Bright Horizons at River East
March 2014
From the Director
Important Dates
River East Families,
Spring is right around the corner, and
this means it is time to check your child’s
cubby for appropriate spring attire. As
the weather continues to warm, we will
be resuming our daily walks. Please
make sure your child is dressed for the
weather so they are able to participate in
outside time with their class.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014:
Parent Partnerships Conference Call
Week Of March 17, 2014:
Spring Related Art and Science Activities
The Awards of Excellence nomination
period has closed, and I would like to
thank all of the families that participated.
Nominating a teacher at the Center is a
great way to recognize them for the
hard work they do each day. Nominated
teachers will be honored at our Annual
Awards of Excellence Banquet later this
year.
I would also like to thank all of our
families for participating in our monthly
Parent Partnerships Calls. Your
feedback is very valuable to our Center!
-Felicia
Connect with Bright Horizons
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Classroom Highlights
Infant1
This month in Infant 1 we have seen an increase in the children’s communication skills. Their interest in books, stories
and music continues to increase, and their verbal and nonverbal communication skills are being incorporated during this
time as well. A few of their favorite stories this month were Z Is For Moose, Whose Toes Are Those?, and Dolly
Dolphin. They enjoy observing the story as well as pointing to the pictures and independently turning the pages. For
Science Rocks, we explored pink soapy water in the sensory table. We also explored finger painting with white paint as
well as yogurt painting for the older children. Some of children began eating solids at the table as well as trying cereal
for the first time! As the children grow and develop, we as teachers consistently listen to their cues as they tell us what
they need. Our youngest children are starting to become strong through tummy time and reaching for objects, while
our oldest children are crawling and walking with assistance. We look forward to the weather warming up next month
in hopes that we can start going on our morning strolls again.
Infant 2
Many new developments were seen during the month of February in Infant 2! Two of our children began walking, and
one began to crawl! These developments allowed for many new Movement Matters activities in our classroom. We
incorporated a large tunnel, and the children practiced strengthening their gross motor skills as they crawled from one
end to the other. Our younger children continued to practice tummy time each day, and we are now seeing the
children rolling from back to front.
For Art Smart, we continued to enjoy playing the classroom drum and other musical instruments. We also finger
painted with green and yellow paint. Our Science Rocks activities included exploring bubbles and using our senses to
explore paint.
Lastly, our communication skills are expanding as well. The older children are communicating both verbally and
nonverbally as they wave and say “hi” and “bye” to their parents and teachers. Our younger children continue to
happily coo and babble throughout the day!
Infant 3
February was full of excitement in Infant 3! For Science Rocks, we incorporated many different activities that allowed
and encouraged the children to explore their senses. We filled the sensory table with water and added rubber balls.
During this activity, the children seemed to enjoy having the opportunity to feel the texture of the different sensory
balls and splash in the water! For Art Smart, we incorporated the musical instruments and drum into our everyday
activities, and listened to music from around the world. The children are all smiles when they hear the instruments and
have the opportunity to play the drum. Language Works continues to be a strong focus in Infant 3, and Milly and Tilly
and The Tale of Peter Rabbit were a few of the books we read to the class. We also enjoyed having our Infant 3
families come into the classroom and read to us at the end of the month.
With the weather starting to change, we are now looking forward to taking the children outside for the first time in
2014!
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Classroom Highlights
Toddler 1
During the month of February our friends in Toddler1 used their imagination and creativity to explore the world
around them. During the past few weeks we had the opportunity to explore different colors while using the water
table. We explored green, yellow, blue, and red water and added different cups and animals to aide in their
exploration. We also created stories about the following letters: M, S, B, and A. To enhance our lessons, we decided to
check out books from surrounding libraries, and the children are learning how to properly care for library books.
For Science Rocks, we explored different textures such as, soft, hard, rough and smooth while using recycled materials
found in our learning environment. As part of the Our World curriculum, we continued to enhance our learning by
focusing on different community helpers as we expanded the children’s interest and awareness of community helpers
and events. We started our investigation in February, and we will continue our exploration and discussion of their
importance in our community throughout the month of March.
