October 2011
It’s hard to believe we’ve already had a month of school. All the children have been settling into the routine, exploring the classroom, and making new friends. We’ve been working hard to learn names and what to do at clean-up time!
We’ve been lucky with the weather so far and have made it outside most days. Please prepare your
child for any weather. Boots are a great asset for the children who have been enjoying digging and driving trucks through the mud, and mittens will become important as the weather cools. When we can’t get outside due to weather and end the day upstairs dancing, please try to gather your child’s belongings and meet us upstairs. It helps eliminate congestion on the stairs, making it safer for everyone.
Don’t miss the first parent committee meeting of the year – Tuesday, October 4th at 6:30 pm. It’s a good way to meet other parents, hear about what’s happening, and have input about the program. Feel free to bring your children – we’re usually done by 7:30.
Remember, there’s no school on Friday, October 7th and Monday, October 10th
for Columbus Day weekend. Hopefully we’ll have wonderful weather for the long weekend!
Fundraising: We’ll be starting our first fundraiser of the year soon. Watch your cubby for the fall bulb order form. This is an easy (and beautiful) fundraiser for TCNS. Just share the order form with friends and families. TCNS receives half of the money collected. Orders
will be due after the Columbus weekend.
Fieldtrips: The MWF class will take a trip to the Cornell Orchards on October 5th. We’ll meet at the orchard at 9:30 and pickup at noon. On Halloween children are invited to wear their costumes to school and we’ll have a parade to Juniper Manor. The residents will share snack with us, and
we’ll walk back to TCNS for outdoor play. We’d like to arrange a walking fieldtrip for the TTh class this month as well. Watch for more information to come.
October Activities: This month we’ll start classroom jobs. Each day some children will help teachers with some important activities. Check the sign-in to see what job your child will be doing! Our themes this month will be apples, fire safety, pumpkins and Halloween. We’ll start the month by reading The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall. We’ll talk about apples, do a taste test, cut our own apple, make a fall tree collage, and make applesauce. Next we’ll read Dot the Fire Dog by Lisa Desimini. We’ll have a practice fire drill, made fire trucks, and do saran wrap art. At the end of the month we’ll read another book by Zoe Hall, It’s Pumpkin Time and The Little Old Lady Who
Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. We’ll talk about the life cycle of a pumpkin, make a paper jack-o’lantern, make pumpkin muffins and masks.
Terrific Twos: The Twos are off to a great start! The children are busy exploring the classroom and becomingfamiliar with their teachers and classmates. They’re learning to sing
new songs and to sit quietly in our circle for storytime. In the month of October, we’ll be talking about apples, fire safety, caterpillars, pumpkins, bats, and, of course, Halloween! Our books will
include Autumn is for Apples by Michelle Knudsen, Going to the Firehouse by Mercer Mayer, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and It’s Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall. We’ll do projects like apple prints, building a firetruck and caterpillar, making our own fireman’s hat, and creating jack o’ lanterns. We’ll explore new textures in our sensory table and learn some fun seasonal songs, too. Starting this month, we’ll assign our parent helpers to bring in a fruit or veggie for snack on either Tuesday or Thursday, but both helpers should continue to come in at 11:00 on Thursday to help clean. If you haven’t yet, please bring in a family photo for our bulletin board. The children enjoy seeing and sharing their family with the class.
Fall is a colorful season,
Fall is a colorful season,
Fall is a colorful season,
When the leaves fall down!
Trumansburg Community Nursery School 