MARCH 2024
The month of March
Has just blown in,
To say that Spring
will soon begin.
March roars in like a lion,
With a bluster and a slam!
And tiptoes out gently
Like a quiet little lamb.
We are definitely marching our way to Spring!! And we have with us our snow boots, rain boots, runners and sandals because you just never know what the weather is going to be like from minute to minute!!
REGISTRATION 2024/25
Registration for our current families is completed and now we are filling up all the empty spaces with community families. Please think about recommending our Preschool to your friends and family! In fact, we have some NEW postcards advertising our school and we would love it if you would take some to help us get the word out! Word of mouth is our best advertiser!
We will be taking registrations for our Discovery Twos Program and we will run in September IF we get enough registrations. Please mention us to your friends who have children born in 2022!
EASTER SERVICES
March 12th / 13th: 10:45am - 11:30am
The teachers and children have been practising their songs for the Easter Services and they are very excited to sing for you! Parents can show up to the Church for 10:45am. This will be an event for the 2s, 3s and 4s. Hope to see you there!
Important Dates & School Closures
RAINBOW ROOM - Danielle, Rebecca, Vibha
During the month of February we had the pleasure of exploring various themes including, Valentines Day, Chinese New Year, and Raffi! We enjoyed singing along to Raffi’s joyful children’s music and dancing with scarves to “Five Little Dragons” for Chinese New Year.
We celebrated Valentine's day with a special party where we made waffles together, each of us patiently waiting for our turn to mix the batter. We had many decorations in the classroom, including a Valentines themed tablecloth and a pink centerpiece for our party snack, as well as tons of red, pink, sparkly hearts that filled our classroom.
Our Art activities were a big hit this month, with many children wanting to come back to the art table to make seconds. A few of our art activities included: using heart shaped cookie cutters as stamps with red and pink paint (many children added their own twist and self expression by stamping with other objects that they found on the art table or with their hands), marble painting with golf balls onto cut-out hearts, painting Chinese Lanterns with gold and red paint, exploring with paint and patterns, using toothbrushes to paint a tooth, gluing feathers on ducks, finger stamping popcorn art, making watermelons with green tissue paper and paint, and splatter painting elephants. Woah! That’s a lot of art!
Our Circle Time activities included many songs, rhymes, stories, felt board stories, and action games; I Love You in Sign Language, I love You song, “The Day It Rained Hearts” story, “The Colour of Love” book, “Lonely Little Heart Looking for a Friend” felt board story, Five Little Hearts felt rhyme, “I’m a Teeny Tiny Valentine For You” (using squeaky, loud, quiet voice), What Colour Heart is missing game, “Little Heart, Little Heart Are You Under the Red Heart” felt guessing game, “5 naughty monkeys” rhyme, “Dragon Dance” story, “5 Toothbrushes” felt story, “Brush Your Teeth” song, “Five Little Ducks” storybook, Sizzling Popcorn in a Pan jumping action game, “5 Little Popcorn in a Frying Pan” felt story, “Down By the Bay” felt story, “Shake My Sillies Out” body movement game, Willaby Wallaby Woo song, and Banana Phone action game.
I’m a Teeny Tiny Valentine for You
(Tune: She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain)
I’m a teeny tiny valentine for you (repeat twice in soft voice)
I’ll be yours, will you be mine?
I’m a teeny tiny valentine for you.
I’m a medium-sized valentine for you (repeat twice in normal voice)
I’m not too big and that’s just fine.
I’m a medium-sized valentine for you.
I’m a great big valentine for you (repeat twice in loud voice)
Popcorn, by Raffi
You put the oil in the pot
And you let it get hot
You put the popcorn in
And you start to grin
Sizzle sizzle, sizzle sizzle
Sizzle sizzle, sizzle sizzle
Sizzle sizzle, sizzle sizzle
Pop!! (everybody jumps up!)
Our classroom was filled with curiosity, exploration, and so much energy this month. We had the pleasure of spending the month of February with your children and can't wait to explore the upcoming themes we have planned for March.
TREEHOUSE ROOM-Carol, Catriona, Gabi, Karen, Mary
Hello Treehouse families!
Putting away all 29 numbers from our February calendar, I have realized that we have spent half a year with your precious children since September! Considering that they were just born a few years ago, it’s a big chunk of time from their childhood! We can only hope that one day, - or next week, they will remember that preschool is a fun place, where we share stories, experiences, songs, games, and good times with each other every day. My personal favourite time of the day ( besides my zen, quiet yoga class) is when the tiny humans with their giant (or too small) backpacks, make the long journey down the big stairs to their cubbies, smiling at their peers and us, independently getting ready to walk in to the classroom to a group of friends or toys, purposefully, making it look like they planned this for days.
The next thing they do in their busy schedule is to find their favourite toys, learning to share and take turns. Washroom visits start next, with one request usually growing into several when they realize where their friends are heading, whether they need to go or just want to go for a walk. ( Like later in life, girls never seem to go alone!)
