A Message from the Director
Dear Parents and Families of The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center and Princeton Public School Pre-k 3 General Ed (Hybrid), Pre-k 3 & 4yr old DLI classrooms,

All of the staff at The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center at YWCA Princeton would like to extend our best wishes to each and every one of you. We thank you for your continued support in all of our efforts. We wish you the best health and prosperity throughout the coming year.

I love the excitement in the eyes of the children each and every day. I love hearing the laughter, the singing and the wonderful stories.  It truly is the most wonderful time of year. However with this wonderful time of year comes the c-c-c-cold outside.

In this busy month, we enjoy talking about all of the holidays that our families celebrate. We talk about families, friends, love, giving and sharing. We are lucky to have families from a variety of different cultures who celebrate different holidays. It is so wonderful for us to be able to share our holiday traditions and to learn and appreciate our likenesses and differences. Please feel free to send us pics of how you and your family celebrate the Winter Holidays.

Be safe & stay well!
Tara O’Shea
Notes from your Administrators
Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope that you are all enjoying this holiday season. We ask that you please continue to remain vigilant and abide by our health and safety protocols in order for us to maintain the health and safety of our students and staff. We realize that this may mean that your holiday will look quite a bit different from previous years. We hope that you are still able to enjoy this time with your immediate family. Use the link below as guidance for your holiday celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic:


Health and Safety Reminders...
  • Children should be kept home if they are sick and are not feeling their usual selves which limits them from being able to participate in the classroom
  • Seek medical advice if multiple symptoms are present in your family
  • Adhere to the 10 day quarantine when you travel out of state or come into contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19
  • Maintain your social distance and wear a mask when you come in contact with someone who resides outside of your household
Your continued cooperation and vigilance has meant a lot to our staff and families. We are reminded every day that you truly care about the health of your YWCA "family".
Flu Shots
The NJ Health Department requires that all children 6 months through 59 months of age attending childcare/preschool receive at least one dose of influenza vaccine between September 1 and December 31 of each year. 
If we do not receive documentation of your child's receipt of the vaccination by Thursday, December 31st, they will not be able to attend our center until Flu season is over. According to the NJ Health Department, Flu season can run as late as May 2021. Please make an appointment today and inform me of the date. 
Weather Appropriate Clothing
All children who are well enough to attend school will be taken outdoors on a daily basis. The only exceptions are if there is active precipitation, or public announcements that advise people to remain indoors due to weather conditions such as high levels of pollution, extreme cold or heat that might cause health problems. On these days, children may go outside for a short walk and return inside to participate in gross motor activities.
It is the centers policy that all children go out at the same time in order to maintain our child-staff ratios. Please dress your child in weather appropriate clothing so that the class can enjoy some fresh air and our playground equipment. During the winter months please send your child to school in the following:
  • Warm clothing
  • Winter coat
  • Winter hat
  • Gloves
Also, please be sure that we always have weather appropriate extra clothes at the center. We can get messy as we learn through play and it is part of our Health and Safety protocols to change soiled clothing immediately. If we do not have any extra clothes on site for your child we must call you to drop off clothing or pick up your child.
Thank you for your assistance!
My Holiday Traditions
Please complete and return the My Holiday Traditions worksheet with your child. The children are always so proud to point theirs out when they pass by it in the lobby. We are all so eager to see how you and your loved ones celebrate this upcoming holiday season and what type of traditions you enjoy doing together.
Call for Pick-up
For the safety & security of you and your child, please continue to call 609-273-6524 when picking up your child. We ask that you remain in the circular driveway and staff will bring your child out to you.
Important Reminders for all:
  • The center will close at 1pm on Thursday, December 24, 2020 for the holiday weekend and reopen on Monday, December 28, 2020.
  • The center will also close at 1pm on Thursday, December 31, 2020 for the holiday weekend and reopen on Monday, January 4, 2021.
  • We cannot accept any drop-off after 10am. The only exception is for doctors appointments, please notify us of the appointment in advance and provide a doctors note for the tardiness.
  • A current Universal Health form and immunization records must remain on file at the center at all times. If your child has their yearly physical or any new immunizations throughout the year these records must be updated. Your administrator will contact you if we are missing any records or if they have expired. Please act on these requests immediately in order to allow your child's pediatrician the time they need to complete them.
  • Please keep us informed of any updates to your contact information. A quick email to Myra, mrabanales@ywcaprinceton.org, or Cassandra, cmendoza@ywcaprinceton.org, would suffice.
  • Because of unforeseen emergencies, usually related to inclement weather, our center may be delayed, closed early, or closed entirely. Please check our website at www.ywcaprinceton.org as well as our ClassDojo School Story.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,
Ms. Cassandra and Ms. Myra
Cassandra Mendoza
Assistant Director, The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center
Email: cmendoza@ywcaprinceton.org
Phone: 609-497-2100, Ext. 311
Myra Rabanales
Administrative Assistant, The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center

