April Newsletter: Happy Easter!

April brings Rain, Plants, Spring and Easter.  This month we will talk about Earth changes, and how Plants, Animals and People change in the spring.  We will learn our last 2 letters in our Alphabet Jive: Y and Z and we will continue on with learning the alphabet in sign language. This month we will be learning new songs to go with our Alphabet letters.  I will also be introducing ABC formation poems which help children learn how to write the letters.  We have recently started learning how to use scissors(children over 3)  These are super Tricky!!! We will practice snipping scrap paper for awhile before we graduate to straight lines. :)  Last month we began our Name recognition program and the kids are doing a great job learning to sight read both their own names and those of their friends.  Later in April I will add surnames.  We have now learned the numbers 0-9 in our number formation poems and have been practicing counting to 30 on our Calendar.  We will continue to practice the months of the year with our birthday game at circle time. 
  Circle time has been amazing.......your kids have incredible minds and I have been absolutely astonished at how they remember all the songs, letter sounds and number poems! I am so happy that they are so tuned in and are enjoying learning.  I am super excited to find out how the babies and toddlers receive this program.  They are obviously enjoying circle time.........one little one definitely knows the sound of Aa!! As time goes by and they begin speaking more and more I am sure they will let me know!
   Easter is coming up really quickly!  I will be open Good Friday(April 6) and will be Closed April 9th for Easter Monday.  If you are wanting to bring goodies to share with the children, we have 9 Children enrolled as of the beginning of April.  Monday or Tuesday April 2, 3 would be the best days to drop them off, making it possible for me to distribute them on each child's last day before Easter.  There is absolutely no obligation!

    Thank you so much for sharing your little gems with me and I hope you all have a fun Easter!

Spring is Coming!!

March is here and I am so excited about spring coming! I am really looking forward to the weather warming up and spending more time outside in the back yard!  We got our new swing set and climber set up last weekend and it has been really fun watching the kids play on it this week :)  Many thanks to one of my daycare families for bringing this to us!!  I know that the kids at Judy's Little Gems will enjoy this for years to come!!! 

Our Themes this month are Spring and St. Patrick's Day.  We will discuss seasonal changes and growth in plants, animals and ourselves.  Our Preschool learning themes will be Alphabet letters A thru X in our Alphabet Jive, Numbers 0-9 in number poems, and Counting: 0-20.  This month we are starting name recognition.  The children will learn to sight read their own names and the names of the others in our group.  Later I will add Last names, Addresses and Phone Numbers.  Last month we started the birthday song, a fun way to learn the months of the year.

It has been really lovely to watch friendships blossom over the last couple of months.  I think the children are really enjoying the routine and each other!  With spring approaching quickly, I am so thankful to witness the new growth of beautiful spring flowers and the amazing growth and changes in your beautiful children!!
Many thanks and best wishes for a wonderful spring!