Hello!
Time has flown by! It is already the middle of November and I am very pleased with where the kids are now. I have seen some of my shy kids making friends and starting to feel comfortable away from Mom and Dad. The routine of our day-to-day activities has set in and there is a ton of learning taking place. Thank you for being patient and trusting with how I handled the first day/month jitters.
We have been busy learning our numbers through an activity where we "air-write" them using rhymes and then reviewing them every day with calendar. We have also covered the letters M,P, T and B and will be learning V and N by months end.
Last month, we had a very successful trip to the Fire Hall. I was very proud of how the children behaved. The firemen and EMT were great with your children and we appreciate them sharing their time and knowledge with us. I know for a couple little guys in our program, firemen are right up there with Batman and Spiderman and I know that short visit meant so much to them.
This month, we will be heading to the library to participate in a little program run by the librarians. If you haven't figured me out yet, I love books and especially children's books so I look forward to this trip. I don't think I need to stress the importance of reading to you but please know how important it is. Phonemic awareness, tone, sequencing and being imaginative are just a couple of the reasons reading to a child is important, not to mention the fact that it provides an opportunity for you and your child to be together in a "non-plugged in" situation. I invite any parent helpers to share a beloved book with the kids at the last circle time as I really believe it is important for children to not only hear stories told in another voice but also to see as many adults reading as they can.
Mark December 8th on your calendars with pen! The children have been helping me make posters and will be helping decorate jars in the upcoming weeks in preparation of our "BriarPatch BakeWalk". We are asking that families donate 4 dozen festive/ethnic nut free and home-made cookies to this event. My hope for this event is that it will have families coming together to bake the goods, and then come out with your friends, family and community to purchase your holiday baking in the preschool. The BriarPatch Preschool is part of the BriarPatch Family Education Centre, and as such we want to do a community type activity. There will be ornaments for kids to decorate while their families purchase their baking and hot chocolate on hand. Please share with us your home made baking and bring people out to see our centre and get some yummy treats. Sign-up sheets are up and Alicia and Cori (two parents from the Board) have been working hard getting this planned.
Thank you for all of your time and contributions thus far. Educating children is a team effort and I really appreciate knowing that I have your support.
Thanks for sharing your little ones with me too. I enjoy the stories, the art, the play and the laughter.
Have a great November!!
Meghan
