THE CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER NEWS
A NEWSLETTER FOR GROWING MINDS
November 2016
IMPORTANT DATES:
From the Assistant Director
The HCC Community Partnership
During a tour with students at the Children’s Learning Center, I
was asked to provide one characteristic of this program that
makes it unique from other early childhood programs. My reply
was the CLC Lab School. The Lab School works with the Early
Childhood Education Program, the English Language Learner, the
Nursing Department and other college programs to offer students
opportunities to observe and volunteer in our classrooms as part
of their class assignments.
November 23-25: CLC
CLOSED for Thanksgiving
Holiday break.
December 22: CLC
CLOSED for Professional
Day.
December 23– January 2:
CLC CLOSED for Winter
Holiday break.
This year the Lab School has added a partnership with the January 16: CLC CLOSED
Emergency Medical Technician Program. EMT students are for MLK Jr. Day.
currently volunteering in our preschool classrooms in the
afternoons. You may have seen them in their blue uniforms sitting
PHONE NUMBERS:
with the children during snack, on the floor at story time or
Kim Pins
443-518-4150
outside running with the children on the playground. You may
443-518-4152
have heard your son or daughter talking about the fun they had Cathy Nunn
Desk
with the fireman. As the children become comfortable and Front
Susan Sanchez
443-518-1360
actively engaged with the paramedics it will ease some of the Ladybug
443-518-2037
fears or anxieties if they see the paramedics out on a medical Bumblebee
443-518-2036
emergency. There are reciprocal benefits for the paramedic stuFirefly
443-518-2038
dent. This opportunity provides them “real time” to practice and
Caterpillar
443-518-2030
build child focused communication skills in a classroom of healthy,
Grasshopper
443-518-2031
active preschool children.
—Ms. Cathy
Children’s Learning Center Tax Id #: 52-0900106
Dragonfly
443-518-2033
Butterfly
443-518-2032
INSIDE:
The Lab School is an enriching experience for children in many
ways, including the fact that they get to know a range of older students of different ages, interests, and backgrounds.
Kim’s News
1
Administrative News
1
Classroom News
2-7
School Readiness
Activities
8
Children’s Learning Center License #:101729
From the Infant Wing
Page 2
“The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually
surround us.” –James E. Faust
In October, the Ladybug friends enjoyed multiple walks on campus, listened to
music, interacted with our friends, and celebrated some birthdays. Some of our
babies are learning to stand while others are working on rolling over.
A prominent theme of November is thankfulness. We in the Ladybug room are
grateful to be working with you and your children. We appreciate all the efforts
each baby applies to their individual growth and skills.
This month we shall focus on the social, language and physical
development of our babies through daily routines, interactions
with them, reading books to them, nature walks outside and
introducing them to new people.
— Ms. Jessica and Ms. Kelly
October was a fun-filled month. The Bumblebee friends
enjoyed painting with paint brushes and carrots. They explored
nature when they collected pinecones and leaves, and whipped
cream provided a great sensory experience.
Thomas is a walker now! Clark is talking up a storm. Keith, Dameon and
Maddox love to climb and jump on the mats. The Bumblebees buzzed through
the month.
In November, the Bumblebees will focus on using their hands to explore
objects and items. The Bumblebee friends will have opportunities to engage
their senses with bubble wrap, sand paper, and Velcro. The children will also
have the opportunity to play with the pinecones, leaves, and rocks they collected
last month and put in the outdoor sensory table.
Please remember to dress your child appropriately for Fall weather temperatures, since we still go outside to play each day.
—Ms. Tishia and Ms. Aneela
THE CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER NEWS
Page 3
From the Firefly Room:
To celebrate October and the arrival of cooler weather, the Fireflies have been
exploring all things Fall. We started out the month exploring gourds and mini pumpkins.
We talked about their color and texture, and the children created art by using them to
paint. We have taken a few short walks to look for the changes happening all around us.
We collected leaves and sang songs about leaves and pumpkins! We created a tissue
paper collage (a Firefly favorite activity) and turned it in to colorful leaves to hang in
our classroom. The Fireflies even tried their hand at cooking when they made
applesauce in the crock pot!
We have continued to work on our short circle times after snack…it is still a work in
progress. The children especially enjoy singing “hello” to all of their Firefly friends and
teachers. As the children are able to sit for longer periods of time we will begin to add
short stories and introduce objects for the children to explore while they sit. We are
continuing to practice those self-help skills and have found that the children are
beginning to fall into a familiar routine after meals and before and after going outside.
Your continued help with encouraging hand holding when you are coming and going from
school is a great help in keeping the children safe!
As November arrives and all of the Fall changes continue, we will also continue our
sensory explorations. We will take more walks to collect leaves, sticks, pinecones etc…
and bring them in to our classroom for the children to explore. We will be incorporating
some fantastic science in our exploration when we open up a pumpkin and the children
discover what is inside. We will talk about what we might find when we open it up, and
they will be surprised to find seeds and lots of gooey, stringy stuff. We will read
books about the changing seasons including Busy Little Squirrel and Baby Loves Fall!
As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately to
spend time outdoors and their extra clothes are well stocked in case they need a
change.
We are looking forward to a fun, fantastic November!
—Ms. Nicole and Ms. Rocio
Page 4
News from the Grasshopper Room
The time is November, and the season of Fall is in full swing!
Leading up to Thanksgiving, the children of the Grasshopper room will
begin the month with a focus on manners; remembering to say please and
thank-you, share and take turns. Puppet play and art collaborations will
allow the children opportunities to role play and share artistic space. By
introducing collage materials into our art area, the children will explore
things to do in art with glue. As our focus remains teaching awareness
towards the feelings of other children, we will introduce new manipulatives
that encourage sharing and stories that inspire kindness.
Leaves are falling….and with that comes endless possibilities of discovery.
Leaf painting, leaf prints and a leaf collage are a few of the activities in
store for the Grasshoppers this November. The vibrant colors of falling
leaves will inspire our easel painting and playdough color. The falling of
leaves will also become the muse of our classroom, through dancing and
song. The children will enjoy a leaf toast cooking project, as well as many
fun outdoor experiences such as raking leaves and parachute play.
