Welcome! A Report from Our President
Hi there! What a beautiful and warm September. My family is spending sunny weekends enjoying trips to playgrounds, waterparks and bike trails. I love all the brown, red, and yellow leaves that are falling. Of course, I join my kids crushing leaves as we walk, run, stroll or bike to school.
I hope your Queens Park Preschool (QPP) experience is good so far. Students and parents in the four year old classes have settled back in. The three year old’s have completed their gradual entry and are now attending full-time two days a week. And a little feedback from my son – he loves his teachers, the sandbox and the water-tube-plaything.
The freshness of the school has not yet worn off and some of you may still have some questions regarding your jobs, duty days, class activities, meetings and other preschool matters. Please do not hesitate to ask for help and information. The preschool website, www.qpps.ca, has been refreshed, and provides updated information on our school. Even though you may not know us all yet, the Executive members are more than happy to help you out. And of course, your class reps and your teachers are a wealth of QPP knowledge.
I sincerely welcome everyone to the Queens Park Preschool school term 2012-2013. We work as a team to provide an excellent preschool experience for our children. And as we work side by side, do not be surprised if you also pick up a few dear friends. After all, what cements a friendship better than cleaning sinks, cutting up carrots and wiping paint off the floor?
Here’s to a great start!
– Moira
3-Year Old Class Information
Our first month has already gone by! The children have enjoyed exploring the different areas of the room and they are learning the routine. The duty children have also begun helping with their special jobs of spinning the Weather Wheel, ringing the “Clean-up “ instrument, and picking a song from the songbook.
We have noticed that the children seem very interested in painting and in mixing. For the next few weeks we plan to explore this interest and paint with various tools and on different types of paper, wood, cardboard and natural objects (leaves, sticks, rocks). Please watch around the room for the children’s creations and pictures of this process.
Since the children have been so busy mixing “yummy food”, in the house area, we have decided to have make Friendship Vegetable Soup together on Thursday, October 18. We will be sending a note home closer to the date asking you to send a specific cut-up vegetable with your child to preschool. We will also be having a sign-up at the General Meeting for parents to bring bread/crackers and cheese. If possible please join us on that day for a yummy soup snack (Siblings/other special people are welcome too!) We will begin our snack time about 30 minutes before the end of class.
Each month we will learn some new songs. One of the songs that we will be learning is “Five Little Leaves”.
To help you sing along, here are the words:
Five little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing around a tree one day,
When the wind came blowing through that town
(Children Blow “whoo”)
One little leaf came tumbling down!
Four little leaves….three little leaves…..two little leaves…..one little leaf……
On Tuesday, October 30 we will have a Halloween Dress-up Day and Costume Parade. Your child can dress up in a costume if he/she wishes, anything from a funny hat to a whole costume (please no swords/guns). Please try to send you child in something that is not too hot for playing in. We will also have a costume parade and a special snack that day.
We hope that you have a wonderful month……Happy Thanksgiving!
Things to Remember:
- Please bring in your “All About Me” page
- Please bring in your comfy kits (earthquake kits)
- If your child is sick or going to be away, please let us know.
- As the weather changes, please make sure that your child has rain gear to wear outside.
Recycled/Natural Items to Collect This Month:
- Leaves/Larger Branches
- Buttons
4-Year Old Class Information
The month of October has two special holidays – Thanksgiving and Halloween! Many learning experiences have been planned to promote the awareness of colors that are associated with this time of year, as well as symbols that represent Thanksgiving and Halloween such as turkeys, pumpkins, bats and witches.
Some of the activities planned include:
- Discussing Halloween safety procedures, especially trick-or-treating
- Trying on a variety of costumes in the dramatic play area
- Making vegetable soup and having it for snack
- Roasting pumpkin seeds
We will be having a Halloween Party, Wednesday, October 31. You are welcome to send your child to school in a costume that day if he/she wishes. The costume can be simple. A funny hat, a pair of silly glasses or a whole costume would all be fine. Just remember that we will be active that day and that costumes may get dirty. Your teachers will be sending home an information sheet about that day soon.
To get into the spirit of Halloween, and to help your child develop language skills, practice the following Halloween rhyme at home:
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, “It’s getting late.”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air.”
The third one said, “But we don’t care.”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run. Let’s run.”
The fifth one said, “Isn’t Halloween Fun.”
“Wooooooooo,” went the wind,
And out went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.
For some October science fun, we will be making vegetable soup, what better way to learn about what happens when vegetables are cooked? We also will be roasting pumpkin seeds. Children will be washing and drying pumpkins seeds, spreading them on a cooking pan and cooking them at 350 degrees until brown. After they are salted and cooled, we will eat them for a snack. And for some extra fun with pumpkin seeds? We will be planting them too! The children will plant them in small paper cups and observe their growth. Teacher Jessica will also be bringing in a pumpkin vine from her garden.
Things to Remember:
- Saturday, October 27th is Special Person Day from 10 am -1 pm. More information to come!
- If your child is sick or going to be away, please let us know.
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