Toddler April Newsletter

baby animals

Hello Toddler Families,

March was such a wonderful explosion of color in our classroom! It felt like the perfect lead-in to the magic of spring and all its new life, which brings us into our theme for this April: baby animals. Over the week, we slowly started phasing out our color works and replacing them with farm families, life cycles, and the like..

We also gave our Train Table a farm makeover and have been setting up little Invitations to Play for the toddlers to discover when they enter the space. These fun setups encourage creative, non-directive play that encourages open-ended exploration and imagination. Plus, they're quite fun for teachers too and remind us to keep in touch with our inner child.

We will be spending the month working on our classroom project - a large canvas print with layered paper. The toddlers sure love adding their own personal pieces of paper, and a group project setting allows for great social-emotional skills such as turn taking and sharing to emerge. So much fun!

Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

Classroom Reminders…

• Please continue bringing your child’s warm coat throughout the month.

• As spring approaches this means more rain out on the playground! Do ensure that your tot has all their rain gear (boots, rain pants, rain coat) each day.

Happy Birthday

No toddler birthday's this month

South Preschool April Newsletter

weather, frogs, rainbows

Welcome South Preschool Families to April, where teachers have transformed the classroom to focus on some fun & exciting spring topics -the weather, frogs, and rainbows. Preschoolers sure do love talking about the weather, and because it changes so often it is such a fascinating thing to learn about. We plan on singing our “What’s the Weather” song each day while we learn about the different types of weather. Rainbows, colorful arches, are another South Preschool favorite- so we will also cover how rainbows are made as well as the colors of the rainbow (p.s. there are 7 different colors in a rainbow, can you name them all?)

We also can’t cover spring without mentioning another one of our favorite amphibians - frogs! did you know frogs can jump up to 20 times their own size? Such high jumping! We will be practicing our very own frog jumps all month long out on our playground, as well as learning about the parts of the frog and the different types of frogs!

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Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

Classroom notes:

• Spring is here! With the new season comes sunnier weather & the need for preschoolers to be wearing sunscreen. We will be sending out sunscreen forms later this month so keep an eye out for them!

Happy Birthday!

April 8th: Jack G

North Preschool April Newsletter

north pre 1: rainbows, weather & butterflies

north pre 2: Earth, recycling, Earth Day, and worms

North Pre 1 & North Pre 2 Families,

Welcome to April in North Pre 1 where we will learn all about rainbows, weather & butterflies! A rainbow has 7 different colors - can you name them all? North Pre 1 kids sure can! Some other things we will cover this month include what rainbows are and how they are made, plus we will cover different types of weather. Another fun spring topic we don’t want to miss out on is learning all about butterflies. Preschoolers are especially interested in learning about the parts of the butterfly and the different types of butterflies. What fun and interesting spring topics!

North Pre 2 Families,

Happy April! Because Earth Day happens in April, our class thought it only fitting that we learn all about the Earth this month. Our topics will include Earth Day, recycling, and worms! Here are some specific things that we plan on learning over the course of the month:

• continents of the Earth

• importance of taking care of our Earth

• reduce, reuse, recycle & compost

• parts of the worm

• why worms are good for the soil

Our preschoolers are so excited to learn all that they can about taking care of our Earth!

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Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

CLASSROOM NOTES…

• Spring is here! With the new season comes sunnier weather & the need for preschoolers to be wearing sunscreen. We will be sending out sunscreen forms later this month so keep an eye out for them!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

April 14th: Cruz P

Infant April Newsletter

Farm Animals

Happy April, Families! Some of our infant’s favorite songs have to do with farm animals- “Old McDonald” “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “The Animals on the Farm” are on daily rotation in our classroom. Because of this, we thought it only fitting to set up a farm animal themed classroom this month! Our classroom work will incorporate farm animals in fun ways- from a sensory bin filled with animals and hay, books about farms, animals with a wooden barn, and more! We also have a couple of open-ended art projects planned that will be so much fun for the infants to complete. Open-ended art in the infant room is art projects that can be completed in a variety of ways and it is all about the process of making and creating rather than finishing something. This helps to benefit an infant's creativity, independence, and motor skills.

Some classroom news- starting next Thursday Miss Tashi will be taking a couple months off to visit with her family. Ms. Sarah from preschool will be filling in until Tashi returns. Sarah has had infant experience in the past and is so excited to work with infants again.

Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

Classroom reminder…

• We are so excited for the sunny days of spring to come! Please begin bringing in your child’s sun hat and sunscreen, if you have not already.