—Ms. Amy and Ms. Martha
Page 5
Dragonfly News
October was a month of progress in the Dragonfly room. The children have
acclimated to the routine and have begun performing classroom jobs like line
leader, soap pumper and name collector. Fortunately, the weather has
changed bringing us cooler temperatures and beautiful autumnal colors.
During our theme of Manners we learned that good manners are not just
about saying please and thank you but they are about helping others feel
good. Also, when we use our manners it helps our whole day run smoothly and
creates a peaceful atmosphere. Farm was our next theme and it was great
fun making scarecrows! The Dragonflies also loved dressing up and reenacting the story of Ms. Wishy Washy. We ended the month with the theme of
Autumn which involved apple tasting and graphing classroom results. One
themed art lesson involved cutting apples in half and painting/printing with
them. A favorite activity was playing Ring around the Pumpkin.
In November, we will explore Community Helpers, Turkeys, and Peace
Week. We will be continuing our Fall Conferences.
Parents: Please remember to send in weather appropriate Fall clothing.
—Ms. Michelle and Ms. Melanie
REMINDER: If you are emailing to let the administrative staff know that you will have
a different person pick up your child, please email the ENTIRE administrative staff to
insure the message is delivered to the teacher on duty.
Director: Kim Pins, [email protected]
Assistant Director: Cathy Nunn, [email protected]
Administrative Office Associate, Susan Sanchez, [email protected]
Page 6
News from the Caterpillar Room
Last month’s lesson on fall and nocturnal animals opened up the door
for a lot of interesting art concepts and deep science exploration. You
may have heard your caterpillar talking about gravity, the effects of
the sun and the moon on the planet earth, and the feeding habits of
nocturnal animals.
This month the Caterpillars will be exploring different types of transportation. They will
attempt to create working models of the types of vehicles we talk about in class. I am sure
the Caterpillars will enjoy decorating and folding their own paper airplanes. The concept of
transportation will allow us to revisit some of the previous interests in gravity and time.
After a thrilling two weeks of transportation, the Caterpillars will honor the holidays with a
Corn and Kindness lesson which will highlight manners, mindfulness, and some of the foods
that the Caterpillars learned about during the harvest section of our fall lesson.
Throughout our day together the Caterpillars share lots of stories about their interactions
with their families. It is so clear that their families are very important to them and I would
like to use this month to honor that connection. As you visit with family members this
Thanksgiving , please keep your camera ready and take a few pictures to send back to school.
We will attempt to put up a family tree on November 28th, the day we get back from our
Thanksgiving break, with the pictures you have taken. In the meantime, enjoy the fall
weather and the pumpkin spiced air!
—Ms. Chalese
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY:
As a part of Howard Community College, the Children’s Learning Center has the same
openings, closings and delays in the event of inclement weather.
The Howard Community College Mobile Alert System enables you
to receive instant notification of important campus information to
your phone, email, pager, or desktop RSS application. The link to
sign up for mobile alerts is: http://www.howardcc.edu/about_hcc/
news_and_events/alert/
We encourage all of our families to subscribe to the mobile alert
system or check the HCC website for proper and timely communication should the weather become unpredictable.
Page 7
News from the Butterfly Room
Fall is the perfect time to introduce leaves. Our friends will start the
week off by taking part in a nature walk around campus to collect leaves
of all colors and sizes. Once back in the classroom our little scientists will read the book
Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro, and use a magnifying glass to study the
many patterns. In art, water color leafs will be created and the class will see what
happens when yellow and red are mixed together. We will expand our math skills by
creating a graph of our favorite fall leaf colors, and we’ll work on fine motor development
with the use of tweezers and lacing.
The Butterflies will be busy building during November. The children will participate in
partner activities where they need to talk with a friend to make a plan and build something
together using Legos or Duplos. Blocks will be used to measure how tall things around the
room are, help us recognize numbers and quantity, as well as show the shape of certain
letters. The children will use the Legos to create alphabet stamps in playdough, and help
spell their names.
On Friday, November 18th, the Butterflies will be having a Sharing is Caring Feast during
morning snack. Each child will be asked to bring in their favorite healthy food to share
with their friends. This will provide the class an opportunity to demonstrate the ideas of
sharing and thankfulness just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday! Look for more details
about this event to be posted soon.
Before we leave for the Thanksgiving break, the Butterfly class will spend time talking
about their families. They will count how many people are in their family and compare it to
the others in the class, as well as create a family tree in art. During circle time the
children will have a chance to share a picture of their family, so please be sure to send in a
family photo no later than Friday, November 20th. These photos will also be hung around
the room so that the children can look at each other’s families.
—Ms. Julie and Ms. Melissa
With the changing of the seasons and the colder weather upon us, please remember that
we go outside daily and to send your child to school with a warm jacket. As it
gets even colder please remember to send in hats and gloves! And don’t forget
to check your child’s cubby and change out their extra clothes for weather
appropriate items.
Tuition Payments
Tuition is due the Monday prior to care being given. Like groceries, you pay prior to
consuming. To calculate the monthly rate, multiply the amount of Mondays times the weekly
tuition rate. For the month of December, even though there are 4 Mondays, our families only
pay for three weeks since the college is closed the week of 12/26/16.
Page 8
7 Easy Ways for Kids to
help at Thanksgiving
The Children’s Learning Center NEWS is
a publication of
Howard Community College’s
Children’s Learning Center
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
V ISIT US ONLINE AT:
www.howardcc.edu/
childcare
RESOURCES:
(from Babble.com)
For a national holiday that encourages us to take stock of our blessings,
Thanksgiving can be fairly stressful…especially for parents. All the preparations and cooking and a more formal mealtime are not exactly kidfriendly. But gratitude isn’t just for adults, and neither should Thanksgiving be an adult-only activity. That’s why it is good to get the kids involved
as much as possible.
Here are a few of the ways we suggest doing it, from helping prepare the
table to giving a hand in the kitchen.

