Week Three at Patti’s
Greetings Patti’s Families,
There has been so much excitement and exploration these first weeks and, as is natural at the beginning of the school year, also a few tears. We are pleased to say that most children settle quickly once in the classroom.
If you have any concerns, please make sure you have filled out the separation anxiety survey sent in the First Day of School email and of course feel free to contact me by email or speak to me at pick up.
We have spent the first two weeks getting to know each other and working on a special project. I hope you have seen our back to school banner displayed in the hallway above the first set of coat hooks. Each day of the first week we put out a different medium (crayons, markers, stickers, paint rollers, stampers) and let the children add to the banner. It was a fun way to have the children explore art at Patti’s and get used to sitting at the art/ivity table with a teacher and we love the way the banner turned out! I also hope you have checked out our class board which has pictures of our activities and classroom community!
Last week and this week, the kiddos have been decorating their own Patti’s Tote Bags to use to transport all the things that need to go to school and back home and also using watercolors to paint people cut-outs to create a friendship banner for our classroom community. Bags should be ready to go home next week!
A lot of time these first weeks is spent working on routines and transitions. While Patti’s is all about play and fun, we do need to learn how to move from inside to outside, and routines for snack and circle time. We introduced circle time with games and songs and were able to add a felt board story or book each day last week – your kiddos are doing such a great job at circle time! Ask them what color circle they sat on or what song they sang today! We are also working on walking all the way down the ramp to the benches at pickup time. It is hard for some kiddos not to run as soon as they see their loved one, so please help us encourage them to hold on to their ring and go all the way to the benches. We want to make sure everyone stays safe and that we see each caregiver, even if your child spots you before we do!
Water Bottles
Please send a water bottle with your child each day. We serve water at snack time and children really enjoy having their own bottle to drink from; it also helps them find their seat and helps us be environmentally conscious. We will continue to provide paper cups for water for any children who do not have a water bottle.
Please help us identify your belongings
Please make sure all water bottles and lunch boxes have name labels inside or outside.
As we move into fall, please label all spare or removable clothing (sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, hats, etc.)
Our mornings are busy and sometimes the children forget which coat or hat they came in. Children also often have very similar outerwear, so the labels really help.
Lunch Bunch
Lunch Bunch is filling up fast! We require 24 hours notice for lunch if you have not signed up as a ‘regular’ luncher. We will not be able to accomodate lunch requests at drop-off, please make sure you send an email for all drop-in lunch requests.
Thank you for choosing Patti’s Play Center and sharing your precious children with us. We are excited to see how much they grow and learn this year!
Cheers,
Jennifer Cathey-Roberts
Director, Patti’s Play Center