St.Aemilian Preschool

WL #1 Update: Harvest Fun

2011-11-09T22:33:00.001-06:00

What a wonderful October! We’ve had lots of fun learning about the sensational season of fall. We went on a kike to the oak trees and picked some acorns off the ground. We were learning the difference between an oak tree, which gives us acorns, and a maple tree that has maple seeds. Trees give us so much: shade, food, paper, wood and clean air!

Apples come from trees and we learned about the different kinds of apples. Granny Smith is our favorite to say and taste! We made yummy applesauce too.

Harvest time is here and the farmers are busy harvesting food for us and the animals. We learned at Cozy Nook Farm that cows eat the corn that Farmer Tom grows. We tasted 3 different types of squash. Yummy! Pumpkins will finish out our month on fall.

Hope you’re having a spectacular fall!

WL #3 Update: October fun!

2011-11-09T22:27:00.003-06:00

We’ve had a very busy month learning the Fall, apples and our colors! We even got to take a field trip to a pumpkin farm where we pet and feed cows, jumped in a haystack, went on a tractor ride, and got to pick our very own pumpkins.

Speaking about pumpkins, Wee Learners #3 are learned all about pumpkins! We looked at the life cycle of the pumpkin, checked out size and color, and explored the insides of the pumpkin.

Thanks for sharing your black and orange treats to help with our black and orange celebration!

4K Update: Fabulous Fall!

2011-10-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a fun fall 4K is having! October has been full of fun fall activities. We began our month by talking about animals in the fall. We made a special snack to share with squirrels and practiced our cutting skills by snipping squirrels’ tails. We made acorn suncatchers to add some color to our windows and took a trip to cozy nook farm!

At cozy nook we fed cows and goats, took a hayride and chose our very own pumpkin to take home. What a fun day!

We focused on fire safety learning what to do if we have a fire in our house (don’t hide go outside), who to call if there is an emergency (911), and what to do if our clothes catch fire (stop, drop, and roll). We created fire trucks from paper shapes and imagined what it would be like to be a fire fighter. This week we will have a special visit from the fire department. They will show us their gear. It might look scary but we know fire fighters are here to help. We also get a chance to see the fire truck and maybe even watch a fire fighter climb the ladder.

We are wrapping up the month with a unit on pumpkins! We opened up a pumpkin and scooped out the insides. We made pumpkin bracelets, learned how pumpkins grow and played some fun pumpkin games!

We are looking forward to our bug bash next week and many fun learning experiences in November!

Wee Start Update!

2011-09-30T14:04:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Wee Start! The year is off to a great start! We are beginning to learn daily routines and the children are becoming comfortable with their environment, the other children, and their teachers.

This week and next week our theme is fall! We filled our sensory table with silk leaves and bugs. The children have enjoyed covering up the bugs with the leaves and putting the leaves in baskets. We have also done many fall themed art projects. We had a fun time sponge painting red, yellow, orange and brown leaves on a construction paper tree. Some of the fall art projects will be displayed in the front office. Stop by the office in the next few weeks to check out what we have been working on!

Wee Learner #1 Update

2011-09-30T14:02:00.001-05:00

Our class has had a busy start of the year. We started the year meeting new friends and saying "hi" to old ones. Chester the raccoon came to visit the class and teach us about our classroom and all the fun stuff we have to play and learn with. He also shared his baby book with us. We learned that baby raccoons need their mother to teach them to hunt for food. We learned that raccoons like to stay awake during the night. They are nocturnal. They like to eat corn, eggs and garbage. We sang a song about raccoons, too.

The next week we discovered colors by being scientist. We have done two experiments. The first one was mixing colors. We mixed blue and yellow together to make green and we mixed red and blue together to make purple. Check out our experiment in the test tubes on the windowsill. We read the book Little Blue Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. This is a story about two friends, one was yellow and one was blue. They were happy to see each other and gave each other a hug and turned green!!! This is a great book to check out of the library and find out what happened next. Our second experiment was to see if crayons sink or float. A great and easy experiment to try at home. Hmmmm.... I wonder which ones will float?

We read two books about crayons. The first book was The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane De Rolf. The second book was How Is A Crayons Made? by Oz Charles.

