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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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May is here and finally some cheerful spring weather. One of the most exciting highlights of April was our Earth Day celebration. The children planted flowers with their teachers and administrators. A very special thank you goes out to all who worked so hard to make it such a fun day. Please take the time to stop and enjoy the Earth Day flowers your child's class has planted at our CK Garden Walk located along the big playground path.
With the arrival of Spring, we will be spending more time outdoors. Classes will be going on nature walks to follow up with the care and watering of their flowers, while also observing their growth. We will learn about baby animals, insects and their life cycles. Our Painted Lady butterfly larvae will arrive this month, and we hope to release the mature butterflies before Memorial Day. Learning about science and nature helps children expand their vocabulary and develop a better understanding of basic science concepts in daily life.
We will also be encouraging the children to be more physically active than ever. As their large motor muscles are developing in leaps and bounds, the children will have lots of opportunities through exercise and games, such as, soccer, freeze dance, musical chairs, red light green light, parachutes and more. We also support children as they develop specific skills, like jumping, kicking, catching and throwing. These are skills that the children will use for a lifetime of physical activity, including sports.
Another popular event that we all enjoyed last month was our annual Recycling Contest. Each class created a masterpiece, ranging from beautiful and creative, to out of this world fun. Every class should be a winner! We will all be in suspense as we await the announcement of the winner, after the Facebook and Instagram tally of votes on Monday May 2nd. Be sure to visit our Facebook and Instagram to cast your vote.
Here are the class projects:
Snugglies 2- Little Baby Piggy Banks, out of water bottles, paint and tissue paper
Puppies – Garden and Flowers, out of painted plastic cups Popsicle sticks and tissue paper.
Bunnies – Beautiful Birdhouses and Plants, out of water gallon jugs, paint and silk flowers
Angels – Guitars, made from tissue boxes, paper towel rolls, rubber-bands and collage material
Monkeys – a Monkey Desk Set, out of all kinds of water bottles and toilet paper rolls
Bumblebees – A Bumblebee Hive - out of painted little water bottles and a laundry basket
3K – Captain Recycle Robot - made of boxes, tissue paper , knobs, and water jug
PreK- A Colorful Robot, made of boxes, cups, knobs,pipe cleaners and tp rolls
We wish all of our Mom’s and Mommy’s helpers, a very happy and healthy Mothers Day!
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- Covid Reminders:
- If your child is awaiting Covid test results, they may not attend Daycare/ Pre-K until the test results are received.
- Parents must not stand in doorways or enter classrooms for any reason.
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Please Note: The Pre-K and Daycare will be closed on May 30st in observance of Memorial Day.
- 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: Purple and Pink
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Concepts: Baby Animals, Insects, Growing Plants, Flowers and Vegetables
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Shape: Square
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Letters: W, X, Y
- Number(s):
Ages (1-2) # 9
Ages (3-4) #'s 17, 18
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Science with the Puppies
Our little ones in the Puppies class are growing so much every day. Last month we did a few activities that incorporated the theme of science. We learned about rainbows and read a book called, “What Makes A Rainbow.” We then followed up with a craft to create our own. The teachers painted each child’s fingers a different color of the rainbow. As we moved from one finger to the next, we reviewed each color. Then we placed the children’s hands onto construction paper to create the beautiful rainbows.
Another exciting activity was planting during our Earth Day Celebration. The children were so excited to dig in the dirt and plant the colorful flowers in our garden. They were curious about the feel of the dirt, petals and leaves. The children’s favorite part was watering their plants after placing them in the dirt. Our class is very excited to learn more about plants next month and watch them grow.
Science with the Bumblebees
We welcome May, and we hope to have some nice warm Spring weather for our busy Bumblebees to buzz around and enjoy. Looking back on April, we remember so many fun activities and lessons. One of our favorite Science activities that we enjoyed doing was a craft based on one of the letters of the month, V for volcano! Instead of making the typical exploding volcano, we mixed baking soda in yellow and red paint and let the kids “paint” the lava on their own paper volcano’s. They had fun painting the lava on it, and then we dropped some vinegar to make the paint fizz .The Bumblebees were amazed watching their volcano’s come to life! It was a cool art project and science experiment. We learned all about volcanoes, and cause and effect.
