Deerfield Cooperative Preschool
September 6, 2013
This Week
Wow, what a successful first week at DCP!! It has been fun getting to know each of the children. This week we have been working on the transition from home to school.The returning students have been very helpful in teaching the new students the rules and routine. The new students are learning the routine rather quickly and are having fun making new friends.
Each child has been very busy this week making pages for a special book all about him/herself. The books will be completed next week and put in your child’s folder to take home.
Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4
At the project table, we made a family portrait. We counted out small and large circles to represent the children and adults who live in our home. We decorated each circle to resemble each family member and an adult helped label each of them.
At the science table with Miss Paige, we made two pages for our book. First we drew a picture of our self; we observed our personal features in a hand held mirror and added those details to our picture. Next, we colored an info sheet about our self. We colored a drawing of an eye the color of our own eye and we added hair to an outline of a face. Last, we colored a crayon our favorite color.
We made a birthday cake page at thetable toy table. We colored a birthday cake picture with crayons. Next, we counted out small pieces of paper and glued them to the cake to resemble candles. The adult at the table wrote our birthday at the top of the page for us and helped us write how old we are at the bottom.
At the playdough table we enjoyed rolling the playdough with rolling pinsthat made different textures in the dough. We shared the different rollers and observed the designs each of our friends made.
The next page for our book was made at the writing table. We wrote our name with pencil and then counted the letters in our name and wrote the number on the line.
We built replicas of our own houses at the square table using small wooden blocks.
Thursday, September 5 and Friday, September 6
It was a bit messy at theproject tabletoday as we painted our hands to make a handprint page for our book.
We made playdough muffins at the playdough table. We shared and worked together to fill the muffin tins since there were only two pans and four of us could play at the table.
Over by the window, at table toys,we stood by a measuring tape on the wall while an adult measured how tall we were. The adult then helped us write the number of inches tall we were on the next page of our book. We also cut a piece of string the same length we are tall and put it in the envelope on the page.
We used the unifix cubes at the square table. We enjoyed making long tracks and patterns with the blocks.
At the writing table, we made a cover for our book. We chose our favorite color paper and folded it in half. Next, we chose big and small lines to make our title, “ME” on our cover. First, we chose four big lines to make the letter “M” and one big line and three little lines to make the “E”.
Next Week
Next week we will complete our “Me Books” and also start focusing on all of the things that each child CAN do!
Book Orders
Book orders were due on Friday. However with the craziness of the first week, we have extended the deadline to Monday afternoon.
Folders
Each child has been assigned a folder. They are found to the right of the sign-in sheet in two plastic bins. These folders are used for your child’s artwork and any other flyers or correspondence from teachers or other parents. Please check these folders regularly. Some of the projects we make are not flat and will not fit in the folders. They will then be put in your child’s cubby. If you have information that needs to be turned into a teacher or board member, we each have our own folder as well.
“What did you do today?”
“Nothing”
I am sure when you picked your child up from preschool this week and you asked what he/she did at school the answer was, “Nothing”. I can reassure you that we did not sit around all week long and do nothing!
Having regular conversation with your child is important for his/her development but it does require extra work on your part. In order to make it easier on yourself, try asking specific questions about the day.
-Who shared their cubby box today?
-What did you eat for snack?
-Who did you sit with at snack?
-What was your favorite song at music?
-What was your favorite station of the morning?—or be more specific. (What was the art project? What activity did Miss Paige and/or Miss Melissa do today?)
-Who was your partner on the way to the playground?
-Did you use the swing today? (slide, monkey bars, climbing wall, corkscrew, etc.)
-What was today’s story about?
-Who did you sit with at lunch?
These are just a few examples of questions about the day. Don’t use them all at once. Ask one or two each time. Once you are POD you will see the routine of the classroom and come up with questions about the day yourself.
The other way to see what we do at school when you are not here is watch the daily slide show. Each morning from 8am-9pm there are pictures from the day before played on the digital frame by the office window. We try to get pictures of every aspect of the day. You can even watch the slide show with your child and talk about the pictures as they flash by.
Parking
We have been asked to only use the parking lot on the right side of the building. (we can also use the horseshoe driveway for parking when quickly dropping off) There are other businesses in the building and we need to be respectful of their space as well.