We are finishing up September by going buggy in our room. Yes, we are talking about those 6 legged, two antenned creatures and some bugs, like worms and spiders. We have been doing a lot of counting of legs to find out if the bugs are insect or not. Remember spiders have 8 legs so they are not considered insects. We are exploring outside to find some bugs to bring inside. We use our magnifying glasses to check them out a little closer. Real worms will be at the science table for us to examine. We will hold them and feel how they wiggle without legs off our hands. Do you know they have eight bristles under each segment to help them move?

Wow, September has been an exciting month!

Wee Learner #3 Update

2011-09-13T01:33:00.000-05:00

Hello! Wee Learners #3 has been having a very exciting time with starting the new school year! The last two weeks we have been focusing on getting to know each other and the daily routine. We’ve also have had a blast exploring our classroom and all the fun things it has to offer!

In the next few week we will be learning about the many ways we are special, complete with a special classroom book made up of the stories behind our names and our likes and dislikes. We will also will be exploring colors and the fun facts about the Fall season. These themes will be using different activities, projects, and experiments, all of which will be fun learning experiences.

We hope that your child has been enjoying their time here and hopefully they are sharing their wonderful experiences at home with you and your family. We are excited to see how much fun we can have learning this year in Wee Learners #3!

4K Update: This is the way we…

2011-09-07T11:00:00.001-05:00

...Go to school!

We are so excited to welcome so many new faces into our program and our classroom. As we begin our new school year. We spend a great deal of time learning the day to day routines of our classroom. We wanted to take this opportunity to share some of those routines with you.

We begin our 4K day at 8:00am with a free exploration time. Children are allowed to play with all of the toys in our classroom during this time. This allows students to practice making choices and engage in self directed activities. The teacher in the classroom at this time (usually Ms. Lee) greets friends being dropped off, facilitates learning through play and prepares students for the day ahead. During this first free hour we also pause for morning snack.

Between 9:00-9:15am we begin cleaning up our classroom. We practice our teamwork, and self help skills during clean up.

At 9:15 we begin our morning meeting. During this time we all come together as a class. We sing our good morning song, talk about months, seasons, and days of the week. We choose our daily helpers, continue our pattern on the calendar, and graph the weather.

After morning meeting we take a break for music and movement allowing us to get out all our wiggles and giggles and keep up with our group time.

Around 9:30-9:45 we have our story time.

At 9:50 we move to the tables to draw and write in our journals. Right now children draw a picture and come to a teacher to have her write all the words. As the school year continues many students will begin to write some of these words on their own.

After finishing journals children are given a more limited choice time and allowed to work with our activity bins. Activity bins are games and toys to be used independently or with a small group. These activity bins help us develop, fine motor, math and literacy skills as well as promote independence and focus.

This time is also when we complete our theme activity. Sometimes it’s an art project, other times a math activity, a literacy lesson, or a science experiment. Some days we may participate as a whole group other days a few children at a time are called to work with a teacher.

At 10:45 we head outside for some gross motor play. Most days we enjoy free play time at the Webster Park playground. Other days we walk on paths through the woods or play group games in the field.

At 11:15 we head in from outside for another group time. We play a group game, sometimes share another story, use our pocket chart for literacy or math, feed our sound muncher, do a fun letter activity.

At 11:45 we prepare for lunch. Our lunch helper helps set the tables, our counter counts the days of school and how many friends are in our class today. We write our storyboard about our day and wash our hands for lunch time.

After lunch we head down to playroom for a nap from 1:00-3:00. Any children who do not sleep are sent to an up room for quiet activities at 2:00.

At 3:30 we eat our afternoon snack in the classroom and have free exploration until our afternoon outside time at 4:00.

At 4:30 we return to the 4K classroom for a short story time or table activity.

At 5:00 we combine in WL#1 for the end of the day.

Welcome and Welcome Back!

2011-08-30T00:06:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's hard to believe it but our summer has come to an end. We are so excited to start a brand new school year at St. Aemilian! Thank you so much to all the families who planned around our school closure last week. It was, as it is every year, a wonderful opportunity for staff to continue our education, regroup after a summer apart and plan for the school year ahead.

