Dear Parents,
Happy almost Spring! It is such a delight to see the crocuses and tips of tulip leaves peeking out around the edges preparing us for the upcoming explosion of color!
Our exploration of “The Art of Pretending” was joyful, engaging and entertaining. There were Dinosaur Digs resulting in a Dinosaur Museum, becoming airplanes flying in the front yard, riding on airplanes, and writing stories that then were acted out. Children’s imaginations and pretending were engaged and used to their fullest! The children enjoyed the culminating experiences of “Petville” and “Castles, Knights, Princesses, Dragons and Horses”. It was a delight to see them add to what had been set up for them as they arrived in the morning: a veterinarian that would also take care of pet owners ailments and a cash register added to the room with the royal clothing made it into a shop that sells those clothes. These children are always thinking and so creative!
An extra special thanks go to Chip Persons and Erin Wright (Rory’s parents) for sharing their acting talents and expertise with us on the last day of pretending. They led us in acting exercises that Chip uses with his college students at CU Boulder. They helped us think about every step that is involved in a task (example: waking up and brushing your teeth) and what movements you might do to clearly convey what it is you are doing without using words. We also broke into small groups of 4 to 5 children and one adult. We worked together to become one object – an airplane! It was exciting to see how each group came together and created an airplane with their bodies by standing or lying down and positioning arms, legs, bodies, heads in different ways. We had so much fun and the children are still talking about how they worked together to become airplanes! We know the pretending isn’t over (as some children have told their parents) – it never is! It just won’t be our school focus.
If you haven’t already heard about it from your child, our next area of exploration is “Deep Sea”! We are doing this in honor of Adam who has been with us for three years and has not wavered in his devotion to all things “Deep Sea”. When we asked all the children what they thought of the topic and what they might be interested in, we couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with the thoughts/ideas/suggestions as they flowed at circle. Waves, submarines, sea creatures, sea plants, mermaids, the Mariana Trench, scuba diving, coral, sharks, whales, dolphins…..the list is far more extensive than this! Only a week into this exploration and we are feeling the hum of excitement around the “Deep Sea” and are looking forward to where this new journey will take us.
This newsletter has lots of dates for upcoming events in the couple of months! Keep reading for more news and dates!!!!
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FRIENDS ‘N FUN FOOD SHARE
We love the community we are in and were touched by everyone’s generosity with the Share-A-Gift collection.
We want to continue to give to our community and have settled on the idea of having an on-going food/dry goods collection that we would contribute to the Sister Carmen food bank. They are in need of donations year round. Thanks to Cassidy’s mom, Sam, for the suggestion of a standard time frame that occurs monthly!
There will be a tub on the front porch for one week each month (typically the first week of the month) where your family may contribute as it works for you. We will post a reminder on the front door the week prior. We’ll try to update everyone with the amount donated on a regular basis.
~~ Because we’d like to start this, and this newsletter is late, we’ll have the container on the front porch next week for March only. ~~
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FRIENDS ‘N FUN BOOK CLUB
We have selected The Preschool Years: Family Strategies That Work – From Experts and Parents by Ellen Galinsky and Judy David as our book.
Please let us know by FRIDAY, MARCH 11TH if you would be interested in reading this book and then joining us for a discussion on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20TH (time to be determined).
Friends ‘n Fun will order books for those that are interested and then you can purchase the book from us. We’ll search for the best prices we can!!!
We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you around this book.
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FAMILY SURVEYS
Thank you to everyone for completeing and returning the Family Survey. We had an incredible return rate and appreciate you taking the time to fill those out for us!
If you have any questions, thoughts, or ideas that have come to mind, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We always welcome your thoughts and insights in guiding us all in our work together.
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SNOWY WEATHER!!!!
It’s hard to believe we’re still including this, but spring weather can be unpredictable! We will notify 9 News if we will be closed due to bad 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 closure on our websites Latest & Greatest page. If you are not sure you are also always welcome to call Janet or Jane @ 303-775-1531.
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PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE SPECIAL DATES IN THIS NEWSLETTER AND MARK THEM ON YOUR CALENDARS…..
IMPORTANT DATES – SPRING 2016
March 23, 24, 25 SPRING BREAK
May 4 and 5 (Wed/Thu) Mother’s Day Tea – 11:00 – 12:00
(depending on your child’s school schedule)
Calling all moms! Please be sure you attend this special event. Your child will be at your “beck and call” for part of this day. Bring your child at their regular time. And then you will return at 11:00 to enjoy tea and treats served by your children. Details will be posted in late April. Due to our limited space and the nature of this special celebration, siblings or other family members will not be able to attend. If you are unable to come a substitute would help your child join in the celebration.
May TBA Parent Teacher Conferences
Please watch the parent bulletin board for a sign up sheet to attend a conference on one of the listed days. Conferences will be 20 minutes each.
May 25 (Wed) End of Year Potluck Picnic
At La Monte Does Park. Details to follow.
May 30 Memorial Day school closed
May 27 (Fri) Last Day of School
June 1 & 2 First Day of Summer Session
Summer session runs from June 1st through August 19th
July 4 Fourth of July Holiday school closed
August 22-26 FnF Closed for Children
for cleaning, organizing and planning for Fall 2016
August 29/30 Fall Session Begins