Family Liaison, Princeton Public School Preschool Expansion
Email: mrabanales@ywcaprinceton.org
Phone: 609-497-2100, Ext.336
Notes from the Teachers in our Princeton Public School Classrooms
Buttercups, 3-4yr old General Hybrid
It sure has been a busy start to our school year!
Since September, we have been working hard to establish a routine and classroom community virtually. Class Dojo has played a major role in how Ms. Martha and I communicate with our classroom families. Each day we post our Morning Meeting PowerPoints and daily Home Activities for parents to guide their child’s learning at home. Parents then send us feedback about how their child accomplished their daily tasks. We have been using the parent feedback to help build and inform our studies and objectives and ask that you keep the home documentation coming!
We complete a long term Tree Study, lasting 7 weeks! Our Guiding Questions were: “What are the Characteristics of Trees in our community? Who Lives in Trees? What can you do with parts of a tree? How do Trees change? What food Comes from Trees? Who Cares for Trees?” Through our weekly investigations, we were able to explore the topic of trees in playful, exploratory ways. Activities included measuring and comparing ourselves to babies and adults to gain understanding of how people and trees grow and develop; reading, drawing, observing, and writing about trees and tree parts; singing songs like the “Old Oak Tree” and “The Green Grass Grows All Around; ” and measuring and comparing tree sizes and characteristics. Here are some highlights from our Tree Study Celebration:
In all honesty, in the beginning I felt that teaching 3 year olds virtually/ hybrid would be a substantial challenge. I have to say that I am now thankful for the opportunity to form such a strong home/ school connections. As a teacher, this has always been my main goal for preschool education and I am appreciative that the current times and technology have come together to support this type of learning. Thank you to all our families for working through each of your home/ personal struggles to help in this partnership. Ms. Martha and I look forward to continuing the push forward to establish positive learning experiences and routines for our Buttercup children.

Ms. Carissa and Sra. Martha
Daffodils, 3-4yr old Dual Language Immersion
The Daffodils spent the first few weeks of the year getting adjusted to their new school. We read books all about wearing our mask, washing our hands and staying safe. Our favorites were "Lucys Mask" and "Germs Vs. Soap". We talked about our feelings and how to play with our friends in school. We spent time learning each others names and singing songs together each morning. We learned a variety of songs in both English and Spanish. Our favorite songs are “The Goldfish” and “A la Rueda”. Our favorite part of the day is spending time outside on the playground. We love getting fresh air and being able to play new games. We focused on working together and made play dough as a class.

During September we played name recognition games and sang songs that included our name. We worked together to create out classroom rules and routines. Each morning we start our day with a morning meeting to say hello and get ready for our day. Our first six weeks of school were spent getting to know our new school and friends.

In October we started our first study of the year. The Daffodils spent time outside learning all about trees. Each day during our tree study we had a different focus question each day. The Daffodils enjoyed learning all about the colors and shapes of the leaves that we saw outside. Our favorite books were Red Leaf
Yellow Leaf and Trees Count. We talked about the different colors of the leaves on the trees. and used different colors of paint to create our own leaves. We discovered that all the leaves on the trees were different colors. We collected leaves and sticks and observed the different parts of the trees. During our tree study we learned the songs “Roots, Trunks, Branches, Leaves” sung to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “Way Up High in The Apple Tree”. We explored what foods come from trees by looking at the different colors of apples and discussing which one was our favorite. Each of the Daffodils stated what color of apple they liked and why.

During our tree study we learned all about what comes from trees and how trees grow. During our tree study in Daffodils we learned all about different types of trees and what happens to trees during the different seasons. After we finished our tree study we started our clothing study. We talked about what we know about clothing. We sorted the clothing that we wear during warm and cold weather. With the weather beginning to get colder we talked about what kind of clothing keeps us warm. We sorted that when it is warm outside we wear short sleeve shirts, shorts and our bathing suits. Also when it is cold outside we wear long pants, mittens and a jacket. We have had a busy start to the school year and are excited to continue our year together!