Science with the Pandas
As we entered the month of April, the theme the Panda class was excited to explore was “PLANTS!” The students learned all about the plant and flower life-cycles. To tie into March’s theme of “Water,” the children learned how important water is to a plant life-cycle along with sun, air and soil. As we learned about life-cycles, the Pandas were able to explore different kind of beans (red kidney beans, lima beans, black beans, & orange lentil beans). After studying each bean, the Pandas planted their own bean plant. The children picked their favorite beans and planted them in a zip-lock bag with wet paper towel. Each day the Pandas observed their beans to check for the phase of the cycle, germination. Another Science activity the Pandas enjoyed was planting flowers! On Earth Day, the Pandas planted flowers outside, next to our playground. They enjoyed learning about the different parts of the flowers and using their knowledge from the classroom outside while planting!
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Math with the Bunnies
April showers bring May flowers! Last month, the Bunnies engaged in different activities to improve their math skills. One of the activities was a craft to help introduce the number 8. The teacher cut out the number 8 and gave one to each child. The children then stuck 8 pieces of tissue paper on the number. We practiced counting aloud as we glued each piece. We also reinforce our numbers during Circle Time. We have counting books in the class that the children love listening to. As we read, the children count along. We continue counting as we walk to the gym. The Bunnies are practicing walking in a line, along the side of the hallway. As we walk along the numbers, we practice counting the numbers we are stepping on. Next month, we will introduce the number 9 and continue our counting.
Math with the Lions
Welcome to the month of May. The Lions will continue to roar with excitement with all the fun activities and events we have in store this month. During the month of April, the Lions learned all about the theme of caring. We learned about how to care for others, how to care for our environment, and how to care for ourselves. When taking care of ourselves, we learned all about hygiene and what is clean and what is dirty. As a fun math project this month, we sorted pictures into two categories of clean and dirty. On the dirty side we had dirty hands, garbage, a pig in mud, and even dirty smelly feet! On the clean side we had a kid brushing their teeth, someone washing their hands, brushing their hair, and taking a bath! This was a fun way to use our problem solving skills to sort between the two different categories! We also loved planting flowers for Earth Day. We counted how many beautiful flowers we planted. Of course we remembered to wash off all the dirt on our hands afterwards too!
Math with the Dolphins
Welcome to May! In the month of April the Dolphins have been busy enjoying the unit theme “Plants.” Students listened to the book, “When Spring Comes” by Kevin Henkes. The teacher and students discussed the parts of the plant and how petals are on a flower. Then the children counted out petals to go along with the number on the flower. They used sunflowers seeds. This activity promotes understanding the relationship between numbers and quantities and connects counting to cardinality.
For the second activity, students compared themselves to the tree and decided whether they are taller or shorter than the tree. Students decided what part of the tree was closest to their height. Then we broke into small groups. We went over the parts of a tree. Ms. Karen modeled for students how to measure our height by measuring her own height next to the tree and writing her name. Each student stood next to the tree. Their heights were measured and their name written next to their height. Then, students answered the focus questions: Are you taller or shorter than the tree? And which part of the tree is your height closest to?
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Art with Snugglies II
The Snugglies II children had a lot of fun creating art projects last month. For one of our weekly theme projects, we used blue dot markers to create raindrops falling from our clouds. We also used bubble wrap to create our own painted rainbows. One of our favorite projects was our Recycling Project. Each child brought in a water bottle from home. Then we filled it with pink paint and had the children shake it up and down and all around. They had so much fun watching the paint move all around the container. After, we added stickers for the eyes and a pink pipe cleaner for the tail. We also added pink cut out ears. Once our Piggy Banks were all done, we recycled a box to make a Snugglies II Pig Pen! We hope everyone enjoyed the projects as they passed the front during Drop-Off and Pick-Up.
Art with the Monkeys
April was a pleasant month as we welcomed the warmer weather and blooming flowers. The Monkeys discussed the season of Spring, flowers, and recycling, and built on these lessons to create our beautiful Earth Day projects. The children had so much fun using paint markers to create colorful flowers. We then painted toilet paper rolls, to create pencil holders. The children were so proud of their creations and so are we!
The Monkeys also use art to reinforce the letters we are learning each month. We try to create unique projects and really enjoyed one of the letter Uu projects we made, “U is for UFO.” The children painted paper plates and added stamps around the sides. The Monkeys then glued green UFOs to the center and we taped small cups to complete the project. The results were adorable. We are looking forward to more art fun as we enter the new month of May.