We are thrilled to welcome many new families to our school as well as welcome back so many familiar faces. We have so many fun learning experiences planned for the coming months. All of the faculty are looking forward to the relationships we will continue to build this school year with our students and their families.

Welcome one and all. Thank you for helping make this school year at St. Aemilian our best one yet!

Coat Drive 2010

2010-10-19T21:21:00.002-05:00

As the cooler weather sets in, it is time to think of new winter wear for your family. Have the kids outgrown their coats from last year? Is your coat out of style? Please bring them in to St. Aemilian Preschool where we will be donating them to Meta House. Meta House, Inc. is a nationally recognized substance abuse treatment program dedicated to helping women through the progression of recovery. It is a safe place for mothers and their children. We will be collecting coats, hats, mittens, snow pants and children's boots. Please be sture they are in good shape and washed. Look for the drop off location in the front hallway. We will be collecting from October 25th- Novemember 5th. Thank You!

Wee Start Update

2010-09-17T14:30:00.003-05:00

It has been a great start to the school year. We have been busy exploring our room and interacting with our friends.

Our first unit of the school year was "Nursery Rhymes." We learned about the Itsy Bitsy Spider and made our very own paper spiders. All of us counted out eight legs! Come see our huge web in the classroom.

A New School Year

2010-09-10T14:34:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe but our summer is coming to a close. As the weather reminds , fall will soon be here. Here at St. As we love this time of new beginnings. We are excited to welcome our returning families and greet our new families as well. Our classrooms are extra busy as we learn new names, faces, and routines.

What a great time for our children! They are making new friends and renewing old friendships, excited to learn what the school year has in store for them and eager to try on the new indepedance that comes with a new school year.

Just a few reminders about St. As:

We will try to get outside each and every day both in the morning and the afternoon to allow children to run, play and explore our natural surroundings. Please dress your child appropriately.

We work very hard to develop a developmentally appropraiate curriculum in all of our classrooms. This involves a great deal of "play." We are firm believers that children learn through play and keep play as a valuable part of our school day. If you have any more specific questions about what your child is learning through play please check with your classroom teacher.

We are striving for a happy, healthy school year by encouraging healthy habits. This includes providing healthy snacks for your child, requesting healthy lunches from our families, and frequent hand washing. Please take a moment when you arrive each morning to help your child wash his or her hands. This helps us prevent as many germs as possible. Thanks!

Finally, we just want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our families. Your willingness to help, open communication and generosity makes what we do not only possible but a ton of fun too! Thank you so much for all you do! We are looking forward to a phenomonal school year together!

4-K Update: Wonderful Wiggly Worms!

2010-05-18T14:25:00.001-05:00

As a part of our earth day celebration we got worms in 4-K! We read Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin and Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer. We learned so many facts about worms. Did you know that worms use the strong muscles in their bodies to move through the soil? Worms help make soil that grows all the plants we need for food and air. Worms leave behind trails called castings.

We got our very own worms and spent time observing them as they crawled on trays in our classroom. We watched the worms squish short and fat then stretch out long and skinny to move their bodies. We even got to feel the little hairs on their skin. After observing the worms we made a home for them out of an old 2 liter bottle and some potting soil. The worms crawled in making tunnels in the mud. We kept them in our science center for a few days then let them go in our playground garden. We can’t wait to see what our worms help grow!

Coming Soon: Morning at the Museum!

Wee Learners 1 Update: Out of this world April!

2010-05-07T14:12:00.005-05:00

April was a busy month in Wee Learners #1. We celebrated the first warm day by having lunch outside on the playground. We had great fun then got to play before we went in for nap.

Also in April we learned about the Sun, Moon, and planets. We made out own astronaut helmets and loved to act out out mission around earth. When we went through the atmosphere we floated in space. There is no gravity in Space. We learned that the sun is a very big star. We talked about the planets. Did you know Jupiter is the biggest planet and Venus is the hottest? We are glad we live on Earth, it's just right!

4-K Update: All About Mo!

2010-05-03T22:33:00.003-05:00

In 4-K this spring we’ve been doing a series of author studies. You’ve already read about our Dr. Seuss celebration. The net author we chose to feature was a class favorite: Mo Willems.

