"This is a book about capturing the precious moments of parenting that otherwise are lost in the name of efficiency. It will guide you in taking the mundane, exhausting routines of parenthood and turning them into special parenting events. It’s all about redefining 'quality time.'"

Join us on February 18, 2013 to discuss the book No Regrets Parenting by Harley A. Rothbart.  (Time and location TBD)

We would like to thank all of the parents for making our Thanksgiving feast a big success! A special thanks to Tracey W., Molly R., Olga H., Rachel L., and Jay O. for helping set up and for serving food to the children at the feast. The children shared many things that they are thankful for and we are truly grateful that you share your amazing children with us!

A field trip has been scheduled to the Regency Retirement Center in December. We will post a sign-up sheet for cookie dough and pieces of fruit to be brought in for the field trip. During the visit, the children will share cookies and fruit, play bingo with the residents, and sing holiday songs. Priya K. has graciously volunteered to sing a solo (Away in a Manger) for the residents.

The elementary class will lead a can food drive to collect nonperishable goods for CASA of Madison County (Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound). We will also collect warm clothes and blankets for a local shelter. Children are so very compassionate. Giving to others is such a wonderful experience for them. (They are still talking about raising enough for the UNICEF school-in-a-box!) Please look for donation boxes in the lobby.

Alexander Martial Arts will make a 30 minute presentation to the elementary classroom and we would like to invite the kindergarten classes to the presentation. An integral part of the martial arts program is to teach students the importance of confidence, respect, focus, self discipline, self control, and self esteem. All of these elements are essential for the student’s growth as well.
WE WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!

Welcome December! It's hard to believe but the end of the fall semester is upon us. This month will be full of fun in the Toddler classroom. We will cook latkes to celebrate Hanukkah, make corn necklaces for Kwanzaa and have our annual holiday book exchange on Friday, December 21st. If your child does not normally attend on Friday, they are welcome to come that day from 9am-11:30am to join the festivities. If they do usually attend on Friday then they will follow their regular school schedule. For the book exchange please bring one new book (costing no more than $10) gift wrapped. This is always a fun activity and the children love it. We will also be having a holiday sing-a-long on this day with Ms. Kathy; we will be recording this and emailing you the video.
Our children have truly blossomed during these past few months. It has been wonderful to watch them grow and learn since August. Thank you all so much for all of the help you have given to us and our classroom. We could not do what we do without amazing parents like you.

In November, the children enjoyed learning about leaves, why they change colors and why they fall. They also learned seasonal poems and worked on related art activities. Our Thanksgiving Feast went smoothly with help from all the parents. Thanks to everyone from other classes for sharing their delicious food with us. Also, thanks to all the parents who provided food and things for our feast. Special thanks to Bonita and Sarah for their help with our cooking class! We really appreciate your help. Thanks to Vanessa for helping with cleaning up after the Feast. Big thanks to parents for buying classroom materials fromFor Small Hands! We are very thankful for our wonderful parents.
December is a very short month. Along with Reading, Math, Geography, and Science, we will learn about holidays from around the world! So far we are celebrating a festival from India, Christmas in Poland, Hanukah, Eid from Pakistan, Christmas in Germany and Christmas in USA. We always have fun celebrating different holidays and learn a lot about different cultures, food, and clothing. We will also have holiday music program with Ms. Kathy on December 21st at 10:00 AM in our class along with Ms. Agnes’ class. Parents are welcome for this event. We all wish you happy and peaceful holidays and a wonderful New Year!

Thank you to all the parents for making the Thanksgiving Feast really grand and so much fun.  All the kids enjoyed the feast and activities. We enjoyed guessing and then counting the seeds out of the pumpkin, too. We celebrated and learned about Diwali, the festival of lights. Some children wore their traditional Indian clothes, and all the kids loved it. Thank you very much for Asha and Avi’s mom, Aruna, for sharing their Diwali experiences and food with us. We would also like to thank all the parents for the For Small Hands gifts that were purchased for our classroom. They are really useful. This month, we also learned about leaves and pumpkins.

In December, we will learn about Holidays and Culture around the World. Some parents are interested in giving presentations about how they celebrate their holidays and culture. The presentation schedule will be shared as soon we finalize it. More parents are welcome if they are interested in sharing their family traditions with our class. We will have our holiday music program on December 21 at 9:00 am in our classroom. We would like all our parents to join us for it at 8:45 am. On the same day we will have our book exchange. Please send one wrapped book with your child to exchange. We are planning to do some holiday cooking, too.

Have a Happy Holiday!!!