Nursery A

Dear Families,

Happy Sunday and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! We hope you had a wonderful weekend. We look forward to seeing you this Thursday, December 18 at 8:45 for our Celebration of Learning! Additionally, please note that this Friday, December 19 is a half day for all students. Dismissal is at noon and there will be no lunch or after school. If you plan to travel before the last day of school, please let us know.

Last week we:

• continued our letter of the week unit by learning about the letter I. Students thought of 18 words for our list and voted to decorate the large I with ice cream. 

• began to learn about the Winter Solstice!

• continued to make candles to celebrate the winter season.

• began making holiday wreaths using natural materials found on our trips to the park.

• did some movement and learned about personal space.

• welcomed Rafa’s family into the classroom for his Family Share and to celebrate his birthday! They read The Littlest Christmas Tree by R.A. Herman and brought foam trees for each student to decorate.

• welcomed Henry M’s family into the classroom for his Family Share! They shared about their tradition of celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas.

• welcomed Zane’s family into the classroom for his Family Share! They read Zane-icorn and brought ceramic unicorn piggy banks for everyone to paint.

This week we will:

• continue our letter of the week unit by learning about the letter J.

• continue to learn about the Winter Solstice.

• welcome Bryson’s family into the classroom to celebrate his birthday!

• welcome Quinn’s family into the classroom for her Family Share and to celebrate her birthday!

• welcome everyone into the classroom on Thursday morning for our Celebration of Learning!

• participate in the Lower School Parranda on Friday morning.

We are excited to continue welcoming each family into the classroom for Family Shares. These visits are 20-30 minutes long and often families talk about a family tradition or favorite family activity, show pictures, and read a story. You are also welcome to lead an activity if you would like. Our available times this year are 9:05-9:30 and 10:45-11:30. If you have not done so, please sign up for a date/time here.

Throughout the year we find it important and necessary to celebrate the different holidays and cultures in our school and classroom community. We would like to extend a special invitation for you to join us in teaching and celebrating a holiday that may be special to your family. Please let us know if you would like to come in and share about a specific holiday that is important to you.

As the temperature drops and we require more layers to go outside, we appreciate your support in helping your student be independent and confident in getting ready for outdoor play.

This includes:

• fixing sleeves that may be inside out.

• putting on their jacket. We have taught them the flip method (have them show you at home!).

• zipping up their jackets. We have taught them to "put the rectangle into the hole (of the zipper) and make sure it goes all the way into the square"

• putting on their hat and mittens/gloves (with potential adult assistance for gloves).

Don’t forget to send in a blanket, crib sheet, and/or small stuffed animal that your student can use for rest time. Additionally, If you have not done so already, please make sure your student has weather appropriate extra clothing in their cubby. 

Please make sure you update your student's dismissal plans each day through the PickUp Patrol App.

Click here to access a list of the Lower School events for the year. We would love to have you volunteer at one or more events over the year. You can learn about the opportunities here, register for school-wide events here, and sign up for Lower School specific events here.

Looking ahead to the rest of December:

• Our Celebration of Learning will be this Thursday, December 18 from 8:45-10. We are excited to welcome you all into the classroom to celebrate what we have been learning about and working on over the first few months of school!

• The Winter Lost and Found Recovery Day will be this Friday, December 19.

• There is a half day for all students this Friday, December 19. Please note that no lunch will be served and dismissal will be at 12.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out. We hope you have a wonderful end to your weekend! 

Warmly,

Katherine and Aliyah