Winter Break

This is a reminder that we will be on winter break starting December 21st, and will return on January 11th.

I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season.

Pre-Registration

Pre-Registration for the 2010-2011 school year will take place earlier than usual. Our Pre-Registration week will be January 25-29, 2010.

There will be more information coming after our winter break. Until then, please begin thinking about whether you want to register for the next school year, and if you will need extended care.

Thank you!

Logan's Candies

Have you ever been to Logan's Candies in Ontario, to watch them make candy canes? If not, you are in for a real treat. They have demonstrations coming up beginning December 17th.

Check out their website for information:

www.loganscandies.com/candydemos.php

P.S. They are the BEST candy canes ever!

Pandora.com

If you have never used Pandora. com, I thought you might be interested in hearing about it. You can go on the website, type in a musical artist or style of music, and they will make you a playlist that will play on your computer. You are allowed 40 hours per month of free music on this website, and after that they only charge you $1.00 for the rest of the month.

Hope you enjoy it!

The Nutcracker at Bridges

The Nutcracker is being presented by the Inland Pacific Ballet at Bridges Auditorium again this holiday season.

The kindergarten and primary classes are going on a field trip to the school performance on Wednesday morning, December 16th.

Some of our former students are in the ballet this year!

Even if your class is not attending this performance, I think it is something your family might enjoy. You can reserve tickets on their website, TheBestNutcracker.com.

They're here!

The play yard will be full of excitement today!

Holiday Gift Ideas

If you are looking for great gift ideas for the holidays, we have the thing for you! We still have some bears, tote bags and notecards. If you know someone who loves The Children's School, they will love one of these gifts. Just come and see me in the office.

Harvest Sale Proceeds

Thanks to all of you, the Harvest Sale was so successful that we are able to purchase some much-needed items for the children. Today I ordered three additional Angeles SilverRider Super Cycles! I also ordered a large equipment cart for the play yard, so we can keep the balls and other toys more organized. In addition, we have purchased paint and other supplies for the classrooms. During this season of thanks we are very grateful to all of you for your generosity in contributing to the success of the Harvest Sale. When all is said and done, it is all about the kids!

Storytime with Mary

We want to give a great big THANK YOU to Mary Fallis, for volunteering her time to read to the children at our school.

When Mary worked at the Stone Center she would come every other Wednesday for storytime. Now, even though she no longer works for the colleges, she makes time to come and read to the children whenever she can.

You are the best, Mary, and we love you!

Those Silly Puppets

The Puppet Show on Tuesday was a great success. All of the children were having a fun time with the silly stories that the puppets were acting out. There was much laughter in the school yard! Many thanks to the Theatre Deparment of CSUSB for bringing their Oh So Silly Animal Stories to The Children's School.

Thanksgiving Feast

It is almost time for our annual Thanksgiving Feast. The Feast will be on Wednesday, November 25, from 11:00-12:00. It will take place in our school yard.

The entire school will participate in this special event. Each cottage is responsible for preparing part of the meal. There are sign-up sheets for food donations in the sign-in areas of each cottage.

All families and friends are welcome to attend this celebration. This will be a minimum day and all students will be dismissed at noon. (No afternoon program that day.) And school will be closed Thursday and Friday of that week for our Thanksgiving holiday.

We hope you all can join us!

Early Childhood News

Here is a link to an interesting website. It has information for parents of infants through age 8.

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/?lnkname=banner&utm_source=newslink&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ecn111309

Oh So Silly Animal Stories

We are having an all-school assembly on Tuesday, November 17th at 10:00 am. It is a Puppet Show called, "Oh So Silly Animal Stories."

This show is presented by the CSUSB Theatre, and promises to be a fun time for all.

I Love my Job

You never know what treasure you may find waiting for you around the next corner.

Many thanks!

Our annual Harvest Time Book Sale was a resounding success! We had great participation in every way - bakers, crafters, gardeners, volunteers that worked at the sale, and of course shoppers.

Many thanks to all of you. Without you, none of this would be possible.

It was a Good Day

The first day of our Harvest Sale was busy and fun. We had a lot of yummy baked goods, healthy produce, children's books and many gift items.