Happy Birthday

April 13: Beatrix F

Head of School Newsletter: April 2021

PFM Families,

This April sure is a far-cry from last April and we are so thankful that is the case! Most of us teachers have all completed our vaccinations and are so happy to see some light at the end of this tunnel. Like you all, we cannot wait to travel, see friends and family and get back to more normalcy. Thank you all for keeping us safe this last year and for caring so much for our school community.

We are happy to welcome Lihai’s sister, Mei into our infant room! She is already fitting right in and making friends. Adeline begins in the toddler room in mid-April as well as her older sister, Irene, in South Pre. Our online learners Alex & Eddie have moved back to their schools and are no longer attending PFM. It was fun to have them here but we are excited for them to join their schools again – they will do great!

I am in the final stages of completing the 2021-2022 school calendar. Thank you for your patience on this. It should be ready to share by midweek next week. We are all waiting on pins and needles for travel restrictions to improve and promise to keep you posted along the way. Go away quarantine – we need to travel!

Looking forward to a great month ahead.

Teddi Blades

Director & Owner, PFM

South Preschool March Newsletter

England and Ireland

Welcome South Preschool Families to March, where teachers have transformed the classroom to focus on two very special geographic locations - England and Ireland. Both countries are geographically close to one another and have similar flora, fauna, customs, and even food! Our classroom will be filled with items like maps, puzzles, a castle playset, and even teapots that make learning about both countries very special.

Each child will have their very own sensory bin filled with rice, colorful squishy beans, and a teapot, cup, and spoon! Our preschoolers are so creative and have been enjoying “drinking” (read: pretending to drink) not only tea, but coffee and even ice cream among other creations! it is amazing to see them enjoy working with their own sensory bins in such fun and creative ways!

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Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

Classroom notes:

• Each Friday your child’s teacher will send their water bottle, nap mat, and art home!

Happy Birthday!

March 16th: Cameron

North Preschool March Newsletter

north pre 1: frogs

north pre 2: rainbows, weather & musical instruments

North Pre 1 & North Pre 2 Families,

Happy March! Did you know that frogs absorb water through their skin so they don't need to drink? North Preschool 1 students do! We are so excited to announce our NP! theme of this month - frogs! It is nice to focus on a specific animal because 1) preschoolers LOVE frogs, and 2) with a specific focus we are able to go in-depth to learn all things frog! Some of the things we plan on learning about this month are the differences between frogs and toads, the song "Five Green and Speckled Frogs," how to complete the frog puzzle in our classroom, and counting and letters with lily pads! All preschools have new “swamp” sensory bins full of green rice, frogs, flies, and plants. So fun!

North Pre 2 Families,

Welcome to March in North Pre 2 where we will learn all about rainbows, weather & musical instruments! A rainbow is a multicolored arc in the sky which appears when sunlight hits water droplets. How does the sky get its color? Where does rain come from? Why does rain make sound? Preschoolers sure do ask great questions! This month in our classroom we plan to learn all we can about rainbows, the weather, and musical instruments!

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Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

CLASSROOM NOTES…

• Spring is just around the corner, and with that comes rain. Please ensure you are bringing your child’s rain gear (coat, boots, pants) each day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

No March Birthdays

Toddler March Newsletter

Colors

Hello Toddler Families,

This month we've entered an explosion of color as we study rainbows. In addition to identifying and mixing colors, the work in the classroom will reflect their shape and quality of light by including many arches, curves, and transparent objects.

Over on our practical life shelf, we have lots of color matching work, starting with the 3 primary colors and adding secondary colors as we move down the shelf. This month, our puzzle shelf adds a little fine motor challenge with the addition of both a latch and magnet board. Our art shelf includes open ended materials with vibrant colors for the children to explore their creativity. The toddlers even helped us dye the pasta by pouring vinegar and food coloring into a ziploc of noodles and shaking it around! We did this over several days and finally assembled their sensory bins yesterday, adding scoops and cups for exploring :)

We kept the trains out for our train table since the children are still using them in such engaging ways, but we added a few supplementary items to extend their thinking. Rainbows took over our music shelf too! Lastly, our sensory shelf is full of colorful items with a heavy emphasis on transparency, for use on or off the Light Table. Even our playground went technicolor with the addition of pyramid blocks, waffle blocks, colored frogs with corresponding pads, and Squiggz.

Such a fun and colorful month we have planned in the toddler classroom!

Important Dates to Remember:

N/A

Classroom Reminders…

• Please continue bringing your child’s warm coat throughout the month.

• As spring approaches this means more rain out on the playground! Do ensure that your tot has all their rain gear (boots, rain pants, rain coat) each day.

Happy Birthday

No toddler birthday's this month