THE NOVEMBER TOM-TOM
Policy Reminders from the Office!
SCHOOL CLOSING FOR NOVEMBER:
Tuesday, November 8th, Election Day (Parent Teacher Conferences 1:30-5pm) See below for details…
Friday November 11th Veteran’s Day.
Thursday, November 24th & Friday, November 25th for Thanksgiving Recess.
School closes at 4:00 PM sharp on Wednesday, November 23rd, we will begin signing out at 3:30pm at the church. Please be sure you are on time.
*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES:
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8th FROM 1:30PM TO 5PM IN PERSON. SIGN UP FROM OUR WEBSITE, GO TO THE SCHOOL ICON THEN NEWS & UPDATES AND LOOK FOR YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER, STARTING NOVEMBER 2ND. REMEMBER TO PARK AT ST. RAPHAELS PARKING LOT AND COME IN THROUGH THE BACK GATE.
IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO, PLEASE BRING IN THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WITH YOU ON 11/8:
*EMERGENCY RELEASE FORM WITH PHOTO ID
*A PHOTO OF THE FAMILY, YOUR CHILD APPLE OR PUMPKIN PICKING AND *A PHOTO OF YOUR CHILD IN FRONT OF THE CAR, YOU DROP THEM OFF IN.
*ALSO, WE WILL BE GIVING BACK THE SUMMER CLOTHES IN EXCHANGE FOR WINTER CLOTHING (PANTS AND LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS) ON 11/8.
*NO WINTER JACKETS WILL STAY AT BIG CHIEF! *
BIG BROTHER/BIG SISTER CLOTHES DRIVE. IT’S TIME TO CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSETS!!!!! WE WILL BE COLLECTING ALL TYPES OF CLOTHING THE WEEK OF 11/28. ALL DONATIONS WILL BE PICKED UP 12/3.
TUITION:
Your tuition is due and payable on the first of every month! There will be a late charge of $25 added to your bill for any tuition received after the 10th. For those of you who have been late in the past, we ask that you remit your payment on time to avoid this unnecessary charge. Reminder there are no make-up days or monetary credit for days absent.
RETURNED CHECKS:
If we receive a returned check from the bank, we will call you to make sure we can redeposit it and you will be charged the $25 bank fee on your next month’s bill. If it bounces a second time, you will be required to come in and pay in cash for the tuition and any bank charges.
REMINDER: Parents please be sure that your child finishes his/her breakfast before getting to the front gate or coming onto the red gravel driveway. Please do not have your child coming out of the car eating breakfast.
EMERGENCY RELEASE FORMS:
If you have not yet done so, please fill out your Emergency Release form with current pictures attached on the form. (ex. Driver’s license) and return ASAP.
EXTENDED HOURS FOR WORKING PARENTS:
School hours are 9:00 – 4:00, 9:00 – 12:00, 9:00 – 2:00, and 11:00 to 4:00. Do not drop off any earlier than the time indicated. If you need extended hours, the rates are as follows:
Morning: The fee is $220 per month if you drop your child off any time between 7:00 & 8:00 AM. If your child attends this session, please note that breakfast is served at 7:30 and finishes at 8:00. If you drop your child off any time between 8:00 & 9:00 AM, there will be a charge of $110 per month. Breakfast is not served at this time and your child should eat before coming to school. This price is based on a 5 day a week schedule. Call the office for prices for 2,3 or 4 days.
MORNING DROP OFF AT THE FRONT GATE: AFTER 8:35AM, THIS GATE IS CLOSED. IT REOPENS AT 9:00AM FOR PARENTS WITH INFANTS ONLY. ALL OTHER DROP OFFS MUST GO AROUND AND GET IN LINE AT THE CHURCH. PLEASE TRY TO BE ON TIME.
Afternoon: Children need to be picked up by 4:00. If you pick your child up any time between 4:00 and 5:00 PM, the fee is $110 per month. If you pick up your child any time after 5:00 and up until 6:00pm, the fee is $220 per month. Again, this price is based on a 5 day a week schedule. Call the office for prices for 2,3 or 4 days.
AFTERNOON PICK UP: AFTER 3:35PM YOU MUST USE THE DRIVEWAY. THIS GATE CAN ONLY BE USED BY INFANT PARENTS.
Both Sessions: The fee for both XXAM (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM) and XXPM (4:00 PM – 6:00PM) is $395 per month.
