May’s Newsletter is Here!

Gail’s Gab

Inspirations to share from “the Ooey Gooey Lady” Playful Learning is the foundation of school readiness.  Play prepares children for kindergarten, future elementary school academics and a love of life long learning. You are never too old to play, but we get old because we stop playing. Now…GO PLAY!   Need to make up Parent Ed? Google the Ooey Gooey Lady –Lisa Murphy. What is up at Preschool this Month? Isn’t spring wonderful!  The gentle rains (we hope), the sun shining…and no more hats mitts and muddy buddies every day! Yippee…you should all be experiencing an easier transition to the great outdoors due to weather and also due to the fact that all of our children are capable of changing their shoes and putting on their outdoor gear.  Please remember “yes, they can” and stop yourself from taking over their opportunity to SHINE and show you what they CAN do! In the classroom we are very close to chick hatching time.  About may 5th and 6th our little feathery friends should be making their way into our classroom. Once hatched they will reside with us for about one week before Farmer Mile comes to take them back to his farm to meet their parents.  Other “hoppy news” our tadpoles are growing like crazy…stop in and take a look, there should be some back legs emerging in a week or two. Big Buddy Classes will be visiting our preschool on May 11th to meet the chicks and do some playful learning with our preschoolers. SUNNY DAY REMINDERS: Please send sun glasses, sun hats (labeled) and apply sunscreen before your child comes to school if you wish. Duty parents please do not apply sunscreen to a child that is not your own without permission from that child’s parent; this is due to allergies and variants in beliefs around the use of sunscreen.

Playfully, Teacher Gail

Upcoming: Swan Lake Field Trips on May 19th (Bears/Frogs) and 20th (Ladybugs/Frogs). Please meet at the Nature House by 9:15. Frogs class and play time will still be in session on the 19th and 20th. Early Childhood Educator Student:  We will be having a first year student from Sprott Shaw observing on all of our classes starting May 25th.

President’s Pen

Wow, May is here! During my last duty day I was amazed think of how much the Ladybugs class has grown and matured over the year. They are all so independent. I especially love the contrast from last year, when most of the class was in Bears together, and they hardly interacted. Now the Ladybugs class is engaging in creative, complex, fun imaginative play with groups of children. It is evident that play based learning sets the foundation for social and emotional skills that are used for academic learning and life.

Being the family that lives closest to the school gives us the honour of taking care of the tadpoles and chick eggs, over the weekend. It is fun to watch how fast the tadpoles are growing and we can’t wait to cuddle with the chicks. Gail creates a special space for our children to learn and explore.

Thank you John and Lisa for all of your help applying for the Gaming Grant. It will help us offer an even higher quality program, while keeping our fees low.

Thank you everyone who participated in the Walk-a-thon. It was a blast! It was wonderful to spend the morning running around and eating yummy treats with most of the preschool. Thank you Gail and Vanessa for your creativity, enthusiasm and tutus! Thank you Ali and the fundraising team for organizing a fun successful event! We reached our fundraising goal for the year!

All the best, Madeline