Book Fair - Little Dreamers

Morning Drop Off/
Afternoon Pick-Up:
A Big Little Dreamers
Welcome to Our New
Families…
We want to welcome
our new friends to our program:
Adam Blois has joined Ms.
Sarah’s class, Vincent Leone
has joined Ms. Heather’s class
and Gia Gerzon has joined Ms.
Beatriz’ class.
We are very excited to
have each of you be a part of our
Little Dreamers family. We
hope that you will be just as
excited to be here.
In order to be sure that proper
supervision is in place at all times we are
requesting that parents be conscious of their
drop off times in the morning and pick up
times in the afternoon. We are noticing an
increase in early drop offs between 8:30 &
9:00AM. Please do not drop off earlier than
your scheduled time, as a few kids dropped off
even 5 minutes early does not allow us to be
under ratio and prevents the teachers from
having the time needed to prep their
classrooms for the day. We can accommodate
an earlier drop off time if needed, we just need
to be advised in advance so that proper
arrangements can be made and prep times
adjusted. Also remember to pick up your child
in the afternoon on time because this also
effects our ratios. Little Dreamers closes
promptly at 5:30PM. If you would like to
make a schedule change, please stop by the
office and we will be happy to assist you.
A Warm Little Dreamers Welcome to
our Newest Face…
Book Fair
The book fair will be here
from October 12th-15th. This week
is always fun-filled with lots of
activities & books to read. During
this week, the gym will be
transformed into an “Monster Book
Fair Adventure”. The books will be
available for sale at peak pick-up &
drop-off times during the week. A
volunteer sign-up sheet for anyone
available to help with book sales is
posted on the front office window.
Also on Thursday, October 15th
from 6:30-7:30pm we will be having
our Family Reading Night with a
guest appearance from “Clifford the
Big Red Dog”. We invite you all to
join us in PJs and slippers. Lots of
fun!
We would like to extend a warm
welcome to our newest little face. Emmet’s
little brother, Otis Pugh was born on
September 5th . Weighing 8lbs, 1 oz. and
20.5 inches tall. Congratulations to the
Pugh family. Welcome to the world little
one. We look forward to getting to know
you.
Recycling Project
We are in need of the following
recycling items and we would appreciate
your help. These items will be used for
projects that the children will be doing in
the near future. The blue bin will be kept in
the front hallway. We would appreciate
donations of:
Yogurt cups (of any size), small
plastic bottles and/or containers from
things like aspirin, butter, cream cheese
tubs, etc., or any recyclable items that you
think might be useful. Thank you!
Happy Birthday
To You
Emmet Pugh – October 5
Ms. Brynn – October 25
Madeline Jarvis – October 28
Ms. Morgan – October 29
Hannah Ngo – October 30
A birthday is just the first day of another 365
-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip.
~Author Unknown
Getting To Know Us…
We look forward to getting to know
you all throughout the year. To learn a little
more about all of us, please take a few minutes
to stop by and check out our Little Dreamers
Bio Board located across from Mac & Cheese’s
cage. The bio board gives you a little insight on
your Little Dreamers family. It’s also a great
way to put a face with a name for those of you
who are new to Little Dreamers. As always, feel
free to ask questions, voice concerns, or just
stop and say hi to us at any time. Welcome!
We’re glad you’re here!
Back to School/Open House:
A Huge Success!
Thank you to all of the parents that joined
us for our Back to School/Open House.
We surely enjoyed seeing your faces and
answering your questions. We look
forward to an amazing year!
Don’t Forget-School is
Closed!
For a Staff In-Service Day
Friday, October 16th
Enjoy Your Time Together!
Director's Corner by
Rosangela ValerioDyszkant
YOUR PRESENCE
IS ENOUGH
Young children can make us
feel insanely popular. Their
relentless requests for our
attention begin at birth, and we
remain in high demand
throughout the toddler,
preschool, early grade school
years. Our ranking on the
Popularity Scale then takes a
sharp dive during adolescence,
and it tanks miserably in high
school. By college we’re lucky
if they take our calls. (Ouch.
That one hits too close to
home.)
It was relief to make the switch from
being my children’s entertainer to
taking a front row seat as their
audience. I already knew what I
liked to do and how I saw the world,
but every moment I spent quietly
observing deepened my
understanding and appreciation of
them. I was discovering my children.
The benefits my children derived
from “wants nothing quality time”
were visible as well. Children revel
in the glow of our quiet attention,
even as babies — especially as
babies, because of their ultraawareness and sensitivity.
