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We have loved teaching, playing with, caring for and getting to know our Cherokee Trail C family this 2021-2022 school year.

For our sweet ones that are off to kindergarten, we wish for all the good things this next grade of their education will bring. We will miss their laughter, questions, observations and their uniqueness, as well as, the families that brought them to us each day.

We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces when they return in the next school year and the new smiles that will join us. When August arrives and we receive our 2022-2023 family names, I will be in touch to welcome you.

Have a wonderful Summer, and thank you for being you.

Sharon, and the CTE C team: Kerry, Jennifer, Tiffiny, Cherie, and Wendy

It's hard to believe that this is our last unit for our 2021-2022 school year!!!

Our Spring Unit was so much fun and all were very excited to be on the road to warmer weather and the signs of new life.

Our caterpillars and butterflies seemed to be on the same trajectory of delay since they have taken their time to grow, form their chrysalides and emerge. One butterfly appeared on Sunday and two today. However, it's been a rough road for some, since the last caterpillar to suspend knocked down four others. We'll see and will be releasing those that appear this week. We released our ladybugs last week.

Be on the look out for AM Class Continuation and PM Class Graduation news for May 25 which will be scheduled for the beginning of class on that day. That Wednesday is the last day of school for all preschool students. After the celebration, you can take your certificate holding and accomplished preschooler home to enjoy your Summer.

Please check out the Unit Newsletter Page to find out all about our new Animal Unit!! Conservation, care and our environment will continue to be the focus segueing from our Spring Unit as we study four categories of animals that help us gauge how our earth is doing.

Take care,

Sharon

March certainly blew in and is still blowing Spring things around as we prepare for warmer, greener and buggier happenings.

We really enjoyed our Fine Arts Unit of various mediums, approaches, and types of ways to resemble the world around us creatively.

Music is always a major part of our days, but in recent weeks we experimented vocally even more and with dance plus enjoyed instrumental demonstrations/performances on the piano, violin, guitar, and percussion.

I hope that you have enjoyed the "Featured Artist" exhibit so far. Even though our Fine Arts Unit is over, I will continue to display those who haven't been honored yet. Once that has happened, then all will be joined together for comparison, viewing, and the distinguishing of how each artist perceived the blue vase, green leaves, yellow petals and brown centers.

The season of Spring is the focus for the next four weeks. Caterpillars, ladybugs, daffodil bulbs and seedlings will be a part of the wonder, science, and gauging of their performance of a different type.

Stay tuned!

Sharon

February flew by as we explored Colorado, dabbled with dinosaurs, and dealt with major weather extremes!

Creativity is always a major part of our preschool days, but our next unit, Fine Arts, is going to take us to greater depths of drawing/painting, music, performance and sculpture!

Please take the time to check out the Unit Newsletter and Lesson Plan pages to learn what your preschooler will be doing, learning, and experiencing. It helps you to converse about their day with them or expand on their exploration, and it helps you to know what they are talking about when sharing with you spontaneously.

The "Cat in the Hat" author, Dr. Seuss, celebrated his birthday on March 2. I'm sure that you all take the time to read to your preschooler each day and now you can document that to honor this notable author. There are red and white paper strips for you to record those titles, labeled with your child's name, at the sign in/out table. When you return them each day, we will pattern them to create the "Cat in the Hat's" hat. Just take as many as you think you will need this week and we'll see which class has the tallest hat by the end of Thursday!

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up on March 10. There will not be school that day. Some of you have already received emails about scheduling your conference.

If you have not received an email, there will be a sign up sheet posted at the sign in/out table on Monday and Tuesday should you wish to meet. As in the Fall, it is completely your choice if you would like to meet. Conferences are a choice and not mandatory.

The following week is Spring Break!!! It begins on March 13 and ends on March 20. However you spend the week, I hope you enjoy it, relax, and reap lots of smiles.

Take care, let us know if we can be of any service to you, and thank you for the privilege of teaching your little one.

