NOVEMBER 2024
And just like that, we are in November! The month of CRAZY weather! Will it be rain, sun, snow, hail, or all of the above?!! Make sure your child’s backpack has lots of choices in case the weather changes all of a sudden!
And thank you to those who let us know when children will be absent. It helps us to know ahead of time if children will be away. And thank you for letting us know of your child’s symptoms when they are sick!
PIZZA NIGHT & CAKE WALK :
Thursday, November 14th: 5:30pm-7:30pm
In our preschool community, togetherness is key to fostering a sense of belonging. When families, teachers, and children connect, we create a nurturing environment that enhances social skills and emotional growth. Through shared experiences and celebrations, we build a vibrant community where every child feels valued and inspired to thrive. Join us for our most favourite event of the year, and we will grow together, creating lasting friendships and cherished memories!
Order forms will be sent home on Nov. 4th/5th so please, fill them out and return them ASAP or at least by Nov. 14th! You do not want to miss our Pizza Night and Cake Walk! This is our biggest and most fun Fundraiser! Come out and meet our Board Members, our Teachers and the rest of our Preschool Community!
There will be pizza, 10 kinds of salads (made by the teachers) and a whole bunch of desserts (made by the board members) and of course…CAKE!
Please think about DONATING a cake for our Cake Walk or for our Auction! You see, if your child is upset because they did not win during the Cake Walk game, you can try to outbid others for one!! Any unused Cake Walk tickets can be used in the final raffle for the last cake or maybe even a special prize basket!
CLASS PHOTOS will be held on Nov 6th and 7th. We will be taking individual portraits as well as class photos these days. If you know your child will be absent on these days, please let us know. Once the photos have been edited, we will send you one group shot and one individual shot for you to keep.
In lieu of paying for a package of photos, we suggest that, if you are able, please think about a donation to the school. All donations will go directly to the upkeep, maintenance of our play yard with some monies going to our gym/yard equipment.
The Preschool's Purdys Chocolate Fundraiser is NOW OPEN!
You can order online at https://fundraising.purdys.com/1822236-118664
Our Customer number is 11053
1. Sign in or create a new supporter account either by clicking the link above or by visiting fundraising.purdys.com
2. If you’re creating a new account, please enter the customer number above on the registration page.
3. If you’re signing into an existing account, enter the number above into the search bar that will come up after you’ve signed in.
4. Click on JOIN CAMPAIGN.
We will have order forms available in the Church lobby if you would like to pay by cheque.
Please fill out your form and make a cheque payable to ST. CATHERINE'S CHILDCARE SOCIETY and drop it off to the preschool office before November 11th.
Pick up for orders will be November 18th/19th.
SAMOSA & MORE FUNDRAISER A SMASHING SUCCESS!!
WOW! Thank you to everyone who ordered from our Samosas and More Fundraiser! We sold over $3400 worth of yummy treats and we ended up with a profit of $859.36! Amazing!! Your contributions have made a real difference and we are truly grateful.
All our fundraising profits will be used for the regular maintenance and upkeep of our current and future play yards!!
School Closures & Special Events
Please check out the calendar below to see the upcoming school closures as well as all the special events coming up in the upcoming months.
Discover the magic of learning in our Treehouse and Rainbow Rooms—where imagination takes root and colours come alive! Join us on the adventure and see what your child does each day!
RAINBOW ROOM
Danielle, Vibha, Carol, Mary, Catriona, Monica
Mary, Vibha, Danielle, Monica
Hello everyone,
Well, Autumn certainly arrived during October! We saw the leaves changing colour and falling from the trees, and we now need warm jackets and maybe gloves and toques for playing outside.
In the classroom, we discussed and learned about all these changes. We played colour recognition games and memory games with Fall Leaves, sung songs like “Autumn Leaves are Falling Down”, turning it into an action song and dance.
At the art table, we used real leaves to make Leaf prints, and apple halves for printing, as well. Part of Autumn is celebrating Thanksgiving. We talked about what we are thankful for, and how we get together with family and friends for special meals. We made scarecrows and turkeys to decorate our classroom and homes.
The autumn animals we looked at were squirrels, geese, owls and hedgehogs. We learned fun facts about them, made sponge paint squirrel shadows, and very cute little hedgehogs. We even did squirrel yoga poses. We read lovely books including: “Little Squirrel”, “Honk, Honk, Goose”, and “In the Middle of Fall”.
The last two weeks of the month we’ve been learning about and celebrating Hallowe’en. The classroom has been decorated with lots of bats, spiders and spider webs, ghosts and pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. We made lots of beautiful bats in the salad spinner, painted ghosts using a balloon, made scary haunted houses out of popsicle sticks and lots more.
