™
Family Newsletter
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September 2016
Los Altos - Mountain View
Children’s Corner
™
FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT
UPCOMING EVENTS
MON., SEP. 12
Room C Get Acquainted Parent/
Teacher Conferences begin
TUE., SEP. 13
Pizza in the Park
Shoup Park
6:00-8:00pm
MON., SEP. 19
Room 6 Get Acquainted Parent/
Teacher Conferences begin
MON., SEP. 26
Room 5 Get Acquainted Parent/
Teacher Conferences begin
SAT., OCT. 1 & SUN. OCT. 2
Los Altos Fall Festival
First School Service Opportunity
DATES TO REMEMBER
SAT. OCT. 1
October Tuition is Due
SAT., OCT. 8
October Tuition is Late
Late Fees Apply
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to the new school year! I hope your children
are transitioning nicely into their new classrooms, and doing well
getting to know their teachers and peers. I’d also like to extend a
warm welcome to the new Children’s Corner families! I hope your
children will be as happy as mine have been here. I am excited to
work with all of you making this a great year for our children.
As I mentioned at Back-to-School night, the Parent Association will be hosting a few events throughout the year for you to
reconnect with and meet other Children’s Corner families. Your
involvement and participation make these events a success, and I
look forward to seeing all of you there. The time and details for all
events are posted on School Calendar, monthly eNewsletter, and
flyers on the front gate.
As many of you know, Children’s Corner is a non-profit organization - we depend on the invaluable contributions from our parent community to operate. These tax-deductible contributions
help us continue our high quality program and education. Please
be on the lookout for our Annual Fundraising Drive letter that will
go out in November. This will be the only fundraising event that
we will be doing this school year, and will replace the Online Auction event that took place in Spring.
And finally, I would like to remind everyone who is donating
time back to school: Please do so before 8:30 AM, and make sure
that you specifically mention that you will be “Donating” the time.
If you are a Part-Time parent who is selling or buying time from
other parents: Both parents need to email school notifying them of
the trade ahead of time. Your cooperation is much appreciated
with our front office.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything in
further detail, please feel free to contact me directly.
Best Wishes,
Golnaz Golshan
Board President & Parent Association Lead
[email protected]
OUR COMMUNITY SUCCULENT GARDEN
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Room 5........................pg
Room 6........................pg
Room C........................pg
Passport to Adventure..pg
Young Explorers.......... pg
Clark............................. pg
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Take a look at our entry way garden! Children’s Corner is doing its part to conserve water and has started a low maintenance
succulent garden. This beautiful growing garden had its beginnings from Room C. A wooden planter box was filled with succulents donated from several teachers, parents, and grandparents.
Unfortunately, the bottom of the box rotted through and spilled
dirt and plants upon the ground. The plants needed a new and
Copyright © 2013-2016 Los Altos Mountain View Children’s Corner, Inc.
bigger home, so they were transplanted in this
new Children’s Corner Community Garden. We
are seeking cuttings and starters from your
home garden, so we can grow this garden even
bigger! And as our garden matures, expand
yours by taking seedlings and cuttings home
with you!
Please drop off your succulents with Teacher Joyce in Room C.
ROOM 5
Welcome to our new and returning families! We are excited to start a new year of social
learning and creating new friendships. In the
beginning of the year our main focus will be
making sure the children feel safe and secure in
the environment while getting to know the
teachers. Building relationships with children is
the foundation of successful learning. When
children feel comfortable in the environment
they are willing to take risks and try new things.
Since this is the first time at school for
many children in Room 5, helping children separate from parents is our goal. Every child is
different, some children will enter the room
with confidence and jump right in to materials,
while other children will need a certain amount
of time to adjust to their new surroundings
without a familiar face. Occasionally, children
may be more interested in materials in the beginning, then realize this is their new reality. All
of these reactions are normal, as change is hard
for children and they thrive on consistency. A
child entering school for the first time is a big
change: entering a group of adults they don't
know, being part of a community of children
their own age, and following a schedule are
some of the biggest changes.