Pick-up and drop off: Remember the back gate open at 8:50am and close at 9:10am. At the end of the day, it opens at 3:50pm and closes at 4:10pm.
Birthday Treats:
If you wish to celebrate your child’s birthday, we can only accept these items.
Either plain mini bagels or fruit for the am class, mini cupcakes for the pm class. From a nut free/tree nuts bakery, BJ’s also offers peanut free items as well as Stop and Shop. We can no longer accept homemade birthday treats.
Due to the COVID virus we will no longer be able to provide you with birthday lists or pass out any birthday invitations at this time. I cannot promote gatherings that can potentially put us at risk.
NO CANDY OR GOODY BAGS ARE EVER ALLOWED AT BIG CHIEF!!!
NO TOYS OR BACKPACKS ARE ALLOWED TO COME TO SCHOOL!!!!
Important Message from the Office
If any information, such as your home, work or cell phone numbers have changed since you registered your child for school, please notify the office immediately at
- Thank you.
MEDICALS EXPIRING
Please make sure that you make your child’s doctor appointment at least one month before their medical expires.
PROGRAM
MISS JEANNINE’S CLASS:
Theme: Fall and Thanksgiving, Nursery Rhymes.
Social & Independent Skills Guide them in washing their hands, picking up our toys and putting their shoes on and off.
Nursery Rhymes: Continuing Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy spider.
Science: Planting Bulbs, looking for acorns and leaves.
Stories: “Spot’s Thanksgiving,” Going on a leaf hunt and books related to our theme.
Art: Making a turkey, easel painting, fall leaves, spiders, acorn rolling, farm animals and making playdough.
Physical: Running in the field with balls, collecting and jumping in the leaves.
Music: Dancing and marching around our classroom with instruments and scarves, crawling through tunnels and continuing with parachute fun.
MISS ALEXANDRIA’S CLASS:
Theme: Fall, Thanksgiving, and nursery rhymes. Itsy-Bitsy spider.
Stories, Flannel Board and Fingerplays: “My First Thanksgiving,” “Tom Turkey,” and “Five little turkeys.”
Social Skills: Learning to identify our cubbies with our picture. Learning to line up and wait for our friends when we are going to the playground and out for snack time. Learning to wash our hands and using a spoon during lunch. Learning to recognize and talk to our friends while parallel playing. Introducing open cup.
Art: Sponge painting and Easel Painting. Reinforcing the colors red, yellow, and orange. Feather painting turkeys, corn husk rolling leaves and making turkeys.
Science: Watching the leaves turning colors, watching the tomatoes turn from green to red in the classroom and visiting the animals and identify them.
Music: Using scarves to teach the concept of movement of up and down. Marching to strengthen our large motor skills, crawling through tunnels, parachute fun, dancing with instruments and scarves.
Physical: Strengthening our small motor skills by tearing newspaper and play with playdough. Strengthening our large motor skills by throwing/kicking balls and running through the leaves in the field.
*Please send in a 4×6 photo of your child for their cubie.
MISS LIZ’S CLASS:
Theme: Family, Fall, and Thanksgiving
Language Arts Books relating to our theme such as “Just Me & My Little Brother,” “Fall Changes,” “It’s Thanksgiving Day,” “Who is in my family.” Nursery Rhymes, Baa Baa black sheep.
Art: Creative art, corn cob rolling, feather painting, fall collage and creating a large turkey for our bulletin board.
Music: Marching with instruments, continuing our parachute activities and fall songs, “I’m going to eat on Thanksgiving Day,”
Physical: As much outdoor time as possible to ride tricycles, run and play with balls in the fields and continue climbing.
Science: Gathering items for our fall collage during our nature walks. Planting bulbs, visiting our farm animals outside and making playdough.
Social Studies: Having conversations about our families—where we go together, who our family members are, their names, pets, grandparents etc.
Cooking: Apple crisp
Theme: Family, Thanksgiving healthy foods.
Art: Corn rolling, painting with feathers, making a fall collage and playdough.
Language Arts: We will read books about families and Thanksgiving. Among them will be “Over the river and through the woods,” “Thanksgiving all around,” “Thanksgiving treats, thanks for Thanksgiving.”
Physical: Scarf dancing. Imitating leaves and trees blowing in the wind. Pretending to be squirrels, collecting acorns. We will work with scissors and crayons to strengthen our fine motor skills and muscles. We will jump and run to strengthen our large muscles.
