DIRECTOR’S DESK
No matter the snow storm, spring is just around the corner!! No doubt you are gearing up for mid terms and mid term projects. Possibly annual reports and goal assessment for the coming year. We want you to know that no matter what project you
are working on we are hear for you.
It is our mission to provide you with excellent care and a caring environment so
that you can focus on your goals and get your work completed. When you arrive
to pick up your child we will ask you about your day, we will ask you how things are
going, we may even suggest resources to help you navigate NIU and the larger
community. This is our way of getting to know you, supporting you as students and
parents and helping you to learn and grow a long the way.
We value the relationships we build with you and your children and we look forward to helping you. So, even though you might not be up for talking or you have
some place to be, try and connect with your child’s teacher, Janene, Amy or I so
we can help you fell connected and supported.
One way we can do that this month is by hosting a Kindergarten workshop for families of kindergarten bound children happening Thursday, March 31st from 4:005:30pm. If you would like to attend please let Janene know up front or email me so
I can keep an accurate number. Extra care can be requested in advance.
We will also be getting ready for Week of the Young Child (WOYC) a celebration of
young children and all that they do to grow and learn. Special events are being
planned now and a full calendar of events is to come in April.
For those of you who were able to attend this semesters family gathering that was
another way we work to connect families and share our center with you. We hope
you enjoyed the Art Gallery and sharing a meal with your children’s friends and
families. We look forward to hosting these events, if you have some feedback we’d
love to hear it. These events are for you, so let us know if you have an idea!!
Thank you for allowing us to care for you and your children. We are looking forward to the rest of the semester and a much needed break this month. Good luck
on midterms!
Kristin Schulz, Acting Director
PRESCHOOL ROOM 1
March is one of my favorite months because usually it means we really start
to see those signs of spring. We enjoyed those couple of warmer days in
February and the sunshine! With the warmth comes a lot of mud on our
Tae (Pre-1)reading at the
NIU library.
March 2016
In this Issue:
Preschool Room 1
Math Skills
Literacy Beginnings
A Library Field Trip
Preschool Room 2
Thanks
Space Exploration
“Super Friends”
Preschool Room 3
Preschool Room 4
Kindness Tree
Emergent Literacy
Cave Discoveries
Articles and Other Info
Calendar Of Events
Good Things Jars
playground. We try to provide enough
activities away from the mud, but it’s a
natural curiosity and great learning experience for the children to be able to explore the mud. We will continue to wear
boots outside – if your child has rain boots
those would work great too!
REMINDERS

Full-time child care will be
available during Spring
Break, March 14-18. The registration has passed so if you
still need care please see
Janene ASAP for any space
that may be available. At
this point, extra care fees
will apply.

Please be aware that classrooms will be combined
during Spring Break due to
low enrollment; and teachers will take time off or
spend time out of the classroom to plan the curriculum.

For those who pick up at
the end of the day, please
remember that our building
closes at 5:30 so we need
you to pick up and leave
the building by this time.

For tax purposes, our FEIN#
is 36-6008480. We do not distribute statements regarding your child care payments. You need to track
that information yourself, so
we recommend for everyone to save your invoices as
a way of documenting your
annual child care expenses.
Thank you to those families who attended
family night! I’m sure your child was very
excited to show their artwork and to share
in their school experience with you!
This semester I am taking two classes as a graduate student and
am enjoying implementing some new activities in the classroom!
The first class is a math and science class. We have been talking
about how many early childhood classrooms have a calendar
but that it’s under-utilized! We have been using the calendar to
help us with number ordinance, counting, before and after, and
number recognition. We are also recording the weather, both
conditions and temperature, and will be graphing this information at the end of the month. We have also done many graphing activities where the children are able to practice their
counting skills, tell how many in all, how many are in the parts,
and which has more/less. I am very impressed with how quickly
they are catching on and then taking these skills and incorporating them into their free play! We will be introducing some
new math games coming up. To encourage math skills at home
you can practice counting with your child and ask them questions such as– how many crackers do you have? How many do I
have? Who has more? If I share two crackers with you, how
many will you have? We have also added a deck of cards into
our math box. Some children have been using these to play
War, or we like to call it Top It. That helps
to recognize which numbers are larger/
smaller. Other children have used these
in the block area to create their own
games. We realized we could sort the
cards by color, suit, and numbers! We
have a ruler and a measuring tape and
the children have been measuring everything! How tall is this or how long is this
shelf, are some of the questions we hear!
