison -
May6
No CommentsMay Newsletter
Posted in: Food and Cooking, Newsletter, Projects, The Garden
Dear Parents,
It was great to be back with all of the kids and their stories of bunnies, trips to San Diego, New York and the Bay Area as well as visiting relatives.We started fresh with making new playdough and mixing pastel spring colors for painting.
We also did a lot of harvesting both before the break and today. We have been so fortunate and our radishes, carrots, beets, lettuce, potatoes, blueberries, and peas did extremely well. Today’s harvest was the last of the carrots, the potatoes and the beets. The website will have lots of photos and the story of our garden and harvest after tonight. Next week, we will begin planting out tomato plants and get ready for the summer garden..Parent Coffees
Thursday, May 5th at 9 am in the office.Friday, May 20th at 9 am in the office
Stone Soup We are going to use the carrots and potatoes in a special soup that we are going to make on Monday and Tuesday of next week. We will be reading the book Called Stone Soup, an old folk story about three men who come into a village searching for food. At first the villagers hide all of their harvested vegetables, but once the men set up a pot over a fire and heat the water, they surprise the villagers. They say that they can make soup out of just stones. As they stir the stones, they comment that the soup will be good as it is but it would be much better if they only had a few carrots. One of the villagers runs off to bring a few from her home. And so it goes until the soup is filled with fragrant vegetables and the men are helping the villagers set the tables for a wonderful feast. that they all share.We will be making stone soup with our carrots and potatoes but we ask you to help your child bring ONE vegetable that is good for a soup. We love the wonderful mix that comes. On Monday and Tuesday, we will chop the vegetable, put it in the pot and cook the soup. We invite all noon pickup parents to come a few minutes early to join with us in a brief soup feast. Parents who pick up at 4 may also stay for a feast.Parent volunteers for cutting help on Monday and Tuesday needed- sign up sheet on the table. Thank you! Read More | Comments -
Sep26
No CommentsParent Newsletter- Late September
Posted in: Newsletter
Dear Parents,
We are nearing the end of another good week. Children are starting to make connections with each other. They are busy outside, great eaters at snack, lively inside, and now, really joining into the group time at the end.Coping with Heat
As you know, the upcoming week is expected to have some hundred plus days. We will be doing several things to help our children enjoy the warm weather and remain comfortable. We will be starting outside each morning as usual.It will be all about water. We will have the wading pool ( at last the bathing suits) as well as the hose in the sandbox and the water tables. We will open a car wash along the trike path. We will be serving lots of water.Please, put on SUNBLOCK, SUNBLOCK, SUNBLOCK, not only on their faces but also on their legs and upper body, so that if they want to get in the wading pool or be in the sandbox with water. We will be inside for the balance of the morning. If the temperature stays above 90, we will remain inside after the children wake up in the afternoon; we found they are more comfortable in the air conditioned room.Juice, Milk, and Water
A topic has come up from a number of parents about juice, water, and milk. I wanted to clarify what we do and why. At snack, we first serve water when the children sit down at roughly 10:20 am. They are coming from outside and we want them to have some water to rehydrate ( there is always water outside but sometimes they are busy and don’t stop to drink.) Half way through snack we serve juice that is diluted with water. We serve grape, apple, cran-raspberry, orange, or mango. They are 100% juice; we do not use juice that has any added sugar. We let children have a couple of cups of juice and, if they are still thirsty, switch them back to water. It amounts to 4 or 5 oz. of juice.Dentists feel that this amount of juice diluted poses no problem for children’s teeth.( the real problems come from sticky food such as dried fruit that stays on their teeth for a long time). In consulting with my children’s former pediatrician, she says that the amount of juice we serve is the equivalent of a portion of fruit. In the context of a snack rich with protein, such as yogurt, cheese, hummus, and beans, and whole wheat crackers and bread, this creates a balanced snack. The whole wheat is a more complex carbohydrate than if we served food made with refined white flour. We do not serve processed foods that have added ingredients including sugar. there is always water available inside as well.Some of the children have been getting hungry at around 11:30 AM. This is not uncommon for young children just starting school. We will be offering milk to children who wish something extra before they head home or have lunch at school. Children will begin to adjust to our snack and lunch schedule over the next few weeks. It becomes noticeable again when the time changes as their bodies take a week or two to adjust. We will phase out the milk as their bodies adjust. i do not see milk listed on the forms as an allergy for any of the children, however, if there is a milk allergy, please let Deborah know.Parent Volunteers
We invite parents who wish to volunteer in the classroom or outside , as long as their child’s the separation process is firmly in place, We have many ways that you can participate. We always enjoy having story readers either inside or outside. We are going to start putting art projects out, i.e. fingerpainting and it is helpful to have another set of hands. Perhaps you have a project you think the children will like. Cooking is another activity that is really enjoyed. We have a number of appliances available. We are about ready to start the seedlings for the winter garden and would enjoy help. The drawing table benefits from someone who can take story dictation. These are just a few ideas. We welcome your suggestions. Talk with Deborah about ideas and schedule.
