C
olor(s)
: Gold & Silver
Concept:Transportation
Shape: Heart
Letter(s): N,O,P
Number(s):
Ages(1-2): 6
Ages (3-4): 11,12
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February 2nd
Happy Groundhog Day.
February 2nd
3:30-7:30pm. Early Dismissal at 2pm
February 10th
6:00-11:00pm.
February 14th
Valentine's Day Pajama Breakfast.
February 19th
February 20-23th
Midwinter Recess
Pre-K Closed.
Daycare is OPEN.
February 27th
Transportation Parade.
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A Message from Dee Wagner - Education Director
We welcome you to the month of February at CTK Pre-school / Daycare. February is a month packed with fun and learning. We begin February with Groundhogs' Day on Friday, February 2nd. The children will find out if their predictions come true. Will Staten Island "Chuck" see his shadow or not? And more importantly, will we feel warm Spring weather sooner than later?
We will have a Valentines Party and Dance on Saturday Feb. 10th from 6:00pm-11:00pm. Why not show your children how much they are loved and appreciated by signing them up for a night filled with fun, games, music, dancing , sweets and treats? This is also an opportunity for a well deserved night out for YOU TOO!
Next, we will learn about different winter sports. Then, in the middle of the month we "Love" to celebrate Valentines Day with a delicious breakfast and
Pajama Party on
February 14th. We end the week, Friday the 16th, with a Chinese New Year Parade, along with sampling Chinese food, music and culture. We end the month with learning about our Presidents and our creative and exciting Transportation Parade.
Looking back on the month of January , there were so many standout moments, but the best was our Drama Appreciation Day in our Indoor Gym. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for Drama Appreciation pictures and video, where you can see your kids in action. The children also learned about being healthy by making "good" nutrition plates and matching and grouping healthy foods together. Some classes practiced "brushing" big teeth too. The children also got to explore and do many hands on experiments with freezing, melting and making snow. It was truly a busy and fun month of learning!
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- Our Daycare Center is open from 7am - 7pm.
- Please remember to make sure your child's cubby contains weather-appropriate clothing. We also appreciate all of our parents continuing to bring in diapers and a box of wipes twice each month on the 1st and the 15th.
- When calling the facility, please keep in mind that calls should be ideally made between 12-2pm while the children are napping.
- We ask that you do not allow your child(ren) to run ahead of you when entering and leaving the facility, it is a safety issue. Especially when exiting the building, children should never open the security door.
- Strollers that are left in our storage area must be closed.
We thank you for your cooperation with these matters.
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Science with the Bunnies
Science is all about exploring the world that we live in.
During the month of January, the Bunnies did some lessons that focused on Science. Since the month had been cold, we decided to show the children the properties of ice. The Bunnies would help pour water in to ice cube trays and put dye in the water. The next day they would play with the ice and we tried to reinforce words such as "ice" and "cold" and the different colors used. The Bunnies also enjoyed playing with snow! It had been too cold outside for the playground, so we brought in snow from outside in a container. We let the children play with it, while reinforcing vocabulary words such as "snow" and "winter."
Good job Bunnies!
Science with the Lions
In January, the Lions came up with a fun new way to learn all of our colors, numbers, shapes and letters. We introduced the children to a giant cut out penguin and explained what the penguin likes to do; which is play games and eat numbers, colors shapes and letters. The children immediately fell in love with him and named him Waddles. The first game we played was a color game. We spread out all the fish shaped colors and called them one by one to "feed" Waddles a color. As the children came up, Waddles talked to them and sometimes even took a little nip on their fingers. We never had so much fun learning our colors! The children laughed and learned with Waddles, and now it is an everyday routine. The children care so much for Waddles that they tell us things like is it time to feed Waddles or that he's starving and we need to feed him now. They have even gone as far as to tell us to feed Waddles before they have snack...sometimes the littlest things make the biggest impact!
Science with the Dolphins
In the month of January the Dolphins were busy exploring the theme of "Winter" and "Changes." Students were particularly engaged in the Science center during this unit. One topic we discussed over the month was melting and freezing. Students predicted and observed what would happen when salt was added to a block of ice. Students then got to observe how the salt expedited the melting process. We discussed why the ice block melts when it is taken out of the fridge and students were able to share their understanding of the lesson through pictures and writing. Students were also able to observe freezing by making colored ice cube and frozen ice crystals. After learning about the weather patterns of winter, students made their own snow using conditioner and corn starch. It was awesome to compare and contrast the "fake" snow to real snow that we find outside!
