Foothill Preschool & Infant Center December 2012

Dear Parents, We invite you to join us in all of our festivities this holiday season. The staff and I would like to thank each of you for being a part of our everyday lives and we wish each of you a blessed Christmas and may we all have a happy and healthy New Year! SHOEBOX GIFTS FOR MEXICO MISSIONS: Attached to December sign-in sheets there are instructions for Boy or Girl gift boxes. All shoeboxes are due 12/7. ANNUAL SLO CHRISTMAS PARADE: Our theme this year for our float is Twas the Night Before SLO Christmas. We want the float to look like a bedtime story scene. We are having everyone wear their pajamas. Please feel free to bring blankets and teddy bears too. The older children will be allowed to sit on the flatbed with a few adults, while the younger classes will walk with wagons and strollers. Please feel free to decorate your strollers and wagons to fit the theme. We would like everyone to be at the float around 6:45 ready to go. Once we know what our entry number is and our location we will let everyone know. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All families are welcome to attend. We close at 5:00pm on Friday, December 7th. We recommend parking your car in the parking structure on Palm Street. WAYS TO ENCOURAGE SELF-HELP SKILLS IN CHILDREN:

Children have a drive to be independent and do things on their own. This is a healthy part of normal child development. As children grow, they learn to do more and more tasks. Our staff encourages your children to become independent by allowing and encouraging them to take responsibility for themselves whenever possible. It can be faster and less messy to do things for children, but they learn so much from doing things for themselves. When children practice self help skills such as feeding and dressing themselves, they practice their large and small motor skills, gain confidence in their ability to try new things, and build their self-esteem and pride in their independence. Self Help Skills for ages two years and older: Wash hands before eating, after toileting and playing outside Use toilet as development allows, including flushing and wiping Cover mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue Use grooming supplies, such as a toothbrush and comb, help bathe self Eat independently, using utensils and cup as abilities allow Clean up own spills and messes with paper towel, sponge, or child size broom Put own garbage into trash container Help make bed

Choose clothes from two choices; dress self, at least partially Put dirty clothes in laundry basket, clean ones in drawers or on low hooks Get personal toys and books from child-height shelves Put away toys, such as puzzles and blocks and put away after play Cooperate getting into safety seat Help put items in preschool cubby Help with making breakfast, lunch or dinner NOT POTTY TRAINED: Please be sure to check your childs diaper when dropping off each morning. AM SNACKS: are needed when your childs name is on the monthly snack calendar. If you happen to forget, please bring in a shelf food item or a freezer item to replace the afternoon snack item. EXTRA CLOTHES: Please remember to have extra labeled clothes in your childs cubby at all times. This includes socks and if possible shoes. NEW TEACHER: We welcome Liz Forney to our program. She comes to us with lots of experience working with all ages. She will be working at the Infant Center . We congratulate Miss Lauren as she graduates from Cal Poly. We will greatly miss her as she will be moving back home to start her credentialing program.

Dates to Remember:
12/7 SLO Downtown Christmas Parade @ 7pm 12/11 Garden Creek Caroling @ 10:30am (Pre-K) 12/19 Chapel Day w/Mrs. Sara @ 9:30am 12/24/12-1/1/2013 Winter BreakSchool Closed Looking Ahead: 1/2 Welcome Back, Everyone! 1/21 School Closed-Martin Luther King, Jr. Observed

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Monthly Themes
Christmas Traditions Christmas Around the World Candy Canes

Colors
Red & Green

Bible Verse
He loved us and sent His son 1John 4:10

Shape: Triangle
Letters: E-F-G

Numbers: 0-20

FPS & IC Collecting:

Christmas Candy Cane Poem about Jesus Look at the Candy Cane What do you see? Stripes that are red Like the blood shed for me White is for my Savior Whos sinless and pure! J is for Jesus My Lord, thats for sure! Turn it around And a staff you will see Jesus my shepherd Was born for YOU & ME!

