February Newsletter

About This Month....

We are so excited about Valentine's Day in preschool. We will be having a party and exchanging valentines in class on Thursday the 12th. The morning class has 15 students (4 boys and 11 girls) and the afternoon class has 18 students (9 boys and 9 girls).

This month the pre-k kids will be starting the homework program. A note will come home explaining the program, and remember that it is optional and also each student goes at their own pace.

Thank you to all the parents who came to the fire station with us. The kids loved the fire trucks and were really good!

About Next Year...

If you haven't already heard from your elementary school about kindergarten registration, give them a call. It should be sometime this month. Also, I am finalizing the classes for next year. The 3-4 class will be on T, Th at 9:15-11:45 and the 4-5 pre-k class will be on T, W, TH at 12:45-3:15. Please let me know ASAP if you are returning next year so I can let the people on the waiting list know. We would love to have all the younger kids back next year, but we realize that situations change etc. so just let me know. I also have a few more spots left in the older class next year if you know anyone that is interested.

A Peek at the Weeks...

Week 1: Letter X-Community helpers

Week 2: Letter V-Valentine's Day, Volcanoes, Keeping our hearts healthy/President's Day

Week 3: Letter D-Dads, Dinosaurs, finish President's Day, Fun with dots

Week 3: Letter Q-Quilts, Very Quiet Cricket

Reminder: Tuition is due by Thurday the 5th

($60.00 T, Th/$75.00 T, W, TH)

January Newsletter

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break!  We really missed the kids and are excited to start our fun winter units.

Everyday at school we do hands-on math activities including patterns, counting, graphing, number recognition, simple addition, and subtraction.  At this point in the year, we start a more concentrated number curriculum.  The younger kids will work on individual numbers to make sure they have counting and recognition down.  The older kids will work on that as well as writing the numbers, then move on to sequencing etc.  If you ever have any questions about what we are working on in school, please call anytime.  Also, by way of information, there is one holiday this month but none of our school days are affected by it.

About This Month...

Week 1:  Winter/Penguins/Months of the Year/The Jacket I wear in the Snow

Week 2: Letter Z-Zipper centers/Snow/Snowmen/Mittens

Week 3: Letter F-Fire Safety

Week 4: Letter H-Hats/Groundhog Day

Fire Station Field Trip

We will be visiting the Lehi Fire Station on Thursday the 22nd as part of our Fire Safety unit.  The morning class will leave around 9:50 and the Afternoon class will leave around 1:20.  If you would like to come with us and help drive, let me know.  Also,  if the weather continues to be yucky, I will probably just have my cousin who is a fireman come into our class.  I don't want to risk driving in this scary snow.  We will just see how that goes.  If we do go on the fieldtrip, class will start and end at the regular times.

Work-of-Art Calendars

We sent home a calendar today that we will be working on for the rest of the year.  Each month we will do a new picture for you to slide in the plastic pocket.  We will try to write on the back of the picture that it is for the calendar so you will know. Watch for these pictures at the beginning of each month.

Homework

During February we will be starting our reading homework.  This is an optional program for the Pre-K students.  First I will send home letters to practice, then short vowel word wheels, then beginning books.  The kids will pass off the item they have been working on and I will send them the next thing on the list.  Watch for a note next month about this program.

Thank you for all your help with the Christmas program.  The kids were darling and did a great job on their parts.  

Just a reminder that tuition is due by Thursday the 8th 

December Newsletter

Mark Your Calendar...

December is a fun month in Preschool. Our Christmas Program will be on Friday the 19th at 5:00. It will be held at the Lehi Arts Council building next to Lehi Elementary. I'm sorry that it is so early, but I had a hard time finding a place that would be big enough. The 18th will be our last day of school until January 6th. Also on the 18th we will be having a gift exchange. Your child will be asked to bring a $1.00-$2.00 gift (for boy or girl) to be exchanged in class. I will send a reminder about the class party and the program as we get closer to those dates. There will be no snack bucket coming home this month, however several of our activities require candy. If you would like to donate a bag of wrapped holiday candy, please send it in sometime during the first week of Dec. Of course, this is totally optional-Thanks!!!

About This Month...

The theme for this month is Christmas Around the World. We will be tasting foods, talking about traditions, reading stories, and making crafts from other countries. If your family has any traditions etc. from any of these countries, please send them in with your child or call me if you would like to come in and share!

Week 1: Holland, England, Hawaii

Week 2: Hanukkah, Mexico, Germany

Week 3: Letter C-USA/Christmas party/program practice

We will also be working on some math, ABC review activities, and blending words.

Christmas Program

Our Christmas program will center around the things we are learning this month. Each child will have either a speaking part or a special part in a song. I will send home the parts in a few weeks so you can work on them. If you think your child will not feel comfrotable saying a part, or you will not be there, please let me know. The whole evening will last about 30-45 minutes. I hope you will be able fit it in with your other holiday plans!

Merry Christmas!