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Math with the Kitties
In January, the Kitties had a lot of fun learning about colors and numbers. The Kitties love counting! Everyday during circle time, we do our number flash cards. Not only do we say the numbers on the cards, but we count the objects as well. When transitioning from the Kitties' room to a specialty room, the children love to count one another before we leave and when we arrive. With the number of the month being 5, the Kitties found that their favorite song to sing was "Five Little Ducks." What a great time we have counting!
Math with the Monkeys
5 little hearts, all in a row
The first one said, "I love you so."
The second one said, "Will you be my Valentine?"
The third one said, "I will, if you'll be mine,"
The fourth one said, "I'll always be your friend."
The fifth one said, "Until the very end."
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! The Monkeys are feeling all warm and fuzzy and full of love. We are ready to celebrate Valentine's Day! The month of January came and went so fast, we can hardly believe that February is already here. In January, the Monkeys engaged in many fun math lessons. They worked a lot on the number five. One fun lesson included cheerios, as the Monkeys love eating cheerios. Miss Sara and I put cherries in a bowel then made five circles on a piece of paper, with the numbers 1-5 next to the circles. We split the class into two groups and then worked with each group on putting the right number of cheerios into each circle.
This activity helped the children review all the numbers we have done this year. It educated them on counting and learning how to group things. During the lesson Adam said, "Miss Diane can we make happy faces with the cheerios? Circles are happy faces." I responded and said, "Yes, that's right." After the lesson the entire Monkey class enjoyed eating the cheerios.
Math with the Pandas
In the month of January, the children learned all about Winterand Changes. In the Math Center the children talked about different clothing that someone might wear in the winter time to keep them warm. After reading a book called "Froggy Gets Dressed," the children got to pick a few pictures of their favorite winter gear, like hats, mittens, ear muffs, fuzzy socks, etc. Using those items the children made an ABC - like pattern, alternating clothing. The next day, after making the patterns the children counted how many winter items they wore to school that day.
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Art with the Puppies
In the month of January, the Puppies focused on art.
The Puppies always have fun coloring, painting and making art projects!
They especially enjoy when we cover the tables with paper and let them color all over it with crayons while standing around together. We name the colors as the children get a crayon to build their language skills. Our little artists are also working on a special surprise for Valentine's Day that is sure to melt hearts!
Art with the Turtles
In January the Turtles learned all about changes. We did a lot of exciting ART projects, to help bring real-life changes into our lives and classroom. Early last month, we collected some snow from outside, while wearing our favorite snow gloves, and we collectively made a class snowman. We used real snow, a fake carrot, a scarf made out of paper, buttons, a tiny top hat and water paint. We also had the chance to make our very own ice skates using paper, string and glitter. Ice skating is an exciting winter sport and we were able to be creative and make the kind of skates we would love to wear for when we go skating. We also had a chance to make our own snowmen out of paper. We used shapes, googly eyes and pipe cleaners to make our snowmen.
Later in the month, we made our own weather collage, which displays the changes in the seasons. We used glitter and white paint to represent snow, and pom-poms to represent the different colors of the leaves during the spring and fall. As you can see, the Turtles had a fun and busy month!
Art with the Chipmunks
The Chipmunks love painting and doing art projects using different kinds of
materials. Since we learned about dental hygiene and using dental floss, I
thought it would be cool to paint using the dental floss. On each table we
placed paper plates with different colored paints on them. Into each plate
we placed the strings of dental floss. Each of the children got a piece of art
paper. Then they took turns using each of the different colors with the floss.
They dipped the floss into the paints and placed it onto the art paper. The
children had fun making different designs of rainbow colors. It was so nice
watching them talk to each other about what designs they should make.
When they were finished, they took turns telling all of us what they had
painted. The class enjoyed doing this art activity and it helped them with their socialization and small motor skills as well. It also helped to enhance the use of their imaginations in what designs they wanted to paint.
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Music with the Angels
The Angels really enjoy singing songs throughout the day and sing every chance they can get! Some of the things that the Angels do during Circle Time is to sing about colors, letters and numbers. They have so much fun singing, "One Little Blue Fish" and "The ABC's." The Angels also love to sing, "Hello Friends," and greet their friends and teachers every morning. Singing "Hello Friends" is one of the Angels favorite activities, and they are always eager to start circle time this way.
