Parent Letter December 14, 2010

December 14, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

With the arrival of (some) snow today and the freezing of the pond a few days ago, we’re embracing the shift to winter! In addition to the importance of warm coats and snow pants, mittens and hats, sturdy boots, scarves and all that, we will be eliminating the morning recess (as long as there is snow on the ground) in exchange for a longer outside playtime directly following lunch. Everything else stays pretty much the same, with an indoor free-play time taking the place of recess. Please remember to check your child’s spare clothes, and re-supply things as necessary with seasonally appropriate items. Each child should have indoor footwear or slippers as well.

We’ve been pretty busy here in the preschool lately, and I daresay your children are as ready for a vacation as anyone! We’ve finished up a number of involved projects, lighted the menorah each day of Hanukkah, made a game of harvesting ice from the pond, learned some new songs and games, and generally felt the excitement of the season grow around us. Today and tomorrow we will finish up the gifts we are making, and on Thursday we will celebrate the holidays with our annual Secret Santa gift exchange and party. I hope that all children will be able to join us – please let us know if you won’t be able to come, and we’ll make sure that your child’s gift gets to him/her. Thursday is a half-day of school, with pick-up at 12:00 and no lunch at school that day.

As for the Secret Santa ritual, please remember to bring in a wrapped, modest ($1 - $2) gift for the person your child selected last week. (I have the master list if you are unsure who that is.) Our party will be modest in efforts to keep the excitement under control, and we’ll have some healthy food choices for snack.

Charlotte has really been enjoying her first days at preschool, and Hannah is gradually settling in to the program’s rhythm and pulse as well. We will be welcoming both Natalie and Margaretta when we return in January, and Keeshawn hopes to join us as well. We will be a much more full program in 2011 than I anticipated back in August!

With new families joining the preschool, days are filling up in the schedule. Now is a good time to consider whether you might want to add to your child’s schedule, or change days, or any other shift that you’ve been contemplating. If you’d like to talk about the possibility of making a change in your child’s schedule, I encourage you to see me as soon as possible.

Here’s wishing everyone a delightful, magical, fun-filled – and restful – holiday vacation!

--Ken and Leelee

Parent Letter December 8, 2010

                                                                                                           

Greetings from the preschool,

Yesterday we lighted 7 candles on our menorah at candle circle.  I was hoping that we would have the time to make potato latkes during the 8-day Festival of Lights, but we have been so busy lately that I’m afraid it will just have to wait, maybe until next week.  We have started our lovely Holiday Greeting Card project, and we will be making candles and bird feeders soon as well.

Yesterday we invited the kindergarten, 1^st, and 2^nd grade classes to the preschool to help make (and taste!) a traditional Caribbean “smoothie”-style drink creation – something that people might drink in the Dominican Republic, or Haiti. The ingredients are simple: coconut milk, vanilla ice cream, milk, and freshly ground nutmeg.  Yummm!  We hope to do another Caribbean recipe before vacation. 

Here is our Secret Santa Master List as picked from the bowl of random preschoolers:

   Isabelle picked Katherine       James picked Sadie    Hannah picked James        

   Chip picked Isabelle               Sadie picked Chip                  Teddie picked Ben

   Caroline picked Charlotte      Maxine picked Margaretta      Margaretta picked Niavh

   Ben picked Maxine                 Niavh picked Ginger              Katherine picked Caroline

   Charlotte picked Teddie        Ginger picked Hannah

We’ll have a modest celebration on that last half-day (Thur., Dec. 16).  Children should bring in a small ($1-$2), wrapped gift for the person they picked, and we will open presents at that time.  We’ll also provide healthy holiday treats (no lunch on Thursday), and sing some seasonal songs.  I hope all children will be able to come that day.

The pond has a layer of ice on it already, although it is far from ready to walk on yet.  If we don’t get significant snow any time soon, we may be able to slide around on the ice once it’s solid.  At any rate, we will keep a section of the ice shoveled all winter in order to have sliding possibilities in addition to sledding!

We’ve been using our recently made shaker instruments while singing Jingle Bells at circle time, and today we sang Christmas Is Coming.  We talked about why someone would put a penny in “the old man’s hat,” and I was amazed at the children’s awareness of generosity and sharing that the line represents.  And that reminds me – thank you for your efforts at helping to fill the Food Donation Box this month especially! You are all terrific role models for your children.

Today is Charlotte’s first official day of preschool, AND her third birthday!  Welcome, Charlotte.  We will bake chocolate chip cookies in her honor this morning!

