Some news...

Dear Families,

I wanted to let you know about some exciting news for my family.  As you may know my husband and I have a 3 year old little boy named Oliver.  Our family is growing and we are having another little boy.  Our baby is due in March.  The plans are for me to work as close to my due date as possible and stay home with the baby for 8 weeks.  I plan on being back at school for most of the month of May.  We already have a substitute teacher lined up.  Her name is Holly Brock. She worked as my substitute when I had my first child.

Ms. Holly will get to know the students well before my maternity leave because she will be subbing for Ms. Janie beginning Friday.  Ms. Lynda Higgins has been working in Janie's place since the beginning of the school year and we are sad to see her move on.  She has been such an asset to our class.

Ms. Janie is doing well.  She has received great news at her last appointments and we anticipate her to continue to heal well and join us in the near future. 

Ms. Sandy continues to be in our class. She is our student teacher from the University of Cincinnati.  She will be with us until December 1st.  She has also been a huge asset and the students have really benefited from having her as a teacher.

Any questions please never hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Gretchen

Halloween Party

Halloween Party

You are invited to join us on October 30th or 31^st from 1-2 p.m. for our Halloween Party. 

We will have a special group time, craft activity and trick or treat in our classroom.

No costumes allowed but of course Halloween themed clothing is great.

You may also bring in or send in an item for the children to collect trick or treating.  No peanut or nut products please. Besides candy you can send in items such as pencils, erasers, stickers, rings etc… 

We have 9 students in our Tues/Thurs class and 7 in our Wed/Fri class.

Preschool News

We've been busy.  These last couple weeks we've transitioned to a fall leaf theme.  We have taken nature walks around our school to collect leaves.  We've played with corn in our sensory table.  We've explored the fall colors of brown, red, green, yellow and orange.  We've read many fall stories and talked about season changes.  We are practicing putting on our own jackets and zipping all by ourselves.  Our dramatic play center has been busy since we've added baby dolls and dress up clothing.  Next week it'll become a pumpkin farm!  We've completed many craft projects.  One that we sent home already was the corn letters.  Each child explored the first letter of their name in a new way by gluing corn kernels on paper.  Teaching literacy with the young child can be done in so many fun ways such as the corn tactile letters but also by making letters out of play dough or practicing letters in finger paint.  There are many stages of literacy development.  Some children are still scribbling which is a completely normal developmental stage.  The key in literacy development is to celebrate each stage.  Look for a handout soon in the take home folders with the stages of literacy development. 

Our fall celebration will happen on October 30 and 31st from 1-2 p.m.  You are invited to join us for a special snack, group time and a little trick or treating.  Due to allergies in the class please wait until I send home a list of safe treats to bring in or send in with your child.  More info about the parties will be coming soon. 

Any questions please never hesitate to call, email or write me a note.  I am very much looking forward to this school year.  Both our classes are full of fantastic students who are creating great friendships. 

Here are some photos of our fun finger painting sensory experience from this week.