Marshall Child Development Center
February Newsletter 2016
From the Director…!
I cannot believe the first month of 2016 is already coming to a close. Time flies when you are having fun!
Thank you so much to the families that have filled out our annual survey. I am looking forward to reading the feedback and implementing improvements! It is very important to us to meet or exceed your expectations.
Please make sure that we have all of your updated information including cell and work numbers and email addresses. When instances happen like the early closure last week, we want to make sure we can get in contact with all of our parents. You may also include in your child’s file the numbers of co-workers that may be able to locate you in case of an emergency if you are in an area that does not have or does not allow cell phone usage.
Thank you to the parents that were able to attend our parent workshop this month on the importance of creating schedules with young children. If there are any topics you would like to see covered in a future parent training, please let me know.
Have a great month!
Kelli Wright, Director
Upcoming Events:
February 3rd= Class Pictures (order forms for pictures must be turned in by this day)
February 6th= Staff ABA Training 8:30am-12:30pm
February 11th= Board Meeting 11:30am
February 13th= Staff Training in B’ham 8:00am-1:00pm
February 15th= Center Closed for President’s Day
February 25th= Board Meeting 11:30am
Coming Up in March:
Dr. Seuss Day 2nd
Staff Meeting 3rd
Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast 4th
Board Meetings 10th & 24th
Cecilia out of office 11th-29th
Preschool A Mexican Egg Hunt 23rd
MCDC Egg Hunt 24th
Hello from Infant A
One of our little cupids flew off to the creeper room. We will miss that family and welcome a new family as well. During this winter our outside time will be very limited. However, please keep as hat and coat in their cubby for that infrequent time we get outside.
Colored cellophane and foil will be introduced at table time. Art color focus will be red, white and pink for play dough, paints, and crayons.
Don’t forget parents, we can always use new family pictures for our language wall.
The Beautiful Babies (Infant B)
We had so much fun in the month of January! We got to start a whole new year! We also got to learn about snowflakes and see some real snow at school. Our class learned about the season of winter and got to explore nature.
In February, we’re looking forward to exploring Valentine’s Day! We’ll learn about shapes and the color red through art and sensory activities. There will be new poems, books, and classroom decorations too. Maybe we’ll get to see some more snow before spring comes. We have enjoyed finding out about winter so far! We can’t wait to be learning and growing in the month of February.
The Jammin Babies (Creeper A)
Greetings once again to one and all,
It’s time again to answer the “what do you do?” call.
Sit back and listen, so you will know,
How a creeper’s day might go.
We sit and observe, sometimes we play,
That is how we learn each day.
A toy that plays music will make us dance,
We play with these every time we get a chance.
We paint, we draw, and we do explore,
Sometimes we try to sneak out of the door.
And yes, you sometimes hear lots of cries,
We learn those are tears that drop from our eyes.
You see crying is our way of trying to talk,
It comes in handy when we learn to walk.
We try out best to let you know,
How we would like our day to go.
Then you know if our day has been good,
When we give you the biggest smile we could.
A hug will come next, then a kiss,
These are the things you’re going to miss.
For we grow so fast as we go through each day,
You hardly have a chance to wave as we move up and away.
So cherish your little ones because you just don’t know,
What direction we are going to grow.
Till next time, keep safe and warm,
And know that the Creepers always keep you well informed.
The Little Owls (Creeper B)
It’s time for an update on what’s going on in the Creeper classroom. As February arrives, we are hoping for great weather. However, don’t forget that as long as the cooler temperatures are with us, let’s dress our little ones warm. Don’t forget to leave an extra change of clothes, including pants, shirts, and socks.
Looking ahead, we hope to enjoy some fun activities for Valentine’s Day. Our creepers really seem to enjoy the seasonal songs and finger plays. We will be learning about Ground Hogs by looking at books about them and playing hide and seek, eating some of what Ground Hogs eat such as bananas, apples, etc… We will also be learning how to share with our friends’ books, trucks, balls, dolls, etc…
Our Valentines Party will be February 12, 2016 at 2pm. We will be swapping Valentine Cards at the party. Please watch for more information to be posted.
As a friendly reminder we will be closed on February 15th for Presidents Day! Have a safe holiday!
The Busy Bees (Toddler A)
Hello Busy Bees Mom and Dads,
So far we are off to a good year. All of our little busy bees are doing well. They are growing and learning every day. We are amazed with the things they are doing and saying.
During the month of February we will be talking about Friendships, Valentine’s, heart shapes, and the color red. We will also be discussing dental health, which includes the way we brush our teeth and our five senses.
On February 12th, we will have a friendship party for the kids during snack time. The children will exchange Valentine’s that day too. Please bring a box of Valentine’s for your little one to share with his or her friends.
Finally, we would like to say welcome to our new little bumble bee to the beehive and bye, bye to M. We will miss you!
The Rockets (Toddler B)
We have two new Families starting with us this month. We would like to take a moment and welcome them as well as their families into the toddler room. February is a very busy month for the Rockets. We are going to be talking about our pets, Valentine’s Day, our feelings and we will also be learning about our teeth! We will begin the month talking about our pets; classroom pets, as well as our pets at home. The next week we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day “heart families”. During the week we will be having a Valentine’s party! We will be wearing red or pink on that day. During the third week we will be exploring our emotions and feelings. During circle we will be talking about feelings.