And it occurred to me today, as
I reflected on that comment,
When our attention is not dependent that you had given me a similar
on performances, games, or smiles, gift in telling me that I was
children receive powerfully
enough. That my quiet presence
affirming messages:
is enough, and that in the same
way that it’s a gift to tell Liam
I am interesting.
that he doesn’t need to entertain
me, it’s a similar gift to tell
I am competent.
myself that I don’t need
to entertain him. My presence is
I am creative.
enough.”
I am a desirable companion.
Meeting our children’s attention
needs can be exhausting, especially
I am enough.
if we haven’t learned the simple
secret that makes giving quality
time relaxing, invigorating,
During a discussion with Jessica
enlightening, and fulfilling:
about her 3 year old son
Jonathan’s adjustment to their
Our presence is not only
new baby, I recommended a few
enough, it is better than enough. minutes of one-on-one time each
day and, if it was at all possible to
Child specialist Magda Gerber
arrange, an outing together once
called this receptive way of being
each week, which would ensure
with children “wants nothing
they wouldn’t be interrupted by
quality time.” Others refer to it as
“special time.” For me, it was relief. the baby.
It was a relief to discover that my
children were born inner-directed,
active self-learners with “play”
ideas of their own. They certainly
didn’t need mine, which only
served to alter and redirect theirs.
spend with Jonathan. I had
commented that it can
sometimes feel to me that time is
squandered when we spend it
somewhere that he’s completely
engaged in what he’s doing and
not paying any outward
attention to me. You said, “But
those are the best uses of that
time. What a gift to give him,
saying, “You are enough, and
what you want to do is
enough.” What a relief it was to
hear that!
Jessica later shared this with me:
“I was thinking about something
you said in our conversation
about the “special time” that I
When I asked Jessica if I could
share her experience in our
newsletter, she agreed and then
added:
“That’s funny, I was just
thinking of this today when
Jonathan chose to stay home
and play with Legos during our
“just Mommy and Jonathan”
time. I asked him a few times
whether he wanted to go
somewhere, and he finally
just looked at me and said,
“Want you to sit there,”
pointing to the spot next to him
on the floor where I happened
to already be sitting. If that isn’t
a request for “wants nothing”
time, I don’t know what is!”
T/K Kids
Ms. Nicole’s Class
September was an amazing
month. The children in T-K are working on
following basic two and three step
directions, following the rules in our
classroom, and building friendships.
During September, the children
completed their first self-portraits. Using
thick and thin markers, mirrors, and their
own observation skills, the children
created their own unique art and shared
their individual style and creativity with
their peers.
Creating Stamp Art
We planted onions, sunflowers,
and lettuces for winter! The children
helped turn the soil and observed the
differences in seed types. We will continue
to water and care for our garden
throughout the year.
Pre-K Days
Ms. Brynn’s Class
I cannot believe how quickly
September flew by! It feels like it
was yesterday that I was setting up
the classroom for the new school
year! Over the past month, I have
been learning not only about each of
your children individually, but also
the characteristics of the class as a
whole. Now let me tell you, this is
the most inquisitive group of
children I have ever met and I
LOVE it! Everything is “Why?” and
“How?”. Whether it’s story time,
centers or free play! “What do
dinosaurs eat?” “What are the
pictures on this poster?” “Why do
babies only eat from a bottle?”
Every opportunity is a chance for a
learning experience with them and I
just can’t get enough.
Counting
Blue Jewels
This month, the class has really
focused on the small manipulatives
in the bins by the loft. The children
can choose any set that they like as
long as they play at the table! They
have done such a great job at
Building Bridges
following the directions and using
the manipulatives in a creative way.
As October approaches, we are
looking forward to Fall, friendship building, The children enjoy working together
and developing using manners in the
to sort the items by different criteria
classroom and at home.
as well as creating patterns and
counting the items. While they play
Ms. Nicole
with these manipulatives, the
children are working on their
social-emotional development as
well as cognitive development.
Class
Collage/Mural
Another area of
development we worked on was
the letters of our name, language,
and writing skills. Every day
during lunch, I will write their
names or letters in their name, on
a white board and ask if anyone
recognizes what is written on the
board. In addition to this activity,
we are doing art projects such as
letter collages and dot letter art to
further familiarize the class with
their written name.
At home, I encourage all
parents to continue practicing the
sorting skills and name
recognition at home whether it is
sorting the laundry, writing their
name, or counting the peas on
their plate. Every activity can be a
learning experience, especially
with this extremely inquisitive
class!