Cell Phones, Ink Jet Cartridges, Laser Cartridges, Video Games, Digital Cameras, GPS Devices, and PDAS We have a box located in Intermediate and at the Infant Center

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

12/4 Miya 12/12 Sarah S. 12/15 Hope 12/17 Samantha P. 12/20 Mia 12/21 Mieko

Thank You to:

Jen Tucker for delicious donuts! JCF for replacing our new structure. Jason Eatmon for putting together our new structure. Neil Bonaudi & Paso Truck Center for providing our float. To each family that helped all year long!

Infant Center: Miss Lauren, Miss Natalie, Miss Paige, Miss Amanda, Miss Sarah, and Mrs. Liz

The Infant Center Staff are all excited for Christmas! We are looking forward to being in the Christmas parade on Dec. 7th. We will close at 5pm. If you have any questions about the parade, feel free to ask. It will be a jolly time! We wish Aubrey & Henry a Happy 1st Birthday on the 7th! Our themes this month are Christmas Traditions and Candy Canes. We will be very busy with lots of fun festive art projects. We are so sad to say good-bye to Miss Lauren. She is graduating and moving back home. We wish her the best of luck. Mrs. Liz will be taking her spot and we are so excited to welcome her to the Infant Center! All of us here at the Infant Center, wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Joseph-a BIG welcome to Joseph and his family! We are excited to have a new friend. He is very happy and gets around very well. He is almost sitting up and is into teething right now. Isabella-is rolling all around and is trying to get her knees up under her stomach. She is grasping toys and is very close to sitting up as well. Aubrey-says momma & dada. She likes to sing and is cruising around the room. She is experiencing drinking water in a sippy cup. She is waving to all of our friends. Henry-is walking all over the room. He is a very good eater and likes to say bye bye, He and Finley are having a fun time playing together. Madison-loves to dance and give high fives.

She has mastered sleeping on the cot. She likes to wave and is very good at signing more and all done. She loves playing peek-a -boo. Darcy-loves to clap her hands and wave. Walking more & more everyday. Drinking out of her sippy cup, and close to being done with bottles. She likes to dance, too! Olive-is pulling herself up. She is cruising all over the room. Two bottom teeth came through and she is very vocal. Loves to go on walks. Finley-starting to take steps. Likes to clap & wave good bye. He has adjusted really well and is a very happy boy. He also likes to give high fives and waves bye bye.

Toddler Room: Mrs. Esther & Miss Courtney

Ho, Ho, Ho Merry Christmas. The toddler class would like to wish everyone a happy, stress free Holiday Season. Christmas time is one of our favorite times of the year. We are excited about the upcoming weeks in celebration of the holiday season. We head into the kitchen to see how the Christmas celebrations are going. The toddler class is going to decorate sugar cookies on Thurs. Dec. 6th. We need a family or two to donate frosting and sugar cookie dough. We will be putting gingerbread mix in our sensory table to scoop and dump. I am sure we will have a few who will taste it too. Our dramatic play will be made into a bake shop full of all the smells of Christmas. The Toddlers will be dancing away to Christmas music this week with streamers and balloons. Make sure to wear your Santa hat on Tuesday, Dec. 11th. Friday, Dec. 14th we will be making a special snack to celebrate the season. I will let you know if we need help with some items. The classroom will be filled with all of our artwork of ornaments, angels, Santas and reindeers. We will have peppermint scented playdough to play with. We also will make peppermint scented paint to paint with. As the year comes to an end we would like everyone to know that we have enjoyed each and every one of you. We appreciate everything that is done for the school and classroom; we couldn't have done it without you. We are looking forward to the new year and all the excitement it brings.

Beginner Room: Miss Anitra

Tis the season to be jolly and that is just what the Beginners will be doing this month. Our theme this month will be Celebrating the Christmas season. We will be making so much art this month I dont know where to begin. Keep an eye out for our reindeer, candy canes, gingerbread men, and Santa Claus. In our Dramatic Play area we will have a kitchen set up for baking in the kitchen at Christmas time. We will be making pies, cookies and egg nog. Hopefully Santa will like the cookies we will be making for him. On Dec. 19th we will have a Christmas cookie decorating party. Please watch for the sign up. Our science table will have Christmas ribbon galore. If your child has any special Christmas books they would like to share, please have them bring them in and we will read them at circle time. During this month we will also talk about the baby in the manger, Jesus, and what he means to us. Merry Christmas!