We will be doing it all again tomorrow. Don't forget to come by and do some shopping and/or eating.

Thanks to all of you that contributed items for the sale.

Thank you, Central Facilities!

Many thanks to Central Facilities for providing us with a fun trick-or-treating experience on Friday. The decorations were fantastic, and a fun time was had by all!

Harvest Time Book Sale is Almost Here

Our Harvest Time Book Sale is next week - Wednesday and Thursday in the Cramer Cottage, from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The sign-up sheets are in the cottages. If you can cover the sale for a time, or want to donate items for our Farmer's Market/Bake Sale, please indicate so on the sheet.

We will have many fun items for sale. Time to start your Christmas shopping!

Items include brand new children's books,handmade aprons for children and adults, Gold Canyon candles, hand-crocheted children's hats, original artwork notecards, The Children's School notecards - and some surprises!

Halloween in the 2s/3s Cottage

On Friday, October 30, the 2s/3s will have a small Halloween celebration. We will not be going on the field trip to go trick-or-treating. Our class will be staying at school and having a regular day. Your child may wear their costume that day.

There will be a parade of other classes walking through our cottage in their costumes. We will have a special snack that day, but no candy will be served.

We are looking forward to a fun day!

~Kerri, Kathie and Dottie~

Halloween Info for Kinders and Primary

The Kindergarteners will also be going to Central Facilities to trick-or-treat on Friday. Our class will leave our school at 10:00 am. The children are welcome to wear their costumes to school. If you want them to change out of their costume when they get back to school, please send a change of clothes. If you can help drive children that day, please let Catie know.

~Catie and Susan~

Our first and second graders will be going as well. There is a need for a few drivers. If you want to go with us please plan to be at school by 10:00 am. We will leave shortly after that. We would like the students to bring their Halloween costumes to school and put them on right before they leave for trick-or-treating.

~Janet and Dottie~

As always with Halloween at The Children's School - no masks and no weapons. Thank you!

Halloween Info for 3s and 4s

The 3 and 4 year-olds are going trick-or-treating at the Central Facilities Plant on Friday, October 30th. The class is leaving at 9:30 AM sharp.

Drivers are still needed. If you are unable to join us, please make sure that you leave your child's car seat at school that morning.

Your child may wear their costume on Friday. (Please remember no masks or weapons.) If you want us to change them out of their costume after trick-or-treating, please make sure you send a change of clothes.

~Marcia, Maria, Jeanette, Badria and Lori~

Out With the Old - In With the New!

Skeleton Invasion

Skeletons invaded the kindergarten cottage this week! So scary...............

Staff Revealed!

Catie~~~Dottie~~~Maria

Badria~~~Janet~~~Jeanette

Kathie~~~Kerri~~~Lori

Susan~~~Marcia~~~Sheri

Preschool Pictures

The order forms for Preschool Picture Day were placed in your child's cubby today. If you didn't get one, please check the cubby tomorrow. If there isn't one there, the 3,4 cottage has extras on the table. You can turn in these orders any time prior to Picture Day. There is an envelope on the bulletin board in each cottage for the orders.

To further clarify, on Thursday, October 29th, all of the Preschool children who have turned in order forms with payment will be photographed. This will be an individual, candid photo taken in the play yard or on the grounds. (The 2-year-olds will be photographed in their own play yard.)

If your child is absent that day, or you forget to turn in the order, there will be a make-up day on November 12th.

Please remember, this is a casual photo shoot of your child having fun playing. There is no need to dress them in anything they wouldn't normally wear to school. Our hope is to capture them in that moment in time that is very natural and so precious.

Harvest Time Book Sale

Today a letter from Janet was placed in your child's cubby. The letter gives you information about our upcoming Harvest Time Book Sale. I hope you all got the letter today. If not, please check the cubby (or mail slot in the kindergarten cottage) tomorrow.

There will be sign-up sheets in the cottages tomorrow. If you can work some of the time during the sale, or would like to donate something, you can sign up.

Thanks!

The Slide is Coming!

