February 2004

		OFFICIAL GROUNDHOG NEWS Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow at the 118th annual Groundhog Day celebration in Pennsylvania today, February 2^nd. Looks like we will have six more weeks of winter ... no surprise there!!! The good news is it will go fast and the warm weather will return.


	You've got six more weeks of boots, hats, mittens, scarves and snow pants. DON'T FORGET!

VALENTINE'S NEWS...
We will have our Valentine parties on Friday, February 13^th. Your child's teacher will be sending home specific information for your classroom. If you want to get started early, we ask for a valentine card for each child in his/her classroom. PLEASE do not put names on the envelope. You or your child can sign the back.



			The teachers and I will be attending Insights 2004 on February 28^th. Insights is a conference sponsored by the Illinois Childcare Association. We will be attending workshops during the day as part of our in-service training.


The Village of Skokie Health Department will conduct a vision and hearing screening for our children on Tuesday, February 10th. Please return the forms to your child's teacher. This is for children three and above.


ALWAYS MAKE TIME, minutes of time, minutes of love, Keep showing me that you love me, If I learn love, It will be a priceless gift. Play with me. Nothing says love like a little one-on-one time. Listen to me Laugh with me Appreciate me Show me that mistakes are okay, Hug me. Hugging only takes a minute, but the print of the hug on my heart lasts forever.



	February Birthday List George S. February 6^thMaxwell K. February 21^st ^{HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!}


Concentration tips...
Q: How can I help my son concentrate better? He has a difficult time paying attention for more than a minute or two. A: Keep in mind that the typical focus time for a four-or five-year-old is about five minutes. But you can improve your son's level of concentration by increasing his awareness, ask him to take notice of something inside or outside your home. Choose something you know is about to change, such as a plant that will soon flower. Point out the object each day, and ask your child to tell you when he notices that it has changed. To strengthen your youngster's auditory awareness, have him listen to a sound that you make while he isn't looking at you. Ideas: crumbling a piece of paper, banging a pot lid, saying the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. See if he can name the sound or guess the source of the sound you are making


WHAT'S HAPPENING...

Our Teddy Bears, the two's ... had so many wonderful things happening in their room that they needed their own picture gallery.
To see more of our beautiful artwork click here.

The Bunny Bunch, the threes ... had so many great things happening in their room that it needed an extra page.
To see more of what's happening in our room, click here.

Our 4's, our Junior Kindergarten ... are learning to tell time and rhyme. Love is...making a special Valentine for the one I love. We do a whole lot of math, here we are using shapes on our lighted board, counting with links, playing with shapes and putting together puzzles.
To see our crystal gardens click here!

Our 5's, our Kindergartener's... in the month of January, learned about penguins. For art, we made penguins by tracing the outline of our shoes, then we added eyes and a beak and finally colored in our penguins with black marker.
To see more of what's happening click here.

You can now print our Registration Form.