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