There are some things teachers do to help:
having engaging toys out on the table for children to explore, providing soft toys or blankets
for children to cuddle, being caring and understanding. Parents can help their children by explaining you will be back “after lunch”, say good
- bye to your child, do not seek out when they
are engaged, create a good bye routine such as
reading a book then “mommy is going to go”.
Once you have said good bye, exit, and do not
prolong the process by coming back and leaving again. Please feel free to bring a blanket,
lovey, stuffed animal or a transitional object to
help your child settle in. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask a teacher about the
program or separation. The Children’s Corner overall philosophy is
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surrounded around the development of socialemotional skills while introducing new academic
ideas. Social competence is essential in group
setting, as these skills allow children to learn
self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, caring for others, and intrinsic motivation for learning. Two year olds are really starting to explore
what their bodies and minds are capable of.
Children during this time are very egocentric,
therefore this is a good time to start introducing
the concepts of social interactions. The interactions we focus on are between the child with
familiar adults, peers, group participation, cooperation and responsibility. All of these interactions are created over a year long period, as
children become more comfortable in their surroundings, they will branch out to try new social
interactions. Relationships start to form once
children learn and comprehend social boundaries in a group setting. Once children feel they
have confidence socially, they enjoy school so
much more. This ignites intrinsic need for learning in a school environment.
Some things to look for in the next month
are lots of art work coming home. Two year olds
spend lots of time at the art table, and they are
exploring many materials which may be new to
them, such as paint and glue. The children will
have lots of time to use different materials, textures, mediums and colors to express their creative sides. Some children are minimalist who
only put one dot on each page but use five pages, while other children will fill up one whole
paper before moving on to another. Since
younger children are still understanding the
concept of socialization, the art table is a great
stepping stone to enjoying a new environment.
We are looking forward to a great new year
ahead. The teachers are available to help the
children start the beginning of year in a positive
manner. A couple things to remember is to have
your children’s name on their lunch box, water
bottles, clothes and another belongings brought
to school. Parents need to provide diapers for
their own children which will be stored near the
changing table. Please also remember to bring
three sets of spare clothing, as we enjoy our
sensory experiences as well as water play!
Teachers: Josette, Maryna, Michelle and Riitta
WISH LIST:
• Kleenex tissues
• Wipes for diapering
• Shaving cream
• Fresh fruit
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ROOM 6
Welcome to the new school year! We are
excited to start our year with old and new
friends. The classroom has been cleaned and
readied for our new group. Each child has
their own cubby that will have their name and
picture on it, so they can keep personal items
available.
We would like to start by asking you to
label all items from home (lunch, jackets,
comfort items) with your child’s name. Your
child needs 2-3 complete sets of clothes in
case of toileting accidents or messy play. If
your child uses pull-ups or diapers, send a
few to be kept in the cubby. Lunches should
be food your child likes, and you may send
warm food in a thermos. We are not able to
heat up lunches on-site. Lunch can be a very
social time when children talk and enjoy each
other’s company.
In the beginning of the school year, we
help children settle into our classroom. We
talk about our feelings, how people are the
same and different, and many ways to communicate and understand each other’s point
of view. We help children develop new friendships and support problem solving when there
is conflict. We read books about emotions and
body language. Children are validated and respected as unique individuals and together
they are becoming a wonderful community. At
circle time we sing name songs, do felt board
stories about emotions, and dance along with
music and movement CDs.
We have a great block area that includes
large blocks, smaller unit blocks, vehicles,
and people. This is a very popular area where
children work on spatial awareness, measurement, weights, balance, shapes, and sizes
(math concepts). We add people, vehicles,
and miscellaneous items we call “loose parts”.
These materials support the imaginative and
creative ideas that children have. The social/
language skills used are communication which
includes expressing yourself and listening. We
also work on problem solving and taking turns
with materials.
We will help your children acclimate to
their new classroom, and we would welcome
any information you would like to share. Our
school-wide “Back to School Night” is Wednesday, August 31. We will also offer “Get Acquainted” conferences in September. This is
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an opportunity to share information about
your child with a teacher. Please look for information posted in the classroom. We are
happy to have you with us, and we look forward to an exciting school year!