Have your kids design/create a special place card or decorate
a placemat for each guest. If they're up for doing more than just designing, let them write something they're thankful for about the guest
on each placemat or card. Then, for fun, mix the places up at the table so your guests or family members aren't sitting by the same people as usual.

Has your family graduated to a kids' table and a grown-up table? If
so, let your kids decorate and set the kids' table. Get some small
pumpkins or fall/nature items and let them go at it—including with
napkin folding, arrangement of condiments, etc

Part decoration, part entertainment, and part teaching gratitude to
your kids...gather up some small cards (these blank flashcards work
well) or pieces of fall-themed paper and ask your kids to write out the
things they're thankful for. Then scatter these on your Thanksgiving
table.

This definitely depends on age, but if you have any little helpers in
training, find some small tasks they can do and let them at it. Most
kids are capable of mashing potatoes, tearing lettuce, washing fruits
and veggies, stirring batter, rolling out pie crusts, placing rolls in a
basket, sprinkling marshmallows, etc

If your kids can read, give them the all-important job of Recipe Reader. They can call out ingredients as needed, or help you gather those
ingredients. Older kids can be in charge of measuring. You might
even let one decide on an item of their own—an easy side dish or
dessert—that they can help make

Fruit salad is expected. Fruit kabobs are a less conventional way to
add fruit to your Thanksgiving table. These are perfect for kids. With
parental supervision, older kids can slice fruit and younger kids can
skewer them.
SCHOOL READINESS!
Parents of preschoolers— It’s not too early to
start getting your four year old ready for
Kindergarten! Check out this space each
month for resources and tips for helping your
child to be prepared:
For tips & handouts on a variety of early learning and school readiness topics go to:
www.readyatfive.org/resources/tips.aspx
To search for activities to do at home with
children try:
www.readyatfive.org/activities/ activity_search.aspx