Child Care Chronicle
October 2015
A few reminders...
Mark your calendars. School photos will be held
on Wednesday, October 7th and Thursday,
October 8th. More information will be in your
child’s basket soon. Be sure to check baskets
daily for this and other important information.
Friday Oct 30 ECCC will have a Costume
Parade through the College Campus! Details will
be available through your child’s teacher.
Please remember to sign your child in and out
every day. This is very important for the safety
of the children!!
October is fire prevention month.
We will have a firefighter visit on Oct 9th. This is
an excellent time to examine your preparedness.
Here are a few simple tips to help you avoid fires
and reduce the risk of injury should one occur:
Smoke Alarms – These are still a very
important addition to your home. Install a smoke
alarm on every level of your home and test it
monthly.
Prevent Electrical Fires – Don’t overload
circuits or extension cords. Cords and wires
should never be placed under rugs or in high
traffic areas. Avoid loose electrical connections
by checking the fit of the plug in the wall outlet.
If the plug loosely fits, inspect the outlet right
away. A poor connection between the plug and
the outlet can cause overheating and can start a
fire in minutes.
Keep Plugs Safe – Unplug all appliances when
not in use. If a plug is overheating, smells
strange, shorts out or sparks – the appliance
should be shut off immediately, then replaced or
repaired.
Alternate Heaters – Make sure there is ample
space around any portable heating unit.
Anything that could catch fire should be at least
three feet away. Inspect your chimney annually
and use fire screens to help keep any fires in the
fireplace.
Create An Escape Route – Create and practice
your escape plan with your family from every
room in the house. Practice staying low to the
floor and checking for hot doors using the back
of your hand. It’s just like a routine school fire
drill – but in your home.
Position Appliances Carefully – Try to keep
TV sets, kitchen and other appliances away from
windows with curtains. If there is a wiring
problem, curtains can spread a fire quickly.
Additionally, keeping your appliances away from
water sources (like rain coming in from windows)
can help prevent wiring damage which can lead
to a fire.
Clean Dryer Vents – Clothes dryers often start
fires in residential areas. Clean the lint filter
every time you start a load of clothes to dry or
after the drying cycle is complete. Make sure
your exhaust duct is made of metal tubing and
not plastic or foil. Clean the exhaust duct with a
good quality dryer vent brush to prevent
blockage & check for lint build up behind the
dryer at least twice a year.
Be Careful Around the Holidays – If you fill
your home with lights during the holiday season,
keep them away from anything that can easily
catch fire. Check all of your lights prior to
stringing them up and dispose of anything with
frayed or exposed wires.
Conduct Regular Inspections – Check all of
your electronic equipment and wiring at least
once a month. Taking a little time to do this
each month can really pay off.
Following these simple tips could potentially
save your life or the life of a loved one.
Inchworm News
October 2015
Dear Families,
September Recap
In September, we enjoyed activities relating to transportation. We read books and sang songs
about buses and trains, and explored the cars and trucks in our room.
Two new Inchworms joined our class this month, Brianna and Evey. The teachers and other
babies are enjoying getting to know our new friends.
Personal Achievements
Peyton is cruising around the furniture and dancing to any music she hears. She likes to flop on
the pillows and is enjoying playing with Brianna and Avery. Peyton likes eating from the toddler
menu, and is babbling, squealing, and laughing all day long.
Brianna is crawling quickly and beginning to pull herself up. She is enjoying getting to know the
other babies, and she and Peyton like to play with toys together. Brianna eats oatmeal and
vegetables and fruits. She is a happy baby who likes to have fun.
Avery has begun crawling and pulling himself up. He likes to cuddle with the teachers, and is
now eating oatmeal and vegetables. Avery has discovered that he can “shout”, and also babbles
much of the day. He likes to follow Peyton and Brianna around and play with them.
Hudson likes to play in the bouncer, and often laughs out loud when he is in it. He is beginning
to sit up independently, and is eating oatmeal. Hudson always has a smile for the teachers and
other babies when they smile at him amd talk to him.