Teachers: Gabby, Kendra, Laura, Maria, and Sarah
WISH LIST:
• Shaving cream
• Fresh fruit
• 8.5x11” white paper
ROOM C
We want to welcome everyone to Room C.
Summer camps have been lots of fun, but we
are looking forward to beginning the new school
year and getting to know our new children and
their families. We hope to see everyone at Back
to School Night on Wednesday August 31 from
7-9 p.m., where we will go over our program
and answer questions.
Our main themes for the start of the school
year will be getting to know each other and beginning to build a classroom community that includes the children, their families, and our staff.
We will be using group times and individual interactions to discuss the importance of treating
each other with care and kindness and using
teamwork to make our classroom a great place
for all of us to learn and grow.
In early September we will begin our Zoophonics program. Zoo-phonics uses an animal
character to represent each letter. The focus of
the program at the beginning of the year is on
learning the sound of the letter, based on the
initial sound of the animal’s name. To help the
children remember each sound, they use body
movements that relate directly to the animal,
helping to memorize shapes and sounds. A fun
part of our Zoo-phonics program is the paper
bags that the children will be bringing home
each week. They will make these bags at table
time and will bring them home where they will
fill them with up to three items that start with
the letter sound on the bag. They will bring
them back to school and share them at circle
time. We will be sharing more information about
the bags with you before they start coming
home.
We will also start our Table Time activities
in early September. During this time, the teachers each work with a small group of six children
for an extended period of time. This format al-
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lows the teacher the opportunity to learn more
about each child in their group and observe their
growth and development over several months.
These small groups also allow us to give the
children individual help and support as they do
their activities. Some of the areas we work on in
small group include activities that help build fine
motor skills like cutting, drawing, and stringing.
We also work on math concepts such as sorting,
counting, and creating patterns. We sometimes
use the small group setting to have follow up
discussions or activities based on topics discussed at circle time.
An important part of building a successful
classroom community is the partnership that
develops between families and staff. Ongoing
communication is crucial to developing this link.
Beginning September 12th, we will be scheduling Get Acquainted Conferences. A sign- up
sheet will be posted in the classroom. These
conferences give us an opportunity to get to
know each other, share information about your
child, and discuss what we hope to achieve
working together during the school year. We
look forward to meeting with you.
Teachers: Ian, Joyce, Kymn, and Valya
WISH LIST:
• Potting soil
• Hand trowels
• Soccer ball
PASSPORT TO ADVENTURE
Welcome to the new school year! In this
classroom during the summer, we host our
Summer Camp Programs. During August, we
held Prehistoric Times and California Outdoors
Adventure camps. At our art table, the children
made dinosaur prints using Play-Doh cutters,
and made their own dinosaurs by cutting and
gluing shapes. At the sensory table, we put
skeletons and fossils in ice, and the children got
use spray bottles to melt the ice and reveal the
bones. Other items at the sensory table included fish rocks, water, sand, shells, leaves, and
sticks. Friends and creatures that we would find
going on an adventure.
During Passport to Adventure, children are
also introduced to Spanish words and phrases.
Some of our new words this month were dinosaurio/dinosaur, hueso/bone, fosil/fossil, tecolote/owl, grillo/cricket, and bonbon/marshmallow.
In September, when the new school year is
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up and running, we will start with our Zoo-Phonics program, which introduced children to letter sounds in combination with familiar animals
and movements. This helps lock letters and
sounds into memory. The children will be creating and decorating a box to house their ZooPhonics puppets!
We will also introduce our first countryspecific adventure, with a study of a photographer, Gilberto Cifuentes Navarro, from Ecuador.
In addition, we will be exploring language, food,
and other aspects of that culture. Different
teachers from the program, including Teacher
Maria, Teacher Kajal, and Teacher Joyce, will do
presentations from their own countries.
We are looking forward to another wonderful year.
Teachers: Maria, Kajal, and Pam
WISH LIST:
• Fresh Fruit
• Pine Cones
YOUNG EXPLORERS
Welcome to a new school year! The Young
Explorers class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. will journey and
discover together for one year. The first ten
months will be an exploration of four different
themes: Art Around the World, Stories Come to
Life, Young Scientists, and Nature Explorers.