Ms. Jackie and Sra. Alex
Butterflies, 4-5yr old Dual Language Immersion
The Butterflies have had a very busy beginning of the year! We spent the first few weeks of school adjusting to our new classroom, getting to know our friends, and starting our introduction to Spanish. In September we spent time enjoying the nice weather, eating lunch outside, and adjusting to our new classroom environment. We worked together to build our classroom rules and schedule, worked on name recognition, and read many stories about families, emotions, and friendship. Our classroom centers provide toys and games that allow us to use problem solving skills, gross and fine motor skills, explore new ideas and work on literacy and language development.
As we moved into October, we did many activities and sang songs in both Spanish and English that focused on numbers, letters, colors, and shapes. We began noticing some changes in the weather and the trees around our school, which led us perfectly into our Tree Study. We started our study by sorting tree parts, measuring different size sticks, and creating our own tree pictures. We played leaf matching games, learned about different types of trees, and sang many songs about the parts of trees. In October we went on many Tree Hunts, made Fall tree and pumpkin art, and played many letter games using our “Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom” story. We had a great time celebrating Halloween with our Halloween Spirit Week, the Halloween Freeze Dance, and pumpkin picking! 
In November we spent time playing counting games with tree parts, creating many different leaf art projects, and observing the changes happening in our trees every day! We started our weekly music class with Ms. Jen, measured parts of trees, and talked about the different seasons. Our classroom centers featured many different tree activities such as exploring tree parts, tree matching and counting games, and Tree BINGO. We learned about how trees change through the seasons, foods that grow on trees, and animals that live in trees. As we learned about trees we continued working on name, letter, and number recognition and even worked together to write a story about our Tree Study! As we got closer to Thanksgiving we created many Thanksgiving crafts and talked about the things we are thankful for. This month we introduced our classroom’s ‘Calm Corner’ for a quiet place to identify our feelings as well as our Writing Center where we write familiar words and practice writing our friends’ names! 
As we start the month of December we will be focusing on our new Clothing Study! In this study we will introduce many new activities and games that will allow our students to explore different fabrics and learn about sorting, washing, and drying clothes. We have already introduced stories about clothing to our classroom library, worked to sort clothing for cold and warm weather, and introduced button counting and sorting activities. Our class loves creating outfits with our multicultural magnet clothing and playing with our clothespin t-shirt counting game.

Ms. Crystal and Sra. Heidy
Notes from the Teachers in The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center Classrooms
Sprouts, 8 weeks - 12 Months old
These last 4 months in the Sprouts classroom have been amazing, for the month of September we started off with New Beginnings. We worked on the babies getting familiar with our voices and getting to know the teachers faces because this is their first time in daycare. We also started with our virtual music class for the babies with Mrs. Jen the babies loved it.

October, we concentrated on Halloween themes, we made Halloween themed art, the babies had pajama day, and to end the month everyone dressed in Halloween costumes and marched the hallways for the Halloween parade.

November was just as exciting, we created beautiful Thanksgiving keepsake for each of the baby’s families. In the Sprouts room we read books daily but for November once a week we read a Thanksgiving themed book like “llama llama Thanksgiving” to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. 

As we are just starting December, we have so many things planned using the Creative curriculum. We will be unwrapping gift boxes so the babies can work on developing their fine motor skills. The Sprouts are also doing an Art project every week for the month of December for the Winter Art show, we will be unveiling a holiday music video and the awesome keepsake for parents for the upcoming holidays. We are happy about strides are babies have been making we can’t wait until the new year where they are going to learn many more new things. 

Ms. Yina and Sra. Brenda
Rose Buds, 12 - 20 Months old
We want to start off by saying it has been a productive school year. We started off by trying to get the Rosebuds acclimated to our classroom routines, while trying to help the children achieve their milestones in the categories Social Emotional Development, Physical Development, Cognitive, and Language.
For the month of September, the Rosebuds were learning about themselves. We read a book called “All About Me”. The Rosebuds were introduced to some words in Spanish such as mouth= boca, nose= nariz, eyes=ojos, and hands= manos. While the children were learning about some of their body parts, they were also learning how to strengthen their finger muscles by peeling stickers to place the body parts on a face template that resembled them.
We were also teaching the children to be comfortable with using their hands while creating art, and being tactile learners. We also showed the children how to pretend play while in the dramatic play area, how to use a telephone by pressing the buttons and holding the receiving end to their ear. Our social focus for the month of September was “Friendship”. We created a “Friendship” tree and a “Friendship Quilt” by placing our hands and fingers in an ink pad and then onto construction paper. We then taped the finished handprints together to symbolize friendship and unity amongst peers and teachers.
For the month of October we read a book called “Farm Alarm” and did a show and tell interactive play with some farm animal plushes that made sounds for that specific animal when squeezed. We also introduced five different colored barns numbered from 1 to 5 which contained different farm animal finger puppets. We encouraged the children to be patient by saying “knock, knock” before opening the barn where the animals were hiding. As a result, the children began picking up this habit and started saying “knock, knock”, and then opened the barns on their own.
Other activities the Rosebuds learned included tearing paper to strengthen their finger muscles which later on was used to create projects. The children were learning to nest cubed bristle blocks together after being shown.

