February 2005

OFFICIAL GROUNDHOG NEWS
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow at the
119th annual Groundhog Day celebration in
Pennsylvania, 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.
Remember: Valentine's Day breaks the heart of winter!

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 11^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 2005 on February 26^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.

FEBRUARY IS DENTAL HEALTH MONTH!

*How do you keep your teeth healthy?*

1.	Brush your teeth at least twice a day.
2.	Limit sugary foods and drink.
3.	Eat crunchy foods such as raw carrots, apples and celery. These foods help scale tartar from teeth.
4.	Eat calcium rich foods such as cheese, milk, and dark green vegetables. Calcium builds strong bones and teeth.
	February TLC

	February Birthday List George S. February 2^ndChuma O. February 9^th Lexi C. February 16^th Sean L. February 22^nd^{HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!}

WHAT'S HAPPENING...

Our Teddy Bears, the two's ... One math activity that the children had a blast with was during "Discovering Week", each child was weighed and measured. Each child's information was recorded on their snow friend and displayed. The children love to come to school each day and find their picture on the board. Our picture puppets were created using actual teachings of the children's hands and feet. One activity combined art and science elements. First the children created colorful finger, hand and footprints. After they dried, we examined the uniqueness of each child's set of prints. During "Color Week" we made many pictures using different colors.





The Bunny Bunch, the threes ... during "Winter Week" talked about animals that live in the artic. We made penguins to hang in our class room. We also built our very own paper snowmen and decorated mittens. We also made a mouthful of teeth and painted our own tooth during Dental Health Week.



Our 4's, our Junior Kindergarten ... enjoyed our monthly Science project. This month we grew crystals- Using jars, Q-Tips, clay and a special crystal solution made these beautiful treasures. The Junior Kindergarten also made clever snowmen as well as a snowperson on our playground.



Our 5's, our Kindergartener's... say," Welcome Back" and "Happy New Year." We read together a poem about our five senses. When we talked about Dental Health, the children were to color a toothbrush picture the same color as their toothbrush at home. We then graphed the different colors. Each child was given a yellow tooth cutout. The children brushed the tooth with toothbrushes and "tooth paste." We talked about many animals during "Polar Animals Week". We made these great penguins.



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