Holidays are fast approaching and we are getting very excited with a ton of wintery/holiday activities planned. One of the signature events for the year are the Christmas parties that each class will get to enjoy. This year at all the Preschool Christmas Parties, the preschool will be collecting non-perishable food items that will be donated to the local food bank. Please take a minute to bring something down to help the families in our community.
Parent Education News
The parent education topic for this month is “outdoor play”. There will not be a guest speaker attending the general meeting, but instead we will be reading and discussing an article in small groups. The article “When every day is a field trip day” by Catherine McClean (p. 98-102, May 2013 edition, Today’s Parent magazine) was e-mailed to members a few weeks ago and there are also a few paper copies available in the parent education folder at preschool. Please read the article before the meeting so that you come prepared to participate in the discussion. The parent education portion of our meeting will be shorter than usual, recognizing this time spent at home.
You are also encouraged to visit the blog “My Nearest and Dearest” (http://mynearestanddearest.com) which complements the topic and has lots of great ideas for play-based activities outdoors.
As you read the article, keep in mind the following questions and points that will guide our discussions:
• Why are some people apprehensive about outdoor play, especially when it is not at a playground or sports field? What are some of the barriers that exist to outdoor play for our children and us?
• Tips for overcoming those barriers and enjoying outdoor play (for children and adults).
• Share a story about how an outdoor experience has positively affected your life or the life of a child you know.
Coming Up In January
Shannon Morgenstern from the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster will be joining us to talk about naturopathic medicine & children’s health at the January 7 General Meeting. There are a limited number of tickets that will be sold for this presentation to people outside the Queens Park Membership. Tickets are $10 each and can be arranged through Tasha. Please invite other parents in your network who might benefit from a night of learning.
If you have any questions about parent education, please contact Tasha at 604-526-5527 or tashamurray@outlook.com.
Fundraising Update
Wow – where did that first half of the year go? Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far this year in raising over $4,000 towards our annual fundraising efforts. There will be more to come in the new year, but here is what is happening before Christmas:
A common theme of these updates is the deadline – Tuesday, December 3rd. Also, one thing to mention, we will be collecting old clothes for our Big Brothers Clothing Drive at the next meeting. But since it is getting a bit colder, if you have any warm coats buried in your clothing drop off, please feel free to separate them out. Mona Boucher will collect them on Tuesday night and deliver them to the Lookout Society to help keep those in need warm this upcoming winter.
1. Western Direct Orders are on the way! Key Date: Tuesday, December 3rd – for those who participated, delivery is expected the day of the December monthly meeting. We should have everything sorted out and ready for pickup around 6:30 or so, so
expect to pick up your order before the meeting starts at 7pm. I’d suggest bringing a cooler if you can since the items are delivered frozen.
2. Monthly Gift Cards – Key Date: Tuesday, December 3rd – these are due the evening of the December general meeting, and we promise to turn these orders around in plenty of time for Christmas delivery. One pleasant surprise for Garth last month was ordering the $25 Old Spaghetti Factory gift card, and getting the $10 bonus card for spending between January 1 and March 15 (1 bonus card per table). This bonus will be in effect for Christmas orders as well, so order up!
3. Meat Pies – Key Date: Tuesday, December 3rd – for those of you still reading, well, you get the idea – delivery at the general meeting.
4. Big Brothers Clothing Drive – Key Date: Tuesday December 3rd – hoarding those used clothes for a couple of months now. Please drop off your old clothes at next month’s general meeting, and we’ll get them delivered.
5. Holiday Gift-Giving Guide – You should have received this earlier in the month, the Holiday Gift-Giving Guide lists a number of mostly local businesses that have agreed to donate a portion of proceeds back to the preschool – Raspberry Kids, Barefoot Books, Beesafe Solutions, Shaklee, Jeunesse Global, Mabel’s Labels. Some of these have upcoming deadlines. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email Garth (garth.r.graham@gmail.com)
We’re switching our dates up in the new year for Gift Cards and Meat Pies for a couple of reasons – to space things out a bit after the Christmas period, but more importantly, and to align ordering and delivery with our normal monthly cheque-issuing schedule and monthly meeting schedule. This should hopefully work well for everyone. So, beginning in January:
i. Meat Pies – we’re planning 3 Meat Pie orders in the new year, with orders due in Elizabeth Cavanagh’s box the third Friday of January, March, and May (Jan. 24, Mar 21, and May 23) with delivery at the following general meeting.
ii. Gift Cards – Gift Cards orders will be due in Annie Graham’s box on the middle Friday of every month, beginning in January. This will give us a week to get cheques deposited, a cheque issued to the vendor, and gift cards picked up for delivery at the following meeting, beginning in February. So, key order due dates are: January 17, February 14, March 14, April 18, and May 16.
We awarded $179 to our first monthly Hockey Pool winners in October: Bill Hunter pulled down $72 for first place, and Kyle Beattie and Val Son split $90 after tying for 2nd place. Matt Worfolk brought in $18 for finishing in last place. And each month is a brand new month, so there is hope for those of us who can’t seem to climb above 100th place or so.
Any thoughts, questions, or concerns? Feel free to contact to me at garth.r.graham@gmail.com.
Social over the Holidays
A special thank you to all the families who have been taking advantage of our social planning to grow our preschool community – we’ve been having fun! This month we are getting in the festive spirit with our preschool social activity.
A Heritage Christmas At the Burnaby Village Museum
Sunday, December 22
5-7pm
Beautiful light displays, carolers and elves roaming around. What a great way to spend some time with the family. So come out and enjoy some hot coca and treats while mingling with other families from your preschool.
Meet up at the Gazebo in the center of the village for an activity card and a special treat when you arrive.
Free Admission to all. Hope to see you there.
