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 3rd 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
