dickinson college children’s center september 2017 · dickinson college children’s center page...

Summer at DCCC is always a busy time but it is also full of lots of energy.

Making new friends and welcoming new summer teachers is exciting. We

are always so happy to hear that the children transitioned well to their

schools and wish our summer teachers the very best as they return to col-

lege or venture out to find a permanent teaching job. Welcome to the new

school year here at DCCC!

We hope to post our updated waiting list on our website within the next few

weeks.

The center was closed on August 11th and the teachers spent their day clean-

ing their classrooms, completing some online training and taking part in an

Open House at the end of their day.

All the children have seemed to adjust very well overall to their new rooms

and in some cases to their very first experience in group care. The first two

weeks we wipe some tears and hold some hands and after that it is all good.

These kids really are happy and we want them all to especially feel safe here.

We welcomed a few new student workers and some returning ones as well

that will be working in the afternoons. A new substitute was also hired to

help out when teachers need to take off. More details to be shared as they

start this fall.

We are excited to announce that we have been chosen to take part in the

SPEC Program (Supporting Positive Environments for Children). The Cen-

ter will be working with a core team of teachers on this approach to creating

a safe and productive learning environment where teachers can teach and all

students can learn.

The center has an Advisory meeting Scheduled for September 20 th at 4:15.

Our first Parent Meeting will be held on October 24th at 4:15. All families

are welcome to attend our Parent Meeting!

Have a great month!

-Gina VanKirk, Director

Dates to

Remember: September 20–

Advisory Committee

Meeting

October 4—Infant/

Toddler Portraits (&

siblings)

October 5—Preschool/

Kindergarten Portraits

October 16-November

1—Parent/Teacher

Conferences

October 24—Parent

Meeting 4:15 p.m.

October 26—Class Fall

Harvest Parties

From the Director’s Desk

Dickinson College Children’s Center

September 2017

Fundraiser Update……

Our sandwich sale was a big hit and we made $494 for the Center! Thank

you for participating! They will be here for pick up on Thursday, Septem-

ber 7th from 3-5:30 pm.

Coming Soon….. Be ready to register your Giant card to connect it to our

center on September 11th! * Don’t forget to get the Shoparoo app, so your

receipts can earn our school money!

Keep collecting those Box Tops!

Promotion Motion will be the buzz word in September! Your kids will be

talking about it, they will be participating in it, and you will have a letter

coming home to explain it, with labels to fill out. Be on the lookout! It

leads to our big Turkey Trot!!!

Spring 2017 Trike—a—Thon Total Amount Raised: $2,390!!

Because of your generosity this past spring, we were able to raise twice as much for St. Jude’s as we did in 2016. It means a lot to DCCC that you are willing to contribute to our Center fundraisers and then contribute to others who need help as well. THANK YOU!!

Patients in all 50 states and around the world are treated at St. Jude and no family every pays St. Jude for anything. Ever. The research conducted at St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate for childhood cancers from 20 percent when the hospital opened in 1962 to 80 percent today. This would not be possible without volunteers and support from people like you.

Ducklings


We are so pleased to report that our five new infants, ranging from 3 to 9 months, have experienced a success-

ful three weeks of adjustment! Over the coming weeks and months, we will welcome 3 more young infants

into our classroom. Some are working on tummy time; some just beginning to roll over; some sitting and one

very mobile little girl crawling rapidly and standing up on her two feet! We all have our own individual pref-

erences and schedules for feedings, sleeping and playing, so we have a very flexible schedule in the infant

room at this time. We take advantage of the beautiful last weeks of summer, getting outdoors and playing on a

mat in the shade twice a day. The infants seem to love this calming activity, sleeping outdoors, or watching

the clouds shift overhead and listening to the happy sounds of chirping birds and the playful preschoolers next

door.

During the month of September, we will continue to work on getting to know each other gradually. It

takes time and patience to begin to understand each other and to build those trusting relationships! We will

listen to stories and songs; look at board book pictures; explore sensory books; take nature walks to detect the

early signs of autumn; listen to nursery songs and lullabies; manipulate keys, rattles & chew toys. Some of us

will begin to experiment tasting pureed foods. And there will be lots of floor play and exploration!