Reading is a big part of our day. Since February is Dental Month, our books will be discussing the importance of dental hygiene. During circle we will discuss nutritious meals and snacks and the difference between junk food and healthy food.
Important Dates!!
February 5 – Pet Show! Bring your favorite stuffed animal pet
February 12 – Friendship (love) party at 2:45
Just a reminder: the weather is changing so our children need warm clothes in their cubbies. 1 to 2 full sets, including shirt, pants, and socks.
The Safari Explorers (EA)
The month of January was so busy learning about winter things. We made snowmen with paint, glue, shaving cream, and play-doh. We made snow with baking soda. We learned about different Arctic animals and how important blubber is to their survival.
In February we will have President’s Day off. We will have a friendship party on February 12th. We will be learning about Ms. Groundhog, Presidents, dinosaurs, and Dr. Seuss.
Please remember to bring in water cups each day. We get thirsty even when we don’t go out. Also please bring in weather appropriate coats. We go out whenever possible. Thank you!
Underwater Explorers (EB)
We’ve already finished out the first month in our new year and it was a fun one. We have created many different snow and ice creations and even made some snow of our own. As we finish out January and scoot into February, we will finish our snowy month by learning all about our snow friends, the polar bear and the penguin. We will learn about friendship, love, and hearts as we continue through the month of February. A week of owls will finish out our month.
Our friendship party will be February 12th at 2:45pm. You are invited to join your child for this celebration. You are welcome to help your child create a special treat or gift to give to their friends that Friday.
We are super excited to welcome our new teacher!
Thank you for all you do for us and for your children!
The Perky Preschoolers (Pre-C)
We worked very hard in January to re-establish our routines and guidelines. In addition to our classroom rules we made a set of rules for the cafeteria, Multi-purpose room/library and outside. We review and remind the children on a daily basis about our rules; especially before transitioning and it has really paid off. The children know and understand exactly what our expectations are and they are all doing extremely well. They seem to be happy, secure and content and we are all enjoying our time playing and learning together!
The days we will be unable to go outside, due to the weather, we will utilize the library/multi-purpose room, cafeteria and the back porch to substitute for large motor skills and vary our activities. There will be days, however, in which we will go out; even for 10-15 minutes for fresh air. Please make sure your child is wearing weather appropriate clothing and has at least one extra set of clothes. This should include hats, mittens, and a light jacket to keep in the classroom when it gets cold.
Our themes/letters of the week for this month are: Healthy Habits “Gg”, Friendship Week “Hh”, Shapes “Ii”, and Folktales “Jj”. Our focus this month will be to practice and emphasize the importance of proper hand washing techniques to help keep our classroom environment healthy. We ask that you also work with them at home to help maintain consistency. Thank you for your continued support.
Please feel free to come eat lunch or read a book with us sometime!
Friendship Party on Friday 12th at 2:45
The Teddy Bears (Pre-B)
GREETINGS FROM YOUR TEACHERS
February is a sweet month here at school. We begin the month with “Ground Hog’s Day”. It feels like we might skip winter all together this year. Then we begin with the celebration of love. We have so many examples of love and friendship around us. We will read stories about love, sing friendship songs and create sweet projects. The new layout of our classroom is really helping with the flow and transition to and from Circle time, art, snack and outside play.
Preschool children are invited to bring their Valentines to share with others on Friday, February 12th. We have 20 children in our preschool classroom. Each child will make a Valentine mailbox. If you would like your child to participate in this fun activity, please provide them with 20 Valentines with their name on it. Your child’s teachers will give you a list with each child’s name. The Party List will be displayed on February 3rd. We’ll do a unit on Presidents Day. We will talk about serving others on a scale they can understand. Dental Hygiene is always a topic this time of year. We will have some activities focused around the importance of dental hygiene and proper brushing techniques. In our science center we have pictures of the upper and lower teeth with toothbrushes to practice and X-rays of teeth for viewing.
Remember we love to play outside so, please make sure your child has a jacket, gloves and hat. We are outside up to 40 minutes at a time. Reminder: Check your child’s extra clothes to ensure they have winter clothes instead of summer clothes; we need an extra set just in case.
PARENTS
We love having parent volunteers. Last year, we were fortunate to have many of our parents share their interests, hobbies, cultural backgrounds, professions with us. We would like to extend our invitation to you again to volunteer in our classroom or help with special projects when you are available. Also, we want to say “Thank You” for the great participation we had for our special healthy snack last month!!! We will be doing this more often! Reminder: Please check lesson plans weekly for special events along with checking cubbies daily. Also, please return the updated information sheets we sent home. Thank you so much!!!!!
Hand Washing/Flu Season
The best protection against flu and other illnesses is proper hand washing. We’ve noticed that a number of children need some practice in proper hand washing procedures. Thank you for joining us in re-enforcing the following:
1. Wash hands for 20 seconds—rubbing vigorously.
2. Dry thoroughly and use the paper towel to turn off the faucet.
3. We give them one towel and tell them to use it to wipe their hands. A second towel may only be used if/when the first towel is entirely wet. We are seeing the children grab more than three or four paper towels at a time.
News Article
Consistency: An Essential Ingredient
What does “consistency” mean?
Consistency means that rules and expectations are the same from one time to another. Consistency makes the child’s world predictable and less confusing. It frees their minds of worry about what might happen and teaches them accountability for their actions.
Why is consistency important?