MARCH 2024

Stepping Stones

For the Families of

Gluck Child Care Center

“If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.” The phrase implies that if the weather is harsh at the beginning of March, then it will be calm at the end of the month. We shall see as the weather has been so variable, raining one day and sunny the next. Let’s hope that the start of Spring brings lovely, warm days that will allow us to enjoy some outside time with our friends! Please check your child’s basket to be sure we have extra clothing on hand, and also sunblock for protection during our outdoor adventures!

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held via Micro Soft Teams. We will send out reminders to the email address you provided when you signed up for your time slot. We look forward to discussing your child’s development with you and answering any questions you may have. 😊

A BIG Thank You for all the amazing donations we have been receiving from families! We love the new books, wooden toys, sensory items, dress-up clothing, other clothing items that your child has outgrown, and the infant/toddler spoons! Please feel free to bring in items that you are no longer using, as we can also share them with the other classrooms! Thank you, again, for your thoughtfulness!                                                                                                             Also another BIG thank-you for all of the yummy treats you all shared with us for Valentines Day! We truly appreciate your generosity!                  

Zelda will be moving into The Dinosaur classroom in April and join our friend, Vivian. She has been ready and was just waiting for a space to open up! In May, Ayla and Kassandra will also go into the Dinos with Zelda and Vivian, and Reyan will move into the Penguins class, joining our friend, Madison. Although the children are moving into separate classrooms, they still get to enjoy playing with one another when exploring outside activities and during early morning and late afternoon hours when the classes are combined! Have fun in your new adventures, friends!!                                       

With the older children moving up, we will be welcoming new babies into the Sweet Peas! We have 2 siblings joining us—Drake (Ember and Griffin’s baby brother), and Filippos (Olympia’s baby brother). We will also have babies Nolan and Hunter, who will be joining our Gluck Community. We are excited to get to know all our new friends!

Our Sweet Pea Friends:

Zelda is our “teacher’s helper”, putting pacifiers back into the babies’ mouths if they drop them! She picks up the cloth dolls and pats them “gently”, showing us that she is paying attention to all that she sees us do😊. Zelda is moving into the Dino classroom in April—have fun, Zelly, but don’t forget to come by and say “hello”!

Ayla is beginning to take steps now (especially if we are not watching her!) She loves it when we play music, singing and dancing along. Ayla also gets excited when Maru gets out the bubbles, jumping up and down in delight! She is another “teacher’s helper”, patting the babies softly when we are feeding them their bottles.

Reyan is everywhere now that he is such a capable walker! He likes to pick up the bigger toys and carry them around the room. Reyan recently got his first haircut, celebrating that he is over one year of age—so very handsome! He is beginning to talk with us, saying “Car” and “Agua” –thank you, Ms Maru for helping us be bi-lingual!

Kassandra is a wild girl—trying so hard to take steps, falling down, and then getting back up to try it again! You’ve got this, Kassandra! She will be celebrating her first birthday on March 16 (my how quickly the year has passed!) 

Naomi is getting acclimated to our group care environment but is still trying to figure out how to share her teachers with the other friends. She takes her bottles easily and is doing better with napping in her crib rather than in her teacher’s arms!  Naomi is working on rolling from her back to her tummy, but then gets stuck! Keep trying, Naomi, you’ll get it soon!

Violet is the newest little one to join our group! Her mommy is our floater teacher Raquel, and her big brother (and former “pea”) is Wesley, who is now in Sealife! Violet has made a very smooth transition into our class and seems to be enjoying having the other curious children in her space. We are happy to welcome Raquel back to work, and have Violet become a part of our classroom! 😊

Calendar:

Mar 5—Election Day!

Mar 8—Snow Day!

Mar 10—Daylight Saving Time begins! “Spring Forward!”

Mar 16—Kassandra’s First Birthday!

Mar 17—St. Patrick’s Day! ( AND Kristy’s Birthday!)