Art with the Bears
Welcome May! Last month's theme, "Plants and Flowers" was explored throughout all of the centers in the classroom. The students were able to engage in many multi-sensory activities. During small group time, the students worked with the SMART Board and we discussed different types of flowers. During group meeting time, we talked about the parts of flowers such as petals, stems, leaves and roots. The children then went to the Art center and looked at different types of flowers and painted them. The children had a great time using water color paint to create their own masterpieces. The children loved looking at their art work on the bulletin board and discuss what everyone painted.
The Bears can’t wait and sure will be to be excited to learn about our next unit of "Babies" in May.
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Music with the Kitties
Hello Spring!!!!! Last month the Kitties had a lot to sing about. The Kitties enjoy singing while in the Music and Movement Room, as well as during Circle Time and when Mr. Kenny comes. In the Music and Movement Room, the children engage with different instruments such as tambourines and xylophones. They love to hear the different sounds that each instrument makes. In the classroom, we love to dance to songs such as “Freeze Dance,” “Walking In the Jungle,” and “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.” It is always a treat when Mr. Kenny joins us in the room for more music fun. He is teaching us so many new songs. Some of our favorites are “Sandpiper” and “Tingalayo.” The children will be practicing this month for our Spring Music Show. We are really looking forward to performing for all of our families.
Music with the Chipmunks
Last month we learned about caring for others and our planet, Earth. We worked on using recycled materials to make different things. We decided to focus on music and movement while creating our recycled items. We made different instruments using plates, cups, tissue boxes, soda bottles, plastic eggs, beans, and string. Some of the instruments we made were maracas, tambourines, guitars, and egg shakers. We started a “Chipmunk Band” and used our instruments to sing some of our favorite songs. Their favorite song was one of our Mr. Kenny songs, “Sandpiper.” They especially liked the end of the song when they took their instruments and ran around the room being an airplane and using their instruments!
Music with the Turtles
Last month the Turtles learned all about plants. Learning about plants gives us a great opportunity to sing some songs. We have learned that plants and trees give us oxygen and in return, we give the plants and trees carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes plants and trees grow and when we sing, we exhale carbon dioxide. Some of our favorite songs include, “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” “Farmer Plants the Seed,” and “The Needs of Plants.” The song, “The Needs of Plants” is one of our favorite songs because it helps us to remember all of the things that plants need to grow and flourish. We also sang a “Relaxing Finger Song” to help us relax and unwind after eventful mornings. This song is fun and allows us to count and bend our fingers to go along with the lyrics and beat. Plants and music are two things that make the Turtles very happy!
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Athletes in Training &
Technology Tots
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Gym with the Angels
The Angels have so much fun in the gym. From the roller-coasters to the rides in cars and bicycles, there are so many activities to choose from. One game we like to play is called “In and Out.” The teachers take some hula hoops and line them up in a row on the floor leaving some space in between each. Then the children each take turns hopping down the line of hula hoops chanting “In” each time we jump in and “Out” each time we jump out. The Angels also have fun playing the “In and Out” game with the tunnel. This game is so much fun and it also reinforces spatial concepts.
Tech with the Sunflowers
We welcome May, and beautiful Spring weather. This past month the Sunflowers have been learning about caring for others and caring for our environment. Since it rained a lot last month, we talked about how April showers bring May flowers! We love visiting the specialty rooms, especially on rainy days. Last month, we went to the Computer Room a number of times. We found a yoga session for the spring season. The children had so much fun following along to Cosmic Kids Yoga. While in the computer room, we also watched videos about how flowers grow and the parts of a flower. This prepared us for when we got to plant flowers outside for Earth Day! The Sunflowers were so excited to be able plant their own flowers since we have been learning about them. Since we also talked about caring and helping others, Miss Danielle gave each student a job to do. One week a student may help Miss Danielle line up the kids, another week a student may help Miss Jenna clean up during snack. The Sunflowers loved being helpers, and we started to see how they were incorporating helping others throughout the day.
Tech with the Ducks
Welcome to the merry month of May, and all of the fun and learning we will share. During the month of April, we learned about the topic of “Caring.” We discussed ways we care for ourselves, others and our environment. We learned about the steps we do to brush our teeth. We used the SmartBoard to play a sequencing game about putting the steps of brushing our teeth in the correct order. The students dragged the pictures of the actions we do while brushing our teeth on the SmartBoard into the correct order.
Another activity we did using the Smartboard was to do research! As a class, we went to the website www.natgeokids.com, which is National Geographic for kids, and we read the article, “How to Save the Planet- a Guide for Kids!” We wrote down all of the ideas we liked on how we can save our planet. Students were then asked to draw a picture of how they would like to help save and take care of our planet.