As always, thanks for all your support and enthusiasm.  Enjoy these magical days as they lead up to a festive and memorable occasion for your children!

--Ken and Leelee

Parent Letter December 3, 2010

December 3, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

With less than two weeks before the holiday vacation begins, we have much to do! We’ll be making some craft gifts, as well as a holiday card (another occasion to practice those burgeoning early literacy skills) and decorations for the classroom and home. On Wednesday we made a handsome Menorah, and we lighted the candles and sang Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah after hearing the story of the first Hanukkah miracle. Next week we’ll make potato latkes – yummm!

Happy birthday to Niavh, who turned 4 on the 29th! We intended to make an ice cream cake, and while it turned out to be mostly just a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, it was pretty good! We will celebrate Charlotte’s 3^rd birthday next week when she comes to the preschool for her first day on Wednesday Dec. 8th. Welcome, Charlotte – and happy birthday! Hannah joined us yesterday for her very first official day in the preschool, now that she is three. Welcome to Hannah, too! We also hope to be welcoming 4-year-old Natalie into the preschool soon – perhaps before the vacation starts. AND we will have Margaretta join us in January! It’s a lively time in the preschool these days.

Thanks for taking the time to look over the special fundraising/benefit gift order forms, and placing your gift orders through this organization. We are happy to be partnered with this group, and look forward to the assistance it lets us provide to Fair Trade merchants, farmers, and people of the developing world.

Our focus theme on Haiti and the Dominican Republic starts next week. We’ll be creating mixed groups among the preschoolers-through-second-graders, and each group will meet four times, each time with the offering of a different project. One of our projects will be making delicious coconut custard, a national favorite of the DR!

It’s our turn in the preschool to take charge of the monthly Food Donation box for the entire school. This simply means that we will make special efforts to check the box near the main office, and add the contributions from our own preschool box each day. When the box is filled, we will take it to the Putney Food Shelf where it will be greatly welcomed this time of year especially. And, as always, thank you for your efforts and contributions—and for including your child in the process—toward filling the boxes.

Please take a moment to check the lost-and-found box near the sign-in clipboard. There are a few items that have been unclaimed for some time now.

Thanks to Caroline’s family for the addition to our classroom of a fine, sturdy, wooden climbing and sliding structure! The children were delighted when it arrived yesterday, and I can tell that it’s going to be a hit with everyone through the entire winter. Thanks, Mark, Camilla, and Caroline!

Finally, we will be celebrating the season with our annual Secret Santa ritual. This is just for the preschoolers; the rest of the school has its own Secret Santa celebration. We will randomly select names from a “hat,” and we ask that children bring in a modest gift ($2 or so, really – and no candy, please!) that will be exchanged on our last day before vacation (Thursday Dec. 16, before school ends at noon). I’ll distribute the names of “givers” and recipients as soon as they’re finalized. Thanks for your good humor, patience, and cheer at this time of year, when we emphasize how much fun it is to give a gift as well as receive one.

In appreciation of your children!

--Ken and Leelee

Parent Letter November 17, 2010

November 17, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and our attentions turn to that simple yet profound notion of giving thanks. At circle time we take turns sharing one or two things for which we are thankful, and we will soon have beautiful Spirals of Thanks artwork hanging from our preschool ceiling.

Thank you for contributing the bags of cranberries to our school-wide Food Basket project. We’ll put the baskets together today at All School Meeting, and they’ll be delivered to the Putney Food Shelf. On a related note, the children recently painted our Food Donation Box and designated a spot in the hallway where it will reside. We’ve talked about the notions of charity and sharing, and we will make this box, and these intentions to share with those in need, a long-term community service project. Sharing feels good! Again, thanks for helping your children fill our box each month with non-perishable foods and other necessities of all kinds.

It’s that time of year when weather can seem gloomy and raw. Thanks for making sure your children come to school with warm outside clothes, boots or sturdy shoes, and a complete change of clothes for the cubby. Children should also have a pair of slippers or indoor shoes each day. We have some spare clothes and boots here that children are welcome to, as well.

On Thursday, Natalie and her parents will visit again, possibly with intentions to join the preschool sometime in the near future. Hannah and Charlotte will be joining us in early December, and Margaretta joins us in January. The program is growing more robust as it gets increasingly full! “Welcome” to the new preschoolers!

Niavh will celebrate her 4^th birthday later this month. She has informed us that she wants to make an ice cream cake for her special treat – I’m sure there’s a recipe for that on the internet!