For the month of November, the children were learning the colors red, yellow and green in ASL and in Spanish in relation to the topic “apples”. During group time, we counted apple shape cutouts and the children were able to count from 1 to 3 on their own. During creative art time, the children learned about cause and effect by placing a real apple into paint and then pressing the painted apple onto construction paper to see the imprint of the Apple. The Rosebuds had two different learning boxes; one box pasted with square shaped objects and the other box pasted with brown objects. The children learned to use their pointer finger when counting and talking about a specific objects.
For the month of December, we read a book called “The Four Seasons Winter”. The Rosebuds seemed to become more confident when contributing their ideas during storytime. Some of the children pointed to the pictures and we explained to them what those items were , while other children told us what they saw on each page of the book before being asked.
After we read "The Four Seasons Winter", we played a game called "Pass the Snowball". The snowball was a soft plush snowball. The concept and social focus of "Pass the Snowball" was to help implement taking turns and sharing. The children seemed to enjoy this game, they rolled the snowball, bounced the snowball and passed the snowball to each other.
The Rosebud teachers are very proud to see all the children's growth from September until present day. We are honored to be the Rosebud teachers.
Sincerely,
Ms Maya and Ms KK
Cherry Blossoms, 20 - 30 Months old
As the holidays are approaching and a new year is well underway, we thought there was no better time than to reminisce on the past 3 months of our school year! The Cherry Blossoms have grown so much and done more for us than we could have imagined. 
We began the year by welcoming our friends and trying to make them feel happy and comfortable in our school, the place where they would be spending most of their days. 
The first week of September was spent learning all about each other and the adventures that would await us this school year! The second week we learned about the wonders of Autumn and season changes. The third and fourth week was all about fall colors and how the trees were changing along with the weather. 

We welcomed the month of October with pumpkin spice and everything nice!
The first week we practiced and learned our number skills by counting pumpkins. We found our new favorite song of the month, "Five Little Pumpkins", courtesy of Ms. Jen.
Following that week, we did various experiments using pumpkins and their seeds. We created a pumpkin volcano and watched it erupt! We did sensory activities on our third week of October and by the fourth week we talked all about Halloween festivities ending the month with our annual Halloween parade! Although it was different this year, we still found a way to enjoy it with friends and classmates!

The month of November is a very special time for us to count our blessings and give thanks to everything and everyone around us, especially during these trying times where things are uncertain. We are grateful to have such wonderful and kind friends surrounding our everyday lives. The first week of the month we spent learning and talking about shapes and how they surround us everyday. The second week we talked about our colors. The third week of November we learned to give thanks to all of those around us. We continued to give thanks through the fourth week of the month with some Thanksgiving festivities and an overflow of turkey art projects!

Our first week into December and we are as joyous as ever! This week we have started talking about our emotions and how to express ourselves when we feel sad, happy, hungry or excited! 

We cannot wait to see what else this month will bring us and it was wonderful to go back and see how much our friends have grown in a short amount of time!
Happy Holidays from the Cherry Blossoms 

Sra. Katherine and Sra. Brenda
Tigerlilies, 2.5-3.5yr old
In September, the Tigerlilies began this school year be utilizing the time to be reacquainted with our newly renovated building & indoor environment.

Together, children and staff learned how to implement our new health & safety guidelines, classroom etiquettes like waiting turns, gentle hands with each other, saying “Please” and “Thank you”, sharing and where to put away toys when cleaning up.
 
Ms. Nieves has been leading Circle Time in Spanish 2 days a week. Ms. Nieves includes counting (math) and rhyming songs as well as reading stories (language & literacy) in Spanish.

Some of the things we learned in our classroom are: how to play with the toys and each other, how to clean up, the importance of hand washing especially when we come in from outside, before snack or lunch & before we leave the bathroom. Some fall activities included taking long walks outside on the nature path or on the YW grounds, observing weather changes, exploring the pumpkin, talking about the seasons changing, colors of the leaves changing, why we are starting to wear coats, hats and mittens as the temperature drops. We read stories about Diwali “The festival of lights,” Halloween and why we are thankful.

In the month of December, we are talking about how different families celebrate the winter holidays. Some Winter holidays include: Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas & Winter Solstice.