Music with the Bumblebees
Last month the Bumblebees learned all about Winter. We made snowflakes in the classroom, hot cocoa, and even experimented with real snow after our big storm! What the Bumblebees really seemed to enjoy were the Winter themed songs we learned in the computer room. One of these songs is called, "I'm a little Snowman." During this song, the lyrics help the children count the buttons on the snowman and locate where the snowman's eyes, nose, hat and scarf are. The children then point to where these objects are on themselves. We also sing another song called, "Little Snowflake" where the children do similar actions. It's great to hear some of the children randomly sing the songs throughout the day!
Music with the Bears
Welcome February! During the month of January we explored the theme, 'Changes' throughout all of the centers in the classroom. The students were able to engage in many multisensory activities. During small group, the students explored with the smart board as we discussed about different things that change. The children discussed how our food, clothes, seasons, sports and hibernation. The Bears learned some new songs that aligned with our theme. The children had a great time leaning all these songs.
Here are a few of our songs that we learned:
I'm a Little Snowman (sung to the tune of "I'm a little teapot")
I'm a little snowman short and fat, here is my scarf and here is my hat. When the snow is falling come and play. Build a snowman every day.
Snowflakes Dance (sung to the tune of "Are You Sleeping")
Dance like snowflakes, dance like snowflakes, in the air, in the air whirling, twirling snowflakes here and there, here and there.
Mittens On My Hands (sung to the tune of "Wheels On the Bus")
The mittens on my hands, keep me warm, keep me warm, keep me warm, the mittens on my hands keep me warm, all winter long!
The children had a fun time with this song about changes, and the different clothing that we wear in the winter.
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Technology Tots &
Athletes in Training
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Gym time with the Snugglie II
The babies of Snugglies II love to use their energy and spent some time in the gym! They have been busy crawling and toddling around the gym. We love to explore and experiment with all of the different toys that are available to us. From sitting in tug boats to rolling around a kick ball, we get in a great amount of exercise.
January is a big transition for us as we watch some of our friends move up, but it's exciting because we get to make new friends as well. Spending some time in the gym with each other allows us to get to know our new friends some more, and we even get to spend some time with our friends that had moved up to their new classroom. We wish them the best, and we look forward to making new memories with our new friends.
Gym time with the Sunflowers
The Sunflowers greatly look forward to their time in the gym every day. They particularly enjoy when we play the game "Jack Be Nimble." The children sit and wait to be called up one by one. There is a wooden candlestick that is placed on the floor. Then as a class we sing "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, can (child's name) jump over the candlestick?" Each child has a chance to jump back and forth over the wooden candlestick. The kids always clap and cheer for their classmates as they each take a turn!
Tech and Gym time with the Ducks
In the month of January, we learned about changes. We discussed Martin Luther King Jr. and how he fought to change the laws so everyone can share from the same water fountain and go to the same schools. In the technology center, we watched a small clip about Martin Luther King and his famous words from his speech, "I have a dream..." We discussed our dreams for a nicer world and how we can be nicer to change the world for the better. In the art center, the Ducks drew a picture of their ideas on making the world nicer and shared their responses with one another.
We also danced, in the technology center, to
Go Noodle
videos to strengthen our fine and gross motor skills. We danced and sang to alphabet sounds and animal songs, in which we had to use our listening skills to guess which animal matched the sound on the video. Then we matched our movements to the way each corresponding animal moves.
In gym, the Ducks climbed the rock c
limbing wall which strengthened their fine motor skills as they grasped the wall with their fingers. They also strengthened their gross motor skills as they jumped and raced with one another. When the Ducks "Shake Their Sillies Out" during circle time, they always come up with their own ideas using their bodies to show their ideas, such as jumping, running, flying, crawling, being a seed and growing from the ground and stretching.
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STAYING HEALTHY:
During this time of year, we tend to see a higher incidence of various respiratory illnesses such as the flu. It is crucial to your child's health to receive the flu vaccine. Influenza is a contagious illness that is spread through respiratory droplets when infected people talk, cough or sneeze. As a precaution, please have your child vaccinated against the flu this season.
The following tips will help to prevent colds and flu this season
:
- Teach your children to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Teach your children to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they cough or sneeze
- Remind kids not to touch their hands, eyes, or mouth, a common path for germs to spread
- Wipe down surfaces and objects that are frequently touched
- Make sleep a priority. Not enough sleep weakens the immune system
If you suspect that you or your child may have the flu, contact your doctor immediately.