I know this is a busy time of year for everyone, and I hope that none of the things I have planned will cause any extra stress! I really appreciate all your help and support, and thank you to all those who were asked to bring something to the feast. Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! See you in 2009!!!!

Tuition Reminder

Tuition is due by Thursday Dec. 4th. The 3 day class is $75.00 and the 2 day class is $60.00. Thank You!

November Newsletter

Mark Your Calendar

Novermber is going to be another busy month! First of all, Miss Melody and Miss Amber are going to Maryland to visit our sisters on Thursday the 13th. The morning class will still come that morning, but the afternoon class will not have school that day. The afternoon class will come on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday that week. The morning class will come on their regular days. I'm sorry we are changing the days again this month-this should be the last time we have to do that. Let me know if your child in unable to attned on Monday the 10th and we will discount your tuition payment. Remember, only the afternoon class is affected by this change, the morning schedule remains the same.

There will be no school on Wed. the 26th and Thurs the 27th for Thanksgiving break. Our feast will be on Tuesday the 25th and that will be the only day of school that week.

Thank you to all the parents who came on the pumpkin patch fieldtrip with us. The weather was awesome, and it actually wasn't too crowded so I think it was worth it to go on Monday. Below is a slideshow of pictures from the fieldtrip-it looks like the kids had a great time!

A Peek at the Weeks......

Week 1: Letter B- Bears/Bubbles

Week 2: Letter T-Turkeys, textures, tops, start Thanksgiving

Week 3: Letter I-Thanksgiving, Indians, Ice Cream

Week 4: Thanksgiving Feast

Feast Day!!!

Our Thanksgiving feast will be on Tuesday the 25th. It will include some of the foods that the pilgrims may have eaten at their first feast. This year we are asking 1/2 of the class to bring something for the feast and the other half of the class to bring a green treat to our St. Patrick's Party in March. We will send home a food assignment with your child the week before the feast. If you don't recieve one, we will ask you to bring something to the green party. The assignments will be something like a few apples, nuts, popcorn, rolls, etc. Please let me know if you have a problem with your assigned item. Thank you for your help with our feast.

Christmas Program

We are still finalizing the day and time of our Christmas program. We have a place reserved, but it is pretty small. I am still looking to see if we can find something better. If you have any ideas of places that might work, let me know and I will check it out. I will post more info. as soon as the plans become more finalized.

Tuition Reminder

As a reminder, tuition is $75.00 for the T,W,TH class and $60.00 for the T,TH class. Also if you haven't paid for your t-shirt yet, please send $6.00 in with your tuition payment. Tuition is due by Thursday the 6th. Thank You

October Newsletter

Mark Your Calendar...

     It is hard to believe that we have already been back to school for a month!  We are loving our classes this year.  They are all so darling and they are keeping us laughing!

     October is going to be a very busy month.  Please note that we do will not have school on Thursday the 16th for UEA break.  The other change in our schedule will be that we are having school on Monday the 27th to accomodate our pumpkin patch fieldtrip.  They told me that Tues-Friday are crazy and hardly anyone comes on Mondays.  So, that week we will have school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and our Halloween party will be on Wednesday the 29th.  The kids who only come on Tues/Thurs, should come on Mon/Wed that week.  If you have a scheduling problem let me know as soon as possible and I will see what we can do.

A Peek at the Weeks....

Week 1:  Letter S-Scarecrows, Stone Soup, Spiders

Week 2:  Letter O-Fall-Owls/leaves

Week 3:  Letter N-Noodles/Fairy Tales

Week 4:  Letter P-Pumpkins, Popcorn, Pizza  

Week 5:  Halloween-Bats & Ghosts

Pumpkin Patch Fieldtrip

We will be going to the pumpkin patch at Vineyard Gardens in Orem.  If the weather is bad, we will just stay at school and do some fun pumpkin things.  We will need several parents from each class to come with us to help drive and keep track of the kids.  Hopefully since we are going on a Monday, it won't be as crowded as it has been in years past.  We will leave about 15 min. (9:30, 12:00) after school starts and get back about 15 min. before school ends.  You can pick your kids up at the regular time after school.  Please let me know if you would like to come!

Halloween Party

We are so excited for our Halloween Party!  Everyone is invited to wear their costumes to school-we will try not to do anything too messy!  Also, please send in 18 pieces of the same kind of wrapped candy on the 29th.  We will be playing some sorting and sharing games with the candy.  The candy can be as simple as tootsie rolls, or whatever you are passing out to trick-or-treaters.  Thank you for helping us with this project.

T-shirt Info.

The t-shirts have been ordered and will be done before our fieldtrip.  If you ordered a shirt and haven't paid the $6.00, please send it in with your October tuition payment.  If you have any questions, give me a call.

Tuition Payment

As a reminder, tuition is $75.00 for the T,W,TH class and $60.00 for the T, Th class.  Tuition is due by Thursday the 2nd.  Also, please make the checks to Amber Peck.-Thanks!

September Newsletter

Welcome to School!