The most importance lesson we work on daily is fostering your child’s independence. Some ways we instill this is by allowing them to put away their belongings in their cubby, help clean up in centers, put their water bottles in the designated place in our classroom, put on their outer garments and teach them the importance of using the bathroom and washing their hands. During Circle Time, we are giving each child an opportunity to lead the group in a song or something that they would like to share with the group.  

Ms. Pratima and Sra. Nieves
Sunflowers, 3-4yr old
We began the school year by helping the children become familiar with their new classroom, class routines, and rules, which helped create a nurturing learning environment where they felt secure and happy. And in so doing, promote teacher-child relationships. 

During the first five weeks of school, the children learned strategies to make friends, share, and join a group. We also supported the children's independence and encouraged responsibility. For instance, they learned how to remove their masks, wash hands, and help with daily jobs in the classroom. 

The use of music was one key strategy in helping the children settle in quickly. We changed popular songs to get them enthusiastic about learning and follow directions.  

In October, we explored the study topic ‘Trees.’ We observed and compared trees by going on nature walks. During these walks, we stimulated their thinking by helping them wonder aloud about the topic. They collected parts of trees and later created tree patterns. We focused on the foods that grow on trees and the animals that live there. In a math lesson, they tasted four foods from trees and then graphed our favorite fruit.

 We read a myriad of stories related to the topic in both English and Spanish. The children's favorite stories were “A Giving Tree,’’ “Abiyoyo,” and “Henny Penny.” Studying trees helped the children developed a greater appreciation for nature. 

As we studied trees, the children learned concepts and skills in literacy, math, science, and the arts. They learned position words, identified their names, and are beginning to understand letter-sound relationships. We sang songs that helped reinforce such skills. They counted daily and use their fingers to represent numbers to build number sense.

Throughout their studies, they engaged in activities to enhance both their gross and fine motor skills. They learned how to use scissors and develop the art of drawing. We used Learning without Tears to help develop handwriting skills. 

In December, we focused on a few holiday traditions and explored the topic, ‘Clothes.’ This study helped promote inquiry skills. We encouraged the children to ask questions, make predictions, carry out investigations, and test their ideas. For example, they investigated which soap will make the best bubbles. They also identified the features of clothes, sorted clothes, discussed ways to care for garments, and recognize the unique attire that people wear to work. 

Throughout the month, we review concepts and skills in all areas of development. Our goal is to help them become lifelong learners. 

Ms. Tessa and Sra. Rosa
Dragonflies, 4-5yr old
The Dragonflies top priority goals from September was to become creative with greater attention span, being self-confident, and independent with maintaining their self-control. We began building our oral vocabulary, listening to stories and gathering meaning. While doing so they're learning good readers make predictions, relating to the characters and ask questions.

As Dragonflies we have a positive group dynamic and focus on learning in the classroom as an individualized experience to allow the students to become an involved learner of literacy knowledge, math, science, music and art allowing curiosity and exploration.

How we Implement The Creative Curriculum in The Classroom
LITERARCY
  • Learning rhyming, distinguishing syllables 
  • Emergent writing 1st, last name, writes independently 
  • Knowledge of letters and comprehension 
  • Small groups reinforce skills developing
MATH
  • #s, more, less
  • Comparing sets
  • Patterns
  • Identify written numerals and how they are positioned on a page
SCIENCE
  • Fun with nature, helps us observe
  • Explore about what something looks like...what it eats, where to find it...
  • Observe tracks, scars, signs, trees, leaves, bark, bugs
ART 
  • Artist creates expresses
  • Dance, music and movement 

Sra. Melissa and Ms. Leena
Mark Your Calendars
Virtual Winter Art Show
December 14 - 18, 2020
The Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center will continue the YWCA tradition of our annual Winter Art Show through a virtual showing this season. Your children have been working on special projects and a performance that will be shared with you on ClassDojo during the week of December 14 - 18, 2020. They are all very proud of what they are creating and can't wait to share it! I am sure some of you have been given a few hints at home.
This years theme is Candyland.
Holiday Spirit Week
December 14 - 24, 2020
Closure Dates
December 2020 - January 2021
  • Thursday, December 24th - 1pm Dismissal
  • Friday, December 25th - CLOSED
  • Thursday, December 31st - 1pm Dismissal
  • Friday, January 1st - CLOSED
  • Monday, January 18th - CLOSED

Also, the Princeton Public School classrooms (Buttercups, Daffodils, and Butterflies) will be closed from Monday, December 28 - Friday, January 1st. Please email Myra at mrabanales@ywcaprinceton.org to sign up for our Winter Camp.
To learn more, call (609) 497-2100 ext. 325