Notes from the Director
with Lexy Martinez
Well, we’re officially halfway through winter! With a few snow days and, unfortunately, more COVID closures it’s hard to say whether time is moving really quickly or at a snail’s pace. We know how hard it can be for families when school closes unexpectedly, especially when it’s for several days at a time. Thank you for bearing with us as we continue to navigate what feels like ever-changing terrain.
This month’s theme is Love. We could learn a thing or two from our children about love. They love unconditionally, form deep relationships, are advocates for fairness and are compassionate feelers of all sorts of feelings. This month is all about showing love in a wide range of forms: through art and play, through connecting with others, through books, and even through snacks! How does your family show each other love? How does your child define love? Show love this month by taking time to create and play with your child, or even by sitting back and observing in awe how their imagination works.
Pre-K Program
with Jen Bailey & Morgan Landry
Last month, we started a new weekly rhythm. For example, for “work”, Mondays and Thursdays are dedicated to Math & Science, Tuesdays and Thursdays for Letters (ie. alphabet & handwriting) and Wednesdays are for Kindness & Connectivity. Kindness & Connectivity is a time where we focus on social and emotional ideas like understanding feelings, showing empathy toward others, introducing body boundaries and developing calming skills. This is a really important addition to our curriculum and one that the students have been really engaged in.
Although we didn’t have many days together, we managed to get some solid practice with the letters G and S and do a few fun math activities that involved counting and sorting. Of course, we always make time to create! This month we made many beautiful works of art, such as tin foil donuts and dreamy watercolors.
Miss Melissa read No Two Alike, a story that followed a pair of birds on a snowflake-filled journey to explore how everything (and everyone) is unique–from branches and leaves to friends and loved ones. We loved how this book celebrates our individuality, but also what we have in common. Miss Chloe taught us all about hibernation. After reading a book, the class made groundhog puppets and played a fun, movement-filled game where they either pretended to hibernate or collected food based on which animal Miss Chloe called out.
Infant/Toddler Program
with Lindsey Govoni & Ginny Drew
We spent January learning about all things winter! We’ve been exploring the color and various textures in our snowy sensory bin, during outdoor play and through many fun winter-themed art projects. One of our favorites was reading The Mitten and stuffing mittens with small animal figures to see how many we could fit inside. It was a great way to practice counting and learn animal names.
We also worked on matching mittens and putting mittens on independently! Taking the time to teach your child something as simple as putting on their own mittens (or socks or pants, etc.) can help them (and you) in several different ways. Children build their frustration tolerance as they practice a new skill and they build their self-esteem as they master that skill. Best of all, once they’ve got it down, this is one more thing they are able to do on their own (read: one less thing you have to do for them). It’s a win-win! Check out this link to the Mitten Song, great to sing whenever you’re headed out the door: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdZ2Y4J4o2w
Roses are Red….the IPS Flower Sale is Back!
We are bringing back our Valentine’s Day flower sale at the Island Market this year from Friday 2/11 to Monday 2/14. All proceeds will go to support the Preschool, specifically in revamping our playground. Much appreciation to the Island Market for donating all of the flowers–we can’t thank you enough for your generosity! More details to follow.
In the meantime, we need volunteers at the Island Market during the lunch rush and end of day to promote sales and help people find the perfect bouquet! Get in touch with Natasha Stevens at natasha.sn.stevens@gmail.com if you’re willing and able. Show your love for IPS by spreading the word, volunteering or buying a bouquet!
COVID Resources
Although most children who are old enough to mask bring their own or use our stash from the Sewing Circle, we recently ordered child-sized KN-95s for students to use at school and will be offering those once they arrive. In case you choose to continue using cloth masks at school (or elsewhere) please consider checking them for their effectiveness: just go outside and see how far your breath travels through your mask. If it’s further than an inch or so, that’s a good sign it’s time to replace it.
If you wish to order free home COVID tests, just sign up here: https://www.accesscovidtests.org/. At this time, tests are still available through the Health Center and we will try to keep some on hand at the Preschool, so please let us know if you are in need.
Wish List
If you recently freshened up your sled collection and have one in good condition to spare, please consider donating to us! The kids also really like playing with plastic milk crates in the snow, if you’ve got any of those lying around unused.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2/2: Story Time w/ Miss Melissa (Zoom)
2/9: Nature Time w/ Miss Chloe
2/11-2/14: Valentine’s Day Flower Sale
2/18: Pajama Day & Half Day
(dismissal at 12:30)
2/21-2/25: School closed (February break)