Sharon

Our January weather certainly gave us visuals, sensory, and first hand knowledge for our Winter Unit!

We really enjoyed our pretend Winter activities like ice skating, snowflake exploration, hot and cold comparisons, and discussions about igloos, hibernation, and frozen vs melting. However, ending the unit with actual sugar cookies for circle's "Who took the cookie from the Cookie Jar?" verse and filling actual hot chocolate with the amount of marshmallows to match their ages was, of course a big hit this past Wednesday and Thursday.

This unit segues nicely into Colorado Exploration. Please check out the Unit Newsletter and Lesson Plan pages to find out what that will entail.

Our new unit will have a slight interruption with the celebration of Valentine's Day on Monday, February 14. If you would like your preschooler to participate in a Valentine exchange, please provide a shoebox that you can decorate at home, labeled with your child's name, and filled with 15 Valentines. The Valentines do not need to be addressed to a specific person. Just sign your child's name to each so that the recipients will know who they are from. Please bring everything in on Wednesday, February 9 or Thursday, February 10 so that I know who is participating and who is not.

February 17 is a training day for the district and February 21 is Presidents Day. Please mark it on your calendars as a school closure day.

Take care, and see you soon!

Sharon

The very best of family time, fun, celebration, and smiles is wished for you and your family during our Winter Break. Thank you for your kindnesses, thoughtfulness, good wishes, and generosities during this holiday time. It is very much appreciated.

Our Around the World theme was another smile from beginning to end for us all.

We traveled, we saw, and we saw and we enjoyed Russia, Germany, and Vietnam!!!

I hope you enjoyed the suitcase full of sites and fun that your child created along the way.

This next unit is all about Winter. It begins when we return beginning Tuesday, January 4 of 2022!

On the following Monday and Tuesday, January 10 and 11, a vision and hearing screening will be held during class for our preschoolers. Information will be in your folders when you return after Winter Break. If you would rather your child not be screened, please let me know.

The following Monday, school will be closed for Martin Luther King Day.

Check out the Unit Newsletter Page to find out what frosty fun and learning we will have for this seasonal unit, as well as, the Lesson Plan Page.

Take care, stay well, and be safe until we meet again.

Sharon

The Best Present

The best present in the world

Can't be bought in the mall.

The best present in the world

Can't be bought like some bugs.

The best present in the world

Isn't a bike or ball.

The best present in the world

Is simply one of your hugs!

~Mandel

WEEK THREE

Our trip "Around the World" continues this week to Vietnam.

Germany was a fun country to explore. We learned about their castles, music, and Christmas traditions. Several of their customs have been carried on in America and in parts of Europe like the Christmas Tree, wreaths, advent calendars, and carved nutcrackers.

This last week of our trips brings us to Vietnam and the celebrations of Chinese New Year. This observance is as different from Hanukkah and Christmas, as Russia and Germany are from the heat, terrain, and culture of this Asian land. Please check out the Unit Newsletter Page to read what some of our activities will be.

This last week, before Winter Break which begins on Monday, December 20, will end on Wednesday, December 15, since staff has a Professional Development Day on Thursday. So, because of that, there will not be classes on Thursday, December 16.

See you soon,

Sharon

WEEK TWO

We have said "Goodbye" to Russia, and will arrive in Germany tomorrow for our second country in this fun and interesting "Around the World" unit!

Please check out the Unit Newsletter Page to find out some of what we will be doing during this week.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Take care, and see you soon!

Sharon :)

Welcome Back!

I hope that your Thanksgiving break and holiday brought memories of those people, opportunities, and things in your daily lives that you are grateful for.

It was so nice to meet with some of you at Parent/Teacher Conferences. Thank you for your time and feedback.

We really enjoyed our "Fall Unit", and have, now, segued to the new unit for the next three weeks...."Around the World"!

On the Unit Newsletter Page, you will find what countries and holidays we will be visiting, learning about, and the activities that will encourage, inspire, and teach development skills and opportunities.

