April News

April News!

Mrs. Gerle and Ms. Johnson will be at the playschool on April 20th, to meet new families joining the playschool family this upcoming September. Anyone who is not yet registered, but interested in learning more, are also welcome. Please pass our invite on to any potential families for next school year!

Register Here

April Themes

• Easter

• Transportation

• Earth Day

• Environment

Easter Parties

The Easter Parties for each class will be held on Wednesday, April 5th and Thursday, April 6th. One of the day’s activities will be decorating Easter eggs.

PLEASE BRING TWO HARD – BOILED EGGS TO THE EASTER PARTY SO THAT YOUR CHILD CAN DECORATE THEIR EGGS AT THE PARTY!

Please bring a regular snack to the party as we will be following our day as close to the usual routine as possible.

April 3 – Wear purple day for the Monday/Wednesday classes to honor Autism Awareness Day

April 4 – Wear purple day for the Tuesday/Thursday classes to honor Autism Awareness Day

April 5 – Easter Party for the Monday/Wednesday classes

April 6 – Easter Party for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

April 10 – April 15 – Spring Break

April 17 – Carstairs Vet visits the Monday/Wednesday classes

April 18 – Carstairs Vet visits the Tuesday/Thursday classes

April 18 – Miss Marg from the library comes to read to both classes

April 18 – Board meeting at 7:00 at the Carstairs Playschool

April 20 - Open House 5-7pm

April 24 – walking to the Recycling Center for the Monday/Wednesday classes

April 25 - walking to the Recycling Center for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

April 26 – walking to the Bottle Depot for the Monday/Wednesday classes

April 27 – walking to the Bottle Depot for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

Earth Day and The Environment

During these themes, we will be discussing the importance of recycling. We will be discussing Earth Day on Monday, April 24th, and Tuesday, April 25th. On these days, we will be taking the children to the Recycling Center during our allotted play time. Please bring one recyclable item (i.e. cardboard, newspaper, plastic container, etc.) to play school on these days so that the children are able to recycle an item. But PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY TIN CANS AS THE CHILDRENMAY CUT THEMSELVES.

On Wednesday, April 26th and on Thursday, April 27th, we will be discussing the Environment. We will be taking the children to the 2A Bottle Depot during our allotted walk time. Please send one recyclable item (i.e. juice box, water bottle, etc.) to playschool on these days so that your child will be able to receive money for their recyclable item.

Please note: these two walking field trips are weather dependent. We will not be taking the children out if it is raining or cold.

Donations

Small Paper Bowls

Table Work

This month the three year old’s will be working more on their scissor skills to help prepare them for the four year old program in the fall. We will also be focusing more on their fine motor abilities. To do this, we will be incorporating activities which will include tongs, clothespins, etc. This helps hone their skills to prepare them for practicing proper pencil grip. Diagonal lines in both directions will also be the focus this month.

The four year old’s will be working on letters D, P, B, and R. Practicing these letters will help the children learn to use correct top-to-bottom, left-to-right directionality for letters, while holding a crayon with proper pencil grip and using their helper hand to help stabilize objects and paper. I work closely with the children at this center so I am able to help them with their pencil grip as well as help them with the letters in their name. I am very impressed with all of the four year olds!! They have come so far with their name writing and their understanding of the lingo used in the Handwriting Without Tears Program.

Michelle’s center almost always involves some king of scissor practice which may have to do with the theme or the letter that we are working on. The children love this center and all of them have improved significantly with their scissor skills!! We are both so proud of all the kids, and how well they are doing this year!!!!

Growing Smiles Fundraiser Link

Thank you Villa Maria for having the kiddos over to see what a restaurant kitchen looks like!

February News

February Themes

Health & Nutrition
Valentine's Day
Family
Anti-Bullying Day

Valentine's Day

Each playschool class will be having their own Valentine’s party. As always, we are planning on following the regular classroom routine, however we will be including a few different games and activities related to the Valentine’s Day theme. They will be decorating cookies for a special treat, but please send a regular snack.

Valentine's Cards

The children will be handing out their Valentine cards to each of their friends, if parents choose to send them. We would really appreciate it if you DO NOT write each child’s name on each Valentine card. We have found in the past years, that it takes a very long time to hand out the cards and the children get very restless waiting for their turn. If you could just write who the card is from, we will be very grateful!! If you do choose to give out Valentine cards, please give one to each child in the class so as to avoid hurt feelings. Class sizes are listed below.

Please bring your child’s Valentine cards to the playschool the week of February 6 – 10.

Monday/Wednesday AM - 17 students

Monday/Wednesday PM - 8 students

Tuesday/Thursday AM - 21 students

Tuesday/Thursday PM - 18 students

Thank you to Shannon Madaleno for donating both the icing and sprinkles needed for cookie decorating!

Anti-Bullying Day

The annual Pink Shirt Anti-Bullying Day is on Wednesday, February 22nd. We feel it is important to join the nation in teaching the children how not to be a bully. We will be observing Anti-bullying day on Wednesday, Monday, February 27th and Thursday, February 28th. Please have your children wear pink on those days to support this great message.

Winter Weather Clothing Tips

With the cold weather returning, staff help the children get dressed to leave for the day, and they are having difficulties with some children struggling to put on their gloves. If possible, we highly recommend the children wear mittens, not finger gloves, as many children who bring finger gloves to school have difficulty with putting their fingers where they need to go, which takes the teachers a longer time to get the children ready.

