After a much deserved Christmas break, we returned to school on January 5, 2009. Both our 3 year olds and 4 year olds began the New Year with our “Signs of Winter” unit. The children learned about the coldest season by looking at the changes that take place indoors and outdoors during the winter. We focused on winter weather, winter sports, winter clothing and animals that hibernate or migrate in the winter. We also learned about bears, groundhogs and shadows.

Our 3 year olds had a visit from the Audubon Society with a presentation of The Mitten by Jan Brett. We wore our favorite hats to school one day, brought our teddy bears to school for a picnic, and went on a bear hunt. We explored sensory boxes with hidden treasure and matched and sorted mittens. We learned some new directional words through a penguin game, worked with opposites, “ice skated” to classical music and danced with streamers. January was a fun month for our 3’s.

Our 4 year olds learned about the traditions and meanings behind the Chinese New Year. We used a variety of media to teach this unit including ink drawings, stories, music and a special movie. We tried eating white rice with chopsticks (messy) and had a small parade upstairs in the Parish Hall. Our bears came to school one day and joined us at Circle Time to help us count, sort, graph, sing, exercise and watch a movie. They sure helped to warm up a traditionally cold month.

Registrations are in full swing. Deposits for next September are beginning to come in. We would like to add a 2 day 3 year old class to our morning session for next year. We will be taking names of 3 year olds to fill this class. Children have to be 3 by September 1, 2009 to qualify. Call us @ 295-7320 to schedule a visit and pick up an application.

God Bless,

Linda Taraborelli, Director