Last year the entire school participated in a “December Theme” focusing on the culture of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This year we will once again embark on a school-wide study of another region of the world, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Preschoolers will enjoy opportunities to cook (and eat!) some traditional foods from these areas, and we will make some traditional music instruments as well. In addition, TGS is complementing these activities with a service/learning component that will support Haiti and other struggling nations in a humanitarian effort. You may already have received Steve’s letter detailing our fundraising plans. I have included a brief description (lifted directly from his letter!) below:

“As part of this December focus, The Grammar School is using a unique organic

and Fair Trade fundraising program partnering with Equal Exchange and Ten

(over)

Thousand Villages, national Fair Trade pioneers. This fundraiser features a full-

line of organic, Fair Trade food and beverages. In addition to the organic, fairly

traded coffees, teas, chocolates, cocoas, and healthy snacks from Equal

Exchange, the fundraiser also offers items such as silk scarves from Nepal,

tablecloths and glass pendants from India, and batik greeting cards from

Thailand.”

“This service learning initiative will enable TGS to raise funds for “Partners in Health” initiatives in Haiti, while benefiting small-scale organic farmers and artisans around the globe. Under the guidance of Hop, the seventh graders will assume leadership in this project. Specifically, this week they are preparing presentations to each of the other classes to help students begin to learn about this region of the world and to better understand connections between themselves, their purchases and the people who grow and create products we use every day.”

“Information and order forms will come home with your child by Friday, November 19. If you choose to participate by asking friends or family to make a purchase or to make a purchase yourself, we request that order forms with payment be returned to school by WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1^ST. This will ensure that ordered products are delivered and distributed to you prior to the vacation. Thank you for your consideration. (Please note that we are NOT encouraging nor asking students to go door-to-door, and that there are NO prizes or contests associated with this service initiative.)”

ABOUT EQUAL EXCHANGE: 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, imported from more than 40 small farmer cooperatives in 22 countries around the globe.

ABOUT TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES: A fair trade retailer, Ten Thousand Villages offers gift items rich in ancient global traditions. For more than 60 years, Ten Thousand Villages has established fair, long-term buying partnerships in places where skilled artisans lack opportunities for stable income.

Thanks for taking the time to consider this fundraising effort, and – as always – thanks for entrusting your children to our care!

--Ken and Leelee

Preschoolers dance and sing in French last week

Parent Letter October 14, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

I hope everyone had as much fun at the Medieval Faire as I did. It was great seeing you all there on such a perfect fall day. Many, many thanks for all your contributions toward the success of the day!

This post-Faire week continues to be one of excitement and surprise. Two of our chrysalises hatched, and we were able to safely let them go to start their amazingly long journey to Mexico. And just yesterday we enjoyed a visit from five-year-old James and his parents Katie and Mark. We learned that James will be joining the preschool on Monday. Welcome, James! And finally, the much anticipated celebration (chocolate chip cookies!) of Caroline’s birthday is today, two days earlier than the official date – but a more desirable day in our week’s schedule that the Friday alternative. Happy 5th Birthday, Caroline!

We all know what special event comes at the end of the month. In preparation for Halloween we’ve brought out some of our favorite spooky songs and chants: Skeletons on Parade, Old Granny Witch, Stirring our Brew, Old Roger, and Ten Little Fingers, for example. I have to admit that I really love Halloween, when children enjoy the complete license to dress up in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways. We will invite the children to bring in their costumes on the Friday before Halloween, and likely have a get-together of some kind with the kindergartners that day.

I am hopeful that we can do our annual apple-picking trip to Green Mountain Orchard sometime next week. It would probably be Wednesday, since we don’t have school on Thursday (conferences) or Friday (Long Fall weekend), and we are hiking up Putney Mountain with the entire school on Tuesday. Libby is away the rest of this week, but I hope that the kindergartners will be able to join us next Wednesday. We’ll let you know details of the trip asap. Please feel free to come along, too!

As mentioned, our All School Hike up Putney Mountain is this coming Tuesday. No microwave lunches, please! We would love to have you join us for this hike. We’ll leave school around 11:15 on the busses, and return by 1:30-ish. As always for our special events, all children are welcome this day. A later pick-up for those who normally stay the half-day would be helpful.

Please take a moment to call Tammy and sign up for a 20-minute conference slot for next Thursday, if you haven’t done so already. I always look forward to these conferences, and the opportunity to talk more leisurely and thoroughly about your child’s interests, abilities and progress so far this fall. Please come with questions and comments that you would like addressed at this time.

