Idea Transcript
Desert Dawn Newsletter March 2011 The coming of spring brings with it new growth. We see this in nature and we also notice it in our children. It gives us great joy to watch them grow and progress. With the lovely spring weather the children have enjoyed many outdoor activities. They love working in the garden, where they learn hands on about plants and the life cycle. Gardening is also a wonderful activity to enjoy with your child at home. The beautiful green grass carpet of our play yard provided the perfect setting for our annual Family Picnic, Art Walk, and Silent Auction held on March 19. Those who came enjoyed a perfect sunny day and a good time for the entire family. We are very thankful to all of the parents and teachers who worked so hard to put the event together. We also thank the generous donors of our silent auction baskets and everyone who came and contributed to this fund raiser. Your support is greatly appreciated. Our next event will be the Spring Party and Egg Hunt to be held on Thursday, April 21. Watch for the upcoming sign up sheet if you would like to participate. We are happy to announce that the Desert Dawn has purchased two baby Nigerian Pygmy goats. They should be old enough to leave their mommy goat and come to live at Desert Dawn around Easter time. Art and Music Many of the art projects were focused around preparation for the Art Walk. We were very impressed by the work of our young artists and know that those of you who purchased their work will enjoy it for years to come. Group art projects teach the children many lessons about working together to produce a harmonious outcome in addition to adding to their knowledge of art principles. The children painted on stretched canvas and learned to combine materials in collage. The children will be working on many spring projects in the coming weeks. In music class the children have been singing songs about insects and the weather. They are learning new spring songs and using puppets to act them out. St. Patrick’s Day songs were a fun change for the singers. They love playing the new set of hand-made Chinese instruments that were donated by the Milhorn family. These coconut and leather drums and bamboo and wooden carved sticks and frogs make wonderful melodious sounds that the children love to hear. Sign Language In addition to the French classes offered at Desert Dawn, the students are also learning American Sign Language. They love participating and are picking it up quickly. Already having learned colors and animals, they are continuing to perfect alphabet and finger spelling. They will next focus on a food unit and enjoy popcorn and ice cream parties. Every session includes a review of previously learned vocabulary along with a new lesson. Ask your child to teach you his/her favorite sign. Ponies The Pony group has really been enjoying their work in the spring garden. They have even incorporated it into their math lessons as they count, measure, and plant in patterns. Classroom math activities included number combinations, balance scales, word problems, and graphing. The children continue to work on keywords and journal writing to learn letter sounds and spelling. They also choral read big books and love to act out Frog and Toad stories. The Ponies have a busy afternoon as well, with art projects, literature, letter fun, sign language, and French. The weekly themes have included dental health, spring garden, and Arizona history. Some of their projects were rainbow fish stick puppets, glitter fish, bumble bees, caterpillars, cowboy cactus, and friendship bracelets. The children love to play learning games. Zingo bingo aids with reading and letter recognition. Animal matching, opposite matching, and “I Spy” matching help develop memory and prediction skills.
Goats The Goat group had a good time making crafts for Valentine’s Day during February. Some of their creations included card holders with photos and stickers, sweetheart trees, heart people, and a “Be Mine” painting project. The next holiday to come along was Presidents’ Day. The children read about the President and what he does. They talked about Abraham Lincoln and his famous hat, followed by a game of “What’s in the Hat?” They made Presidents’ Day kites of patriotic colors to fly. The month of March has been a celebration of spring with stories and activities for the season. After hearing Wake Up It’s Spring, the children discussed the changes that happen in spring as they worked to develop listening and oral language skills. The Surprise Garden led to a discussion of what was planted in the school garden. Other favorite spring stories were The Tiny Seed, Seeds Get Around, and The Carrot Seed. Then sunflowers were painted and stems and petals added. Beautiful spring butterflies were also created. In science class the students worked with water and bubbles to find rainbows and make rain with the water. The same hands on approach is applied to math class. The students work with manipulative pieces to make the concepts more visual and easier to understand. The children also enjoy drama, book check out, centers, and outdoor play. Bunnies The young Bunnies have been learning about the plants and creatures that live in the desert. Their related art projects included making a rattlesnake, saguaro cactus, and a desert scene panting. They also took turns painting on canvas as a project for the art auction. The children focused on green for St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks were the first of their creations, followed by St. Patrick’s Day hats. The variable weather cooperated nicely for the children as they learned about different weather conditions. They got to experience warm, cool, and rainy weather first hand. The sunny days inspired them as they made paper suns and ice sun catchers, which they observed melting. Clouds were painted on paper and sunflowers were sponged. The children have also been learning to recognize number shapes and amounts by coloring the shapes and attaching the appropriate number of stickers. Music and movement is one of their favorite activities. They love working in centers, story time, outdoor play, and dress up. Other News Desert Dawn Summer Camp runs from May 30 to August 12. It is a fun filled time with new and exciting themes each week. Children currently enrolled at Desert Dawn are automatically enrolled in Summer Camp. We will have additional openings for the summer. Please refer a friend and receive a $25 tuition credit upon their summer registration. Thank you! Registration is now on for Desert Dawn. We have current openings as well as openings available for the coming year. Refer a friend and receive a $50 tuition credit upon their registration. Thank You A very special thank you to Abby McLennan and Samantha Faraci for all their hard work, help, and organization in coordinating the Silent Auction. Thank you to all parents who donated items for the auction. Thank you to all the families and friends who attended the Silent Auction, Art Walk, and Family Picnic. Your support for this event was greatly appreciated.