We focused on friendship by asking our friends how they can be more helpful and by teaching social graces such as
saying thank you, I am sorry and excuse me. We continue to engage our friends in simple role play and demonstrate an
ability to use imagination during play each day!
Toddler 2
We hope everyone had a happy February! We had an exciting month in Toddler 2. We have added a lot of activities
to our Circle Time routine because there has been such great interest in the different songs and books. We have
added pictures and more hands-on activities for the children so they can feel included in the songs instead of just
passively listening. We will continue to add new songs and pictures to Circle Time in order to keep it interesting, as
well as continuing with the classroom favorites.
In addition to adding Circle Time activities, we added new puzzles to the classroom as well as large building blocks.
This allowed the class to work on their matching skills and to experiment with balance. Building towers with the blocks
and yelling “Oh No!” as they knock them down has become a favorite activity in our room.
For Art Smart, we tried to do as many art projects as possible. We used paint in many different ways, even painting with
water on chalkboards. Most of our class is filled with hands-on learners, so we plan sensory related activities that allow
the children the opportunity to learn the way they enjoy.
February has been a month of growth for Toddler 2. We had two children transition from our Infant 1 classroom, and
we have some other friends who are coming from other centers and/or home who we are very excited to meet! We
will be working on incorporating our new friends into our daily routine, which may be new to some. As we do this, we
will be changing our room a bit to make it flow a little better so expect to see some changes in the Toddler 2 room!
Please feel free to come to us with any ideas you may have of things you would like to see happen in our room or with
your child specifically. We are always open to new ideas and feedback!
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Classroom Highlights
Classroom Highlights
Twos 1
The month of February was great in Twos 1! In February, our curriculum was focused on friendship. We learned about
what it means to be a friend and how a friend acts. We have also learned that it is great to have more than one friend.
We learned to appreciate friendship with our hearts. In Twos 1 we participated in an activity titled “My Friendly
Heartbeat.” This Science Rocks activity incorporated a stethoscope, and the children paired up and listened to their
friend’s heartbeat. After, the children exercised for a few minutes they listened again, and we then had a conversation
about the differences between the two speeds.
As part of Language Works, we worked on identifying names of feelings. We used the emotion flowers to talk about the
feeling displayed on each flower. We learned to identify sad, mad, happy, jealous, curious and many other feelings we
experience each day!
During our Math Counts activities, we worked on sorting by color. We sorted vehicles, beads, pom-poms and many
other manipulatives by their color. The children are getting very good at this math skills, and are beginning to sort
items independently.
Preschool 1
The children learned many new things in February. Most of our lessons were based on Groundhog’s Day, Valentine’s
Day, and President’s Day. During Language Works, we discussed Groundhog’s Day. The children learned that
groundhogs are animals that hibernate, and on Groundhog’s Day the groundhog comes out of hibernation and some
think that whether or not a groundhog sees its shadow determines how many more weeks of winter there will be.
During the week of Valentine’s Day we focused on friendship and the Our World curriculum. The children expressed
their love all month long and had conversations about how much they love their parents, grandparents, teachers, and
friends.
On President’s Day the children were asked, “Who is the president of the United States.” They learned that the
president is Barack Obama, and the first lady, his wife, is Michelle Obama. They also learned that President Obama and
his family lives in the White House in Washington D.C.
For Math Counts, we have been learning the value of money. We have been counting coins, sorting them by color and
denomination, and weighing them with the scale . The first two coins we discussed were the penny, worth 1 cent and
the nickel, worth 5 cents. The children also learned that President Abraham Lincoln’s face is on the front of the penny.
As the children learned to vote, they voted for their favorite color. To help understand the concept of voting, the
children made a graph, and we discovered that the classroom’s favorite color is white!
During ArtSmart, we created a great deal of artwork. One of the projects the children worked on was creating their
own American Flag. They learned that the American Flag has 13 red and white stripes and 50 stars.
They also created their own Valentine’s Day bags, butterflies, and pictures. After the art projects were complete, their
teachers added a little treat and they were able to take their bag of goodies home to share with their families.
