March 2004

SPRING, SPRING SPRING.......IT'S COMING !!!!!!!!!!

	We are hoping that we have seen the last of the snow. We will be sending slippers and snow gear home the week of March 22^nd, It's time to check your child's extra clothes box and replace clothing as needed. The children have grown and the fall clothes probably won't fit. We will be outside on a daily basis and ask you to dress your child appropriately. Proper shoes are very important for the safety of the children. Gym shoes are the best.

ST PATRICK'S DAY NEWS...
We will have our St. Patrick's Day parties on Wednesday, March 17^th.



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


The Village of Skokie Health Department has rescheduled our Vision and Hearing Screening for Tuesday, March 2^nd.



		Living With Shapes Exploring shapes together will help prepare your little one for future math lessons. Cut a sandwich into triangles or squares, or give your child round crackers for a snack. Tell them the name of the shape and ask them to find each one. Discuss shapes that you see everyday. What shape is the ball? How about the roof on a house? See how many shapes you see as you travel down the street. What shape is the back part of a truck? How many tires on a car? All fun things and great learning opportunities.

REMINDER:
We will be closed on Friday, April 9, 2004

March Birthday List

Miss Michelle March 1^thEric K. March 3^rdMiss Lori March 8^thAlex D. March 10^thKevin C. March 10^thSantiago G. March 17^thMakenzie F. March 23^rdCasey D. March 23^rdFrankie T. March 23^rd
^{HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!!!}

Children between two and three can**...

	•	understand the concept of "one"
	•	count on two hands
	•	show that they are aware of groups of more than two items
	•	group things together by size
	•	be able to tell whether things are "big" or "little"
	•	name circles and squares

** from Year 'Round Activities for Two Year Old Children by Anthony Coletta and Kethleen Coletta (center for Applied Research in Education)

WHAT'S HAPPENING...

Our Teddy Bears, the two's ...
are still talking about different shapes.
The week of Valentine's Day we talked about hearts.
The children water painted them and we hung them in the room.
Check out all of our shapes around the room.

The Bunny Bunch, the threes ...
during Ocean Week made jellyfish with real gel inside.
We also used colored sand to decorate starfish.
The children enjoyed decorating the room with ocean creatures
and exploring shells, starfish, whales and dolphins in our sand/water table.

Our 4's, our Junior Kindergarten ...
during Dental Health Month, soaked a boiled egg in soda pop.
We were able to show our children that teeth as well as eggs can turn brown.
The children enjoyed trying to brush the egg with a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Our 5's, our Kindergartener's...
for a week in February learned about some of the duties that
the President of the United States is responsible for.
After discussing these responsibilities, the five's completed the sentence:
"If I were President, I would... The children came up with some great answers
and we all had fun using our imaginations.
During Dental Health week we made tooth fairy pillows.
We cut tooth shapes out of white felt and we used polyester fill to stuff them.
Next, we glued felt hearts on the front to serve as a pocket
where the tooth fairy can find the tooth once it falls out.

You can now print our Registration Form.