The adventures continue in July and August with
our summer camp themes with a focus on science, art, and cooking.
The first weeks of school, we will be learning about being an artist and the significance of
color in art. The children will draw self-portraits
with crayons. The focus isn’t to capture a true
likeness, but to be able to express oneself and
experiment with the medium. We will paint in
happy warm colors one day, and use gloomy
cool colors the next. At circle, we will ask the
kids to describe how colors make them feel and
what they represent. We ask that every art
piece created in Young Explorers have a signature or at least have a mark if the child is unable
to write their name yet. The number one most
common question people ask when they first
see a work of art is, "Who's the artist?" All year,
the Young Explorers program will emphasize
that we are all artists with the ability and talent
to create art.
France is our first stop in our ten-week expedition in Art Around the World. While we
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travel through the country we will focus on the
arts, foods, holidays, famous landmarks, music,
and language. Don’t be surprised when your
child greets you with a “bonjour,” offers a polite
“merci,” or departs announcing “au revoir.” We
will learn about the artist, Georges Seurat. He
is famous for his paintings done in pointillism in
which small, distinct dots of paint form an image. The children will create two masterpieces
emulating the pointillism style by using their
pointer finger and creating dots with a cork.
September will be a very exciting month for
all of us as we continue our travels through
France, Italy, and India. We are fortunate to
have Teacher Kajal present her home country,
India, and share her culture to the children.
Later, Teacher Ian will introduce Scotland, where
his ancestors originated, and Teacher Joyce will
share her mother’s homeland, Japan. Each day
the children will enjoy a teacher-directed art activity, stories, songs, outdoor play, and free time
indoors to explore the toys, sensory table, and
manipulatives. Different foods will be introduced, and every other Thursday the children
will prepare and make their own snack from the
different countries.
If you or a family member is familiar with
any of our destinations, we invite you to share
your adventures, culture, and knowledge with
the children. The classroom schedule is very
flexible and can accommodate a visit any time.
In the past, we have had parents, siblings, and
relatives play instruments, read folktales, wear
traditional clothing, share exotic foods, and
teach songs and dances. The children and
teachers will truly appreciate your contribution
to the program. Please come talk to Teacher
Joyce to arrange a date and time.
frogs yet? Or shall we go outside and play in
the sandbox? CLAY! Want to make something?
BLOCKS… want to build? And so the sounds fill
the school and the day begins.
At some time a bell rings and it is time to
clean up. Circle time comes next…What story
will Teacher Pam read today? We will play a
game, sing a song, and discuss what we are
thinking. . After the question of the day, it is
time to wash our hands and have snack. Now
we need to exercise, so outside we go for recess
and to explore the inhabitants of our backyard.
Our day NEVER ENDS. We are back inside
learning about letters and sounds, patterning,
and the number line. Phew, what a morning.
We wash our hands again and settle down for
lunch. When we are finished, we collect our
things from our cubbies and get ready for a car
ride.
Because our class is small this year, we join
the afternoon Room C class at Children’s Corner
where we have more friends to play with. We
learn Spanish and travel around the world as
young explorers…. Boy our days are fun and full
of activities!
Our days will also include fieldtrips, plays to
attend, and new foods to cook and taste. Our
first cooking experience will be making applesauce. We’ll let you know how it turns out.
Teachers: Gini and Pam
WISH LIST:
• HP ink cartridges-61x; black or tricolored
• Fresh fruit
Teachers: Ian, Joyce and Kajal
WISH LIST:
• Paper towel tubes
• Outdoor clock
• Real buttons of all sizes
CLARK
Welcome! After having the summer off,
Clark House is abuzz with activity. Each morning 2 exuberant, active boys arrive wondering
what the day will hold. As moms and dads leave
for work of their own, we begin to explore. Shall
we build? Want to go downstairs and color or
paint? Want to see if Tuttle, our turtle, or Goldie the goldfish are awake yet. Are the pollywogs
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