As part of our Science Rocks curriculum, we focused on understanding how shadows are created. We incorporated
the light table into our daily activities and even made our own silhouettes.
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
READY for SCHOOL News
READY for SCHOOL Parent News: Creating an Environment for Learning in Your Home
As adults, we typically find it is easier to sit down and pay bills, write a letter, or send an email when our work
space is attractive and easily accessible. The same is true for children. The environment matters. One step in
helping your child get ready for formal schooling can be creating an environment for learning in your home.
Subtle environmental additions communicate that you think learning and learning materials are important. This
could be as simple as setting aside a space in your child’s room or a corner of the kitchen table for “school
activities.”
READY to WRITE: Provide a small basket or cardboard “school box” with crayons, pencils, post-its, and small
pads of paper. An attractive container of colored pencils and washable markers is also likely to attract your
child’s attention. You could add ABC stencils, a ruler, an eraser, and lined paper for older children, if you’d like.
(If you have younger children in your home, keep these out of reach when your preschool or kindergarten child is
not using them). This can be the place your child can go to do his/her “school work.” Keep it fun and avoid
pressuring your child to use these materials. Save them for a relaxed activity where your child can practice as
he/she chooses while you are busy cooking dinner or cleaning up.
READY to READ: Another helpful addition to the environment is having reading materials readily available.
We know that reading aloud to children is a key factor in later embracing reading in their own lives. In addition,
children who see their parents reading and enjoying it are more apt to want to read themselves. As you read the
newspaper, for example, your child can select from a basket of books or children’s magazines to look through. It
is important to have books at children’s levels that they can access on their own. Even toddlers will enjoy a
basket of sturdy board books or plastic books at their level. When children look through the pictures in a
favorite book that has been read aloud to them again and again, they often retell the story to themselves, either
silently or out loud. Being able to recall and re-tell a story is an important pre-reading skill.
READY for MATH: The kitchen is a logical place to add materials for your child to learn math skills such as
measuring. Have some plastic measuring cups and spoons for your child’s use that are kept in a low, open cabinet
or drawer accessible for his/her use. At appropriate times, when you are not too rushed, your child could help
you count and measure as you, for example, pour cups of lukewarm water into a pot for cooking pasta. When
you have less time to interact, stacking nested measuring cups (ones that fit inside each other), spoons, or small
bowls is a good ordering activity for your child to work on independently.
You probably already have many learning opportunities available in your home. Consider presenting them in new
and different ways to attract renewed interest from your child. Have fun setting up these learning spaces!
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Bright Horizons News
Help a Friend Discover Bright Horizons during our Spring Open House Week!
Each year, Bright Horizons welcomes new families to our community. And, year after year,
we’ve found that the best way to meet these families is through you!
This April, we are hosting an Open House week to welcome new families to learn more
about our center. If you have a friend or family member that might be interested in joining
the Bright Horizons family, we would be happy to provide information for you to share
with them!
Please see Center Director for details.
Join us for the next installment in our Family Matters Webinar Series on March 26!
Organization Tips for Busy Families
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Being a working parent takes an incredible amount of organization, preparation, juggling and a little bit of daily
magic! If you’re a busy parent in search for some tips to help organize your family’s busy schedule, this webinar is
for you! In this webinar we’ll provide you with tips and tricks on getting your family organized, including:
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how to make transitions from home to school/child care easier
tips and resources for meal planning, calendar sharing and overall family communication
how to manage ‘hiccups’ in your daily routine, such as school holidays or breakdowns in child care
arrangements
homework management, chore organization and overall tips for keeping your home and family
running smoothly
To register, visit www.brighthorizons.com/organizationtipswebinar.*
* The first 100 registrants will win a free 3-month subscription to The Six O’ Clock Scramble—an online family dinner
planning service for busy parents that takes the Scramble out of 6:00 with a weekly dinner plan and grocery list delivered right to their
email inbox or phone. Visit webinar registration page for additional details.
325 East Grand Avenue | P: 312-527-3573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 6:30 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.