As with any other contagious illness, please remember to inform the school if your child was exposed or diagnosed with the flu. This helps us maintain a clean and safe environment by disinfecting toys and frequently touched surfaces.
FEBRUARY IS CHILDREN'S DENTAL HEALTH MONTH!
Dental care is an integral part a child's development. To protect your child's teeth and encourage good oral health the American Dental Association recommends parents to provide children with a balanced diet, limit their snacks, replace juice with water, brush twice daily with toothpaste containing fluoride and have regular dental checkups, every 6 months. Good dental health is important or proper chewing, speaking and appearance.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH UPDATES:
The Board of Health has recently enabled access to parents and guardians in order to keep track of their child's immunization history and due dates.
Parents must still submit the Child and Adolescent Health form. For more information please click below:
DOHMH - My Vaccine Record Information.
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Angels
One of the letters we were learning about last month was the letter "M." One morning, Anasofia was creating her "M for Monster" project when she said, "Oh it's scary!"
Bears
During center time, Giuliana was playing with Ethan and Alessandro in the dramatic play center. The children were talking about how things change, such as food and clothing. Giuliana said to Ethan, "I think we should wear our bathing suits to school tomorrow." Ethan made a face and said, "What...? , We can't wear our bathing suits to school it is too cold." Giuliana said, "Yeah, we can, its hot in here, and it would be funny if we wore our bathing suits." Alessandro said, "I am going to wear my Batman shirt tomorrow," and Ethan and Giuliana just started to laugh.
Bumblebees
It was the beginning of the New Year. During circle time, instead of singing about the days of the week and the months of the year, Miss. Karolina asked the children if anyone knew what year it was. It had happened to be a Wednesday and the children know they eat pizza on Wednesday. When Miss. Karolina tried to help them say "2018" Christopher yelled, "Two pizza!"
Bunnies
Finnegan was playing with one of the toy pianos when he decided to use it as a skateboard. He flipped it over, put one foot on it, spread his hands out and said, "Woah! Woah! Woah!"
Chipmunks
At Circle Time, we were talking about how we take care of our teeth.
Emilia said, "My teeth are coming down!" Noah turned and said to
her, "Well my teeth are staying up!"
Dolphins
While we were making snow in the classroom, Jacob shouted "Everyone look it's snowing in here!"
Ducks
The children had fun drawing their responses on how they can make the world a better place. They each came up with unique and creative ideas. When asked what are some ways we can be nicer and make the world a better place to live, Adele said, "sharing toys with my brother" and Joseph said, "painting a house." Chloe said, "giving hugs."
Kitties
Kitties were doing flash cards at Circle Time. The card with number 5 has ducks on it. One day, before saying the number, Lucas Ziders started flapping his arms and quacking because he knew the next number and card was the 5 ducks. Then all the Kitties started quacking together.
Lions
As we were doing our letters with flash cards this month I called Gracie up and asked her to find me the letter T. She said she wasn't very sure so I pointed out the card. It had a picture of a taco with the letter Tt. She looked at it and said, "I know that. That's what my daddy likes to eat. He likes to eat tacos."
Monkeys
One Friday afternoon Miss Diane was playing Lego's with Adam and Steven. The radio in the class was on and Steven said, "Miss Diane that's rock and roll."
Pandas
On January 12th, during closing circle time, Ms. Jennifer asked the class, "Why are we off on Monday?" Nico yelled out, "It's Martin the King Day! We talked about him all morning. Don't you remember Ms. Jenn?" Ms. Jennifer giggled and said, "How silly of me, I must have forgot. Who is he again?" The whole class laughed and began sharing some of the things they learned about Martin Luther King during the day.
Puppies
One morning while giving the babies breakfast, I asked if anyone wanted Cheerios, to which Aidan quickly replied, "Yeah!" with great enthusiasm. Everyone heartily laughed as we were surprised with his response.
Sunflowers
If you're into hockey, you know the NY Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins don't see eye to eye, not even in the classroom.
Ailey had on the Penguins Hockey dress and Jake had on a Rangers Hockey Jersey. Ms. Linda was asking Jake about the Rangers playing the Penguins, Jake said "they will win of course Ms. Linda" Ailey said, "Yup the Rangers will win!"
Turtles
One day after waking up from nap time, Frankie began to cough. He looked at Ms. Ally and said, "Excuse me Ms. Ally, I coughed and you didn't say God bless you!" Ms. Ally then explained to Frankie that you only say, "God bless you" when someone sneezes!
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