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Christ the King Community Daycare
68-02 Metropolitan Avenue,
Middle Village, NY 11379
718-417-6770
www.ctkny.org
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A Note From Ms. Dee
We welcome you to the month of February at CTK Pre-School/Daycare where the fun and learning never ends. We begin February with Groundhog Day on Thursday, February 2nd. Will Staten Island Chuck see his shadow or not? Will Punxsutawney Phil agree? And most importantly, will we feel warm Spring weather sooner than later?
According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then Spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow and the Winter weather will persist for six more weeks.
The next topic that we will explore in February, is “Transportation.” The Daycare children will learn about all of the ways we get from one place to another. We will learn about maps and draw our own maps. We will have a Transportation Parade on Thursday, February 9th.
For the week of the 13th, we will do many special Valentine's activities, and enjoy our annual Pajama Day Breakfast on Tuesday Feb.14th. Please see your child's teacher for more details. In keeping with this heartfelt holiday, it is a day to let our children and families know how much we love them and how important they are to us.
During the third week, we will learn about the presidents. We will be closed Monday, February 20th in honor of President’s Day. The 3K & Pre-K will be closed all that week. The Daycare IS OPEN Tues.-Fri., and also for our 3K & Pre-K extended-day contracted students as well.
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Please Note: Our Center will be closed on February 20th in honor of Presidents Day.
- Parents must not enter classrooms. Please knock and a teacher will greet you at the door.
- Weather Information/ School Closing- Please check our website www.ctkny.org, as well as our Instagram and Facebook page, for the latest in school closing information. You will also receive an email notification.
- 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 doors.
- When calling the facility, please keep in mind that calls should be ideally be made between 12-2pm while the children are napping. The daycare phone number is 718-417-6770.
- 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.
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Colors: Silver and Gold
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Concepts: Ground Hogs Day and Shadows, Winter Olympics,
Valentine's Day, Presidents and Transportation
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Shape: Heart
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Letters: N, O, P
- Number(s):
Ages (1-2) # 6
Ages (3-4) #'s 11-12
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Science with Angels
Welcome to February! Last month, the Angels combined science and an art project to help them learn all about freezing and melting. First we put some water in an ice cube tray. Next, we took turns, adding one drop of food coloring to each cube. Then we stretched plastic wrap over the top end stuck a popsicle stick into each cube. Finally, we put the tray in the freezer over the weekend. The Angels talked about what was going to happen to the water in the tray. We use words like freezing, melting, and cold. The following week, we looked at the cubes of water and saw they froze! We popped out the cubes and used them to make an ice painting. While painting, the Angels observed how the ice was melting back into a liquid. We had so much fun creating works of art while learning a new concept. Great job! This month, we are looking forward to our Valentine’s Day party and our Transportation parade.
Science with the Sunflowers
The Sunflowers are excited to welcome the month of February. We are ready to learn, and do many interesting activities focused on the theme, “Building.” January was a great month for the Sunflowers. We learned about investigating and sharing conclusions. We focused on changes throughout the month. We talked about how we changed months, from December to January, changes in weather, and changes by doing experiments such as melting and freezing. We also focused on noticing things that are the same and different. Students went around the room finding things that were the same and finding things that were different. One student showed Miss Danielle two paint bottles. She said, “One is blue and one is red! They are different.” Miss Danielle then asked how they are the same.
One of our favorite experiments we did was freezing plastic bugs from the science center. Miss Danielle sat down with a group of students and she put water in an ice tray. She asked the students to touch the water and tell her what they feel. They said was the water was cold and wet. Then, each student was able to get a toy bug from the bin and put it in the tray. Miss Danielle had them make predictions about what will happen to the water when they tray goes in the freezer. Some things they said were, “It will be hard, cold and wet.” Then the next day, we took the ice tray out and the students were able to hold their frozen bugs. They loved seeing them in the ice! They then got to play with the ice until it started to melt. Miss Danielle talked about how water turned to ice but, can turn back into water. The Sunflowers love doing science experiments and we can’t wait to continue doing them in February!