Mo Willems is the author of the Pigeon books, the Elephant and Piggy series, and Knuffle Bunny. Throughout the school year we have been reading these favorites again and again in our classroom. We just love how much the children enjoy these stories! I know many of you have started your own Mo Willems collections at home as well. What a great way to inspire your children to love reading!

During our author study of Mo Willems we re-read many of our favorites and even a brand new book. Big Frog Can’t Fit In, a pop out story with a frog that can’t fit inside the book until she gets a little help from her friends.

We drew pictures of the pigeon and wrote a note to the author, suggesting new ideas for future Pigeon adventures. We shared our own stuffed animals just like Trixie in Knuffle Bunny Too. Luckily, we all went home with the right ones.

We even had a hot dog party just like the pigeon dreams about in Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. We all wore our Pajamas and had a special lunch of hot dogs, chips, and rainbow punch. What a fun time!

Looking for more Mo Willems books to add to your personal collection, more information on the author, or fun games for your child? Check out Mo Willems Website: Pigeon Presents

Coming Up: Wonderful Wiggly Worms!

Museum Trip

2010-04-22T11:08:00.002-05:00

On Thursday April 29th we will be taking a field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum. The cost is $7.00 per child to assist with paying for the bus and the field trip costs. There is a permission slip in student mailboxes. If you misplaced your copy please stop in to get one. The bus will leave at 9;00am. Please try to have your child here by 8:45 at the latest. The bus will return to St. Aemilian at 11:30. Lunch and nap time will be as normal.

Dramatic Play Pictures

2010-04-15T14:09:00.005-05:00

Two children from Wee Learners 1 work together carrying a tray of baked goods.

Children from Wee Learners 1 show off their pretend play costumes.

Children from Wee Learners 1 show that even something as simple as a chair can become anything in a child's imagination.

Students from 4-K enjoy a meal in their classroom pizza parlor.

Students from 4-K create a train from chairs.

Children from 4-K show off the dress up clothes from their dramatic play area.

The Wee Learners 3 dramatic play center is set up like a house. Children have a chance to act out events that take place in their home each day such as talking on the phone or making and eating a meal.

A child from Wee Start drives a car in our playroom. Children often use these cars to act out familiar scenes from their lives such as going to the store or getting gas.

Two students from Wee Start dance together in the dresses from their dramatic play center.

Dramatic Play

2010-04-15T14:00:00.004-05:00

Dramatic play is especially important for preschool children in learning how the world works. This type of play allows preschoolers to act out things they see in everyday life or on tv. It enhances their understanding of the roles we each play in our communities, families, and the world.

Each of our classrooms at St. Aemilian Preschool has a dramatic play center especially designed to foster this type of learning. As teachers we take opportunties to become involved to extend the learning when appropriate and take a step back to just observe children's interactions during this crucial play time.

Ann Barbour, PhD. has more to say about why dramatic play is key in your child's development.

“When children use their imaginations or pretend, we call that dramatic play and that’s the main type of play for 3-to7-year-olds. What they’re doing in dramatic play is representing in their own way their understanding of their experiences, rather than simply imitating what they see others do. They use objects and actions and storylines to symbolize the things that concern them. And in the process, they’re building thinking skills and developing social, emotional and language skills. Dramatic play is a very important context for learning.

Most preschool children love dressing up for a reason. It’s their way of learning. It’s a way for them to walk in another person’s shoes, so they understand what someone else is going through. So when your child is at home playing house, she’s not only imitating the actions of the people around her, she’s actually coming to understand at a deeper level what it’s like to be a parent. Also, when kids are engaging in dramatic play, there’s vocabulary development going on. Encouraging dramatic play encourages social and emotional development as well as helps with skills for academic learning.

Dramatic play promotes abstract thinking. When children use a prop (like a block) to stand for something else (a phone for instance), they are learning to think using symbols. The block symbolizes the phone. And that kind of thinking is the basis for just about everything children learn in school. After all, letters and words and numbers are really symbols for real objects or quantities. Dramatic play also encourages problem solving, and if children are playing with others, it builds social and emotional skills: learning about other peoples’ feelings and perspectives, negotiating, cooperating, etc. They also learn how to respond appropriately to others. In dramatic play kids can be anything they want just by pretending and that’s emotionally satisfying and builds self-esteem.

