January 2018
Dear Parents,
January 2018 rolled in so fast that it is now nearly February!
We kicked off the Holiday season a bit earlier this year by gathering together for the Family Branch celebration on the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had an amazing turnout and want to thank everyone for creating a branch. We have so enjoyed having each family’s photos and creations dangling above us on the beautiful hanging branches! It is one of our favorite events, so thank you for sharing your time and families with us!
Also in December, our past parent and long time friend Bruce Kirschner, whose adult sons Paul and Sam attended Friends’n Fun as preschoolers, came to school to celebrate Hanukkah with us. Bruce has been doing this with us for over 20 years now! He engages the children with his warm and fun personality and is always memorable.
The Train study has finally pulled into the Station following a long and joyful journey! We all had so much fun! We worked together to build and decorate a L …O…N…G cardboard train that had so many train cars we could all get in it at the same time! The children enjoyed hours and hours of delightful pretend play as they climbed aboard and let their imaginations run wild.
We sang lots of new and old train songs. One of the favorites being, “Get a Ticket, Ticket, Ticket For the Train!” This song evolved into a combination train song and extreme weather/ natural disaster report!
The small groups all worked on projects resulting in toy trains and train tracks. Some added towns and scenery for interest as the trains traveled along. Some even had an axel system and coupling solution that allowed the trains to really roll down the tracks. Katey and Janet’s MW group worked together for weeks to create a huge train “mini-world” that once it was completed and used, was gifted to the whole school as another fun way to enjoy train play. It included a Train Station, passenger parking garage, houses and buildings, tunnels, mountains and trees, rivers and lakes, farm animals grazing in the fields and an operable gated train crossing!
We are now shifting to a new area of interest……new because we haven’t explored it as an area of focus before………but definitely NOT new to the pretend play of preschoolers…….CATS! There is always prowling and purring going on around here (year after year) so the teachers asked the children if they would be interested in spending some time exploring Cats. Of course most of them said yes! We did have a couple of “hisses” but those have now been transformed into “purrs.” The children would all like to become “cats” first so we will begin by creating some cat wear and accessories. We will also research factual information about cats and see what we can find out about their behavior and their unique attributes. We will join the children as they explore this topic to see what interests and twists and turns crop up. The teachers are hoping for a bit of theatre as part of the journey…… we will have to wait and see!
We are a few weeks into the next series for Studio Discovery……COLOR! Jane and Kara are concocting all kinds of experiences for the children as they explore the magical sensations of this phenomenon of light and visual perception.
“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.” (artist Paul Klee)
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SHARE-A-GIFT
The people at Share-a-Gift tell us that each year Friends ‘n Fun parents are one of the most generous group of contributors to their program. This year our box was filled to overflowing 4 separate times…and our box was bigger than it was last year!
Thanks to all of you for your concern for others in need.
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NOTE CARD FUNDRAISER!!!!!!
Thanks to all of you for your notecard orders. Your contributions raised $1450. We hope that you and your families enjoy the amazing artwork created by your children. Thank you so much for your continued support and generosity!
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SNOWY WEATHER!!!!
We will notify 9 News if we will be closed due to bad winter weather. It sometimes takes awhile for schools to be listed on television but a listing pops up pretty quickly on their website, so check there as well. We will also post closures on our Facebook page and on our website on the Latest & Greatest page. If you are not sure you are welcome to call Jane or Janet.
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VALENTINE’S DAY–
Your children are invited to bring valentines for their friends on Tuesday, February 13th or Wednesday the 14th.
For children of preschool age it is best to just have them write their names on the cards and leave the envelopes blank. You can buy pre-packaged valentines or join them in making their own creations.
Bring 22 cards for the Monday group
and 22 cards for the Tuesday group.
A Valentine snack sign up will be posted on the parent bulletin board closer to time.
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ENROLLMENT FORMS
You have received questionnaires asking for your schedule requests for Summer 2018 and Fall 2018. We appreciate your prompt return of these forms so we can begin our enrollment process.
PLEASE RETURN BY Jan 31st!!
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We are excited to be part of a new initiative being sponsored by
Lafayette’s Waste Reduction Advisory Council!
The council has provided three businesses on E. Simpson with a TerraCycle box as part of this pilot program. Friends‘n Fun, East Simpson Coffee Company and HiFi Jones are collection locations for items that cannot be composted or recycled.
We are starting small with this pilot project and are focusing on collecting BATTERIES and ART SUPPLIES. Bring your worn out batteries and art supplies (like pens, markers, empty tape dispensers, etc.) to fill our box. Once it’s full, we’ll send it to TerraCycle where they will sort it and find ways to recycle these materials.
We will have a small, marked collection container on the driveway side of the school, near the tricycles, for easy drop-off of these items.
Spread the word and let your neighbors know!
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UPCOMING DATES TO BE AWARE OF:
Please mark your calendars and note the following dates
Tuesday/Wednesday, February 13th & 14th: Valentine’s Day
Monday, February 19th: Presidents Day – Friends ‘n Fun CLOSED
Wednesday-Friday, March 28, 29, 30: Spring Break – Friends ‘n Fun CLOSED
Wednesday/Thursday, May 9th and 10th:Mother’s Day Tea
Monday, May 28th: CLOSED Memorial Day
Wednesday/ Thursday, May 30th & 31st: Last days of school
Monday June 4th: First day of summer session