Mar 19—First day of Spring

April 2—Sweet Peas Parent/Teacher conferences on Micro Soft Teams

April 8-12—NAEYC Week of the Young Child

                   4/8—silly socks day!

                   4/9—tie-dye day!

                   4/10—wacky hair day!

                   4/11—sports day!

                   4/12 pajama day!

“Scientists have discovered that it takes

approximately 400 repetitions to create

a new synapse in the brain,

unless it is done in play,

in which case it takes only

19 to 20 repetitions!”

--Dr. Karyn Purvis

Institute of Child Development

 Stepping Stones March, 2024

Welcome Spring! We hope all our families are doing well. This month our children have explored hand painting projects for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter/springtime. On Friday, March, 7, we look forward to a fun ‘snow day’ with our babies.

Mia has been singing a lot lately and puts herself down at nap time. Mia loves to socialize with her friends by giving them toys and with our moms when they come to visit. She will be transitioning to the Dinos classroom on March 1. We are going to miss Mia and wish her well in her new classroom.

Clara celebrated her 1^st birthday on February 24! Happy 1^st Birthday Clara Clara continues to practice standing on her own as well as drinking her milk from a sippy cup. Clara is always moving around the classroom playing with toys, pushing the first step baby walker and interacting with her friends.  

Rylee continues to scoot and crawl all over the room. She is pulling herself up to stand at every surface especially at the windowsill to socialize with friends playing outside. Rylee has also been working very hard to climb on the slide behind her good friend Mia.

Theo is now sitting up strong without support! He continues to roll around the classroom and is scooting backwards. Theo loves to share toys with his friends and is excited to sit at the table with friends to eat finger food - but still enjoys eating his solids very much.

Alexander is working on eating more finger foods and continues to try new fruits and vegetables in his solids. Alex is getting more and more active and sits up without support. He now reacts when his name is called and loves his daily visits with mom for feedings.

Kabani has acclimated very well to our classroom schedule and falls asleep on her own in her crib. She is doing well with her bottles as well as eating more solids including banana and traditional foods from her culture. Kabani enjoys rolling around the classroom and giving smiles to her teachers.

Luca has started eating cereal and seems to be enjoying it! He will be starting more solids soon. Luca continues to roll around the classroom from back to tummy and enjoys reaching for toys and being around his friends.

Many thanks for all the thoughtful Valentine’s Day cards and gifts! We appreciate our wonderful families very much. Please remember to sign up for your parent/teacher conference on April 3 (the sign-up sheet is in the classroom). We look forward to talking to you soon and wish everyone a fun springtime!

See you next month.

Ms. Diem, Ms. Christine & Ms. Chris

April Calendar:

April 8-12 The Week of the Young Child, an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest early childhood education association.

Monday, April 8 – Wear your Silly Socks to school

Tuesday, April 9 – Wear your Tie-dye to school

Wednesday, April 10 – Wear your Wacky Hair to school

Thursday, April 11 – Wear your favorite Sports Team clothes

Friday, April 12 – Wear your PJs and bring one stuffed animal to school

Friendly Reminders:

Sign your child in/out every day on the attendance sheet.

Remember to label and date all your child’s bottles (top and bottom) and food brought to school with BOTH name and date please!

Please change your child’s diaper when you arrive to school/bring them in a clean diaper.

Please follow the health guidelines of the center regarding illnesses.

Please bring in plastic containers only for baby food.

Please always use the gate properly. (i.e. no hopping /jumping over, or slamming, etc.)

Eloise- Eloise language is developing great and have heard her saying new words. She loves to help around the class and likes to show/tell our new friends where the toys go.

Beckham- Beckham has shown us his development on his vocabulary. The enjoys throwing and kicking the balls in our classroom/playground.

Zula- Zula has shown a lot of interest on solving our puzzles. During circle time she enjoys singing along and mimicking hand gestures.

Myles- Myles has shown us more and more his growing vocabulary. He is doing great on following two step directions and understanding.

Vivian- Vivian has shown her growth and being more independent. She loves to do things on her own; for example, loves to clean up after herself when she’s done eating.