Harper is beginning to sit up independently, and likes to play in the bouncer. She is full of smiles
and belly laughs, and “talks” to the toys and teachers a lot. She is rolling over from back to front,
and is beginning to enjoy tummy time more.
Evey is nearly rolling over from her back to her tummy. She likes her bottles, and likes to be
cuddled and held. Evey has very good head and neck control, and likes to sit on a teacher’s lap
and watch the other babies playing.
Looking Ahead
We will learn about autumn/fall in October. We will play with shakers with fall items inside, and
look for signs of fall when we are outside. We will read books and sing songs about autumn,
leaves, and pumpkins.
The Inchworm Staff-Miss Chris, Miss Stef, and
Miss Lynn
October News
We are happy to welcome Miss Kelly to the Fireflies classroom! The children seem to be
adjusting well to the change. They are real troopers and seem to go with the flow so naturally. If
you have any concerns feel free to talk with me any time. Also please feel free to come in and
visit any time. If you could, we would love to have you for lunch! Just give us a day notice so
we can make arrangements with the kitchen.
I have only one reminder. With the cooler weather coming we need to start thinking
about making sure your child has a change of clothing suited for the weather. Please check
your child’s extra clothing box to see if you have cooler weather clothing in the room.
What we did last month:
We spent the month getting to know our new friends and the room.
Gabriella and Noelle have lot in common and became fast friends.
Reed, Oliver, and Nola love the outside time and play on all the equipment.
Yana, Genesis, and Cora are still very fond of the Frozen C.D. and want it all the time. They
will dance around the room like little fairies.
Benjamin and Morgan have gotten closer and play together a lot. They love setting up the
farm items and will do this for long periods of time.
Danielle and Sydney love the books! They have looked at all of them at least three times each.
What’s going on this month?
We will be taking the month of October to talk about all things fall. This will include everything
from raking leaves to harvest time. With Halloween just around the corner we will even talk a
little about masks and dress ups to make it a little less scary for the children and maybe a little
more fun.
Friday Oct 30th we will be having a costume party. Watch for a sign up by the sign in.
Chipmunk Chatter
October 2015
During September, the Chipmunks especially enjoyed…
Abby – watercolors
Addy – color recognition games
Easton – talking about his house
Ethan – ladder blocks
Hunter – talking about Pappy
Kylah – finding her name at different places
Lily – dolls in dramatic play
Olivia – outdoor play
Reed – outdoor sand play
Ruth – sponges and water in sensory table
Semaj – working on floor puzzles
Other favorites were the light table and the Hand on Myself fingerplay
October Units of Study
October 5 – Fire Prevention and Safety – This year’s theme is “Hear the Beep, Where
You Sleep”
October 12 – Owls and Bats
October 19 – Pumpkins
October 26 – Monsters and Make Believe
October 30 – PJ party
Other News
Olivia turned three and Ruth will be three this month!
Coming soon….Picture Day October 7th and 8th
Please label outerwear in an easily visible place.
Bluebird Newsletter
October 2015
During the month of September the children have been learning the classroom
routine and making new friends. We spent two weeks reviewing colors and shapes. We then
spent a week exploring apples. We talked about how apples grow, the parts of an apple, and
foods made from apples. We tasted many different kinds and graphed which ones we liked
and disliked. We enjoyed our visit from Johnny Appleseed and learned how to make apple
cider.
I’ve received several family pages to put in our classroom album. The children really
enjoy being able to look at their family any time during the day. If you’ve misplaced your
blank pages just let me know I’ll get you another.
I recently sent out a note regarding hermit crab weekend visits. The children are very
excited about this. Feel free to ask me about the hermit crabs.
Just a reminder to bring a jacket for outside playtime in the morning. Often they don’t
need it by the afternoon, but it is still chilly during our morning playtime. Try to label
jackets too. Thank you.
October Themes
October 5-9 - Fire Safety and Community Helpers. The 2015 Fire Prevention Week theme
is” Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm.” We
will have a visit from the Elizabethtown Fire Dept. on Friday the 9th from 9:30-10:30.