You could provide some of these tools at
home, or play some games such as
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Chutes and Ladders, Trouble, or Dominoes.
The second class I’m taking is on emerging literacy skills! I sent
home an information sheet on growing readers. In class
we’ve been talking about the progression children go
through to become readers. Children must be provided opportunities to draw and write before they are expected to
read. This helps them to understand the concept of what letters mean and how a word is formed by combining sounds.
First children use writing utensils to draw, then scribble usually
in a zig-zag type formation, then begin making letter-like
forms, leading into letter strings, and then invented spelling.
Some children really like to spell the word correctly when
they’re writing it. You can help by sounding out the letters, but
it’s ok if they spell it wrong. Our job as parents and educators
is to encourage the process and be supportive in their interest
of trying! To support this at school we have a writing center in
the classroom that’s separate from the art area. Many times
these tools overlap – but our writing center has specific tools
to help recognize letters and to encourage children to write. Throughout the classroom we have
clipboards and writing opportunities as well. We have clipboards in dramatic play and the block
area. We model writing during group times and during our play with the children. To encourage
writing at home you could make a small writing center and provide your child with paper, crayons, pencils, notebooks, a journal, and envelopes. Let them see you writing. Read to your child.
There are many fun games out there that help with letter recognition and learning beginning literacy skills. If you need any suggestions on what activities might be appropriate for your child,
please don’t hesitate to ask! Children learn these skills much in the same order, but there is no specific time frame in when they should know it. Some
children show interest much earlier than others. We model and introduce the concepts, encourage the children to participate, and meet them where they’re at so that it’s fun. We also took our
first visit to the NIU library. The children were excited to explore the children’s section on the 4th
floor and we checked out books to take back to school!
Jen Young and Brianna Wicker
PRESCHOOL ROOM 2
Hello, Pre 2 Families!
First of all, Diane and I would like to thank you all for coming to our Night at the Gallery Family
Night. We enjoyed seeing you all in a setting in which we can connect with you and learn more
about you, your child and your family. We hope you enjoyed connecting with new families and
seeing all of the art that we had created for you!
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This spring semester has been so much fun. Diane and I already feel as
though we have a great relationship with you and your child and have enjoyed expanding that connection even further. We have been able to explore new and different things with the children because of our established
relationships, and for that, we thank you!
Lately, the children have been interested in exploring outer space. Diane
and I changed the dramatic play center into an ‘Outer Space’ area in
which the children are free to dress as astronauts and use a shared space
ship to go on missions with their friends. Some of the children referenced a
book in the classroom to create pictures of all of the planets that are hung
in the classroom and we also worked together as a group to marble paint
planets. We had discussed similarities and differences between the physical
characteristics of the planets. We have incorporated books and realistic
photos and information regarding outer space, as the children are hungry for more information!
We have been exploring more science experiments as a group and discussing our predictions and
the outcomes of the experiments. We have been graphing the weather every day in February and
are discussing concepts of more and less with the children. Thus far, we have had more sunny days
than any other kind of weather and the children are eager to find out which kind of weather we'll
have the most.
We have also been encouraging the children to be ‘Super Friends’. A super friend can be a friend in
Pre 2 that helps another friend with a challenge, uses kind words, engages in play in appropriate
Calendar of Events
March 14-18 — Spring Break (Interim care must be requested in advance to avoid an additional
charge)
March 31st — Kindergarten Readiness Parent Workshop 4:00-5:30pm (Sponsored by 4-C)
April 11-15 — Week of the Young Child (WOYC)
May 6th —Reading Day (we are open as usual)
May 9—13—Finals Week
Parent Conferences (week of): April 4—Sherie, Diane, Pam, Denise
April 18— Barbara, Denise, Christy, April
April 25— Kendra, Jen, Kaitlyn, Jaquida
May 2—Bri, Emily, Hillary
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ways, or acts caring of other's feelings. Around our large mirror in the classroom, we have posted some of the "Super
Friends" words and actions that we have witnessed. Please
stop by and see how kind your child has been in our classroom!
Diane and I continue to encourage the children to use kind
words with their friends and are modeling appropriate words
and actions when entering into play. We are using words
like, ‘Can I play with you?’, ‘Can I play with that toy when
you’re done?’, and ‘You can have a turn with this toy when
I’m all done.’ The children are beginning to catch on and it
has been very encouraging and positive to see this in the
classroom. Diane and I offer the children praise and encouragement when these words are used
appropriately!
