HALLOWEEN PARTY
We will have a Halloween party on Friday 10/29. Wear your costume to school today! Bring a change of clothes if you stay all day! If your child does not come to school on Fridays they’re welcome to join us from 9:00am – 11:30pm. Please let us know in advance if your child is coming so we can set a spot for them at our party table. We’ll share our costumes, play games and parade around the yard at 10:15am.
Due to COVID restrictions parents will not be allowed to view our parade in person but we will be setting up a Zoom meeting so you can view the parade virtually. Zoom meeting info. will be sent via email the week of October 25th.
PUMPKIN DECORATING CONTEST
It’s time for our annual Family Pumpkin Decorating Contest! If you are interested in participating you’ll need to register, so be sure to look for the sign up sheet. Remember, we’re looking for FAMILY produced entries. Make sure your child is an active participant in the decorating process. Pumpkin entries may be dropped off at the preschool throughout the week of the 18th but ALL entries must be submitted by the morning of Thursday 10/21 to be considered for judging. Our judging will be based on 3 categories–Silliest, Spookiest and Most Creative. We need you to help us choose our winners. Please vote (one ballot per family please) for your favorite in each category. More information regarding our contest will be sent home later in the month.
PROGRESS REPORTS & FALL CONFERENCING
This month you will receive a report regarding your child’s preschool experience over the last few months. There will be a calendar posted on the sign in/out board for you to schedule a conference if you would like one. Conferences are conducted in the afternoons/evenings and will only be available to those who schedule an appointment.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
During the beginning of November we will be learning about the celebration Dia de los Muertos (The Day Of The Dead). We invite you to bring a photo of a loved one that has passed away and we will display it on our Ofrenda (altar). Please have your photo turned in by 10/29.
LETTER BOX
Each of our classrooms has a special Letter Box. Please encourage your child to find an item at home that begins with the letter of the week and bring it in to share in our letter box. Be sure to refer to our calendar to see which letters we’re introducing each month. Having tangible items in our classrooms to represent the letter of the week help us reinforce our lessons and understanding of letters and their sounds. Please make sure your child is an active participant in finding something to bring, and remember to have fun!
To protect the health and welfare of our Growing Years community, please keep your child home if they are showing ANY symptoms of illness.
This past month we*ve had children out with runny noses and coughs. We appreciate that our families have been keeping their children home, sometimes for extended periods of time as a precaution.
As we enter cold and flu season, we ask that you remain vigilant and continue to conduct well checks at home each morning and keep your child home if they are showing any symptoms of illness.
If anyone in your household is awaiting the results from a COVID-19 test or has tested positive for COVID-19, please keep your child at home and contact Growing Years when you have the results of the test.
We greatly appreciate your ongoing efforts to keep our Growing Years Community safe.
Watch for Symptoms (From The CDC)
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported * ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
**Fever or chills
**Cough
**Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
**Fatigue
**Muscle or body aches
**Headache
**New loss of taste or smell
**Sore throat
**Congestion or runny nose
**Nausea or vomiting
**Diarrhea
The Redwoods
We had a fun first month of school. We played games and sang songs to learn each others names. We explored golf ball painting, finger painting, car painting and apple painting.
We’ve been playing a variety of music games and have enjoyed starting to decorate our classroom for Halloween.
We began our letters of the week by introducing “Colorpillar”. Each week the new letter of the week will be hidden somewhere in our classroom and we’ll have to hunt for it to add to our existing Colorpillar. Thank you to all who have been encouraging their Redwood to bring something in for the letter box!
For the letter “A” week we explored apples and participated in some fun apple activities. We even cored and peeled apples with a special apple machine and then dehydrated them to make yummy apple chips. Thank you for bringing apples to share with our class.
Last month we also had drills and practiced what to do in the event of an Earthquake or a Fire. We practiced “Duck and Cover” during our earthquake drill and learned where to go if we hear the fire alarm.
This month we’ll learn about the season of Fall and all the changes we see. We will celebrate Halloween, learn new songs and read spooky stories together.
Books We’ve Been Reading
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
The Duckling Gets A Cookie? by Mo Willems
Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben Barak
The Gingerbread Man Loose At The Zoo by Laura Murray
We’ve Been Singing…
Where Is Thumbkin?
Willoughby Wallaby Woo
Slippery Fish
The Grand Ol’ Duke Of York
Down By The Bay
5 Little Ducks
The Willows
The Willows had a fun first month of school!
Last month we introduced the letter “A” and had a lot of fun with Apples. We painted with apples and made apple prints. We peeled apples with a cool peeling machine and we used a dehydrator to make apple chips.
We explored a variety of sensory activities. We played with playdough, kinetic sand and water blocks.
We painted with our fingers, feathers, mashers, berry baskets and soda bottles.
We had drills and practiced what to do in the event of an Earthquake or a Fire. We practiced “Duck and Cover” during our earthquake drill and learned where to go if we hear the fire alarm.
The Willows have been learning how to count in Spanish. Next month we will continue numbers and introduce the days of the week in Spanish.
We look forward to the month of October! We are excited to learn more of our alphabet, learn Halloween songs and read spooky stories. Our themes for the month will be Autumn, Pumpkins and Halloween.
Books We’ve Been Reading
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
Pigs To The Rescue by John Hillman
Under The Apple Tree by Steve Metzger
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Dragons Love Tacos 2 by Adam Rubin
We’ve Been Singing…
The Itsy Bitsy Spider (In Spanish)
Ram Sam Sam
5 Little Monkeys
Days Of The Week
Alligator Pie
HAPPY FALL TO ALL!
Miss Elli, Miss Michelle, Miss Jennifer