October 12-16 - Leaves and Squirrels
October 19-23 – Pumpkins
October 26-30 – Bats, Spiders and Halloween Fun
Dates to Remember
October 4th – Happy 4th Birthday Preston!
October 7 & 8 – School Pictures
October 9th – Elizabethtown Fire Dept. visit
October 10th – Happy 4th Birthday Cameron!
October 15th – PALS with Kindergarten Children
October 30th – Fall Costume Party (I’ll send out more info closer to the party)
Cub/Hive Newsletter
October 2015
September was a month of transition, with the students (and their teachers!) getting to know new faces and new
routines. We spent time talking about how to be a good Cub, making good choices, how we behave at Circle time,
how to be a safe Cub, and learning new things about each other. We started a daily writing time, and we began to
learn the alphabet and numbers (new for some, review for others). Another new thing we are excited about the
change of seasons, and we asked the students:
What do you know about autumn?
Addie - the leaves fall off the trees
Andrew - the leaves get crunchy
Ayden - it rains
Cayden - the leaves fall down and change colour
Chiara - fall is before winter
Gaby - it gets foggy and you can't see 'nuffin'
Gwen - the leaves are falling and changing colours while they fall
Jacob - squirrels hide acorns
Liam - I play soccer
Marshall - I like when the leaves change colour
Paige - it is 'sweater cold'
Shammah - you can jump in leaves and have leaf fights. "It's fun!"
Sonja - people can jump in leaf piles
This year, we would like to begin to help our students memorize their personal information. Being able to tell a
grown up helper this information in an emergency is very useful. As such, we will be sending a post card home
for you to fill out with your child's:
a) Full name (including middle)
b) Primary address
c) Primary phone number
Thank you for partnering with us as we teach your children!
IMPORTANT: The days are growing cooler, and we go outside daily, whenever possible. Please, please be sure
your child has an appropriate change of clothing in his or her basket, in case of accidents. It would be a great idea
to leave a hoodie hanging on your child's hook all the time, just in case! Unfortunately, we do not have enough
extra clothing to accommodate many children without sweaters or jackets, and we hate to see our students
feeling too chilly to play outside.
Dates to Remember:
10/5 - Fire Safety week
10/7-10/8 – Picture Days!
10/9 - Visit from Etown Fire Department
10/13 - Gwen's birthday!
10/12 - Columbus Day: ECCC is open
10/15 - Field Trip to Masonic Orchard
10/20 - Shammah's birthday!
10/30 - Dress up party
OCTOBER FOX NEWS
It has been a pleasure spending the last few weeks of summer
with your children. We have been talking about families, foxes, friends
and having fun getting to know each other and finding our favorite
things in our rooms. Mrs. Rodgers will be back with the a.m. Foxes on
a daily basis the end of September and everyone will get into a routine.
We will have lots of artwork and information in our room and in
the hall that your child would love to show you, so I hope that you can
take a few minutes each week to take a peek. When you don’t find the
Foxes in the room, check out the information wheel posted to the right
of our door. It will tell you where we are. We visit many places in a day
and we want to be sure you can find us. It is becoming jacket weather.
If it becomes warm in the afternoon, jackets may be hanging on hooks
in the hall so don’t forget to take them home each evening. You will
also want to be sure to swap summer extra clothing for fall clothing.
We have begun studying trees. We have collected fall leaves, tried
the fruit from trees, explored the animals that live in trees, measured
trees, and observed how they change in autumn. After learning all
about tress, we will have fun with “Things That Go Bump in the Night”;
a unit about nocturnal animals. Next will be “Monster Mash”; a silly fun
way to take the scare out of monsters and turn them into silly, funny
creatures that we can count, match,
create, read and sing about. Our last
unit of the month will be pumpkin and
scarecrow fun.
We’ll end the month with a Fall
Party, and watch the movie Monsters
Inc. We will let you know what to sign
up for and any other details you will
need when the time gets closer.