As always, thanks for the opportunity to teach your terrific children!
--Ken and Leelee

Sampler of Preschool songs

Jack-o’-Lantern
Jack-o’-Lantern, Jack-o’-Lantern
You are such a pretty sight
As you sit there in the window
Looking out at the night.
You were once an orange pumpkin
Growing on a sturdy vine
Now you are my Jack-o’-Lantern
Let your candle light shine

The Skeletons are on Parade
The skeletons are on parade, they march along the street
With bony fingers, bony toes, bony hands and feet
Bony bony bony bones  with nothing in between
The skeletons are on parade, they march on Halloween!

Ten Little Fingers
(spooky singing voice:)  I have ten little fingers, they all belong to me…
I can make them do things, wouldn’t you like to see?
I can make them shut tight!  I can open them wide!
I can make them come together… I can make them hide!
I can make them jump high!  I can make them go low!
I can fold them quietly in my lap just so-o-o-o….  Booo!

Criss-Cross Applesauce
Criss-Cross Applesauce,
Spiders crawling up your back…
Cool breeze… Tight squeeze!
Now you’ve got the shivers!

Old Granny Witch
Old Granny Witch reached in a ditch
She picked up a (penny) and she thought she was rich.
Old Granny Witch jumped in the ditch… (nickel)
Old Granny Witch jumped out of the ditch… (dime)
Old Granny Witch jumped over the ditch… (quarter)
Old Granny Witch ran around the ditch… (dollar)

(over)

Stirring our Brew
Stirring and stirring and stirring our brew-w-w-w-…
(whispering:) Tip-toe, tip-toe, tip toe…. (shout:) “Booo!”

There was an Old Woman who Lived in the Woods
There was an old woman who lived in the woods…
W-o-o-o-o, w-o-o-w-o-o-w-o-o…
She had a black cat whose name was “Boo.”
W-o-o-o-o, w-o-o-w-o-o-w-o-o…
One day they were walking along the road…
W-o-o-o-o, w-o-o-w-o-o-w-o-o…
(Make up the rest of the story as we go, with the end being “Boo!)

Assorted Blessings

Thank you for the wind and rain, for warm and sunny weather.
Thank you for the food we eat, and that we’re all together.

Thank you for this food, this food, this glorious, glorious food
And the animals, and the vegetables, and the minerals that make it possible.

Earth who gives to us this food
Sun who makes it ripe and good
Dear Earth, dear Sun by you we live
So our loving thanks we give.

We love our bread, we love our butter
But most of all, we love each other.

Parent Letter September 30, 2010

September 30, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

I can hardly believe it’s almost October! Before long we’ll be taking our annual field trip to pick apples with the kindergartners. Hannah will be joining us too, when she turns 3 later in the month. And – greatly anticipated – The Medieval Faire and Halloween are both on the horizon!

Many thanks to those of you who came to last week’s Curriculum Night meeting. For those who couldn’t make it, I am preparing a stack of helpful information (some basic “nuts-and-bolts” info and some deeper description of our schedule, expectations, etc.) that I will get out to you shortly. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns that you might have.

Some of you have wondered if there is a way for parents to learn the songs we are singing. That would be great! Any ideas about how to make this happen? I have a small digital reorder at home, and with a little trial-and-error I could figure out how to make a simple CD of our current songs to get out to folks – maybe add to the collection every few weeks. This is all new to me – any experienced folks among us who might be able to help with such a project? It sure would be fun to sing along with your children at home and in the car!

Right now we are singing about the changing of the season (“Little Cricket”, “This is my trunk, I’m a tall, tall tree”, “ Old Roger”, and a variety of rainy day songs), butterflies and caterpillars, and the Medieval Faire theme, of course (“Thorn Rosa”, Old King Glory on the Mountain”, “The Noble Duke of York”, and “Sing a Song of Sixpence.”) We’ve also been practicing two simple dances: “Rig-a-jig-jig” and “The Highland Gates”. We’re having a lot of fun these days!

Please note the beautiful art work (created with William) on the hallway bulletin board, and the Colors of Fall trees on the wall in our room. We’ve also been working on some fun, abstract sculptures using glue, packing material, cardboard, and craft wire. The children have decorated our big boxes with markers and tape, too.

Yesterday we celebrated Teddie’s birthday with homemade chocolate chip cookies – yum! – and the entire school sang to him at All School Meeting. Happy birthday, Teddie!

In appreciation of your children,

--Ken and Leelee

Parent Letter September 15, 2010

September 15, 2010

Greetings from the preschool,

It was great seeing so many preschoolers and families at the All School Pot Luck Dinner last week. Leelee did a fabulous job on the slide show! She has many more photos of preschoolers that we will present as a slide show at a morning drop-off soon.

