The Tree House
Tid Bits
The February 2014 Newsletter
I love January. The kids come back to school happy and rested from a long break, parents
come back happy to be back to a routine and the teachers come back happy, rested and full
of new ideas!
The Tree House will be closed for President’s Day on February 17th. No camp day will
be offered.
Our next parent discussion group, Does Your Child Worry? will be on Thursday Feb 13 from
6 – 7 PM here at the Tree House and will be presented by Diane Kisner. Waggoner will
continue to partner with us to provide Spanish translation.
Lost and found will go to Goodwill on Feb 7th. Please check the coat rack and the top of the
white cubbies for any missing if you are missing any clothing items.
We are very excited to be presenting our new program of enrichment classes. These will
augment what we do here already in the afternoon for our school age kids. The first eight
week session will begin Feb 3rd and go through the end of March. Mondays will be Engineers in
training and Tuesdays will be Chefs in training. They will run from 2:30-4:30 and will include
school pick up and a hearty snack. The class topics will change about every 8 weeks. Kids who
are already enrolled on that day will have the opportunity to join that program when they are
here. The only thing you need to do is let us know you want your child to participate!
If you need a year end summary for tax purposes please sign up at the sign in table.
On February 1st the information for our summer program which will include our new preschool
summer program will be out. Watch for more information. March 1st is when preschool
registration will begin for next fall, and school age registration for the fall will begin May 1st.
Morning Care: These kids are really into drawing and coloring. Mattie assists them and
they can draw amazing things!
Two Day: We have had a few changes in this class. We said good-bye to Noelle as her
family moved to Hollister and we welcomed Jae and Malena. The kids grew up sooo much over
break. They now come in so confident and are excited to see their friends. It is really cute
to watch. But they still keep all three of us teachers running for the full two hours they are
here! These kids are really too young to understand the traditions of Valentine’s day.
However, if they have older siblings and really want to participate, they can put cards into
their friends’ cubbies. We will celebrate the day with themed art, snack and activities.
Three Day: Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? was a favorite book in January. We
learned all sorts of facts about polar bears. The kids are really getting good at listening and
sharing facts that they have learned. They also did lots of activities experimenting with ice.
The kids loved the mystery jar. Watch for a visit from Baja bear this month. On Valentine’s
Day kids can bring cards to give to their friends. There are 10 in the class currently.
PreK: The monkeys have been learning all about arctic animals. They have loved the stories
about penguins and Arctic Animals and doing related activities while working on skills with
beginning letter sounds, patterns, counting and writing. They have begun writing in journals
and you will get to enjoy those eventually. The kids love to play with guys and ice and they all
continue to love to play different variations of chase outside. For Valentine’s Day, the
monkeys can bring cards to exchange in class and we will celebrate with a fun snack and
Valentine’s activities. There are currently 16 kids in this class.
Extended Day: This group of kids continues to love to play, play, play. They enjoy dramatic
play and they love to go to the wood park. The small group size really allows for everyone’s
needs to be met and for our staff to really help work on social skills.
Enrichment: This group has so much energy. They are bubbling with liveliness from the
moment they meet us at the picnic bench until they get picked up at the end of their day.
They are now walking in pairs and supervised from a distance when they leave school and head
for Tree House. This way they won’t have to wait out in the rain (if it ever comes) for the
stragglers. They take the responsibility seriously and it is great to watch this first small
step of independence. Once they arrive, some kids can’t wait to get outside and play a game
on the grass, wall ball or basketball. Other kids can’t wait to get to the art table where they
will create an amazing hot glue project or a painting or a sewing project. And other kids look
forward to building with blocks, train tracks or playing with the doll house. No matter what
area they decide to play in that day they are having a great time, laughing and enjoying
playing with their friends. The Tree House is kind of like the house where all the
neighborhood kids love to hang out. For the kids that are here on Valentine’s Day, we will
celebrate with fun games, art and a special snack. There is no need to bring valentines or
treats here. They will also have lots of opportunities to make valentines for friends while
they are here for the two weeks prior.