Pretend play also builds language skills. Kids often use words and phrases in play that you never knew they knew. They use language to plan their play with others and language usually supports the roles they adopt. At the same time, they can experiment with language and learn to use it appropriately. After all, doctors say different things than storekeepers do. Dramatic play also helps kids concentrate, be attentive and control their own behavior – all skills that will help them do well in school and in life. "

Ann Barbour, Ph.D.
Early Childhood Education Professor

Music And Movement

2010-04-13T13:59:00.005-05:00

Each day at St. Aemilian preschool we strive to incorporate music and movement into our classrooms. This is not only fun for students but also a rich learning experience.

Melanie Schmutz Chalk, co-authored a book on the subject of creative movement for young children. Here she discusses what children gain from this type of creative play.

“Creative Movement is a joyful way for children to explore movement through music, develop physical skills, channel energy, stimulate imagination and promote creativity. Creative movement uses body actions to: communicate an image (the wind), communicate an idea (a journey) or communicate a feeling (strength).

Creative Movement provides children with opportunities for noncompetitive, success-oriented and creative experiences.

Through movement, children learn about their bodies, the space around them, and each other. Creative Movement activities can be used to enhance all areas of learning and growth.

DEVELOPMENT: Movement is one of the first forms of communication. From infancy, children love to move. Just watch the reaction of a young child when he hears music, an instrument playing, or someone clapping. He responds to the sounds with motion, whether it's swaying, rocking, clapping, or kicking his feet. Sheer delight is almost instantaneous. Developing that innate creativity is dependent on early influences. Creative movement enhances movement development that occurs between ages two and seven. During these ages, locomotor (creeping, walking, jumping, leaping, etc.), nonlocomotor (stretching, bending, twisting, shaking, etc.), and stability and balance skills are able to flourish when children are provided with practice opportunities.

SENSORY AWARENESS: Children perceive the world through their senses. Sensory awareness work leads to a greater understanding of themselves and their surroundings. It strengthens the imaginative powers and increases abilities to experience life with greater meaning. Learning is facilitated when a child's entire body is involved. All senses are engaged when children explore different aspects of movement. The kinesthetic sense increases as children literally feel the shapes and actions that their bodies are making. Visually, children respond to the images they see as well as the images they create. The auditory sense is stimulated as children respond to sounds (and music) they make or hear. Tactile experiences include running with bare feet, performing specific floor movements, or swirling a scarf. These sensory experiences help children appreciate the beauty in nature, art, literature and everyday living.

SOCIAL: The critical skills necessary for purposeful and self-directed living often are rooted in learning to: realize one's own uniqueness, recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of others, express personal feelings, cooperate within a social structure, and ultimately define and create one's self. Creative movement is rich with opportunities to fulfill these kinds of experiences successfully. It encourages an interactive environment where children share space as they explore movement together. They move their own way and gradually learn to observe different responses to movement ideas. The possibility of creating movements together becomes more appealing.

SPECIAL NEEDS: Children with special needs benefit because they can participate at their own level and ability. Children who are physically challenged can explore body parts or keep a beat by blinking their eyes. They will respond in their own unique way. Props, like a feather, can be placed or attached in an appropriate area of the child's body or equipment. Children with special needs can feel a sense of belonging to a group and experience the joy of learning.

HEALTH & FITNESS: Our urban environment has imposed many physical limitations. Children do not become coordinated and agile without a variety of movement experiences. Researchers are becoming increasingly concerned about the low level of movement in children and have observed that children are being socialized to prefer less activity. Movement classes are so imperative! Providing opportunities for locomotor activity contributes to children's fitness level.

LANGUAGE: Cognitive learning is stimulated by movement. Research shows that the right hemisphere of the brain (sensing and feeling side) functions through activities such as music, art and creativity. The left hemisphere organizes sequential and logical skills such as language and speech. Both sides of the brain must be developed during the critical learning periods in early childhood because of the cross referencing that occurs. When children are engaged in creative movement, they are involved in activities that will increase their memory and ability to communicate.