3-Year Old Class Information
During the past few weeks the children have shown a big interest in creating animal homes out of sticks and boxes and setting up forests for the animals. Many children worked at creating beaver dams and bear dens……and there was great excitement when some children built a “scout approved” pretend campfire! To expand on this interest, we introduced the story “Corduroy” and “The Three Bears” in book form as well as on a story cd. The children have enjoyed retelling the story using various props. Many of the children have also been intrigued by the “Marble Wall”, and have spent much time climbing a ladder or stool, in order to put marbles down a tube. There has been lots of turn taking and cooperative play here!
We have sung many new songs this month, but one of our favourites has been the “Grizzly Bear” song. We sing it either with a bear puppet, or one (or two or three) children hiding under a blanket. Here are the words:
GRIZZLY BEAR
Grizzly Bear oh Grizzly Bear is sleeping in his cave,
Grizzly Bear oh Grizzly Bear is sleeping in his cave.
Please be very quiet,
Very, very, quiet.
Do not wake him,
Do not shake him,
He will be so mad……GRRRRRR!
During December we will continue to expand on the interest in marble runs. We have planned to add wooden ramps so that the children can use their engineering skills to create longer marble runs as well as try out the differences between ping pong balls, marbles and maybe even pom poms.
We also have noticed that the children really enjoy bears(and other animal friends) and setting up a forest area, so we will have a “Teddy Bear/Stuffy Day” on Thursday, December 5. Please have your child bring a teddy bear or another favourite stuffy on that day. As it is getting closer to that merry time of year we are looking forward to doing a few festive activities such as:
• Cookie baking and decorating (because the children still enjoy mixing!)
• Jingle bell songs and reindeer games
• Applesauce and cinnamon ornaments
• Using LOTS of glitter!
On December 19 regular class. The party times will be:
10am –11am – for the 3am class
1pm – 2pm – for the 3pm class
Parents/grandparents are asked to stay throughout the party (as there will be no official duty parents that day) and have fun with the children making we will have our Christmas Party instead of a some Christmas crafts, enjoying some goodies and then singing some carols at the end. Siblings are more than welcome! A sign up sheet for goodies will go around at the general meeting.
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday time with your families…..Merry Christmas!
Your Teachers,
Teacher Barb and Teacher Eleanor
Recycled/Natural Items Needed:
• We will need Evergreen boughs for a special activity we are doing at the Christmas Party. If you have any to spare, could you please bring them in on Tuesday, December 17.
• We will be collecting small glass jars (no lids needed) approx. 250-300ml sized
Things to Remember:
• Please bring a teddy bear or another stuffed animal to preschool on Thursday, December 5 for “Teddy Bear/Stuffy Day”
• 3’s class Preschool Party is on December 19 ……the am class from 10-11 and the pm class from 1-2.
• Dress appropriately for the weather, as we try to go outside each day. Please send along mitts and hats too.
• Preschool is closed from December 21, 2013 – January 5, 2014 and will re-open on Monday, January 6 2014. Our first day of 3 year old classes will be Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
4-Year Old Class Information
“Arrrr! Ahoy there, Landlubbers!” (Editor’s Note: If your pirate done be of the Southern persuasion, you go on ahead and add a “y’all” to that there piratin’ expression 😉 (Newsletter Editor’s Note: Very funny Teacher Jenny – I guess I have to work on my pirate accent!)
Ah yes, we had a bit too much fun exploring pirates this month! Melinda Long’s book “How I Became a Pirate” taught us to “speak pirate perfectly” and lead the way to map making, plank walking, and other shenanigans. We made jolly rogers (skull and cross bones flags), eye patches and captain hats, and, of course, dug for treasure! All things found in the sandbox are free to go home with your children, just in case you were wondering.
The children had also been acting out ballroom dances, and found sleeping around the room in princess attire, so naturally we moved from talking about pirates to castles and fairytales. We read stories about bold knights, princes, and princesses and not so brave dragons. We transformed the room into a castle of our own with plenty of drapery, “stained glass” windows and special items brought in by a family. The three of them visited the classes dressed in period clothing, giving us all a chance to ask some questions and listen to some interesting facts from medieval times. If you want to know why a pair of pants is called a “pair of pants” when there is only one article of clothing before you, ask your three or four year old, they may be able to tell you!
Our nature walk happened on possibly the coldest and wettest day of the month, and yet, off we went without a single look back. We brought paint swatches with us to play a matching game. Wandering around, we tried to find pieces of nature to compare with the various shades of greens and browns we’d brought along. As one child noted, leaves are much shiner when they’re wet!
In December we’ll try to bring the best of the season into the classroom and give the children time to delve into some of the sights, smells and sounds they will be seeing around town as we near the Winter Break. Christmas is coming and there is much to be done!
Upcoming events:
Firehall Field trip!
4am- December 4
4pm- December 11
*please read all the information on the notice in your preschool mailbox and return your permission forms asap (if you haven’t done so already)!
Come Celebrate Christmas at Preschool! Everyone is welcome to come for an hour long Christmas Party on December 20! There will be lots of fun crafts to do and we’ll sing some carols together. Please bring a snack to share. We will pass around a sign up sheet for food items at the General Meeting.
Class times on December 20 will be:
4am- 10am-11am
4pm- 1pm-2pm
Moment of the Month:
Teacher Jessica is sitting at a restaurant with her son when a girl from the preschool walks in. She marches right up to Jessica’s table and asks: “Where’s Teacher Jenny?”
And, an encouraging video, just for fun: I Feel I Can Do Anything After Watching This Video
The preschool closes for the Winter Break on December 20 and resume January 6. Have a warm and cozy holiday!
Your Teachers,
Jenny and Jessica
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