Ezra- Ezra likes to greet everyone who come to our classroom with a big smile and a happy “Hi”. He’s communication skills have grown significant, and we can see how much he is trying to use his words.

Douglas- Douglas is working on using his words and expressing himself more. He enjoys circle/story time and loves to play outside.

Mia- Welcome Mia to the Dinosaur Class!

It's been a busy month for our Penguin friends. We'll share more soon!

Congrats to Miss Olivia in welcoming a sweet baby girl. We're excited for her. <3

Mr. Josue will be helping out in the Penguins classroom alongside Mrs. MJ until Miss Olvia returns. Josue is an incredible and fun teacher and has experience caring for 1 year olds for over 10 years. Wow. We are fortunate to have his expertise and care! Stop by and say Hello. :)

Our Koalas friends had an exciting time during Snow Day! They had fun dressing up in their winter gear and exploring the snow throughout the playground and playing with their toys. We also had fun throwing the snow up in the air and watching it fall down on our friends. FUN!!

We always enjoy creating art. Please make sure to take a few minutes to observe our classroom for any new projects and fun art hanging up.

As a reminder our Koala friends do a wonderful job everyday strengthening those incredible self-help skills. This includes: washing their hands with little to no help, pushing in their chairs, throwing away their food in the trash bin, putting away and taking items from their cubbies, and much more. We are proud of our Koalas! Although these moments may appear small, they are indeed HUGE accomplishments.

Communication is key! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding your child. As a friendly reminder we are available over the phone between the hours 1PM-3PM, while the children are resting/napping.

Have you met Mrs. Christa?! We are currently in search of a full-time Koala Teacher. In the meantime Mrs. Christa, one of our casual teachers, will be helping out in the Koalas and working alongside Mrs. Tammy. Christa is wonderful and the children absolutely love her. Please say Hello! She is happy to help. :)

Hi monkey families! Happy Easter. We hope you have such a great time with your family and friends. This month we did a few spring arts and activities, such as coloring butterflies, decorated our door and did a handprint chick. We also celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by having a puppet show that the kids really enjoyed watching. We created a shamrock with tissue paper that you can see in our classroom for decoration. These activities helped children with their fine motor skills by individually placing tissue paper in the shamrock. Thank you, parents, for helping your children with potty training. It has made the process easier. We are very proud of how well the monkeys have been doing with the process of potty training. As we know it is an important role for our children to accomplish. Remember to always remind them of how proud you feel and let them know that is okay to have accidents. This month we are reading books related to spring, animals, and colors. We are still practicing yoga for relaxation, and the kids love it. If you have any extra books at home you would like to donate, we will happily take them.

Book recommended for the month: You’re my little bunny by Claire Freedman

Reminders: Please don’t forget to bring in a jacket or coat for your child every day and take home any extras. Please label water bottles and take them home every day after school. As warmer weather is approaching, please make sure you apply sunscreen on your child every morning before school, and we will apply again in the afternoon.

For questions and concerns you can call or email during office hours 2-3 pm.

Thank you again,

Talamante.melissa@scrippshealth.org

Saucedo.kayla@scrippshealth.org

As a friendly reminder Miss Kayla will be helping out in the Monkeys Classroom until we fill our full-time teacher position. She is knowledgeable, creative, and absolutely enjoys caring for the 2 year olds. She has also been a part of Gluck for about 3 years. Don't forget to say, Hello! :)

What We Did In FEBRUARY!