BODY AWARENESS: Children need to gain a better mental picture of their own body. Controlling their own bodies is the first type of control children have over themselves. It is the first step toward developing internal control and self-discipline. Body awareness is an essential part of becoming aware of our feelings, because they exist in our minds AND bodies. When we feel angry or excited, we feel it in our whole self. Body awareness is also important in the development of spatial orientation. Children who do not perceive the space of their own bodies may frequently misjudge distances or bump into things. It also helps with development of motor skills. Creative movement activities focus on body awareness, motor fitness, rhythmic skill, strength, flexibility, coordination, endurance, and physical vitality.

CONCENTRATION: Self-control is enhanced by the capacity to concentrate and focus. Children must learn what it feels like to concentrate. Once children learn what focusing feels like, it can be a frame of reference for other activities where concentration is more difficult to achieve. Concentration is essential in creating an environment for learning in the classroom.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: Children will always move! Creative movement gives children the opportunity for movement that relieves tension, which would otherwise be expressed as "wiggling." Also, children become more capable of determining what kind of movement is appropriate for different situations, for example, when to move freely and when to move carefully. Creative movement helps children gain more experience in concentrating, and develop higher levels of awareness of themselves and others. Contributions in the group will become more frequent and productive as children become more comfortable.

RESPECT: Experiences in creative movement can help children respect the working space of others, as they learn about 'personal space' and 'shared space.' Children also learn to recognize, appreciate and respect differences in the people they come in contact with. Children learn and respect the fact that all bodies come in various sizes and shapes. They also learn to respect these differences in their peers.

SELF-ESTEEM: Self-esteem is the GREATEST benefit from incorporating creative movement into any curriculum. As children learn more and develop new skills, their self-esteem increases. When a child exclaims, 'I did it!' or 'I know that!' they are showing the power they feel in their own competence. A child's self-esteem is also enhanced through participation in activities where their contributions are valued.
Creative Movement is an opportunity for all children, regardless of age, special needs, or developmental stage, to interact with each other. It is a great energy releaser.
And best of all, it's FUN!”

Constructive Play Pictures

2010-04-12T21:15:00.005-05:00

Students from Wee Learners 3 build houses from small wooden blocks.

Girls from the 4-K classroom build a zoo from wooden blocks in the construction center.

Students work together to create a bus for the pigeon to drive in the 4-K construction center.

Boys from the Wee Learners 1 classroom work together to create a structure from wooden blocks.

Boys from 4-K make a plan before building.

A child from Wee Start builds a tower from big blocks in the playroom.

Children in Wee Learners 3 build together with alphabet blocks.

A child from Wee Start builds a tower from colorful blocks.

Constructive Play

2010-04-12T20:50:00.006-05:00

At St. Aemilian preschool we provide opportunities for our students to engage in constructive play everyday. This important, developmentally appropriate play provides an unlimited amount of learning experiences that are fun for the children at our school.

Stevanne Auerbach, PhD defines constructive play as

“Constructive play is when children manipulate their environment to create things. This type of play occurs when children build towers and cities with blocks, play in the sand, construct contraptions on the woodworking bench, and draw murals with chalk on the sidewalk. Constructive play allows children to experiment with objects; find out combinations that work and don't work; and learn basic knowledge about stacking, building, drawing, making music and constructing. It also gives children a sense of accomplishment and empowers them with control of their environment. Children who are comfortable manipulating objects and materials also become good at manipulating words, ideas and concepts.”

Wondering what your child is learning through constructive play? Throught the week we will have information about this valuable play in the office. Stop in and play whenever you get the chance. Want to know more? Check out the following link for more information: Why Use Constructive Play?

Week of the Young Child 2010!

2010-04-10T21:47:00.002-05:00

Each April the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) holds a week long celebration to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education. This celebration, Week of the Young Child, is an opportunity for us to highlight the tremendous growth and learning that occurs during the early childhood years, showcase the developmentally appropriate practices that take place at St. Aemilian each day, and acknowledge the effort our staff puts into creating and maintaining positive learning experiences for the children at St. Aemilian.

