MARCH NEWSLETTER
2015
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the month
of the ‘official’ beginning of spring! As you might have heard and seen, we
tried really hard to scare away winter when we had our “Fasching” celebration last
month. It worked only for a few days….. Hopefully by April, we won’t have to
wear snow boots anymore!!
We had another month
of fun and learning in February and the children had many opportunities to
explore the topic of ‘sound’. We took our students on “listening walks” through
the building to sharpen their awareness of sounds around them. One of the most
exciting moments was, when each child used a stethoscope to listen to his/her
own heartbeat. We heard comments like “I did not know my heart can talk!” etc.
There is nothing more rewarding for a teacher than watching the excitement of children
as they explore the world. I always call it “connecting scientific dots”. I am a firm
believer in learning through play and exploration and the importance of using
all your senses.
March
Theme: Opposites & Shapes
This month we will
explore opposites and shapes. Teaching children about opposites is an ideal way
to improve your child’s ability to communicate. The addition of descriptive
words to their vocabulary will help them to transform the level of detail in
their conversations (e.g. ‘soft fur’, ‘hard rock’, ‘heavy truck’, ‘light
feather’, ‘little boy’, ‘giant dinosaur’ etc.) Your child will come home with
many opposite words and songs in English/ German.
We will take our
students on “I spy shape” tours, sort and categorize shapes and make shape crafts.
Just the other day at snack time, one of our students was so excited, telling
us “ My mom packed my snack in a circle and a square container”. It is the real
world connection that makes learning so much more meaningful.
LETTER RECOGNITION
Many of our students
recognize the letters of their own names by now. A number of our older students
are also starting to print their own names. That is a big step for preschoolers!
Our children get so excited when our letter bunny, ‘Hase’, introduces our
letter of the week and they recognize it in their own names. Some of them even
check if the letter is in their parent’s name.
We got many laughs
last week, when we replaced each of the children’s first letter of their name
with our new letter “B’”. Indeed, it sounds funny when the name Gus
turns into Bus or Kelly turns into BELLY, etc.
‘Make-up’ day for M-W-F
classes: Friday, March 27th
Last month, our
staff took a school day (Friday) to attend a Professional Development
Conference for Early Childhood educators. As we want to make sure that you get
a full quote of school days, we are offering a ‘make-up’ day for our M-W-F
class on Friday, March 27th. Feel free to send your child to
preschool that day!
Folk Fest: German Cultural Center Performance,
August 15th
As part of the
Saskatoon annual Folk Fest, The German Cultural Center in Saskatoon has
contacted me and invited our preschool to perform on Saturday, August 15th
at the “German Pavilion”. This would
involve performing a few songs and rhymes on the stage. It would help us to
have a rough idea on how many kids will be able and willing to participate in
this event. If this date works with your summer schedule, please let Frau
Lorenz or Frau Hecker know.
THANK YOU
·
Thank
you to our treasurer Nicole Drobot and registrar Scott and Tammy Zdunich who
had been very busy in the last month, sorting 2015-16 registration forms.
(We have only a few spots left in the 2015/16 M-W-F p.m.
class.)
·
Thank
you to our president Franziska Davies, for creating a new website
(hanselandgretelpreschool.blogspot.ca) for our preschool.
Mark Your Calendar
March 11th
/12th Scholastic Book
Orders due
Friday, March 13th PD Day, no class
Friday, March 27th
Optional school day (make-up day for Feb 6th)
As always, feel free
to contact us if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns!
Regards,
Uli Hecker, Ruth
Skinner Larissa
Lorenz, Samina Roohi