Science with the Ducks
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 Ducks 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. The Ducks have been working hard and will keep chugging right along. During the Month of February, the Ducks will be learning about "Building and Construction." During our Center Time, using the sand table, toy construction vehicles, and a clear bin, we will set up an area for the trucks to dig, and work. The children will explore with their fine motor skills and senses, exploring how construction vehicles work when they construct buildings.
In January, the Ducks learned about their environment around them. In our Science Center, we learned about keeping our environment clean. In small groups, we performed the Ivory Soap Experiment. First, I asked the children, what will happen to a bar of soap if I put it in the microwave. Second, I recorded the answers. Then, we preformed the experiment. The experiment showed the children that soap expanded because as the Ivory soap softens in the microwave, the water molecules inside of the air pockets heat up and cause it to expand. I explained to the children in simpler terms, that heat or "hot" makes things larger and that only certain soaps can make this happen. The Ducks really enjoyed doing this experiment and can not wait for the next one.
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Math with the Snugglies
The children in Snugglies 2 had lots of fun learning about Winter last month. Next month we are looking forward to our Transportation Parade and celebrating Valentine's Day together too!
In January, the babies in Snugglies II focused on different ways to learn about the number 5! We practiced counting our 5 fingers on one hand. The teachers counted to five as they gave out puffs at snack time. We even incorporated counting and reinforced the numbers when we sang throughout the day. The children loved the songs "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and "5 Little Ducks Went Swimming." We love learning to count!
Math with the Monkeys
The Monkeys are happy to welcome February. January was a chilly yet exciting month for the Monkeys! We learned all about health and hygiene, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., winter and snow. The Monkeys also had a lot of fun learning about the number 5 and shapes! We use flash cards every morning to review the different shapes and colors. The children also practice building tall towers with the different shaped blocks during free play. We even enjoy learning about shapes when we go to the Science Center. The Monkeys love to play with the bucket of different shaped magnet tiles and build houses and towers!
Math with the Bears
The Bears welcome the month of February. We are all excited and can’t wait to learn all about the theme for this month, “Light.” Last month’s theme, “Transportation” was explored throughout all the centers in the classroom. The students were able to engage in many multi-sensory activities. During small group meeting time, the students researched, using the Smart Board, and discovered many different modes of transportation. The children and teachers then had a discussion about the various ways we can travel by land, water and sea. The children then went to the math center and sorted different modes of transportation into the categories land, air, or sea. All the children had a great time sorting and matching the variety of pictures of all the different kinds of transportation there is.
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Art with the Bunnies
We are so happy to welcome the month of February and wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! In the Bunny Room, we use art to help teach the lessons and concepts that we introduce each month. Last month, we celebrated the year of the rabbit with our Lunar New Year parade. We made bunny hats and colored bunnies to celebrate. We also used art to reinforce our lessons about winter and weather. One of our favorite projects was our Rain Project. The Bunnies love paint and we painted the children’s hands white to make clouds. The Bunnies loved the feel of the wet paint on their hands. Then we finger painted with blue to make rain drops. The children all loved this activity and each was as unique and beautiful as the little artists themselves.
This month we are going to celebrate Valentine's Day with a party and do some Valentine’s Day projects. We are going to learn all about the letters N, O, and P with some fun crafts too!
Art with the Kitties
The Kitties want to welcome the month of February! We look forward to getting to learn about new shapes, letters, and colors! January was a delightful experience. We jumped right into the New Year and even celebrated the Lunar New Year with a parade and dancing. We got to celebrate so many of our friends’ birthdays last month too.
Last month, the Kitties enjoyed many projects, expressing their love of Art. The children like coloring, gluing and especially using paint in the Art Room. One of the special projects we made in January was our Diamond Collage. The Kitties were each given a large colorful diamond. They then selected colorful pieces to tissue paper to glue and decorate their diamonds with. As the children selected the pieces of tissue paper, the teachers helped name the colors. It’s always great when art can be combined with learning. We can't wait to work on more art projects. This month, we will be making some to celebrate Valentine's Day!