Explorers/Investigators Newsletter
October 2015
We are now a month into the school year, and I believe we have finally worked our way
through the transitions that accompany the start of the kindergarten year! Investigator
parents: you may find from time to time your child may be in the room we here at ECCC
call the Hive. It is at the end of our hall; we utilize this room to allow a little more elbow
room in the Investigator room and the ability to work more one on one with our
students. Miss Angela is really enjoying having the opportunity to work with the
kindergarten students.
Parents, please help us to review bus/car safety rules by talking about them at home with
your child. There are no seat belts on the big buses, so the child must keep their bodies
under control, and this can be a big adjustment for some children! The children may not
have electronic devices on the bus. We have seen an increase in the bus company
enforcing the bus rules. After three disciplinary actions your child can be removed from
the bus for a time period, this has happened in years past to kindergarten children.
The month of October will begin with a lot of fun fall activities as we will focus on the
season at hand for the entire month!
October 5-9 Pumpkins: An obvious sign of fall, we explore pumpkins during this month.
One of the songs we will be learning, will be “I’m a Little Pumpkin.” We will also make
pumpkin whoopee pies and do many other pumpkin activities.
October 12-16 Leaves: We will take advantage of the season during the week when our
activities will focus on the changes taking place to the trees outside. We will create leaf
rubbings and crayon melts. We will discuss the science behind why leaves fall from the
trees. The children will learn many songs and finger plays. Some books we will use are
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and Autumn Days.
October 19-23 Creatures of the Night: We will devote one day each to creatures such as
squirrels, bats, owls and spiders.
October 26-30 Monsters: This is just a great week of fun stories and great activities.
We will not have a costume or Halloween party.
E-Town Bears October 2015 Newsletter
September has come and gone already! The month of September was spent getting
acquainted with the school age program as well as getting to know each other! To not
overwhelm our first graders with our lively program, we have divided one of our
children’s favorite activities which is
the large motor games! The younger group, which consists of the first, second and third
graders, play the large motor together and then the older group of fourth and fifth graders
are together! We have observed the older children being very helpful in guiding the first
graders not only during the active play but in other areas as well!
The activities that are offered are based on observations of the children’s interests!
They seem to be very involved in playing with the large motor games, creating with
magnatiles, Legos, blocks, the light table, sensory and free art! We will continue to plan
together with the children to expand and explore in their interest areas!
We asked the children to write down something about themselves that we didn’t
know about them! Here are the first graders responds:
Benjamin B.: I like to play Rhino, my birthday is on Oct. 5 and I like school!
Trevor N.: I like to ride a canoe, swimming in a pool and I like movies!
Bradyn N.: I like water parks and the beach! I use to have bunnies!
Kailey S.: I have a bunk bed with my sister, I like to pet bunnies and I like to play on the playground!
Gretchen L.: My bird can talk, I want to be an artist and baby turtles are my favorite animal!
Addisyn B.: I like to go shopping and playing with my cousin Tyler and playing with my cats!
Isabella G.: I like making friends, painting and going to birthday parties!
Savannah B.: I like to wear dresses, listen to my Mom and I have a sister!
Arianna B.: I like my dog, he’s 4 years old and I like art!
Austin T.: I like “Star Wars”, mowing with my Pop and riding my bike!
Luka S.: I own a Kayak! I like soccer and I had a molar removed!
Ben P.: I like golf and bowling and I have 6 cats!
Mya S.: I taught my dog how to drop a ball, I enjoy writing and I have a sister!
HAPPY OCTOBER!
IMPORTANT DATES:
OCTOBER 9: EARLY DISMISSAL (ECCC OPEN)
OCTOBER 12: NO SCHOOL (ECCC OPEN) Byrnes Health Ed. Center will
be coming here on this day to present 2 programs for SAC from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00
p.m.! The 1st and 2nd graders will participate in “True Colors: I’m Special” where they will recognize
differences, self-esteem, “hurting words” and how to identify and prevent bullying. They will also learn
about personalities and some strategies for getting along with other, team build, and effectively
communicate. The 3rd through 5th graders will participate in “True Colors: You Make a Difference”
where they will learn about varying personality traits, the need to accept and value people different from
oneself, defining and improving communication, and team building.
OCTOBER 13: 2 HR. DELAY (ECCC OPEN)