Cubbies
Please be sure to leave a change of clothes in your child’s cubby. If you have an extra pair of shoes, please leave them too!
If you have not returned your box because your child has not completed decorating it, please send a change of clothes in a bag and leave it in the cubby until the box is completed.
Lunches
Great healthy lunches have been sent so far. Thank you to everyone for being so conscious of our Nut Free/Peanut Free Classroom. Keep up the good work!
Please keep in mind that we are unable to heat lunches for children each day. However, if you would like to bring a “warm treat” for lunch for you and your child when you are POD you may heat it up yourself.
1st Day Pictures
Thank you to Christine Driscoll and Michelle DeRose for organizing and taking the 1st Day of school photos. Your child’s picture will be e-mailed to you soon!
Extended Day Drop In
Have an appointment in the afternoon or errands to run? As long as enrollment allows, we will offer extended day “Drop Ins”. For a cost of $25, your child can stay at preschool and play with his/her friends all afternoon (until 5pm)!! If you only need a little extra time, the cost is $16 until 3pm. It is requested that sign up is done at least 24 hours in advance, but last minute accommodations may be able to be made if space allows.
Open Board Position
2013-2014 School Year
As mentioned at the first Parent Meeting, we are in need of a DCPChair-Elect. The chair-elect shadows the chair for the current school year while preparing to become the Chair for the 2014-2015 school year. It is required that the chair have a child here when they are in that position next year but they are not required to have a child enrolled while they are Chair-Elect. The DCP Board meets once a month to plan and organize events for DCP. Being a board member is a great way to be a part of what happens behind the scenes to make the school a great place for our students to learn and grow. If you are interested or have more questions about the position, please see Melissa or any other board member.
Field Trip
There will be a sign up sheet for the Emery Farm field trip next week. The cost for the field trip is $6 per child and $2 per adult. The kids will enjoy a hayride that will bring them to a field where they will choose their own pumpkin. They will also take part in a walk through a “3 Little Pig” themed corn maze and will have a pumpkin shaped sugar cookie after lunch. Please sign your child up BEFORE Friday, September 20. It takes a long time to figure the carpooling and we need to have a final count for the farm. If your child is not signed up, he/she will not be able to attend! Also, please consider carpooling with other people as there are other groups at the orchard the same day and parking can get tricky if we bring 20-30 cars!!! It also makes it harder to stay together when we have more vehicles.
(This field trip is open to ALL classes. Even if your child does not attend on Thursday mornings, we hope everyone can make it. It is a great chance to get to know the other families and make new friends.)
Pumpkin Recipes
With our pumpkin picking field trip in the near future, I would like to put together an electronic “DCP Pumpkin Recipe Book”. If you have a favorite pumpkin recipe to share, please e-mail it to me. I will compile them all and send the document to everyone so we can enjoy the scents and tastes of fall together.
I am sure many of you remember collecting Campbell’s Soup labels to bring to your school when you were a child. Now, the list of participating merchandise is HUGE and goes WAY BEYOND tomato soup!! Please pass this link onto family and friends and ask them clip labels for DCP!! We will earn FREE products and supplies for our classroom!
Snack
Each week the snack is listed so you can see what your kids are eating—they maytry new things with their friends at school that they won’t try at home!! Also, this gives parents ideas of what to bring for snack during their POD day!
Tuesday: Cheese sticks, round snack crackers and milk
Wednesday: Watermelon wedges, wheat crackersandmilk
Thursday:Applesauce, whole grain goldfish crackers and milk
Friday: Green grapes, Cheez-its and white grape juice
Copies
Here at DCP, we have always tried to keep all classroom costs to a minimum in order to keep tuition down. Often times, we need to make a number of copies for our group meetings and classroom projects. If you are able to help make copies at home or your place of business, please let Melissa know.
Reminders
Tuesday, September 24th- Parent Meeting at DCP – 6:30 pm.
Thursday, September 26th- Field Pumpkin Picking, Emery Farm-- Durham, NH
Friday, September 27: No School-Deerfield Fair
Thursday, October 4th and Friday, October 5th- Class Pictures
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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is and my phone number is 496-3928. I also have a folder in the classroom where notes can be left.
The DCP board can also be contacted with questions, comments or concerns. The DCP Board e-mail is
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