This Friday is the big day! Our new, replacement, slide will be installed. The installers will begin work at 7:00 am. We will have that part of the play yard taped off, and you may have to use the front gate that day since they will need access to the Burger gate all day.

The children will be able to play outside Friday, but will be restricted to the part of the grounds that are not under construction. A popular activity will probably be watching the installation.

We are excited, and hope you are too!

Studio Claremont

Many thanks to Gabrielle Heidi and Studio Claremont for a fantastic Staff Development Day. We got to learn about different ways of exposing children to art, and were able to be creative ourselves. All in all, a very rewarding experience.

The 3s and 4s Made Juice Today

Many thanks to all the parents who donated these yummy fruits and vegetables for our juice making project today.

The 3s and 4s had a great time deciding what combinations to squeeze for their drink. Some of their creations were:

celery, carrot and cucumber

apple and cantaloupe
apple and celery
orange and apple
carrot and celery

A quote from one of the boys while drinking his fresh squeezed juice, "Teacher, this is getting my frustration out. It's yummy!"

Preschool Pictures Are Coming!

We have a date scheduled for Preschool Pictures. This will take place on Thursday, October 29th. These will be candid photos taken of your child outside, as they are playing.

The photographer is Christina Sepulveda. She has eight years experience taking photos of babies and children at Babies R Us. She is now a mother herself and has recently started her own photography business.

Christina is excited about the possible locations of pictures on our beautiful grounds. I know you won't be disappointed with the shots she gets.

Order forms and envelopes will be going home soon. We will require the order form and payment by the time of the photo shoot. The order will serve as your permission for her to take the pictures. Otherwise your child will not be photographed that day. We will have a make-up day on Thursday, November 12th for children who are absent on the 29th or forget their order form.

California Shakeout Drill

The Children's School participated in the Golden Guardian California Shakeout Drill this morning. After getting the notification that it was time for the drill, the teachers and college students assisted all of your children in calmly leaving the cottages and standing by the fence until we were released.

They did a fantastic job! The more we practice for these possible events, the safer we all will be if we have a real occurence.

It's Being Used!

Bike Rack

The new bike rack has been installed. It is on the right side of the 6th Street parking lot entrance.

We hope you will enjoy riding your bikes to school and locking them up safely.

Staff Development Day

This is a reminder that there will be no school next Monday, October 19th. That day is set aside for Staff Development.

This is our time to learn and experience new things that will contribute to your child's enriched learning experience here at The Children's School.

Thanks!
~~The Children's School Staff~~

Parent Meeting for Grades 1 & 2

The Parent Meeting for Grades 1 & 2 will be on Wednesday, October 14, at 7:00 pm. This meeting is for parents only. We have a list of babysitters in the office if you need child care for that night.

Hope to see you all there!
~~Janet and Dottie~~

Got Books!

The Children's School has a great lending library. Many of the books are on permanent loan to us from The Stone Center. The library is in Cramer Cottage.

You and your child are welcome to borrow books any time. All you need to do is sign out the books on the sheet in the library. Happy Reading!

Harvest Time Book Sale is Coming

Our Harvest Time Book Sale will be Wednesday, November 4th, and Thursday, November 5th. This is one of our two fundraisers for the school year, the other being the Eyre Faire in the spring.

This is a good time to start thinking about what you may want to donate to the sale. We will have our "farmer's market" again, and will need items such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, flowers, plants, herbs, homemade preserves, breads, muffins or other baked goods.

Also, if you have homemade items that you would like to sell, or know someone who may want to do this, we welcome this participation. All we ask is that you donate 20% of the proceeds back to The Children's School.

Please see me in the office if you have any questions about the Harvest Sale, or want to volunteer in any way. We will have sign-ups later in the month for those that can help cover the sale on those days.

Picture Day is Coming for Kindergartners, First and Second Graders

Picture day for Kindergarten and First & Second grade is Wednesday, October 14th. Envelopes will be sent home next week so that you can decide which package to purchase.

Stay tuned for Pre-School Picture Day. It will be coming soon!

We love our college students!

First and Second Graders Inspired by Paul Klee