You will receive a newsletter and lesson plan by email each month during the course of this year. You

will also find a hard paper copy of the Infant lesson plan in your classroom bin and one posted on the hallway

bulletin board. Lesson plans are developmentally based and for infants, activities revolve largely around basic

care activities. Because there is a wide developmental range in the infant room, you may see activities on the

plan that are not necessarily appropriate for your child. The plan is designed to cover the individual needs and

goals of each child.

Please remember to label all of your babies’ belongings, especially bottles. Continue to monitor dia-

pering supplies in the hallway bins and please keep them well stocked. Remember to maintain a supply of ex-

tra outfits …costume changes occur frequently in the infant room!

Just a reminder that Center policy requires that children be dropped off before 11 am. The extenuating

circumstance that would preclude adherence to this policy would be a scheduled doctor’s appointment, so

please let the classroom teacher know if your baby is scheduled to arrive late due to a doctor’s appointment.

We also wish to remind parents to please close doors and baby gates behind you when you enter the

infant classroom. We have one very active crawler and others fast approaching the crawling stage. For safety

sake, to avoid pinched fingers or escaping little ones, please take care to close doors behind you.

Please send in family photos of anyone and everyone important in your baby’s life: parents, grandpar-

ents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, pets, friends, etc. Babies love to look at photos of their families. These

family photos will be hung in the classroom. As the babies get older, they begin to recognize and point to fam-

ily members in photos. Such images from home can help to ease the transition from home to daycare.

We warmly welcome you all to the Duckling Room and we look very much forward to a wonderful

year together.

SANDY, LYNN, TORY & JODY


Looking ahead to September we will spend time exploring all of the skills that we have. We will clap

while we sing songs, practice waving, show how we use the sign language we know, and learn a few new

signs. We will also use our gross motor skills to crawl and walk over a pillow maze, ride the bikes on the

playground, and throw balls. We will keep coloring and finger painting, as well! ~ LACI & ALISHA

Yellow Pups

Reminders: Please label all items in lunch boxes

Please make sure your child has appropriate foot-

wear for the playground Place labeled bedding on cots Monday mornings

Bags must be hung in the hallway.

We are off to a fabulous start as yellow puppies! Our first three weeks were spent getting to know each

other and adjusting to a new routine. A few of us are still taking short morning naps, while the rest of us

are exploring the room and exploring art. We sang many songs and read lots of books as we got to know

each other. “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, and “If You’re Happy and you Know it”

can make any morning a little brighter! We also discovered that the playground is so much fun to explore.

We love the climbers, the kitchen, and the grass that tickles our fingers!


Yellow Honey Bees

Welcome new Puppies! Every one is settling in well to the routine of the room. Drop

offs may still be a little hard for the next week or two, but it will get easier. This month will be focused on

“All about Me” as we sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.

The teachers are still getting to know the children , their families, likes/dislikes, temperaments, and personali-

ties. Please bring in 4-5 family pictures so we can hang them up around the room. We will be incorporating

art time more regularly with crayons and paint and making handprints. Gathering (circle) time will have us

introducing a short book time.

The puppies are enjoying singing songs such as Old McDonald, Bumble Bee, ABC’s, and Twinkle, Twinkle

Little Star. Going out side is one of our favorite times of the day! Pushing lawn mowers, poppers, and going

down the slide along with riding cars are some of the activities they look forward to. We are having fun ex-

ploring the room, but Cars and blocks seem to be the favorite places to be.

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or address any concerns with us.

REMINDERS:

~ During drop-off and pick-up please make sure the gate and door are closed.

~ Please bring 4-5 family pictures for our Family Wall

~ Please label lunch containers

~ Grapes, cherry tomatoes, and hotdogs should be cut into quarters

~CATHRYN & DONNA

Welcome Yellow Honey Bees to your new classroom! The children have

been a joy and are transitioning nicely into the routine of our room.

This month our theme will be “What I Know”. This theme will be great for the children; and us as well.