- Ms. Brynn
4-Year Olds
Ms. Beatriz’ Class
What a great start for a
new school year! The children
have all become familiar with our
class routine. They have all
adapted very nicely and are
Building trust with me, the other
children and our class expectations.
We have been working on counting in
our class with “Mouse Count” as our
guide. We read the story, acted out
the story at group time and used a
math game, that also incorporated
fine motor development and a pincer
grasp to pick up those itty bitty
mice.
Next month we will continue
these concepts and build on others.
We will continue to use our name
tags in daily activities in order to
Cutting
learn name and letter recognition.
with
Counting is also a main component
Scissors
in our daily routine; counting
everything from rocks or cars lined
up, children (How many friends are
here today?), and snack. Counting
and letters can be so much fun
when we do it through our daily
activities and routine.
The month of September
also focused on the children
talking about themselves and their
families. All of the children helped
their parents to fill-out their “All
About Me” and attached an
Ms. Beatriz
Mouse Count!
For literacy, we have been
reading many stories mainly with a
social-emotional component to help
aid in separation anxiety when the
children are being dropped off.
We’ve read Owl Babies, Llama, Llama
Misses Mama, and The Kissing Hand.
We’ve also read stories about school
and conflict resolution. Many of
these social concepts are learned
through everyday, consistent
conflict resolution and problem
solving; but also through books and
literary responses and discussion.
For art we have used many
mediums for painting, exploring
endlessly. The process of art is
fascinating! The children tell stories,
and as they do their motions and
brushstrokes, imitate their stories.
They also talk about colors and
different shades of colors that they
make themselves through color
mixing.
3 Year Olds
adorable family photo. I’m hoping
to have these completed and on
display by the first week of
October.
Ms. Sarah’s Class
The month of September has
truly been amazing! I loved seeing
some of our returning friends like
Gracie come back to school. We also
gained some wonderful new friends:
Adam, Bethany, Griffin, and Wren. All
of the children have been getting
along, playing together, and building
friendships.
We focused mainly on getting
to know one another and learning each
others likes and dislikes during the
month of September. I wanted to
start the month off slowly and with
activities that really challenge the
Playing with our Friends
Looking forward to the
future, the month of October will
be filled with several messy
activities like exploring the inside
of a pumpkin, as well as, more
cognitive related activities like
Pumpkin Seed Counting. I can’t
wait for another fun month!
children’s creativity skills. Painting
Ms. Sarah
with different cooking utensils was
Ms. Morgan’s Class
definitely a hit, as well as, cutting
different shapes using scissors.
Olivia, Bethany, and Aayush stayed at
the cutting shapes table for literally
almost 20 minutes! Great job working
Snack Time!
on those fine motor and cognitive
skills.
September was ‘All About
Me’ month. We focused on learning
all about the friends in the class and
letting them know all about us. We
worked on positive social
interactions and communicating our
thoughts and feelings through kind
words.
Apple tasting was a great way for the
children to work on these positive
interactions with their peers. The
children were really engaged as they
tasted each apple and talked about
which ones they disliked/liked to me
and one another. This socio emotional
development was also seen while the
children worked with playdough. They
had conversations about what they
were making, took turns with the
different playdough tools and worked
together to make all kinds of things.
Playdough is also a great way to work
on fine motor development. While
playing with playdough, children are
using all the muscles in their hands to
roll, cut, shape, stamp, smash, and
build with. This strengthens the
muscles while having fun.
Dress-up
Time!
The writing area also works the
children’s fine motor development.
They have been spending more time
here lately drawing, ‘writing’, and
exploring the different materials. They
are using the clipboards to make lists,
stencils to draw, coloring with crayons
and markers, and writing on chalk
boards. Having strong motor skills is
essential to completing many everyday
tasks such as writing, using silverware,
buttoning, typing, zipping, etc. Fine
motor skills are also used with art. We
strengthened our hand/finger muscles
through finger painting, Q-tip painting,
and painting with different paint
brushes.
September was all about
working our brain muscles too!
The children really enjoyed our daily trips
table. Each day has been a fun
to the library where we would read a story
adventure.
and pick out books to read in the class. By
exposing them to many books, they will
(hopefully) enjoy reading for all the years
to come, and get familiar with different
letters, numbers, and symbols that are
Car
found all around them. Please feel free to
Painting
bring in any books your child would like to
read with the class.
Being Creative with Playdough!
As the children are getting more
acclimated with school, I will be giving
them more responsibilities. I will be having
them get their own lunches out and
prepared, and be assigning different
children each day to help with classroom
duties. We will also come up with class
rules that will be posted on the parent
board.