It is finally time to start preschool this year!  Hopefully all of the kids are excited and ready to learn and play.  You will notice throughout the year that our study of the alphabet doesn't go in order.  We start out with letters that are easy to recognize and also letters that can be blended to make words.  After learning just two letters we will already be able to start making words.  This helps the kids understand why we need to know the sounds and it introduces them to reading right away.  Along with the alphabet, we will also work on math skills, review colors and shapes, work on science and art projects, and learn about music.  We will also go over rhyming and opposites.  I have included an outline of the units and academic skills we will go over this year in a post below in case you are interested.  It does not include everything, but it at least gives you an idea.   I also posted the Disclosure document below.  Please look over it and let me know if you have any questions.  If you have a g-mail account you can post a comment, or call me anytime at 768-1091. 

About This Month...

Week 1:  All about Me/The Little Engine That Could

Week 2:  Circus of Shapes-review of basic shapes

Week 3:  Letter M-My Family/Magnets

Week 4:  Letter A-Apples/Jonny Appleseed

Health Reminder...

At school, we use hand sanitizer several time a day and wipe down the classroom and toys often.  We will also be having a lesson about germs and keeping ourselves clean.  Please be mindful of sending your child to school with sicknesses that may be contagious.  Hopefully these things will keep the illness at preschool down.  Thanks!

T-shirts

If you were not at back-to-school and you would like to order a Little Learners t-shirt, let me know by the 16th so I can get the order in.  The cost is $6.00 and can be included with your September or October tuition payment.

Tuition Reminder...

Tuition is due by Thursday the 4th.  The T, W, Th class is $75.00 and the T, Th class is $60.00.  If the first of the month is a hard time to pay, let me know and we can make arrangements for you to pay later in the month.  

We are excited about this year and can't wait to get to know all of your cute kids!  

Miss Amber

Miss Melody

Disclosure Document 2008-2009

Welcome to Little Learners Preschool! I am excited for our class to start learning and having a great time this school year. There are just a few important things for parents to keep in mind throughout the year.

1.Please bring your child no earlier than five minutes before school starts and make sure they are picked up no later than five minutes after school, unless special arrangements are made.

2.If your child is hurt or feeling sad, I have a “Hug it better” policy. If you are not comfortable with little hugs or pats on the back, please let me know.

3.If a discipline problem arises, I use the time-out policy. The child will be in time-out for the amount of minutes equivalent to their age. Please contact me if you have concerns about this, but also bear in mind that most problems can be worked out without resorting to time-out.

4.Tuition must be paid by the first week of each month. We will send an E-mail reminder about tuition each month. Tuition is $75.00 for the M,W,F class, and $60.00for the T, Th class. Please write checks to Amber Peck.

5.For Show and Tell, I have a special bag that the kids will take turns bringing home. We will have Show and Tell everyday, but only one person at a time will have the spotlight. They should have a turn every few weeks. This way we won’t be in a hurry to get through everyone and it will be exciting for the kids.

6.Please send your child with a backpack or bag to put things in, a coat or jacket (if necessary), and a full stomach! We will have a snack each day, but not right at the first of class.

7.We have a class snack bucket that will be sent home with a different child each day (except for the days that we will provide special treats that go with the lesson). Please fill the bucket with enough treats for the class (number of students is listed on the bucket). Your treat could be as simple as a bag of marshmallows, pretzels, some fruit to cut up, or something even homemade. Drinks will be provided at school. Thank you for your help with snack time. We will also try to coordinate your snack turn with birthdays. Let me know if you have any concerns.

8.If possible, I am asking for donations of any of the following: Ziploc baggies (snack or sandwich size), a box of tissues, wipes, or a roll of paper towels. These items can be sent to school with your child anytime!

9.I will follow the Alpine School District schedule for vacations and holidays,
with the exception of the beginning and end of the school year.Alpine district has other days off, but they are on Mondays and Fridays. I only listed the ones that affect our preschool days. The holidays are as follows:

UEA/Prof. Dev………October 16th , 17th, 20th
Thanksgiving/Teacher comp…November 26-28th
Christmas/New Year........December 22nd-January 2nd (we will be back to school on the 6th)
Spring Break/Teacher comp……April 13th-17th

•Last day of school is Wednesday May 20th and Graduation will be held on Thursday May 21st.

Class Schedule
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:15-11:45 (optional Tuesday, Thursday)
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 12:45-3:15

9:15-9:30 Name/cutting practice, books & puzzles
9:30-9:50 Calendar, Weather, Pledge, Show and Tell, Singing Time
9:50-10:00 Circle Time (intro to new letter, unit lesson, etc.)
10:00-10:30 Unit activities/Creative arts or crafts
10:30-10:40 Snack/Story time
10:45-10:55 Movement/Music activities
10:55-11:25 Alphabet work, Math, Science/Centers
11:25-11:40 Free time-creative play
11:40-11:45 Clean-up and wait for parents to arrive

I will follow this schedule but times may be arranged to accommodate certain activities.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me. I anticipate a fun and stimulating year for your little learner.
Thank you, Amber Peck (768-1091)