We will get a better understanding of what the children know and do not know. We will be using books,

folder activities, and songs to learn colors, shapes and counting. We will learn the first letter of our name; as

well as some beginning concepts of opposites.

Play is an important part of your toddler’s day. We will continue to learn about the toys in our classroom.

This is a great time for them to get to know us; as we are on the floor playing with them.

We love to walk with the children. Please continue to send them to school with good walking shoes. We

incorporate our science goals of learning about plant and animals during our walk time.

Craft time is our favorite. We will do many crafts this month using shapes and color.

DCCC has asked that we remind all of our families that we are a peanut and tree nut free facility. Also,

please make sure that lunchboxes and food containers have labels.

Thank you so much! We look forward to a great year!

~BARB & MICHELE

Blue Puppies


Blue Busy Bees

The blue bees have had a great start to the year talking about ourselves and sharing our likes and dislikes.

Ms. Cassie and Ms. Jody are learning about each child so we can help your child succeed and do their best in

the blue bee room. We are really getting to know each other’s names by singing “The More We Get Togeth-

er” and “Who Is Here Today?” The Blue Bees love looking at each other’s fami-

ly pictures, so keep them coming if you have not had a chance to bring pictures

in. We are working on learning to use our words with to tell our teachers and

peers what we want and need. Other areas that we are working hard on are using

the potty, learning to clean up our toys when playtime is over and washing our

hands (using soap, scrubbing and then rinsing all the soap off before we dry with

a paper towel.) As a parent, you can help with the handwashing by making sure

to have your child wash their hands each morning before beginning to play in

the Blue Bee room.

In the month of September, the blue bees will be talking about colors fo-

cusing on the primary colors, letters focusing on the ones in our names, numbers

1-10, shapes and opposites. We will also talk more about caterpillars and butter-

flies as we watch our caterpillars grow, go into chrysalis, emerge as butterflies

and then we will release them outside. We are excited to have the caterpillars in

the room. Please be sure to check the daily activity schedule for special happen-

ings that may occur in the room related to the topics that we are talking about.

For example (when we talk about colors each day will be a different color and

we will wear that color to school).

Family Reminders:

*please be sure to wear close-toed shoes for outside play

*all children must have a helmet to ride bikes, if your child does not have one,

please bring one in

*please provide utensils in your child’s lunch

*be sure to fill out your child’s daily sheet upon arrival at school

*be sure to have your child wash their hands before they begin play upon arrival

~JODY & CASSIE


Yellow Bear Cubs

teddy bears will

spend a lot of Sep-

tember getting to

know their friends

and families, how

to be caring, and

what pets and peo-

ple’s needs are through our Pets unit!

~MANDY

Everyone is doing such a nice job set-

tling into the rules and routine of the day!

We will be starting our rainbow chart that

will help us visually monitor our choices

throughout the day! We will be starting our

PATHS Program, which will help us identi-

fy our feelings and learn to use our words

for problem solving and complimenting as

well! I will be sure to explain these pro-

grams more thoroughly as we go through

the month!

Our preschool

thematic units will be

lasting a few weeks

long and touch on

several concepts. The

Blue Bears

Welcome to the Blue Bear room! We have all officially gotten to know each

other and have begun to build on old and create new friendships. We have enjoyed

our first few weeks talking about our new environment and what and who we find

here. We have learned about rules and how they keep us and the things around us

safe. We finished up the month of August talking about ourselves and finding similar-

ities and differences about each of us.

We have really enjoyed learning all about our beginning tools for our Get Set for

School curriculum as we met Big Line, Little Line, Big Curve and Little Curve with

our wood pieces. We will use and talk about these pieces all throughout the year. We

have even met another friend that we will see a lot of Mat Man. These new “friends”

will be great tools to make us great and aware when we are writing our letters.

In September we will switch gears a little and talk more about family and pets

that we find at our homes. During our study we will learn about how to care for others

and pets, what each eats and what makes a great pet. Pets are a big part of our families

so learning good care is important.