Thank you all for a successful
start of the school year. I’m looking
forward to many more wonderful months
together. Please feel free to contact me
with any questions, comments, or
concerns. Keep your eye out for the
classroom’s October wish list, we have
many spooky things planned.
In October, we have many fun
activities planned. We are going to be
focusing on Fall and how the leaves
change colors. We will be learning about
pumpkins; what they look like, what is
inside them, what we can make with
them, and what color they are. Keep a
look out for my wish list with a lot of Fall
related items.
Shaving
Cream
Fun!
2 Year Olds
Ms. Kim’s Class
Lots of Love,
Ms. Morgan
Ms. April’s Class
The month of September flew by.
We learned about the classroom, made
new friends, and tried new activities. We
learned the classroom rules, what the
schedule is, and where to put our toys
away. We made friends talking during
snack time, feeding our baby dolls,
pushing each other on the swings,
building tunnels for our cars, and taking
turns using the easel. We seem to enjoy
getting messy. Some of our favorite
activities involved exploring the texture of
shaving cream, painting, and working
with a variety of materials in the water
Rickity Tickity Bumble Bee, can you
please say your name for me, what is your
name?....That’s my name!
Septembers focus was ‘All About
Me’ and the finger play that we did at the
beginning of circle time every morning to
get to know our new and old friend’s
names. The children became so excited
when Rickity Tickity buzzed to them and
they would say their name with such
excitement and enthusiasm.
The beginning of the new school
year has been filled with lots of activities
that are just right for their busy little hands.
Although all of the children are at different
stages of their development, they are all
experiencing their physical and social
environment.
your bushy tail,’ and the finger play five
little monkeys. The children were given
the opportunity to creatively express
themselves and strengthen their fine
motor skills through the manipulation of
playdough. Over time, the children went
from smashing the dough to making
balls, using rolling pins, and cookie
cutters. We explored everything in our
classroom from building with blocks,
playing with trains and cars, cooking in
the kitchen, taking care of babies,
Riding Bikes with Friends
figuring out puzzles or just hanging out
with a friend in the book area. We are
also feeling more comfortable outside
Paint, Paint, and more Paint! As you
may have noticed we did a lot of painting. Art too as we explore all of the activities
is a medium of self expression that is open and going on.
free. It is a lot of fun and can be very messy.
Thank you for making the first
Why use paint brushes when we have our
month of school so wonderful. Looking
hands ?! We finger painted – it was a first time forward to a fantastic year of learning
for some of the children to experience that
and growing together.
ooey gooey feeling. There are many benefits
Best,
to finger painting…it strengthens hand and
finger muscles and contributes to the
Ms. Kim
development of small motor skills.
Our favorite book of the month was
‘No No No Little Turtles’ – we read it over and
over throughout the month. The children
were so cute as they put up there pointer
finger and said loudly, “NO NO NO!” We also
enjoyed reading, “If You See A Kitten,” “Llama
Llama Misses Mama,” and “Baby Bear Baby
Bear What Do You See,” you may find all of
these books in our library to enjoy at home.
The early years are so important in developing
a life long love of reading. Read together
every day and make this a warm and loving
time when you may cuddle closely. Please
bring in your child’s favorite book anytime to
share with the class.
Ms. Heather’s Class
September has been full of
learning, growing, and exploring! This
month we talked about the parts of
our bodies when we read, Where’s
Baby’s Belly Button? and when we
sang, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and
Toes”. We explored moving different
parts of our bodies while dancing to
“Bean Bag Boogie” by Greg and Steve,
At the art table, we painted with
tempera paint on our hands and feet
to create prints on different types of
paper. During group time we created a
measuring wall to see how tall each
child is. We will revisit in a few
months to see how much we’ve grown.
Playing with Soapy Water
Being two is all about moving and
growing and we kept our group time just that
with a lot of engaging activities like, ‘Beany
baby dance,’ ‘Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, shake
The classroom easel has been
getting a lot of action this month! The
easel is an extension of our art table
and will offer an alternative activity
for free art exploration. In the
beginning of the school year, we start
with simple mediums (collage on sticky
paper, crayons, pencils, or 1 to 2 colors
of paint) while the children learn to
keep the materials at the easel. Once
the wandering has stopped, we create
an area where the children can request
materials to add to our easel. Keep an
eye out for those unique masterpieces!
Bean Bag
Dance
Easel Painting
Thank you for 100% turnout
at Back to School Night! I am
enjoying getting to know each child
and their family, and these events
are a great place to do that. Thank you
for creating our My Child Is Special
Because… book. This will be a class
favorite in our class library!
Lots of Love,
Ms. Heather