We had a real pumpkin to play with, adding different funny faces to it. The dress up costumes in the house corner, and Hallowe’en buckets meant we could play at Trick or Treating.
The highlight of October has to be our Hallowe’en Party. Everyone had a great time, enjoying each other’s costumes, playing games, watching a short Hallowe’en movie and of course sharing the special party food. Thank you very much to the families that contributed food this time. (Other families will get a turn at future parties).
This month, we have started looking at the calendar each morning during circle. We have a song to learn the days of the week, and we count together the numbers, up to each day’s date.
Each year in October, Marion teaches a session in each classroom on Fire Safety; especially important at this time of year. The class watched a very informative and age appropriate video about “Fireman Dan”. In this, the children learn and practice
1) What to do if fire gets in your clothes: Stop! Drop! and Roll.
2) What to do in a fire: Crawl Low Under Smoke
Do ask your children about this and help them to practice.
And that was October in the Rainbow Room! We’re looking to more fun and learning and new themes in November.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask any of the teachers.
TREEHOUSE ROOM
Karen, Gabi, Catriona, Mary
Catriona, Karen, Gabi, Ivana
Hello Treehouse Families,
We had the fortune to enjoy all the sights, sounds, and smells of October by spending some nice, long stretches of time playing outside. What we experienced outdoors were often shared during circle times through songs, finger plays and stories centred around autumn, and the seasonal changes.
We celebrated Thanksgiving and had numerous discussions on how fortunate we are to have great things in our lives - family and home, friendships, lovingly packed meals, toys, playgrounds etc... Our little friends tend to be self centred, it's encoded in them at this age, yet they are all very conscious of how much love and care they get every day! When they were asked to name things/ people they are grateful for, they gave us very clear, and meaningful answers. Family and friends were on the top of the list, but pets, teachers, candy, favourite toys made the list too.
The colder temperatures brought the dreaded sickness bugs back, but we are fighting them back! We have learned not to use our sleeves to wipe our noses while standing right next to the Kleenex box, and not to cough or sneeze with an open mouth, or trying to sneak out of the bathroom without washing our hands with soap.
We had our first “Walking in the Community” adventure with both classes, and we have to mention that we were so pleased with both the participants and you, dear parents, who all read the reminders and not a single child got soaked in the rain as they all wore proper clothing! The preschoolers had a great time holding their partners’ hands and finding Halloween decorations along the way to our destination ( a home in the neighborhood with lots of blown up characters that were silly and not scary).
Marion had a fire safety session with our classes where the children practiced life saving skills. It was a success and after they were back in the classroom, we heard " stop, drop and roll" for the rest of the day!
Halloween is one of the most anticipated times among our students, but it is an equally exciting one to us, their teachers as well. Besides all the silliness, there are soooooo many teachable moments that we can use without the little ones knowing that they are actually learning something new. To name a few, we talked about nocturnal animals, life cycles, real versus fictional, counting and measuring spiders and bats, safety on the roads, and of course, kindness, compassion and sharing.
We all enjoyed creating some spooky art, mixing magic potions in the home corner, making up silly scenarios and we read under the treehouse in the dark with Karen and Marion. Our young scientists enjoyed watching an 'exploding' cauldron - baking soda and vinegar sprinkled with magical sparkles.
Thank you all for your generosity to make the Halloween parties possible. We had the longest snack time with happy, cute characters and the longest sugar rush in the gym after!
RESOURCE ROOM
Marion
I know it is hard to believe but Christmas is just around the corner. I thought it might be helpful to give you some gift ideas for your child.
The 3-5 year olds are developing specific skills. They are working on their social interaction with peers, learning basic academic skills, e.g. recognizing their names and counting. They are learning to adjust to more structured activities with defined roles during play. Some recommended toys would be board games, card games, dominoes, puppets and dress-up clothes.
The wonderful 2s are all working so hard on primary social skills, e.g. communicating with peers and sharing toys. Language is starting to emerge and they are beginning to realize that their needs can be met by using their words. Imitative and imaginary play is an important part of their day. They love to be creative and enjoy rhythmic movement and the more repetitive the better. Some suggestions would be toy telephones, riding toys, puzzles, simple musical instruments, dolls/stuffed animals and lots of puppets, both finger and hand ones.
Toys enhance play value when they:
- Can be used in many ways
- Allow children to determine the play
- Appeal to children at more than one age or level of development
- Are not linked to video games, TV, or movies
- Can be used with other toys for new and more complex play
- Will stand the test of time and continue to be part of play as children develop new interests and skills
- Promote respectful, non-stereotyped, non-violent interactions among children
- Help children develop skills important for further learning and a sense of mastery
Happy Shopping!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Tina & Marion