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.