We participated in fun activities this month like we often do! We further explored loose parts and incorporated some new activities that follow our Emilia Reggio philosophy. We continue to observe the children and learn more about their interests and needs. Our classroom has been more open and free than ever before. Sometimes we close certain areas during opening and closing times, but once the children transition into their classrooms our Sealife friends have an awesome time exploring freely. We often have circle time in the morning’s right before snack but then quickly jump into activities/projects soon thereafter. We want our Sealife friends to make wonderful choices on their own. Mr. Frankie & Miss Yeretzi will place neat items on the tables for the children to explore, but they are always welcome to bring out other items as well. While doing this our friends are learning A LOT! They are learning to make choices, explore, and the responsibility of cleaning up after playing with a toy or participating in an activity.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

This month Mr. Frankie and Miss Yeretzi have been observing and working with each child individually in preparation for parent-teacher conferences. Here are the five areas of development that we will be discussing during our annual parent-teacher conferences…

§ Communication

Understanding how to express thoughts, feelings and information. 

§ Gross Motor

Balancing/Climbing/Pedaling/Kicking/Throwing/Catching/Running/

Jumping/Hopping

§ Fine Motor

Develop small fine muscle skills by tracing, drawing, coloring, cutting, pasting, beading etc. Also, developing good eye-hand coordination.

§ Problem Solving

Promote and provide opportunities for critical thinking. 1) Identify the problem. 2) Brainstorm a variety of solutions. 3) Choose one solution and try it out. 4) Evaluate what has happened.

§ Personal-Social

Develop abilities to care for themselves (washing hands, using utensils) and to interact with others (playing games and understanding feelings of others). Develop a better understanding of themselves and what they can do.

We will also be going over our kindergarten readiness checklist! Here are a few things to remember about parent-teacher conferences…

§ Children develop skills at different rates and might be strong in some areas and may need improvement in other areas.

§ Teachers often use kindergarten readiness assessments to see if children need extra help in certain areas of development.

Sealife Projects/Activities

Valentine’s Day Treat Bags- This month we had fun decorating our Valentine’s Day bags with our Sealife class. Things like this become huge projects with our preschoolers. We used colored pencils, markers, crayons, stickers, heart shaped cutouts made from construction paper and glue sticks. Each student was able to decorate their very own bag and make it unique and special. The end results were simply AMAZING!

Parent Reminders                

Please ask your child to take home their art work/drawings if their mailbox appears to be overflowing. You are welcome to grab a plastic bag from the bathroom so it is easier for your child to carry.

Please try to leave toys at home. We understand it is very tempting for our friends to bring precious items from home to share with their classmates, but we think it would be best for everyone if they remain home. Sometimes toys become broken and lost, and we are unfortunately unable to keep track of all the items your child brings. We have designated days for show-n-tell, which will be the perfect opportunity for a child to share a toy. We will keep you posted of show-n-tell dates. Thank you!

What Lies Ahead

In March we will be incorporating some fun activities to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! This month we will be making shamrock shakes and reading books about our little friend Lucky the Leprechaun.

We Appreciate Donations!

*Thank you to all our parents for your generous donations!

Additional Information & Reminders

*Please check clipboards regularly for updates, information, or comments about what your child may have done that day. This is one of the ways we communicate with parents. Sometimes we will post accident/incident reports on the clipboard as well OR we may file them and leave a note in the comment section. If your child goes home with an unreported “ouchy” please speak to Mr. Frankie & Miss Yeretzi so we can help find out what may have happened. We apologize if this ever happens and will try our very best to prevent this from occurring again.

*The writing center is for parent and child! This is a great opportunity for you and our child to spend 5 minutes each day tracing or writing, which will help strengthen important skills. Parents can begin teaching their child responsibility and a sense of pride in their work! It may take more time in the beginning when your child first learns to trace, but eventually they will learn to do most of their tracing/writing on their own with little to no guidance. This is what we hope to see each child accomplish before they leave for kindergarten.

*Please let us know if there is ever a concern or if you have a question regarding your child and the Sealife classroom. Mr. Frankie & Miss Yeretzi are always here for you and will try our very best to answer or fix any concerns you may have. We appreciate communication!

*And most importantly, we love our Sealife families. You guys are some of the kindest and most thoughtful families Mr. Frankie & Miss Yeretzi have met and we are truly thankful for this.

*Snow day will be held Friday, March 8, 2024 from 10am to 12pm.