Art with the Chipmunks
As the Chipmunks welcome the month of February, we are eager to celebrate Valentines’ Day and focus on the Monthly Unit- “Building.” The children will learn about the various materials homes and buildings are made from. We are looking forward to the many lessons in this unit!
During the month of January, we learned all about changes and we investigated the many changes in our weather. This was a great unit to learn about, and it led us to do many Art projects. One of our favorite projects was when we made ice paint. We took yellow food coloring and made yellow ice and blue food coloring to make blue ice and red food coloring to make red ice. After we saw the change of how the water turned to a solid by putting it in the freezer, we investigated what happened after we took it out of the cold. The children used the yellow, blue, and red ice to create the colors orange, green and purple and they made their very own paintings. It was so much fun and we can't wait to learn what other colors we can make! We also made a winter collage project using various materials such as glitter, snowflake stickers and sequin. The children created their own Winter Wonderlands!
Art with the Turtles
The Turtles welcome the month of February, and are very excited to learn about and explore the concept of “Light”. When looking back at the month of January, we would like to highlight the many fun and creative Art experiences we’ve shared, along with the theme of Transportation.
The Turtles have been practicing their Art skills. We have been using various Art supplies such as glue, paint, glitter, crayons and markers to help make all of our creations beautiful. We were even Artistic during our cooking lessons too! We used chocolate frosting as “paint” to paint the background of our traffic light cookies. We painted recycled toilet paper rolls to help create our own cars. We glued on wheels, and used stickers, and shape’s to decorate our cars. Then, we used glitter and markers to create a winter wonderland background for our winter vehicles. We added snowflakes and unique penguins, which represented each and every one of us! The Turtles learned all about transportation! We used our art skills to create many different landscapes with different roads and means of transportation. Together, we made highways, railroad tracks and oceans full of boats, cars, buses, trains, airplanes and hot air balloons. We used paint to paint bodies of water along with glue and sticks to create our own boats. We also used various colors of paper to make shapes, which represented a common traffic light. For some Play-Doh fun, we used cookie cutters to create the shape of cars and boats. We created different modes of transportation by using shapes that we had cut out. We took the shapes and used them as different parts of cars and trains. That made for awesome geometric art! Finally, we had a wonderful transportation parade, which represented a great home-school connection. The children and families got to show off their homemade vehicles to everyone!
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Music with the Puppies
Welcome February; a month full of love! The children in the Puppies class love to dance and sing. The teachers incorporate music in many activities throughout the day, in our Gym, Music and Movement Room and in the classroom. They enjoy Circle Time with their favorite songs, “ABC's,” “Wheels on the Bus,” “Five Little Monkeys,” and “One Little Finger.” Every time we clean up the room, we sing “The Clean-up Song.” It makes our little ones very excited because they know that a new activity will be starting after they finish cleaning.
In addition to our daily music routines, the children love music sessions with Mr. Kenny. The teachers and children sit in a circle and begin with the song, “Hello Friends.” Mr. Kenny then continues the fun with additional songs and egg shakers. Our little ones follow Mr. Kenny and the teachers in the movement of hands and feet. They try to sing along and dance, expressing their joy and excitement.
Music with the Bumblebees
The Bumblebees are excited to enter the new month of February. Throughout the month of January, the children enjoyed many fun lessons and activities that went along with our monthly themes. We celebrated Lunar New Year with a parade, had dress up and puppet days for Drama Appreciation Week, and played with fake snow as we learned about the weather and the season of winter! Throughout this time, we were surrounded by music! The Bumblebees always enjoy music whether it is singing our circle time songs, marching in the hallway, music time with Mr. Kenny, or playing in the Music and Movement Room.
The Bumblebees love going to the Music and Movement room and exploring the different instruments. We dance and pretend to be in a marching band. One of our favorite things to do is to play a game where we place our big drums in different areas of the room. Each Bumblebee takes a turn hitting the drum with any instrument of their choosing. They learn to take turns and hear how each of them make a different sound! They also get to explore with opposites: fast and slow, and loud and quiet!