The theme of this year’s event is Play: Where Learning Begins! As I’m sure you’ve seen in your child’s classroom, we are strong believers in the use of play as the primary learning tool for young children. Every experience your preschooler participates in at St. Aemilian is designed to be both fun and educational. Everything from group activities to independent play is an opportunity for growth.

April 12th- 16th, we will put a spotlight on play in the hopes that our families will gain a better understanding of play as an avenue for learning. In the office you will find a constructive play center set up featuring a different manipulative each day. In this center parents will have the opportunity to create a structure with their children, then label and display their creations in the office. Please take a moment to stop by and play with your child at drop off or pick up.

On the blog you will find updates on how we play to learn everyday at St. A’s, links to articles about the importance of play, and ideas for easy, meaningful play you can use at home. Please check back!

4-K Update: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2010-03-31T16:38:00.003-05:00

In 4-K Dr. Seuss’s birthday is always a big event and this year was no exception. We had a blast tasting green eggs and ham, wearing silly socks and wacky hats, watching a movie, and reading many of Dr. Seuss’s silly books! We made a book graph in the playroom using our favorite Dr. Seuss books and made red and white striped hats just like the Cat in the Hat wore. Students loved listening to the tongue twisters so often found in Dr. Seuss’s stories. We had the opportunity to focus on words that rhyme. What a fun way to celebrate the importance of reading!

Looking for more to do at home? Encourage your child to make rhymes whenever possible. Play around with sounds by singing silly songs like The Name Game, or Down By the Bay. Challenge your preschooler to make up his or her own verses to add on. Remember, sounds are the building blocks for reading. The more you play the more your child will learn!

*Coming soon: Party With the Pigeon- Read about how we celebrated another favorite author Mo Willems!

Fall and Summer Registration

2010-03-23T14:39:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder to register early for our fall and summer programs. It really helps us plan!

Save $20 on fall registration recieved by April 1st!

Save $20 on summer registration recieved by April 30th!

Registrations are recieved on a first come first serve basis so the sooner you enroll your child the more likely you are to guarantee him or her a spot.

Our summer program is currently open for 2-9 year olds. We are applying for a change in our license to extend it to 10 years.

Referral Credit

2010-03-23T14:24:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder that we do offer a tuition referral credit if you reccommend St. A's to a new family. Make sure they let us know that you sent them our way. if they register for full time you will recieve a $200 tuition credit after they have been enrolled 3 months. if they register for part time, the amount is $100.

Let us know if there is someone you know with young children who would like info about the preschool. We'd be happy to send them a packet of information in the mail.

Paper Towels And Tissues

2010-03-23T14:19:00.001-05:00

Our Supply of paper towels and tissues from the beginning of the school year has diminished and we could use your help to replenish it. We would love donations of rolls of paper towels and boxes of tissues to get us through the second half of the school year. Thanks so much for your help! Items can be dropped off on the round table in the office.

KidsFest and Baby Expo

2010-03-23T14:09:00.001-05:00

This year St. Aemilian Preschool will have a booth at Metro Parent's KidsFest and Baby Expo which will be held at State Fair Park on Saturday April 17th and Sunday April 18th. This is a fun, free event for families with young children. The link below has more information.

http://www2.jsonline.com/kidsfest/index.asp

We are looking for parents to volunteer with staff to "man" our booth and give out information to families at the event. The times are from 10am-5pm on Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sunday. We will need a parent fo each of the 6 two hour shifts over the two days. We will be hosting an art activity and getting prospective parents to sign up fro a drawing to win water park passes to Country Springs. Look for a seperate in your mailbox. Thanks in advance for your support!

No School on Friday April 9th, 2010

2010-03-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

The preschool will be closed on Friday, April 9th so staff can attend the early childhood conference at UW-Whitewater. We are all looking forward to this great opportunity for continuing eduction. Each year we come back with many new ideas to use in our classrooms.

Food Drive Update

2010-03-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all the families who participated in our annual Valentine food drive.
We collected 364 pounds of food for the Hunger Task Force! They were extremely appreciative of the dontation, especially at this "off" time of year. Several workers commented on the "love notes" and artwork on the bags. They were very touched.
Thank you for again making this event a success and helping us teach your children the importnce of giving!