We would like to express how much fun this semester has been
and how much growth we have seen in your children since August. As the semester progresses, please keep in mind to check on
your child’s extra clothes bin in the bathroom. Right now, the children need extra socks as they get very wet outside on the playground!
If your child is home sick for the day, please call Janene and report any symptoms that your child may have or any diagnosed
illnesses from the doctor so we can post the illnesses and increase
our cleaning duties!
Finally, if you ever have any other questions or concerns, please come to Diane and I. We are open
and available to speak with you anytime. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to be in your child’s
life! We are so honored.
Emily Stoll and Diane Mathison
PRESCHOOL ROOM 3
I feel like we have been extremely busy this month! I am looking forward to March slowing down.
Let’s hope that it comes in like a lamb!
We have had a variety of visitors this month. We had two days filled with
the NIU music students who brought in instruments and books and gave
lessons on the difference between fast and slow music and high and
low sounds in music. The children loved it!
Our nursing student Alex came in and took our blood pressure and let us
listen to our hearts, she also did exercises with us and then let us listen to
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our hearts again to see the difference between a resting heart and an exercising heart!
Since we had a few really cold days, we enjoyed using the large motor
room. It’s a smaller space but still gives us room to run and play and release some energy. It also helps us build skills such as teamwork and taking turns and develops our muscles!
Our science area has been a popular one lately. The children learned
about animals that hatch from eggs, different kinds of birds from our
area, and the different tracks animals make with their feet. To build
on this quest for knowledge, we have added some fur bearing animals, animal tracks stampers and books on hibernation to the science center. We will be making bird feeders out of milk cartons
and hanging them in the trees on the playground. To extend on
this, we will be charting daily the animals that we see visit the feeders. It will be exciting to see what birds and animals return in the
spring.
Please keep sending boots daily. The warmer weather makes the
playground very muddy. We do occasionally take walks but being outside in the fresh air and sunshine where we can run in an open space is our favorite!
Thank you to all the families who came and supported our “Night at the gallery” family gathering.
The children love to share their school experience with you!
FYI: I will be taking a vacation from March 31 through the following week of April. The class will be
covered with floaters and other staff. Just want all families to be aware that it will be a little different
those days! I’m heading to the sun on Tybee beach! I will return the week of April 11.
Good Things Jars
If you haven’t put a note in one of the many “good things jars” around
the center please know it’s not too late.
We have been reading them during our staff meetings and the classrooms are reading them at group time.
Each day has a reason to celebrate the small things that make our center great; the families
who are committed to quality care, the teachers who work hard to meet individual needs, the
students learning something new everyday, and the support we get from working together to
build something great. Thank you for being a part of our family!!
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Have a great month!
April Kaiser
PRESCHOOL ROOM 4
Greetings Pre 4 Families,
Things may be snow covered and buried outdoors, but indoors Pre 4 is blooming! Our kindness tree has blossomed into a beautiful representation of kind
behavior that has occurred inside and outside the classroom. Whether our
friends are helping each other clean up a large mess, using kind words, or
sharing their extra pair of gloves, many acts of kindness continue to be displayed, as well as acknowledged! Be sure to check out the tree located on
our bulletin board on the back wall.
This month Pre 4 will be focusing on building our emergent literacy skills! We
have opened our own post office. Each child has their own mailbox, complete
with their name located on the front of it. Each day a new mail carrier is assigned to deliver the mail
from the collection box to each friend's mailbox. The children have been busy creating cards and
messages for each other. We have even written letters to some of our friends who did not return for
second semester. We plan on writing letters to other special people in our lives the first part of this
month and sending them off in a real mail collection box!
Hideouts and caves have been a re-occurring theme in our block area
throughout the semester. We decided to build on their interests and have started talking about the different kinds of caves and how they are formed and
what kinds of animals or troglobites live in caves. Videos, images, and books will
be used to build on the children's knowledge and our hope is that the children
will re-create their own cave structures in the block and art areas.
We would also like to thank all the families that joined us for Family Night. It was
such a success and I hope you enjoyed getting to know some of the other families in our classroom. Home school connections mean so much to the children!
Have a great month!
Hillary Rosher and Christy Pelikan
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