Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! It is so nice to have everyone back and ready to be having fun and learning and growing together again!
Thanks to everyone for creating a Tradition Branch. It was joyful to be surrounded by so many families and having an opportunity to hear more about the traditions your family celebrates and values. The children have fun looking for their own branches and recognizing branches that belong to their friends. It is one of our favorite events, so thank you for sharing your time with us in a month that we know can be extra busy!
Also in December, our past parent and long time friend Bruce Kirschner, whose adult sons Paul and Sam attended Friends’n Fun as preschoolers, came to school to celebrate Hanukkah with us. Bruce has been doing this with us for 20 years now! He engages the children with his warm and funny personality and is always memorable.
Our nighttime exploration is wrapping up this week. We collectively worked to give our school a nighttime feel by creating a backdrop with stars and a nighttime hut to set the mood and prepare for a pajama day. After our surroundings were enhanced, each group moved into individual studies that were of interest to the children in small groups. Some children were interested in nocturnal animals. Owls were studied by some – the different types (so many!), their interesting behavior and their peculiar digestion process that results in owl pellets. Books were created along with adorable owls made cardboard tubes, stuffed owls and owl masks. Bats were studied by a couple of groups in a variety of ways: we pretended to be bats and made bat ears and wings, made bat caves, used small photos of children dressed as bats and attached them to clothespins so they could hang upside down in bat caves, and played games to simulate echolocation. Other nocturnal animals were also studied. Informative posters were created, nocturnal animal pretend play was enjoyed and a varied assortment of nocturnal animal stuffies were stitched!
Additionally the nighttime study also lent itself to curiosity about light in the dark and day and night. Time was spent playing with lights in the dark and creating lanterns. A model of the day and night cycle was built to demonstrate the answer to the question “Why is it light here when it’s dark on the other side of the world?”. The moon was another nighttime curiosity. Some of us looked at moon phases and learned how moon craters came about. One group decided a journey to the moon was needed. They built a spaceship and created the surface of the moon, complete with craters and moon rocks in preparation for the FnF Mission to the Moon! Children donned their spacesuits, got on their rocket and blasted off to explore the moon!!
We are beginning our transition to our next topic….. ROBOTS! The children are starting to brainstorm ideas of things we could do and discover about robots and we are hoping to include a theatrical opportunity that will center around robots. It is always exciting to delve into something new, never quite knowing where we will go on these journeys together.
We are also concluding our current Friday Studio Discovery in which we’ve been exploring artists (Paul Klee, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, to name a few), materials (tempera paint, watercolor, collage, assemblage, oil pastels, acrylic) and gaining inspiration, and new words associated with art, from the artists and materials in our discoveries.
Our next series for Studio Discovery will be……MYSTERIES! Only the teachers creating the experience will know what might unfold. Aren’t you curious?!?!
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SHARE-A-GIFT and FOOD COLLECTION
The people at Share-a-Gift tell us that each year Friends ‘n Fun parents are one of the most generous group of contributors to their program. This year our box was filled to overflowing 4 separate times…and our box was bigger than it was last year!
Thanks to all of you for your concern for others in need.
In an effort to offer additional support throughout the year we will continue to provide a food collection tub for shelf stable goods that we will donate to the Sister Carmen Community Center food bank. The collection tub is on the front porch the first full week of each month. Upcoming collection weeks: Feb 6-10, Mar 6-10, Apr 3-7.
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NOTE CARD FUNDRAISER!!!!!!
Thanks to all of you for your notecard orders. Your contributions raised $1300. We hope that you and your families enjoy the amazing artwork created by your children. Thank you so much for your continued support and generosity!
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VALENTINE’S DAY–
Your children are invited to bring valentines for their friends on Monday, February 13th or Tuesday the 14th.
For children of preschool age it is best to just have them write their names on the cards and leave the envelopes blank. You can buy pre-packaged valentines or join them in making their own creations.
Bring 22 cards for the Monday group
and 22 cards for the Tuesday group.
A Valentine snack sign up will be posted on the parent bulletin board closer to time.
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SNOWY WEATHER!!!!
We will notify 9 News if we will be closed due to bad winter weather. It sometimes takes awhile for schools to be listed on television but a listing pops up pretty quickly on their website, so check there as well. We will also post closures on our website on the Latest & Greatest page. If you are not sure you are welcome to call Jane @ 303-775-1531 or Janet @ 303-818-4842.
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ENROLLMENT FORMS
You will be receiving questionnaires asking for your schedule requests for Summer 2017 and Fall 2017. We appreciate your prompt return of these forms so we can begin our enrollment process.
PLEASE RETURN BY FEB 7th!!
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UPCOMING DATES TO BE AWARE OF:
Please mark your calendars and note the following dates
Monday/Tuesday, February 13th & 14th: Valentine’s Day
Monday, February 20th: Presidents Day – Friends ‘n Fun CLOSED
Wednesday-Friday, March 29th-31st: Spring Break – Friends ‘n Fun CLOSED
Wednesday/Thursday, May 10th & 11th: Mother’s Day Tea (details closer to event)
Thursday/Friday, May 25th & 26th: Last days of school