This month we are looking forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day together and having our Transportation Parade!
Music with the Pandas
As we welcome February, let’s recap some of our best moments from January. The Pandas spent a lot of time singing and dancing last month, as we explored the theme of Transportation. This month we explored the different sounds that we may hear in New York. We also learned about different types of sounds vehicles can make (e.g. trains, car horns, bus horns) and talked about why they make different sounds. From horns to engines, we learned about sounds that some of our favorite vehicles make such as motorcycles, jet skis, racecars, and rocket ships.
To explore further with the theme of Transportation, the Pandas learned all about the different sounds that vehicles make. We specified what kinds of sounds different vehicles make and how some sounds are very important such as a Fire truck, ambulance and police car. The children tried to make each vehicle sound with their mouth. We discussed the importance of these sounds and how the vehicles tell us when there is an emergency. In the Panda class, the students played a game of ”Guess that Vehicle.” The Pandas had to use their listening ears while the teacher played a sound of a vehicle. The children then had to guess what vehicle it was and chart their answers.
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Athletes in Training & Technology Tots |
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Gym with the Lions
Welcome to the month of February. In February we will learn all about “Building.” We can’t wait!
During the month of January, it was very cold and rainy outside, so instead of going to the playground or soccer field, we had many opportunities to visit our indoor gym. The Lions love to exercise. Moving and grooving, and working on our gross motor skills is our favorite pastime. The Lions especially love when we go to the gym and have races with the bikes and in the cars. They all have a favorite blue bike in the gym that we all take turns on. The Lions love when Miss Kaitlin gets involved organizing all bikes like a real Nascar Race! The children love racing with Miss Kaitlin and Miss Melissa cheering them on. They also love when Miss Melissa helped then make one big rollercoaster to go super fast! The children all jump up and down and shout, “Again! Again!” The Lions class is very energetic and active when it comes to our gym time.
Tech and Gym with the Dolphins
The Dolphins welcome the month of February and all the great things we will share and do. In the month of January the unit theme was “Transportation.” The Dolphins had a blast learning about the different types of transportation that we use on land, in the water and in air! We did so many fun activities like taking our road test to get our drivers licenses and the Transportation Parade where the Dolphins had gotten a lot of knowledge and experience about all forms of transportation. The children really enjoyed every minute of it!
While learning about transportation, the Dolphins have been putting an emphasis on gym and technology to connect concepts and broaden their learning experience. We have enjoyed using the Smartboard to find information and watch entertaining Blippi clips. Blippi has reinforced a lot of information about the different types of vehicles. We have also played freeze dance games involving the same theme. During our times in the gym the children have been able to use different forms of transportation available like cars, bikes, scooters and the ramp to play with their friends. During the children’s road test, the Dolphins either used a car or bike, depending on their height, to go through an obstacle course set up by Miss Taylor. This obstacle course included an array of traffic signs and different stops. All the children observed the traffic signs and were awarded their driver’s license! Yay Dolphins!
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As we enter the month of February, please let the following reminders continue to help throughout the winter season.
Physicals and Immunizations
As a reminder, please submit your child’s annual physicals and immunizations in a timely manner. We are mandated by the Department of Health to keep records of all physicals and immunizations. You may download a Child and Adolescent Health Examination Form from our website or obtain a form from the Nurse’s Office. Additionally, please refer to our Health Policy. Your child will not be allowed to attend Daycare or Pre-School without the appropriate updates and forms submitted.
Allergy and Dietary Restriction Forms
Please update your child’s allergy and dietary restriction forms, as needed. These forms may be found on our website under Current Parents. to precautions.
Medication
During this time of year, children are more susceptible to asthma attacks. As a reminder, if a certain medication is required for asthma, a medication administration form must be filled out by your pediatrician. You can obtain one from the Nurse’s Office or print one from our website. If your child needs antibiotics or over the counter medication to be administered, please contact the nurse for additional information regarding the storage of medication and your pediatrician's prescribed order. Medication will not be administered without a doctor's order.