The headers above list the important dates that will take us to after Winter Break. Please be sure to remind yourself of those school closures.

This is a special and busy time of year. Please take care of yourselves so that you can enjoy every moment.

Sharon

When the leaves are on the ground instead of in the trees,

I like to make a pile of them way up to my knees.

I like to run and jump in them

And kick them all around.

I like the prickly feel of them

And the crickly crackly sound.

Like our most recent story, "We All Go Traveling By", our little eyes have also spied the gradual tinting of leaves, and the chilliness of these new Autumn days.

We really enjoyed our Transportation Unit and are looking forward to all things Fall. Lots of good creativity, number sense, and movement filled our days in conjunction with how community helpers serve through care, safety, help and intervention.

The Fall Unit is such a colorful, texture, and sensory filled one! This time of harvest, weather change, the fruition of Summer, and preparation for Winter yields so many opportunities for learning and adaptation.

Please make sure to read the unit newsletter to find out some of the learning fun we will be enjoying. I will have a Fall Unit Wish List posted on the sign in/sign out table on Monday for pumpkin donations, candy corn, and Indian Corn. If you are able and would like to help, these extras on what we already have would be appreciated. They will be due on our first day back from Fall Break.

As I mentioned in the email, cooler days are upon us and definitely will be once we return from Fall Break.

Some of our students are really struggling, and some completely unaware as to how to put on their labeled sweaters, jackets, or the hooded sweat jackets they have worn to school recently.

These items are on the frontlines of what is to come when Winter makes it necessary to have heavier coats. They are also a precursor to other protective clothing like mittens and hats to figure out and keep track of.

Fall Break is a great opportunity to take the time to teach this developmentally appropriate skill and for them to fully become comfortable with the strength, spatial awareness, and fine motor dexterity that it requires.

Besides the Preschool Flip link that I included in the email, some may find it easier to put their hood on first, then insert their arms before zipping up. This approach gives the same impression as someone holding it for them as they reach behind into the arm holes. We have demonstrated these two approaches for those who were having difficulty. Taking the coat off is also a bit frustrating for some since they don't know how to pull their arm out successfully.

As always, we are an "any kind of nut free" preschool. Some of those foods, that may not appear as having nut concerns, are M&M's, packaged crackers, some butters, and bars. Please take care in checking on their wrappers. Anything manufactured with nuts are also included in this ban.

Also, please be sure that your child's small snack is inside of a bag or container that is labeled with their name. This includes their water bottle or other drink. All foods and drinks need to be easily accessible for them to open on their own.

Speaking of food, at the end of this unit we will celebrate by taste testing pumpkin pie and apple juice or cider. If you would rather your child didn't partake, please let me know.

Take care,

Sharon :)

Change out for the next unit is complete, and we are ready to celebrate our community helpers!!!

Please check out the Unit Newsletter and Lesson Plan pages to get an idea of all that we'll be enjoying and learning over the next four weeks!

There isn't much new news to report or information to let you know about.

Everyone is really coming along with the routine, social expectations, and classroom cues. Most of all, they are using their smiles more and more while getting to understand their peers as friends, personalities, and people.

Thank you for your smiles, too. We so appreciate your excitement, kindness and care as you drop off and pick up each day.

Some of our logistics still need a few reminders like

• • Less snack amounts and prior breakfast/lunch inclusions each day. Some are having trouble opening and/or finishing their snacks or containers, and some are announcing before snack time that they are hungry.

  • Arriving on time for drop off or pick up. I know situations happen. Thanks in advance.

  • Please check your folders if you haven't been doing so.

  • As always, if it is important to you, it's important to us. Please never hesitate to share a concern, question, comment or compliment. The classroom phone number is 303.387.8147 and you have my email and that of everyone who interacts with your child throughout the week.

That's it for now!!! Have a great weekend. The weather looks to be a winner for today and tomorrow.

Take care, stay well, and be safe.