This week marks our first full week of school. The children are clearly experiencing a joyful and impressive transition vis-à-vis the challenges, rituals and expectations of preschool. We created a sharing schedule last week, and on Monday we started the sharing activity. It’s fun to observe how quickly the children take ownership of this ritual, and engage each other in simple but meaningful ways. The job chart is a little more complicated, but since we refer to it frequently during the day, the preschoolers are quick to figure out how it works. Yesterday we heard a story about Mousie’s first day of school and the rules that the animals came up with for their classroom, followed by a discussion of our own preschool rules. We started making our Tree of Kindness yesterday as well.

The specials schedule is comprised of art with William (Monday), music with Alli (Tuesday), French with Johanna (Wednesday), library/stories with Ponnie (Thursday), and PSD (physical skills/development) with the kindergartners on Friday. These sessions are consistently from 9:00 to 9:30 each morning. On Monday during our art special we made wonderful robot-like assemblages out of cardboard and various objects.

All these activities, and more – recess, circle times, snacks and meals, projects, games, songs, hikes, cracker snack and candle circle (p.m.) – provide the context for a treasure trove of information about your child’s experiences each day. We invite you, and encourage you, to learn as much as you can about the rituals of our day, and to visit the program to experience it for yourself if you can. You’ll be much more likely to actually receive feedback about your child’s day by asking her/him simple, engaging, and specific questions about what goes on at school.

It’s not too late to help us observe the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. We are seeking several (the more, the better!) monarch caterpillars, which are found on milkweed plants, to be brought in and cared for by the preschoolers. We provide them with fresh milkweed leaves and watch as they grow larger, shed their skins, and eventually turn into chrysalises and become monarch butterflies. It’s a very special experience. Let us know if you find any caterpillars in your travels!

Don’t forget: Thursday is Pajama Day! Friday, Sept. 17 is Photo Day, and Thursday Sept. 23 is our Curriculum Night meeting.

As always, thanks for the opportunity to care for your terrific children.
--Ken and Leelee

Welcome Letter

August 30, 2010


Greetings from the Preschool!

I hope you've enjoyed the summer as much as I have, including plenty of occasions for family fun and adventure, and perhaps some exciting trips and events. I’ve enjoyed seeing some of you around town and at our summer preschool play dates.

It's hard to believe that the school year is about to begin. Looking forward to the first days of school, Leelee and I would like to share with you some thoughts and small details that will help us all get ready.

Some children have already picked out their cubbies, and have begun to personalize these spaces as their very own. Other simple strategies for creating “personalization” during these transition days include bringing in a special (non-breakable) cup or mug that will stay here to be his/her drinking cup at snack and meal times. (There is a real opportunity not to be lost here, too! Parents each year inform me how proud their child was in picking out his/her own cup, and even lunch box, from the store. Bringing in a new cup or lunchbox to school adds to the excitement of this big, new transition.) Preschoolers bring in their own snacks and lunches, but we have silverware, small plates, cups, and bowls so you needn't include these when creating lunches at home. We provide milk daily for those who want it, and we have additional healthy snack foods to compensate for the occasional lost or forgotten lunch. We have a small refrigerator and a microwave right here in the classroom, as well.

Children should also bring a complete change of clothing to be kept in their cubby in the event of some future need. (We do have a limited supply of spare clothes, too.) Children also need a pair of indoor slippers (or slip-on sneakers, etc.) to be worn after coming in from outdoors. And during the early days of school, children might enjoy bringing in something from home—a special memento (not toys, please) from home for example, or something collected during a trip or other summer adventure. It's fun to re-live those summer moments, and to share them with others in the class. And it's often easier to make the transition with the help of "props" from home.

The beginning-of-school conferences are this Tuesday the 31st, 8:30 – 4:30 for returning families, and Wednesday August 1st from 10:00 – 12:00 for new families (following the new-family orientation at 9:00). If you haven’t called Tammy to schedule a conference, please take a moment to do so. Some of you have informed me already that you’ll be away on that day. Rest assured that we can reschedule your conference at another, mutually convenient time.

Thanks to all of you who were able to come to Saturday’s Work Day, and the combined preschool-kindergarten potluck afterwards. I certainly appreciated the help organizing in the new classroom, as well as the weeding on the playground. There have been some major changes both here in the preschool and throughout the school in general this summer, and things look great.

Finally, we'd like to extend another heartfelt Welcome to all our preschool families! We’re eagerly anticipating the beginning of school, and are looking forward to seeing you all regularly.


Sincerely,
Ken Brautigam and Leelee Bookwalter