STAGES CHILDCARE CENTER

Center Newsletter

Will the groundhog see his shadow? Unfortunately I think we all know either way, Winter is here for awhile still. Hopefully the arctic temperatures will be long gone though. With that in mind please make sure that your child has hats and gloves just in case it does warm up enough for the classes to enjoy some outdoor time.

Year end tax statements are available. If you requested one and have not received it yet, please let me know so we can get that to you. On Monday, February 17th we will be closed for our Teacher In-Service training. Please plan on making alternative arrangements for care that day since we will not be operating that day.

Did you know that February is Library Lover’s month? What a great time to celebrate the love of reading with your children! Some fun activities might include; Library Bingo (played just like regular Bingo using library related words), making fun and fanciful bookmarks, create a new cover for one of your families favorite stories, or you can even use Alpha-bits cereal to illustrate the story Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom.

I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to:
Chloe C. 2/2
Linnaea F. 2/9
Miss Corrin 2/14
Miss Julie 2/17

Some other fun days this month are; National Green Day, National Gumdrop Day and Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Keep an eye open for those days posted on the parent board along with many others.

I would like to thank all the staff and families of Stages Strongsville for making me feel so welcome! I am really excited to be here and look forward to continuing the great things that are going on for kids and to add to your experiences also!

Have a great month!!

Infant Newsletter

Happy February! Heart Day is coming very soon and we hope everybody has a happy, healthy heart to start this new year with. Our babies continue to grow and sometimes it seems like they are growing too fast even. It’s amazing to watch how each one is developing. Colin is always on the move and likes to wait for the door to open so he can try to explore the hallway. Zoey will stand by the door and wait for it to open so she can blow kisses to every visitor. Dan loves to sit up in the Bumbo chair and watch all the action going on. Dan also is talking up a storm lately. David enjoys playing playing with the balls by throwing them and chasing them as he yells, maybe he’s cheering himself on! Linny is officially taking a few sips all on her own and will be walking before we all know it.

Last month we made some fun and fabulous snowflakes to warm up our days. This month we will be creating some colorful “heartwork”, An activity that may be fun for your babies is collecting snow into different cups then adding food coloring. You and your child can watch as the color changes and spreads into the snow. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore while using the sense of touch and a chance to bring the outdoors in!

Have a great month!!

Toddler 1 Newsletter

We hope everyone had a safe and fun Holiday Season and that 2014 is off to a good start! What a busy month our class just had. We made lots of wonderful artwork like Santas, wreaths, reindeer and snowflakes. We were focused on the holidays and the cold weather we’ve been having. Emma is chatting more and more. Gavin just loves throwing and kicking balls. Braeden enjoys listening to story time in circle. Reicher shows interest in big vehicles like the school buses and garbage trucks we see driving outside our window each day. We welcomed back Tilly in January and observed that she loves to help Miss Cathy clean up. We enjoyed welcoming Sahana back at the end of last month also. We miss Colin who is at home spending time with his new baby sister, Ivy.

During the month of February we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. We have lots of fun red and heart themed projects coming up. This month we will continue to focus on the weather Winter time brings us and also exploring different shapes.

If you have the opportunity to take time this month to do Valentine crafts or build a snowman at home please share that weith us so we can discuss it in class.

Have a great month!!

Toddler 2 Newsletter

We have been working very hard on our “Valentines” theme in Toddler 2! Our beautiful artwork and festive room are proof of that. We’ve been busy making lots of purple, pink and red themed art. The class had lots of fun when we made pink Cool Whip art- they thought it was pretty tasty too! For the month of February we will continue to focus on our theme of “Love” through art and stories. We will be talking about whom we love and what it means to show someone you love them.

We would like to wish Chloe a very Happy 3rd Birthday who just moved up to the Preschool room. Caleb has been doing great at spelling his name and practicing forming his letters. Misha and Henry have been having a great time playing airplanes together. Kevin really enjoys circle time. He especially likes when we sing songs. Ryan has been enjoying playing in the sensory table. The whole class has been doing a fantastic job at potty training-Keep up the good work boys!

Next month we will be switching to a St.Patricks Day theme. Be sure to stop in the class and check out all our green and rainbow themed art we will be working on.

A fun activity you can try at home is to make “squish bags”. Take a zip top bag and fill it with clear hair gel and food coloring. Reinforce the seams with some masking tape or tape it down to a table. The toddlers will love this fine motor activity!

Have a great month!!

Preschool Newsletter

Hello Parents and families. Can you believe how quickly January went by? It was an exciting month full of learning and exploration. Our theme was “The Human Body”. We discovered that if we pinch our nose while we eat we can’t taste our food. We also learned that we use our five sense everyday. We conducted experiments, created self portraits and learned about “us” in the process.

Cole showed the class how clever he is. He counted all his fingers as well as all his toes. Well done Cole!

February will be a month of exploring emotions. We are going to continue with new weekly treasure hunts involving numbers, letters, colors and shapes. During this theme of emotions we will focus on how we feel and why. We will also learn how we can influence how others feel.

I want to thank everyone for helping with your child’s treasure hunting. I hope this is sparking interesting conversations and explorations at home also!

Have a great month!!

Pre-K Newsletter

I hope everyone has been enjoying 2014 so far! I know the PreK class sure has. We may have been stuck inside with the cold but we have made the best of it. We were finally able to go outside a couple days last month. The kids had an absolute blast in the fresh air. The had fun going down the slide, running around in the snow, building snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other. Even though we enjoy playing in the snow, we are eager for it to warm up so we can get outside everyday!

The month of January flew by. We spent most of the month focused on the winter season, animals that live in the winter and how they survive the harsh weather. We also discussed hibernation and made our own caves. We had so much fun using blankets and sheets to create the caves. The class thought the activity was so cool! We did a lot of really fun, hands-on art projects as well. We made snowmen using all different kinds of materials. We practiced cutting out and tracing circles to make the snowmen’s bodies. They are hanging up in the classroom so be sure to check them out! We also talked about what our favorite thing about winter is. Sylvia said making snowmen. Kamden told us if he were a snowman, he would eat hot chocolate.

The kids had a chance to play with snow inside the classroom. We even put paint and paintbrushes in the snow to make it change colors. Another great addition to the sensory table was ice! The class enjoyed seeing the ice melt and turn into water. Our “Winter Wonderland” theme sure was tons of fun!

For the month of February our focus will be on “The Human Body”, “Health and Nutrition” and finally a week on “Love”. We will learn all about our bodies and how they operate. We will also learn what it means to be healthy and what foods we should and shouldn’t eat.
A great activity to do at home during the cold months is family art time. You can make snowmen like we did by using materials you find around the house to create them. Get everyone involved and make a whole snowman family!

Have a great month!!