Sharon

We have had a fast first two weeks of preschool so far!! A lot has happened that has included a tornado "shelter in place" for our PM class and a mask mandate for all! Talk about a true whirlwind!!! You've handled it so well!

Thank you for sticking with us as your child returned to their familiar classroom, started brand new with us, and

learning a new daily schedule with pick up and drop offs.

We appreciate your patience, flexibility, smiles, and most of all your trust as we begin this new year of learning together.

These next two weeks are going to transition a bit from learning about school to learning about ourselves and each other. This "All About Me" unit is always so fun and gives all of us a chance to get to know everyone better.

While learning about our preschool family, we, also, want to learn about each preschooler's family. To do that, I will need you to supply, in a labeled ziploc bag, four (4) photos of your child's family members. Every family is different, so I leave the selection up to you. Please, however, label, on the back of the photos, who their special people are.

Please bring them in this week. As soon as I receive your family's photos in a labeled ziploc bag, your child and I will work on the collage that will be posted in our Library Center and will remain there all year long to be seen, talked about, and proudly shared by your preschooler.

Reminders include:

• • Start and end times are 8:35-11:20 a.m. for the morning class and 12:45 p.m.-3:25 p.m. for the afternoon class

  • Label ALL snack bags, containers, and drinks. Every snack needs to be in something besides and, in addition to, its original packaging. Having them in a labeled container alleviates other hands touching your child's fruit, bar, factory manufactured bag of snacks, etc. As always, every yummy food that you send should be easily accessed by your child, as well as, the sack, snack bag, or container you have put it in.

  • I have put a release form that was sent out to you by the Early Childhood Center prior to the school year that identifies certain criteria from the Parent Handbook. It just requires your signature to be returned to me for your child's file. If there isn't one in your folder, that means that you have already brought it in.

  • Just in case you need it again, our classroom phone number is 303.387.8147.

I just want to put a shout out to our families whose children have had runny noses and coughs. Thank you so much for being proactive in keeping your child home until all symptoms are gone even though fevers were not an issue. It is amazing how much healthier everyone is when we are catching those first "bugs" quickly and isolating them so that they don't spread. It helps those that are affected to rest and recover quickly, and aids in others not coming down with it at all. Thank you, again!

Many thanks for the items many of you have brought in for our classroom's use. Those things that we go through so quickly like paper towels, tissues, hand soap, glue sticks, flour, markers, and watercolors are really appreciated, as is your generosity and thoughtfulness from our Wish List.

I think that that is about it. The weekend is almost over. Take care, stay well, be safe, and enjoy your time together!

Sharon

Welcome to Cherokee Preschool "C"!!!

This website is your "go-to" for classroom news, business, and information.

Whenever there is a change to the website, I will alert you via email to check its link. This form of communication is quick and "green". Keeping you informed about your child's experience and including you in it is my top priority.

Please be sure to always check this Home Page for news, the Unit Newsletter for a description of how our focus will be implemented within centers and circles, and the Lesson Plan for concepts planned for that learning.

Always feel free to ask a question, offer a comment, or share a concern with me or staff it pertains to and whose email addresses are listed in the Welcome Letter that I sent to you.

Thank you, again, for entrusting your sweet ones to us. We take this privilege very seriously.

Looking forward to lots of fun and learning this year!!

Take care,

Sharon

DCSD Preschool

• • Our 70 Preschool classrooms are located in DCSD buildings throughout the school district.

Tuition is:

• • Two day week: $170 per month (half day sessions)

  • Four days week: $340 per month (half day session, M-Th)

  • Registration Fee (non refundable): $100 (due at the time of acceptance)

  • For families who are interested in tuition assistance (CPP - Colorado Preschool Program), complete the first step of the Preschool Registration process, which is an online form. Within the online form, indicate that interest. This does NOT commit you to preschool registration, should your child not qualify for tuition assistance.

  • Preschool classrooms are located in DCSD buildings throughout the school district. Start and end times vary according to school of attendance.