Category Archives: Classroom Posts

Room 1 Updates

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Laura Paciorek| Comments Off on Room 1 Updates
Dear Families:
We have some updates for you!
Room Changes:
If you are interested in checking out the new things we will be doing in our classroom, please check out this link:
We are excited about trying a new song called “Tooty Ta” by Dr. Jean!  Here is the YouTube video: http://youtu.be/5fltOXEJDeQ.
We also will begin reading the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle with an accompanying flannel board set!
Our bakery in the kitchen area is in full swing.  We are excited about adding a visual cookbook to the area soon.
Holidays and Other Celebrations:

Some families have begun to ask an we wanted to insure that you know that we will not be celebrating Halloween at the CDC.  There is a policy about this in our family handbook, which is copied and pasted here:
 

The population at the Child Development Center is diverse and multicultural, bringing a wonderful richness to everyone’s experiences.  The Child Development Center is a place where adults and children from any background can feel comfortable, welcome, and respected.  Holidays from a variety of cultures are a valuable way of recognizing the similarities and uniqueness of different cultures (e.g., the use of food, dress, crafts, and/or songs in the celebration) while also appreciating the diversity in the forms these aspects take.

In order to benefit the most from recognizing a variety of holidays, Supervising Teachers are asked to consider the following in the planning of related activities:

  • The avoidance of any holidays having any religious purpose;
  • Providing a focus on the most universal aspects of a holiday (e.g., family, home, community), rather than the commercial aspects;
  • Avoidance of any activity that could make any child or family feel uncomfortable;
  • Ensuring that all activities are age appropriate and culturally sensitive.

Supervising Teachers also routinely solicit the help of the parents of the children in their class who are from different cultures and ask them to share information and resources about their culture’s holidays and ideas for activities that would be appropriate for the children.  Such information can be incorporated within the universal aspects of traditional American holidays.

Note:  As examples of this policy, here at the Center we do not dress in costumes for Halloween (though we may do face-painting), and we do not bring valentines to school (though we do share feelings in letters to our family and friends).

If you have any questions or concerns in regards to the policy, please talk with Ms. Laura or Linda Haar.  We will be more than happy to discuss how we can best support our families and their culture.

Donations:

The biggest thing we need currently are some plants for the fish tank.  The fake plastic plants might bring some visual appeal to the tank.  There are also moss balls at pet stores which might be fun for the children to observe.  They simply float in the water and grow!  This is how it looks: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+1630+2553&pcatid=2553.

 
If you would like to get us a moss ball or some plants for the fish tank, please speak with Ms. Laura so that we insure we don’t have too much for the tank!
 
Have a great week, everyone!
 
-The Teachers of Room 1-
 
BCC: Families of Room 1, Teachers of Room 1, Supervising Staff of the CDC

Posted in Classroom Posts, Families and Community, Planning Documents

Plans for Room 1 – October 13

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Laura Paciorek| Comments Off on Plans for Room 1 – October 13

Here is a link to our room planning document:

Indoor planning October 13

Posted in Classroom Posts, Planning Documents

Room 1 Updates: Open House and Room Curriculum

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Laura Paciorek| Comments Off on Room 1 Updates: Open House and Room Curriculum
Dear Families of Room 1:
We have some updates for you about Room 1.
First, Open House is tomorrow, September 30, from 5-6 p.m.  All are invited (children, relatives, friends…).  We can’t wait!
Also, It was great meeting with the families last week for family-teacher conferences.  The teachers had a great discussion afterwards about some of the things we will be doing in our room in response to the conferences.  Here are some of the highlights:
COUNTING: We are planning do to more counting songs: counting up and counting down (addition and subtraction).  We have noticed that the children are starting to use counting behavior in our room.
COLORS: We found out that many children are going over colors at home.  We are going to start exploring color names more using sorting opportunities for the children at school now, too.  We have some other ideas planned around the subject of colors, too!
LANGUAGE: We are incorporating more words in other languages. We are planning to practice emotion words, too.  “Opposite” words (such as “big” and “small” or “fast” and “slow”).  If you are interested in going over similar things, there are some great books out there about emotion words.  It might be good to try them out at a local library to see if your child enjoys any in particular.  A librarian can be a great source of ideas for books on different subjects.
NEW MUSIC: We would like to start exploring new music in our room.  One of the parents put together a list of songs that are in Polish that her family enjoys.  We began playing this music softly today at snack time.  If you would like to listen to these songs at home, here is the playlist for you.  Enjoy!
 
SOCIAL SKILLS: We are working on a few things in Room 1.
  • ​”Stop” with our hand up is a signal to a friend that something is not desirable.
  • “Please” is an important word when making requests.
CONSEQUENCES: We are working on helping children see the connection between their actions and possible consequences.  For example, if water is poured on the floor, it has to be wiped up so no one slips.  Pointing these connections out to children can help them learn about themselves and the world around them.
CUPS: Using open cups at snack is going well.  The children are trying it more and more!
We hope that you had a nice weekend and we hope that you enjoy these updates!  See you all soon.
– The Teachers of Room 1 –

 

Posted in Classroom Posts, Families and Community, Music

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Room Plans – September 22

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Laura Paciorek| Comments Off on Room Plans – September 22

Hi, everyone:

Our classroom planning sheet, which begins on September 22, is below:

Indoor planning September 22

We are excited to see what the children may do with our new materials.

– The Teachers of Room 1 –

Posted in Classroom Posts, Planning Documents

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Water Play in Room 1 – Sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses, too!

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Laura Paciorek| Comments Off on Water Play in Room 1 – Sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses, too!

Dear Families:

 

As long as our weather continues to be record-breaking heat and it is still a safe temperature to go outdoors, we will be playing outside in the Room 1 yard’s rock stream and in a sprinkler (Ms. Alison from Room 2 got one for us!).  If you would like to bring a swimsuit for your child and/or a swim diaper, you are invited to do so.  If children do not have a swimsuit, we will let them get wet to stay cool (and learn about the physical properties of water), too.  Spare clothes in the cubby are still important.  We will change them as we come indoors after our outdoor time.

 

Also, please remember to put sunscreen on your child both on exposed areas and under clothing, in case clothing changes or shirts get removed during water play.

 

We have had out some sunglasses and a hat in our dramatic play dress-up area.  These items can encourage sun safety.  If your child has sunglasses or a hat to wear at school, we wanted to invite you to bring them.  Sunglasses can get dropped and broken if your child is not used to wearing them, so please consider that before bringing them in.  If your child is used to wearing sunglasses and consistently leaves them on, they may be something that we could use at school successfully.

Thank you for reading our quick update!  We hope that you had a nice weekend.

 

– The Teachers of Room 1 –

 

BCC: Families of Room 1, Teachers of Room 1, Supervising Staff of the CDC

 

Posted in Classroom Posts, Outdoors

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