Absences
Please remember to inform our center of your child's absence on a daily basis. Such absences include: reporting a contagious illness, children not feeling well, or simply not coming in on their scheduled day. Reporting these absences are a Board of Health regulation and must be called in.
--Please Keep in Mind: The 24 Hour rule of thumb!
Students may return to Daycare or Pre-K after the following:
- -24 hours without a fever (and without taking fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or Motrin)
- -24 hours without nausea, vomiting or diarrhea (and tolerating a normal diet)
- -24 hours of receiving medication (such as antibiotics)
Holiday Parties
Valentine’s Day is coming up! If you would like to send in your child with any snacks or sweets for their classroom party, remember that we are nut-free school. If your child has a food allergy, scan the foods that are available to your child at parties.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Angels
Christopher had a block Theresa was going to play with. Christopher shared and gave her the block and said, “Here you go!” Great job sharing Christopher!
Bears
The children had a great time making hot air balloons in the Science Center. During meeting time Ms. Kerin, and the Bears were talking about hot air balloons. The children made predictions on what will happen when we put baking powder and vinegar. We remembered from making our exploding Volcano Pumpkins that it will bubble over and erupt. Blake said, “Ms. Kerin what will happen if we use flour and vinegar instead?” Ms. Kerin said, “That’s a great idea Blake, that’s how scientists figure things out.” They tried the flour and vinegar, and nothing happened. Then they made notes and pictures so they will always remember, just like real scientists!
Bumblebees
The Bumblebees were in the Computer Room and had a few minutes left before they needed to return to their classroom. Michael was ready to go back to the classroom for snack time, so he went and grabbed the teacher’s clipboard and handed it to Miss. Brianna. This was his way of saying, “It’s time to go.”
Bunnies
Ella loves her art projects. Whenever she hears “art project” she gets so excited and claps her hands.
Chipmunks
While discussing the upcoming month of February, we were talking to the children about Valentine's Day and Massimo turned to Miss Linda and said, "Will you be my Valentine?"
Dolphins
The Dolphins have been making great efforts to show acts of kindness towards their friends. It makes Miss Taylor and Miss Lisa proud to see our little friends go out of their way to make their friends feel included and cared for in different situations and show acts of kindness without being promoted to do so. While in the gym one day a friend was upset and felt he had no one to play with. Justin went up to the friend on his own accord and comforted him. He then asked if he would like to join him and Joshua in what they were playing. The friend’s mood was immediately switched and they had a great time laughing and dancing the rest of the gym time. We are so proud to see how much our friends care for each other!
Ducks
One day during early morning breakfast, Miss Diane asked Madison, “How was your weekend?” She replied, “Mommy cleaned the bathroom, and I took out the garbage for the first time.” Miss Diane asked, “What did Daddy do?” Madison responded, “Oh nothing.”
Kitties
While we were picking out some colors to use for art, Logan pointed to one of the color options and said, "I like blue!"
Lions
While in the gym, Miss Kaitlin was riding one of the bikes with the children when Rhys told her to "Stop!" Rhys then told Miss Kaitlin, “You are going too fast! You get a speeding ticket!” All the Lions then started giving out speeding tickets to all of their friends.
Monkeys
Brody, Lucas and Shayne were playing with the doctor kit one morning. Brody said to his friends, "We're going to help patients!"
Pandas
When exploring the theme of Transportation, the children were learning about airplanes and discussing how they travel in the air and how they have wheels to help take off and land safely. Caleb raised his hand and said, “I know how to make the sound of an airplane taking off and landing.”
Puppies
During Circle Time, the teacher showed a card of an Apple, and Audrina said, “Apple!!!” and clapped her hands.
Sunflowers
Rey was playing in the block center and holding all the trains in his arms. Miss Danielle told him to share the trains with the other kids. He said, “Okay, but they are my babies.”
Turtles
While studying a big poster of the human body and it’s organs, Liah pointed to the kidneys, and exclaimed, “Look, those are the kids knees.” We are so proud of her for being able to recognize this very important organ.
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