In the morning...

Trains, trains and more trains! Since early on in the school year, the children have shown interest and curiosity about trains. The toy trains and track in the classroom have been a popular constant at playtime as children build and rebuild and pretend to take trips. It is also a wonderful activity in which children constantly have the opportunity to practice problem-solving as they work through learning to share materials, space and ideas.

Train related activities recently include:

· reading books about trains such as; Freight Train, Tracks, The Little Engine That Could, etc.

· observing firsthand the Metra train that passes by the school many times daily

· focusing on the letter "t" for train, "r" for railroad and "c" for train cars & coal and....

· building a "child size" train using cardboard boxes, materials from our new Art Studio and much more!

Niko, Kate, Ava and Sophia painting the engine of our "child size" train.

Graham building a train track through the block center and housekeeping.

Niko and Tommy building the same train track.

Sophia and Ava drawing a train track after watching the Metra Train pass by.

 

 

In the afternoon...

·         In the afternoon, after we get up from nap/rest time, we have a rug time when we do the calendar, the weather and listen to a story read by Mrs. Fieldman. Recently she's read Hey, Get off Our Train, Olivia and I Love Trains to us. When Mrs. Carlson arrives, we all go outside to play, enjoying the mild weather lately as we ride bikes, play tag, play ball, and engage in imaginative play like "hospital" and "super helpers".

·         When we come inside, we sometimes listen to another short story read by Mrs. Carlson which recently has included the Little Bear books as well as The Wolf's Chicken Stew. Then we have project time and play indoor play time. Our projects lately have included marble painting and watercolor as well as drawing a mural of our playground. Mrs. Carlson is having the children to this to get some ideas of what's important to them as the Playground Development Team works to revamp the playground. Many thanks to parents Eileen, David, Cathy, Amy and Tyrone for volunteering to be a part of the team.

 

Mrs. Silverman, Heike, Graham, Sophia, Brooke, Niko, Ava, Kate and Tommy drawing a mural of the playground.

Ava, Heike, Niko, Sophia and Tommy adding detail to the mural of our playground.

 

 

Introducing..... Jonah!

Jonah and his family have been part of the "Community" family for years. Jonah's older sister, Maya, attended Community for Nursery School and after-Kindergarten enrichment, is mother, AJ, has participated on the school board and Jonah has been a part of Community's Reggio inspired Nursery School program. And now Jonah has joined us here at Little Giants on Tuesday and Friday mornings.


 

 

 

Little Giants Needs Your Help Spreading the Word!



Now is the time of year when people are registering for school and day care for next fall. Will you please help us spread the word about our program? Please let people you know (especially District 113 employees) that we're here and what kind of experience your child has had with us. For our program to sustain itself, we must do our best to make full enrollment next year (which is 20). If you have any ideas about ways we can more effectively get the word out, please let us know!



Holiday Pajama Party

On Thursday, December 20th, our last day before Winter Break, we are having a Pajama Party. On this day your child is welcome to wear his/her pajama's to school. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, for example, girls wearing nightgowns should have leggings on. We will be "riding" a pretend train, reading The Polar Express, drinking hot chocolate, and other fun activities.

Reminders:
*Please remember that all toys (except lovies) need to stay at home! It is becoming a little bit of a problem, they have trouble sharing, kids are taking toys out of other kids cubbies, small toys are getting lost, etc. Thanks for your support!
*A nurse from the Lake County Health Department will be here next Tuesday, December 11th, to check all the kids vision and hearing. The vision test is...each child says which way the "table or E" is pointing by saying bird, boy, rabbit/bunny or girl. Please practice this with your child, I sent home a sample. The hearing test is....each child puts on a set of headphones and raises his/her hand when they hear a "beep" sound. We will let you know if your child passes or needs further evaluation from your Pediatrician.
*Tuition is due December 10th.
*A staff meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 17th, please pick up your child by 4:00 if possible, so that all of the staff can attend the meeting.
*Little Giants Day Care Center will be closed Friday, December 21st through Friday, January 4th, for the Winter Break. We will reopen Monday, January 7th.
*Please remember that every child must have a pair of snow pants and snow boots, so we can play in the snow as soon as it is here:)
*The Gift Card Fundraisers are due tomorrow, Thursday. If you forget to turn them in tomorrow, you can still turn them into the other school, 1850 Green Bay, on Friday, but no later then 5:30.
*Scholastic book orders are due by Friday, December 7th.