Back to our month in the classroom. February was a Use-a-Gallon-of-Red-Paint month! First we celebrated Chinese New Year, then Valentines Day by listening to music, enjoying some dancing, learning new rhymes, and using a bit of gold, and a lot of red paint for art. The children were excited to exchange Valentines cards, and they kindly created art pieces for their friends and relatives. ( I had a hard time finding the door handle on my fridge covered by hearts. Yay! Unfortunately, the candy did not make it to the fridge before I ate it!
The party was fun, they really enjoyed the juice, the treats, and they left most of their vegetables on their plates! Gym time was loud and the energy level was as high as you can imagine. We had endless conversations about friendship and community, kindness, compassion and helpfulness. We had an activity that involved a drawing of a jar that we filled with heart cutouts every time someone showed compassion or kindness, or shared something without prompting. They loved to tell us why they thought a heart needed to be added to the jar.
In the past two weeks we learned some facts about dinosaurs, and played with an array of different species of dinosaurs in every corner of the classroom. We have experts on our team who can identify and pronounce their names (not the teachers!) Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores were some of the big words we learned, and one of our boys identified himself as an omnivore because he likes salami and peas! :) Success!
The children started practicing for the Easter Services, we hope you can make it! They are all very excited to sing the songs in the church for you.
SUNFLOWER ROOM - Carol, Danielle, Monica
Hello Sunflower families,
The first thing to do in this blog is to welcome our new teacher, Monica MacDonald. Monica is new to the Sunflower Room but not new to St. Catherine’s. We’re so happy you’re joining us, and know you’ll enjoy our happy classroom.
We started the month learning about St. Valentine’s Day. We talked about love, kindness and friendship; decorated bags in which to deliver Valentine cards to our friends, made lots of heart themed art and wrote and “posted” (in our post box in the classroom) notes and cards to each other and to our families. We had a fun filled party, and ate treats around a big table. Also at the beginning of the month, we celebrated Lunar New Year and the start of the Year of the Dragon. We made beautiful dragons with muffin liners, gold black and red paintings, and each child received a red envelope with chocolate coins inside. We learned about preparing for the new year and celebrating, and watched a short DVD about Kai Lan and the Dragon Dance.
Our next theme was Our 5 Senses. There were spices, herbs and lemons on the science table to look at, smell and touch. In art we made collages out of herbs and spices with interesting textures and smells. We tasted marshmallows and felt how squishy they were; we had scented shaving cream in the water table one day, and coloured ice blocks in it the next. We played “sound bingo” and sang songs in music class, but the high point of this unit has to be our Field Trip to Thrifty Foods. The staff showed us around the store, pointing out various ways to use our 5 senses while there: crinkly plastic around the grapes, bright coloured smoothies, flowers and produce, rough skinned squashes, the smell of orange peel, and delicious aroma of cinnamon buns still warm from the oven. We saw live lobsters and crabs up close, stood in the doorway of a huge walk-in freezer and saw and heard the machine that lifts pallets. When we returned to the classroom for lunch, we enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies given to us in the bakery department and each took home a fruit bar too. It was a great way to illustrate and experience our senses.
During the last week of the month we are starting to learn about the Alphabet (A-F this first week). As we have let you know by email, each child will have a turn at bringing home the Alphabet Box, and the task of finding small items around the house beginning with a specific letter. This is a wonderful opportunity to help your child learn about the initial letters of common words, items found every day. A good game is to identify the letter your child’s name starts with, and point out other words and things that start with the same letter.
We’re having a busy but fun time in the Sunflower Room, and that’s going to continue through the alphabet and into Spring!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us.
RESOURCE ROOM-Marion
Spring is almost here and we will be welcoming the sunshine and warmer weather soon. Play dates in the park with friends and riding bikes will be memories made.
Some of you maybe thinking about when to start the process of toilet training your toddler before they enter the 3s in September. Some things to look for:
Firstly you child needs to show an interest and desire to learn to use the potty or toilet.
* they pull at their diaper when wet
* they may hide when they need to the bathroom.
* they are staying dry or clean for longer periods of time.
* they are curious about what you are doing when you go to the bathroom
* they are showing their independence by wanting to try new things
* they can follow directions
* they can communicate that they need to use the toilet
* they can initiate pulling up and down their pants
* once they are are using the toilet on their own, move them into underwear during the day
* use a diaper or pull up for night times if necessary
Research has shown us that most toddlers complete toilet training by the age of two and half. The process can take up to six months before the child can go to the bathroom on their own with minimum assistance. Girls learn faster than little boys do. First born children usually take longer to toilet train than younger siblings, who pick up cues from the older child.
Praise, Praise and more Praise. Every time your child says that they need to go to the bathroom, praise them. If they use the potty/toilet or attempt to use it, tell them how proud you are of them, give them hugs.
The age of a child is not the sole determining factor for when to start potty training. In fact, the best potty training age will vary quite a bit from child to child and depends on both physical and emotional factors.
Easter Services will be held on Tuesday, March 12th and Wednesday, March 13th @ 10:45.
If your child comes both days, please feel free to attend both. Happy Easter!
If you have any questions about programming, Kindergarten Readiness, please speak with the teachers or email the office.