Along with our pets we will meet some more new friends when we introduce the

PATH lessons. The PATHS lessons will happen every week and will take us step by

step through each one of our feelings and we will learn that each feeling is ok. Some are comfortable and

others uncomfortable. By the end of the year we will know how we feel with each one and what to do with

those uncomfortable feelings. September is going to be a busy and fun month!!! \~ANGE & KENDRA


I cannot believe that September is here! We have had a great few weeks

here in the bunny room. We have settled into a great routine and have

had a fun few weeks getting to know each other. The first few weeks in the classroom, we fo-

cused on welcoming each other, routines, and friends and family. I am still looking for family

pictures from a few of you. If you are not sure if you have brought or sent one please let me

know and I can tell you. Thanks!

Now that we have a strong foundation in those areas, we will be moving on

to our clothing unit for the first several weeks of September. We will use

this unit to discuss different occupations, community

helpers and fire safety. It will also allow us to talk

about shapes, colors and patterns. In September, we

will also really begin using our new kindergarten readiness journals to

practice our pencil grip, crayon control, and start writing letters. The

kiddos are so excited to be able to start practicing writing. (We will not

be starting our letters with the letter A. We start with the letters that

are the most developmentally appropriate and easiest to form. Meaning that they are made

up vertical or horizontal straight lines.)

Reminders:

Please make sure you are checking your child’s mailbox located in the hallway right out-

side the door for important information from us and the office as well as the weekly lesson

plans.

Please make sure you are checking your child’s extra clothes bins to make sure they have

clothes (shirt, shorts/pants, underwear, socks, etc). It also might be helpful if your child

has a sweatshirt to keep in their cubby as the weather is kind of all of the place with tem-

perature.

Please make sure your child’s heat up is in the heat up bin in the lunch box refrigerator.

Also make sure the heat up container is labeled as well as the lunch boxes.

~BRITTNEY & SONDRA

Bunnies

Kindergarten Dolphins

Newsletter Title

Miss Sarah and I are really enjoying getting to know all of our new kindergarten

students and are so happy to welcome them and their families into our kindergarten

family. We had a great little kindergarten get-together with students and their fami-

lies on August 30. The kids all had fun playing together, and it was a great chance

for parents to get to know each other and to welcome the families of Avery, Harper, Benjamin, Layla, and

Charlotte, who are brand new to the center.

Our hope for this kindergarten year is to create a family away from home in a room filled with love, re-

spect, and kindness where our learners are respectful, helpful, responsible, and excited about learning.

During the first few weeks of kindergarten, our class has been working on establishing class rules, practic-

ing routines, and creating a sense of class community. Friendship will be one of our themes for the

month of September as we practice kindness, respect, and peaceful conflict resolution skills. We also in-

troduced our "Fill Your Bucket" character-building program. The children earn pompoms to put in their

own individual buckets in our classroom for showing kindness and respect to others through words and

deeds. When a bucket is "filled”, the child will be recognized by the class and will receive a "bucket fill-

er" certificate to take home.

In September, we will also continue to work on learning and practicing our letter-sound-action associa-

tions and will continue to improve our name printing skills. We'll also begin journaling each day and will

work on rhyming, proper letter formation, sight words, patterning, categorizing, shapes, and numbers....

just to name a few! September will also bring on a study of living things. We will learn about what all

living things need to survive, and will watch the way they grow and move. We will explore our garden

and learn about parts of plants and what plants need to survive. We will compare, collect, and taste vege-

tables from the garden and will hunt for little garden invertebrates who happen to be crawling, hopping,

and flying among them. The children are encouraged to bring in garden invertebrates that they find in

their own gardens at home as well for closer investigation. We hope to create a cricket habitat in our

classroom, watch the metamorphous of caterpillars into butterflies, and continue daily observations of our

hermit crabs pets!

At the end of September, we will be studying about healthy habits. We will practice proper hand washing,

and will learn more about germs, nutrition, and fitness.

Toward the end of September, we will also begin our Color Days. The kindergartners are encouraged to

wear as many things in the designated color each day. They will be graphing the number of items in that

color each day. Please refer to the Kindergarten Calendar for designated days.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Katie and Cheri

dickinson college children’s center september 2017 · dickinson college children’s center page...

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