Intermediate: Mrs. Sara & Ms. Jessica & Ms. Kayla

Well this year is coming to an end and what a spectacular year we have had in Intermediate. Everyone has been doing exceptionally well, learning the rules and developing our self help skills. We look forward to this month where we are going to be learning all about the magic of Christmas. This month we are going to start off by putting our baking skills to the test. For art we are going to be making lots of sweet treats and also be cooking up a storm in dramatic play. We are even going to try to bake our own treats during circle time. We will have some fun talking about Santa, and reindeer. Our school wide Christmas tree will surely light up our class. We will be little elves making our Christmas presents and all our fun art projects . Christmas is a lot of fun but we must remember that the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We will read stories, do art, and use the little people to tell the story of Christmas. Ms. Jessica, Miss Kayla and I want to wish all of our families a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Friends that are celebrating birthdays are Hope on the 15th and Samantha on the 17th. Also a reminder that our Christmas Parade is on the 7th and we are all going to meet downtown around 6:45. We look forward to seeing all our families down there, for last year we all had such a blast.

Pre-K: Mrs. Jen & Miss Kristie & Miss Hannah

Autumn was a beautiful season in Pre-K. We had so much fun learning about leaves, squirrels, harvest, and the spirit of Thanksgiving. Our Pre-K classroom was splendidly decorated with plenty of fall colors and glitter. We all worked together to make our "Give Thanks" banner and it turned out amazingly. Pre-K learned about some new harvest items, such as gourds and squash, and met a silly scarecrow who wasn't very scary at all. Pre-K learned a lot of autumn songs and did a great job learning all the words and movements. We also really enjoyed our visit from the Cal Poly Dairy Unit! Pre-K learned all about how a dairy works and all the yummy things that are made from dairy products. Thank you to everyone who donated items from our wish list and for our Thanksgiving feast! We could not do all these fun things without help from all of our wonderful families. Also, thank you to everyone who brought in items for our food drive! We know that it made a big difference in the lives of some local families. Bring on the gingerbread lattes because it's Christmas in Pre-K! This month we are following a similar lesson plan structure and naming all three weeks of December "Wonders of the Season". This will make sure that we have enough time to celebrate and discover many traditions of Christmas and the holiday season. December 2nd is the start of Advent in some religions. Advent is the four weeks before Christmas. It is observed by lighting a candle for every week until the birth of Jesus. There are three purple candles and one pink one. Pre-K will have an Advent wreath located on the prayer table, and we will also say prayers and sing Advent songs. We are even going to make an edible Advent wreath to munch on, so our tummies will enjoy Advent, too! Our classroom will be a winter wonderland filled with red and green paper chains, candy canes, snowflakes, Christmas trees, and sugar plum fairies. We will hang our stockings by the fireside, decorate with wrapping paper collages, and practice making Christmas cookies with peppermint scented playdough. We will also be making gingerbread houses to try and catch the runaway Gingerbread Man. Pre-K will be working like Santa's elves making presents for our moms and dads! We will learn about St. Nicholas Day, and if we are good, we might even find some treasures in our shoes after nap time! Of course we will also be learning the story of Jesus' birthday and making some beautiful nativity scenes. We are looking forward to talking about the true meaning of Christmas. Foothill Preschool is excited to participate in the SLO Christmas Parade again this year! The parade is on Friday, December 7th and we invite all of our families to participate. More information on the parade can be found near the sign-in book in Intermediate. Pre-K will also be spreading Christmas cheer when we go caroling for our friends at Garden Creek, aka The Villages, on Tuesday, December 11th at 10:30am. The residents there absolutely love seeing the kids and it's a great way for us to experience helping others. If you would like to walk with us please talk to Mrs. Jen or Miss Kristie. We would love to have you join us! Thank you again for everything you do for us here in Pre-K. We appreciate you and hope you have a great winter break and a very Merry Christmas!