We have also noticed some of the children’s shoes are getting a little snug. We will be letting the families know if your child is growing out of their indoor shoes. It is appreciated if you could replace your child’s shoes with either Velcro or slip on style. This will help your child become more independent in putting their own shoes on, which in turn helps them with kindergarten readiness.

February 13th - Valentine’s Party for the Monday/Wednesday classes

February 14th - Valentine’s Party for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

February 15th - Wear red for the Monday/Wednesday classes

February 16th - Wear red for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

February 20th - No school because of the Family Day holiday

February 21st - No school because of the Family Day holiday

February 22nd - No school because of the winter break

February 23rd - No school because of the winter break

February 27th - Pink shirt day for the Monday/Wednesday classes

February 28th - Pink shirt day for the Tuesday/Thursday classes

February 28th - Mrs. Marg visits from the Carstairs Public Library

Table Time

This month the three year old's will be starting to work on holding our pencils correctly in order to start the first section of the Handwriting Without Tears program. This involves tracing straight lines and following directions. We will be working on Mat Man, little legs, chicken legs, duck legs, as well as the plus sign. This is a fun way to learn vertical lines!

This month the four year old's will be working on letters T, I , U, C, O, Q, and we will reserve one day to practice our Mat Man activity. Practicing these letters will help the children learn to use correct top-to-bottom, left-to-right directionality for letters, while holding a crayon with proper pencil grip and using their helper hand to help stabilize objects and paper.

January News

November News

Themes:

Dinosaurs
Five Senses
Space

Table Time

The four year old's will be using the Handwriting Without Tears Program and will be working on the number 4-9 this month.  The activities used in this program allow for many skills to start developing. They learn to use correct top-to-bottom, left-to-right directionality for numbers.  At the same time, we work on holding a crayon with proper grip to write, and using our helping hand to stabilize objects and paper.   We encouraged them to use the same hand they started the task with, and use that hand consistently to hold their crayons.  We will also be introducing the children to the ABC’s, and be doing an activity involving practicing writing their names.

The three year old's will be working on the colors pink, brown, gray, and black.  Next, we will start learning our shapes, the first one being a square.  The three year old's also start participating in activities that allow them to practice their fine motor skills.  They will be introduced to crayons, tweezers, tongs, and clothes pins that are vital to helping them develop the muscles needed to begin their pre-printing activities.

Scrapbooks

I have crafts planned for each day your child attends playschool.  Some of these crafts however will not be going home with your child.  This is because I save several crafts over the year and put them into a scrapbook that your child will be bringing home on the last day of class in June.  I love putting these mementos together, and watching the children flip through their scrapbooks is so heart-melting for me!!

Thank you!

Carstairs Playschool wants to send out a HUGE thank you to the Constable Walkey for visiting all four playschool school classes! The child loved every minute of it! It is so wonderful to live in such a wonderful, caring community!
(More pictures on our FB page)

November 9 - No school
November 10 - No school
November 15 - Miss Marg from the Carstairs Public Library visits
November 15 - Growing Smiles Winter Fundraiser order due - 12pm
November 15 - Carstairs Playschool Board Meeting 7pm
November 23 - Hat Day for the Monday/Wednesday classes
November 24 - Hat Day for the Tuesday/Thursday classes
December 2 - Growing Smiles Winter Fundraiser Delivery

Meet our staff continued

This month our feature employee is Ms. Michelle Johnson!

Ms. Johnson joined our team as the Teachers Assistant October 22, 2018. She was born and raised in Carstairs and currently lives just outside of our town with her partner and two children. She enjoys camping and reading when she is not busy being a mom.

Ms. Johnson successfully completed Level 1 Early Learning Educator in March of 2019. Ms. Johnson continues to work on professional development.

Michelle is very creative and is often the person who designs our Dramatic Play centers, brainstorms new crafts and creates decorations for the party themes. Michelle’s warm personality and kind smile make her a wonderful addition to our facility.

Scholastic

Families are always welcome to order books online from Scholastic. Each month our Scholastic volunteer will send home flyers. These flyers can also be found online, but you will need our Class Code to order. This information will be include in our newsletter and on our FB page.

Current Flyer
Class Code: RC183593

Parent Volunteers
Parents are now welcome to volunteer in their child's class. The sign up sheet can be found on our website, under resources. We do ask that you do not bring siblings along with you when you volunteer.

Volunteer Schedule

Growing Smiles Winter Fundraiser
Tis the season for planning those Christmas decorations and gifts. Carstairs Playschool has opened a Winter Fundraiser with Growing Smiles. They have huge poinsettias, wreaths and lovely decorations.
This fundraiser closes November 15 at 12, noon. Delivery is expected December 2nd.

Growing Smiles Fundraiser

Donations
Thank you to everyone who has donated to the playschool. We truly appreciate it! This month we are looking for marbles and small clay pots.

Winter Dress
This time is difficult to know how to dress your child, with the rapidly changing weather! We ask that you please dress your child warm and in layers. We keep the playschool area rather warm, but do venture out for walks and to play. Those extra layers and mittens are often needed. We also ask that you send mittens rather than fingered gloves. If can be quite time consuming for staff to try to get many, many, many fingers into those gloves. Mittens are muchly appreciated!