Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

January 23rd & 25^th 

Dear Preschool Parents,

“And so they lived happily ever after…” This week we concluded our fairy tales unit! On Monday we read the story “The Tortoise and the Hare,” by Janet Stevens...not a true fairy tale, I suppose, but it has talking animals and the kids don’t know the difference (wink, wink). After reading the story, we held several races of our own: Ring on a String, a classic relay race in the back yard, and Pass It Down. Good weather, good exercise, and a fun time were had by all. We didn’t even have any sore losers.

On Wednesday, we read the book, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” by Paul Galdone. After reading this book, the children made their own stick puppets to retell the story. Story retelling is when children recount in their own words a story that they have heard or read. It is one of the most effective strategies for developing children’s comprehension and their understanding of story structure. The children were very engaged in this activity and wanted to do it over and over again. Ask your child to tell you the story!

The children thoroughly enjoyed each of the books we read in our fairy tales unit. Despite the somewhat grim storylines that are presented in each book, children are always fascinated and want to hear more (hence Disney coming along and making millions in movies). We sometimes shy away from these stories thinking they are too frightening or disturbing for children. However, Fairy tales benefit children in so many ways. They provide children the opportunity to get a sense of what is real and what is pretend. They also expose the children to rich vocabulary, the opportunity to discern good from evil, as well as discover the moral.  Fairy tales encourage the use of imagination and they teach the elements of a story (beginning, middle and end). So, do not discount fairy tales as a bad influence on your children. Rather, be selective, and choose age-appropriate stories to give to them. But do not be afraid of unleashing their imagination and letting them confront their darkest fears. By giving them heroes to identify with, you are letting those fears surface in a subtle manner, and allowing your child to find his courage and make moral choices vicariously-choices that will build his character and have influence on the rest of his life. (Susanne Lakin)

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK FEB 1^st : AJ

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*NO SCHOOL: JAN 30^th

*MAKE-UP DAYS: Friday, March 2 & 9

*NO SCHOOL: March 12, 14, 19 & 21 (My son has the first week off from school and Marana School District has the second week off from school)

See you next week! Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely, 

Amber

Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

January 18^th & 20^th 

Dear Preschool Parents,

On Wednesday we continued on with fairy tale adventures as we read “Hansel and Gretel,” by James Marshall. I love this author and his humorous retellings of classic fairy tales. Every child needs to be familiar with the classic story of Hansel and Gretel, right? However, it’s not really a warm and fuzzy storyline, especially through a child’s eyes. So we focused on the part that was child friendly…we made our own candy houses. Imagination + frosting + candy= sweet memories and delicious creations!

           

            Today our read aloud was, “Red Riding Hood” by James Marshall. I began by asking the children what they thought a stranger was. They all thought that a stranger was a “bad guy.” I emphasized that most strangers are nice, but we just never know for sure so we must be careful. After reading the story we talked about the trouble Red Riding Hood got herself into by talking with the wolf. We discussed what she should have done instead of going off with the wolf (run away, not give out information, find a safe adult, etc.). Finally, we talked about what they should do if they should happen to ever get lost themselves. Finally, I provided a lovely little red head scarf with which we role-played the parts of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. I, being the wolf, approached them and tried to get them to talk to me. It was their job as Red Riding Hood to apply the proper stranger danger techniques that we spoke about. It was a hoot…but they need more practice!! Unfortunately, the wolf won every time.

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK JAN 23^rd & 25^th: Piper

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*NO SCHOOL: JAN 30^th

See you next week! Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely, 

Amber

Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

January 9 & 11, 2012

Dear Preschool Parents,

Continuing with our unit on fairy tales, on Monday we read “The Three Pigs,” by Paul Galdone. Each child then received a building material (sugar cubes, Legos, toothpicks, craft sticks, small pebbles, straws, and Styrofoam packing peanuts, strawberry baskets, etc.) and they were asked to help the three little pigs build a stronger house. We went around and made predictions on which materials would be the strongest and the best for house building and which ones were likely to be the weakest. Then, we tested our predictions by having the Big Bad Wolf (aka the blow-dryer) try to blow our houses down. The results were interesting and in some cases unexpected. Each child then wanted to try to build a second house using a different material. In some cases, materials that blew down the first time didn’t blow down the second time because they were constructed in a different way and, therefore, stronger. We had a fun time.

Today we read “The Little Red Hen,” also by Paul Galdone (I like his retellings).

We talked about the process that the Little Red Hen went through to make her bread. I showed the children some sequential pictures of wheat being grown, harvested, and ground into flour. We discussed how much easier it is for us because we can simply buy a bag of flour at the store. We then proceeded to make our own bread. Of course this was quite a process, but the kids helped me with each step. Our loaves of bread were not the prettiest, we even lost one on the floor, but the bread did taste good and the kids were happy with the fruits of their labor!

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK JAN 18^th: Reese

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*NO SCHOOL: JAN 16^th—MLK Day

*MAKE-UP DAY: Friday, JAN 20^th

 *NO SCHOOL: JAN 30^th (My mom will be in town this day)

See you next week! Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely, 

Amber

Little Busy Bodies Preschool

Newsletter

January 4^th

Dear Preschool Parents,

Happy New Year! I hope you’re all adjusting to real life again. Coming back from two weeks off can be hard, but I really did miss your kids over the holidays so I was glad to see them!

We are beginning a three week unit on fairy tales. Today we read “The Three Bears,” by Paul Galdone. After reading this retelling of the classic tale, we worked together to sort several items by size (small, medium, and large). This was challenging for the children and it required them to talk amongst themselves to compare the similar items that each had.

2012-2013 School Year: I wanted to let everyone officially know that I will be teaching a 4-5 year old class this next school year, 2012-2013. It may seem a bit early to be thinking about next school year, but many preschools are taking registration or will be in the next few weeks. I am opening registration to our class first. If you are interested in returning next year, please let me know by March 1st. At that time, I will open registration to anyone and everyone who inquires.

Unfortunately, I will be raising my prices this next year to remain competitive with the other local preschools. Tuition will be $110 per month for twice a week half day attendance with a $65 non-refundable deposit fee. I Hope this doesn’t deter anyone from continuing, however, I need to be more realistic concerning the amount of hours I am putting into preschool in and out of class.

*KING/ QUEEN OF THE WEEK JAN 9^th & 11^th: Olivia

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*NO SCHOOL: JAN 16^th—MLK Day

See you next week! Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely, 

Amber