Tarantulas

As we start off the school year we will spend a lot of time working on new routines, homework rules, and general procedures. We will allow time each day for homework and provide help but checking is up to each parent. If you do NOT want your child to start homework with us just let the teacher know. The kids will spend time decorating their room to feel welcoming and friendly. After being inside the bulk of the day we will go outside daily after snack time. Outside is a great place to relax after a structured school day.

August 31 – September 4 – In every great fairy tale, there is a castle. This week after homework time when we go outside we will be having a sandcastle building contest. The children will be reading one of my favorite books of all time, The Paper Bag Princess. If you have never read it you should.
September 7 – 11 –This week we will break out the decks of card and learn card games such as hearts, the castle card game, and try building a castle out of cards so whatever you do when you come in walk softly. If you are going to live in a castle you will need a crown so we will make some.
September 21 – 25 – If you have a castle you are going to need a dragon. We will be constructing a Giant Dragon Book with information about ourselves. We will also be learning paper cutting and folding to make fortune-tellers and spider webs.

For those of you who are new to our center, a brief explanation of our curriculum. Each month, we use a familiar theme as a basis for all of our learning experiences

NURSERY RHYMES AND FAIRY TALES

was chosen as the theme for our first unit of the new school year because it is a familiar subject for the children, allowing them to feel immediately successful. Our first week will be spent getting to know the children, establishing the rules of the school, and encouraging them to become familiar with their new surroundings and friends. We will use familiar stories and rhymes to teach other important lessons. Jack Sprat provides a focus for nutrition, Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and Jill lead to a discussion on safety, and Jack-be-nimble’s behavior will be discussed by one of our local firefighters.

A monthly personal progress plan will be written for each child each month. Teachers will be using the plan to schedule your child’s activities. The teachers will mark the plans as skills are reviewed or mastered. At the end of unit, the plans will be sent home to keep parents abreast of their child’s development. Focused skills will be taken from cognitive, self-help, social skills and gross and fine motor areas. Children will work on the identified skills at the level that is most appropriate to their development. If colors are identified as a focus skill, some children will be matching colors, others will be identifying colors, and others will be reading color words. Each skill will be emphasized many times throughout the year and mastery can be expected to take several months. The Personal Progress Plans are to assist the teachers in planning appropriate activities; these are not report cards and should not be used to judge the success or failure of the child. Do not feel you must “teach” identified concepts at home, but rather be aware of what we are doing so that you can take advantage of any incidental learning opportunities.