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Spring has finally arrived! The children are so excited to be spending more time outdoors. For your child’s comfort and safety, please have your child wear sneakers or rubber-soled shoes to school. This will enable your child to run, jump, and climb with less falls, bumps and scratches.
Below are a few important Health and Safety reminders:
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Physicals and Immunizations: Child & Adolescent Physical Examination forms must be submitted in a timely fashion. Please stay up to date on your child's physicals and immunizations. Physicals must be submitted after each milestone: 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 15 months, 18 months and annually thereafter. We are mandated by the Department of Health to keep records of all physicals and immunizations. Your child will not be allowed to attend Day Care/Pre-School without the appropriate updates and forms submitted. You may download a Child and Adolescent Health Examination Form from our website or obtain a form from the Nurse’s Office.
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Medication Administration: During this time of year, allergies and asthma are one of the most prevalent illnesses children experience. As a preventive measure, it is important for your child to bring an in an inhaler to school. If medication is required for allergies and/or asthma, a Medication Administration Form must be filled out by your pediatrician. In addition, a Medication Care Plan must also be filled out by your pediatrician. You can obtain these forms on the Current Parent Page of our website. For all other medication, a doctor's note must be provided and medication must be in its original box/container. No medication will be administered unless protocol is followed.
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Absences: As per the Department of Health rules and regulations, absences must be called in on a daily basis to the front desk. Should a health concern arise, please be sure to inform the Directors or Nurse.
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Contagious Illnesses: As a reminder, please remember to inform the school if your child was exposed or diagnosed with any contagious illness. This helps us maintain a clean and safe environment.
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Peanut-Free School: Keep in mind that we are a nut-free school. Please help us to maintain a nut free environment by refraining from sending any such items (nuts, peanut butter, almond butter, any items containing nut oils, etc.) to school with your children.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Angels
Angels
The Angels have been taking turns giving out each others’ cups at lunch time. When it was Rhys’ turn and he was finished he exclaimed, “I did it!” He was so proud of himself!
Bears
During Center Time the children were playing with the different types of flowers in the dramatic play center. The children were pretending to dig in the dirt and plant flowers. Elise and Sofia were talking about how their gardens grow. Elise said to Sofia, “Our gardens are beautiful and all our friends will come and see it.” Sofia said, “Yeah and we will be popular.”
Bumblebees
While playing with farm animals Emily turned around to find a little toy chicken on the floor and said, “Oh a chicken nugget!” Everyone in the classroom laughed and thought it was so funny.
Bunnies
During snack time Brody sneezed and Adeline looked at him and said, “Bless you.” Brody then responded, “Thank you!”
Chipmunks
During music class, Mr. Kenny said, “We are going to learn the song, ‘The Earth is Our Mother.’” James then said, “We have to save our Earth by recycling our garbage!”
Dolphins
While doing the activity “Compare Heights,” Pia said, “I am shorter than Ethan. Ms. Karen, he is very tall like a big tree.”
Ducks
Juliana said, “When I grow up I am going to take care of my friends just like my grandma because she’s a super nurse.”
Kitties
Miss Sara asked “What does the Lion say?” Mason answered, “Rawr!!!!!!!!” Then Max said, “Oh NO!!!!!!!”
Lions
When talking about April showers, the teacher asked the class, “When does a rainbow come out?” Johnny answered saying, “When it’s Lucky Charms Day!”
Monkeys
Emma loves to wear dresses to daycare. Many days she walks in a says, "Hi. I'm a princess."
Pandas
While planting outside for Earth day, our Panda, Marcel was digging a hole in the dirt. Victoria came over and said, “Wow Marcel you do a good job.” Marcel said, “Thank you. I know how to plant flowers because I always do this with my mommy and daddy.”
Puppies
While doing their rainbow project, Ms. Arzina painted Natalie’s fingers all different colors. She then asked Natalie what she made, and Natalie responded excitedly, “Rainbow!!”
Sunflowers
Dylan and Julian were both going to climb the rock wall. Julian looked at Dylan and said, “You go first. Then it’s my turn!” We were so proud of him for taking turns so nicely!
Turtles
While doing an art project together, Miss Samantha told Keoni to finish working on his art work and that she would be back in a few minutes. Keoni replied with, “OK. I will finish my picture and when I am finished I will call you on my phone.”
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