*Virtual parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday, April 11^th  for Seastars and Friday, April 12^th for Seahorses. Please check time slots! Mr. Frankie and Miss Yeretzi will be sending out reminders via email a week before.

The Tigers and Panthers enjoyed all the fun activities this past month. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to our Valentines Day party! The kids loved all the yummy treats!

Activities/Projects…

Last month the Panthers and Tigers read the book “Shape of My Heart,” by Mike Sperring. The book took us on a journey of shapes that every child can relate to, and it finishes with the most important shape of all, the heart.

Mosaics are a familiar art form for kids, it is the physical act of piecing shapes together to form a beautiful pattern and is filled with learning opportunities. By creating mosaics, children develop their concentration, fine motor skills, pattern recognition, focus, and teamwork. Children learn about shapes and how they fit together. They are introduced to patterns and can practice their fine motor skills, while using their imagination and decision-making skills. And most importantly, they have fun.

We asked the Panthers and Tigers “What makes up the pieces of your heart?” With that question in mind, we read the book, “In My heart,” By Jo Witek. This book celebrates feelings in all their shapes and sizes and helps children not only articulate, but to identify their own feelings. We discussed how our hearts can feel so many feelings as well as how other people can affect those feelings. We explored a full range of emotions, describing how and what makes us have these feelings.

“What Makes up the Pieces of My Heart” had our Rainforest class really think about ALL the things they love and are grateful for in their life. They took the “pieces of their heart” and drew it inside each piece using colored pencils. We discussed what love is, what we love the most, and if we looked inside our hearts what were the pieces we would find in there? It was a great way for them to express themselves, while teaching their classmates about everything they love. 

Books We Read…

Some of our favorite books we read this month were Valentine related. We read “The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever” by Brenda Ferber and “Pete the Cat, Valentine’s Day is Cool” by James Dean and Kimberly Dean. The one most requested book was, “Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues” by James Dean and Kimberly Dean. They enjoyed it so much that they all shared what their nighttime routines are like in their home. Thank you to all our Rainforest friends who have brought in books to share with the class. The children really enjoy reading them! Parents, please feel free to bring books to share with the classroom! If your child does bring in a book, please place it on the teacher’s desk for safekeeping. Thank you!

What Lies Ahead…

This month we will be reading the book “The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown and painting Bunnies using watercolors. We will also be talking about what sorts of things makes us feel lucky, what moments make us feel extra special and what we are lucky to have.

Parent/Teacher conferences are coming soon, and Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Lauren will be working with each child more closely to prepare for this. Parent-teacher conferences are a great opportunity to share academic progress and growth based on classroom observation, testing data, assessments, and assignments. We can all learn from each other (parents and teachers) to be better informed about your child’s strengths, needs, behaviors, and learning styles.

Friday March 8^th - Snow Day from 10am – 12:00pm

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

* ARRIVE ON TIME.

* BRING SNOW GLOVES.

* BRING A WARM JACKET.

* BRING EXTRA CLOTHES.

* NO OPEN TOE SHOES!

Friday March 15^th - “Once Upon a Shamrock” by Kathy Felker Puppet Production, @ 10am.

As always, please try to check the sign-in area for additional information!

Additional Information & Reminders

*Happy Birthday to Bodhi (8^th) Ariya (9^th) and Mira (19^th) Nyra (29^th)

*Please let us know if there is ever a concern or if you have a question regarding your child and/or the Rainforest classroom. Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Lauren are always here for you and will try our very best to answer questions and/or fix any concerns you may have. We appreciate communication!

*Our outside time this month is from 3:15-4:15.

*Please check Parent Folders located by the door occasionally, you don’t want to miss any important information.

* Lately your child’s art mailbox has been overflowing. Please remind your child to take home their artwork/drawings.

* Please try to leave toys at home. We understand it is very tempting for our friends to bring precious items from home to share with their classmates, but we think it would be best for everyone if they remain home. Sometimes toys become broken and lost, and we are unfortunately unable to keep track of all the items your child brings.

Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Lauren

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