November 2013
November is for Thanks
Forest Hill Nature Preschool & Childcare, LLC
The school year is flying by so fast--I
can't believe we are almost to
Thanksgiving! The preschool has been
busy with fantastic crafts, great cooking
projects, painting and clay in the art
studio, and sand, mud and fun outside.
The children have had so many
opportunities to explore the season of
fall and to learn letters, numbers, shapes,
opposites, and values. Be sure to read
the weekly emails that come from your
child's teacher to keep up to date on all
of the fabulous things that are happening
in the classroom, and don't forget to
check out the class pages of the website
for pictures of the students working and
playing.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Family Pot Luck Dinner
November 22
6:30-8:00 PM
On Friday we will be having our first annual
Family Pot Luck Dinner from 6:30-8:00.
Doors will open at 6:00 for food set up.
The Pot Luck Dinner will be held at Bel Air
United Methodist Church at 21 Linwood
Avenue in Bel Air. Please see Miss Lavonne
if you need directions.
This week all of the children will be learning
about the first Thanksgiving and about the
Pilgrims and the Native Americans. The
children will have opportunities in their classes
to make pilgrim hats and native american
headdresses and shirts. At the dinner, we will
let the children choose whether they want to
dress up as a pilgrim or a native american and
we will be using the stage in McComas Hall to
act out the story of the first Thanksgiving with
the children. We will end our presentation
with a fun family sing-along, giving you an
opportunity to share some silly Thanksgiving
songs with your child.
There is no cost for the evening and you are
welcome to bring your whole family
(grandmothers and grandfathers too!). We
hope this will be a fun evening for you to share
with your child.
Don’t forget to sign up online to bring a dish to share at our Pot Luck Dinner on
Friday—look for your email invitation through signupgenius.com
NOVEMBER 2013
Native American Culture
As a part of our Thanksgiving theme this week, the students will be participating in a special event on
Wednesday morning in the aftercare classroom with Miss Lavonne. I will be teaching the children
about Native American culture--we will be listening to music, dancing, and learning how to read
Native American picture writing using some common Native American symbols. The children will be
learning about the Native American talking feather--a decorated feather that is passed from person to
person indicating who is speaking and who is listening. We will also be making some Native
American clothing to wear. The children will be learning about how the Native American culture
values nature, and even uses names from nature to name their children. Each child will be able to
choose their own Native American name and we will be using their Native American names to
decorate an oversize T-shirt to look like Native Americans.
We are asking that each child please bring in one oversize white T-shirt by Tuesday to use for
this Native American project. T-shirts should be plain and big enough to fit over your child's clothes
and hang down to about their knee level. For most children an old T-shirt from mom or dad will
usually work great! We will be writing the children's Native American names on the T-shirt and
letting the children decorate the shirts with markers and Native American symbols. We will be cutting
the bottom of the shirt into a fringe and adding some beads to make our T-shirts look more authentic.
The children will be learning about pilgrims in their classrooms with other special activities and will
be making special hats and collars to wear as pilgrim girls and boys. No additional materials from
home are necessary for our pilgrim clothing--thanks!!
OCTOBER 2013
Art Studio
This week in the Art Studio students will be finishing up our first explorations of clay and our easel
paintings of fall trees. The children were introduced to the clay and given the opportunity to pinch,
punch, drop, break, step on, and jump off of the block of clay as we explored this new medium for the
first time on the art studio floor. Our next step with the clay will be to experiment with clay and water
at the table, using sponges to add water a little bit at a time to change the consistency of the clay. We
are also using the paint easel in art studio for the first time as well. For our first project, I
demonstrated how we use the paintbrushes to paint on the easel, and how we clean our brushes when
we are finished so that other friends will be able to use fresh materials. I've set up fall colors and
demonstrated painting a tree with trunk, branches, and leaves. Some of the children are ready to paint
representationally, working to make their art look like or represent some object or scene. Some of the
children are not yet ready to represent real objects in their artwork, and are just having fun exploring
with the colors and brushes to make lines and shapes on the paper.
Our most recent easel paintings are going up in the hallway as our newest art gallery display. I hope
you enjoy our creativity! In our next project, I will be letting children continue to choose to paint at
the easel during their art time if they are interested in doing so. The children will be able to choose
their own colors for free choice painting. I will be sure to document what the children say about their
paintings on these works of art and we will be sending them home as they are completed. It is very
common for children to collect many pictures, projects, paintings, and more during the school day and
at home. As parents, it can get a little overwhelming to feel like you need to display all of your child's
work. There are lots of creative ways to solve the dilemma of having too many pictures to display and
not enough room on the refrigerator. It may be a good idea to set aside a special place in your house
where you display special things and let your child help you decide what to put up for display. When
my girls were little, I made a large cork board for each of them inside an empty picture frame that I
painted with each of their favorite colors and their names. My girls could hang up whatever fit on
their boards and each child had their own space. My girls are 11, 14, and 17 now and they still hang
up some of their favorite work on their boards!
OCTOBER 2013
Save the Date: December 14
The preschool is planning to host a Saturday family
Christmas bazaar on Saturday, December 14 from
9 AM-2 PM. We are planning to have crafts and
baked goods available for purchase by adults, and
free games, crafts, and activities for the children as
well. (We may even be expecting a visit from
Santa!) We will be collecting craft item donations to
sell at the craft table, and the children and staff will
be making some craft items to sell as well.
Classrooms will be open for tours, so this is a great
time to invite neighbors and friends to come and see
our wonderful school! We will be sending home
fliers this week. I am hoping that each family can
distribute (or hang up in the community) 5 fliers for
this event. For additional fliers, please see Miss
Lavonne.
In the spirit of Giving…
During the upcoming holiday season we will be making an extra effort to help the children understand the importance of
giving to others. As Thanksgiving approaches, we are trying to help the children think about things that they are thankful
for. Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of our lives that we forget to take time just to be grateful for the
many blessings we have. Over the next month we will be setting up some additional opportunities for children and their
families to give to others in our community who may need extra help at this time of year. From now until the end of
November we will be collecting donations of gently toys for the Toy Workshop at Bel Air United Methodist Church.
These toys will be given to needy families for Christmas presents. Please bag parts together and include directions if
available, and bring your donations to the school to put under our "Giving Tree" in the main hallway. This is a great time
to go through your children's toys for items that they don't use any more to make room for the new Christmas presents
they will soon be getting!
In December, the preschool will be adopting several families with children from the community who are requesting help
for Christmas presents and food. We will be sending out specific information about each child in the family and
collecting items for the children in large wrapped boxes in the main hallway. Taking time to collect or purchase presents
to give to those in need helps to teach your child a valuable lesson about charity and giving during a time when many
kids are focusing on what they are going to get. Most children are naturally interested in helping others, and adults can
take a primary role to nurture that spirit of giving by talking to children about ways to help others in need and by
modeling giving and acts of charity. The following article provides parents with some great suggestions for nurturing
charity in your child:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/living/teach-your-child-about-charity-p/
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