Math: Counting Boys and Girls at circle time. Counting and sorting healthy foods, pumpkins, and acorns.
Social Studies: We will learn about families, who are the people in our family, how many people are in our family and where do they live. Thanksgiving is a holiday that celebrates being with family and friends.
Blocks and Housekeeping: Making houses and role-playing family members. Cooking for friends and eating meals together. Working on our independent skills, taking our shoes off and putting them on, using the bathroom, washing our hands, using a spoon and fork, and drinking from an open cup.
Science: Taking nature walks to observe the changing weather and environment. Planting bulbs.
Music and Flannel Board: We will learn various songs, flannel board stories and fingerplays. “A Turkey is a funny bird,” “The turkey wore a red feather,” and “We get to eat Turkey.”
***PARENTS PLEASE SEND IN A FAMILY PICTURE OF THANKSGIVING DINNER. HAVE YOUR CHILD DICTATE TO YOU ABOUT 4 SENTENCES OF WHO WAS THERE, WHERE DID YOU HAVE DINNER AND WHAT DID YOU EAT. ***
MISS PATTI’S CLASS
Theme: Family, Thanksgiving, and food groups.
Social Studies: Discussing different types of families, how many people are in our family and extended family. Thanksgiving is a time of sharing and being with family and friends. Talk and read about different ways family celebrate and where each family has dinner.
Language Arts: Books relating to Families, “, “What Mommies Do Best,” “What Daddies Do Best,” “The Napping House,” “Corduroy’s Thanksgiving,” “Five Silly Turkey’s,” “Turkey Trouble.” Non-fiction books on fruits and vegetables. “Fruit Groups, Vegetable Groups.” Telling Thanksgiving stories and taking dictation about our families. Thanksgiving finger plays.
Music: Listening to Native American music, having parades, learning songs like “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain” and “To Grandmother’s House We Go,” “Thanksgiving Feast,” “Ten Little Turkeys” “Albuquerque Turkey,” “Turkey in the Straw,” “Turkey Freeze Dance,” and “The Bear went over the mountain.”
Art: Nature/Food collages, practice cutting, acorn and corn rolling. Creating turkeys.
Math: Counting in our circle & during lunch/snack times. Counting objects while setting the table and counting the members in our family. Sorting fruits/vegetables, refrigerated/dry, breakfast/lunch/dinner food.
Physical: Dancing & marching to music, obstacle course in our playgrounds. Using the instruments for parades and using the parachute. Jumping in the leaves.
Block Area & House Area: Building and re-creating our own homes and families. Pretending to cook in the house area and/or creating an oven/table. Working on our independent skills, using the bathroom, washing our hands, blowing our noses, using a spoon and fork, and drinking from an open cup.
Science: taking nature walks and collecting fall items for our science center, such as leaves, grass, sticks and straw. Discussing the changes that are taking place outside. Taking care of our birds and our Big Chief farm animals, Lily the goat, Tilly the turkey, Big Red the hen, Coco the duck. Planting bulbs.
Cooking: Making playdough and cornbread or pumpkin muffins.
***PARENTS PLEASE SEND IN A FAMILY PICTURE OF THANKSGIVING DINNER. HAVE YOUR CHILD DICTATE TO YOU ABOUT 4 SENTENCES OF WHO WAS THERE, WHERE DID YOU HAVE DINNER AND WHAT DID YOU EAT. *** ALSO, FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER INSTEAD OF SENDING IN TWO FRUITS PLEASE SEND IN 1 FRUIT AND 1 VEGETABLE FOR US TO TASTE AND TALK ABOUT.
MISS UMME’S CLASS
Theme: Family, Thanksgiving, and food groups (Veggies, fruit, dessert, and meat).
Social Studies: Discussing different types of families, how many people are in our family and extended family. Thanksgiving is a time of sharing and being with family and friends. Talk and read about different ways family celebrate and where each family has dinner.
Language Arts: Books relating to Families, “, “What Mommies Do Best,” “The Napping House,” “Corduroy’s Thanksgiving,” “Five Silly Turkey’s,” “Turkey Trouble.” Non-fiction books on fruits and vegetables. “Fruit Groups, Vegetable Groups.” Telling Thanksgiving stories and taking dictation about our families. Thanksgiving finger plays.
Music: Listening to Native American music, having parades, learning songs like “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain” and “To Grandmother’s House We Go,” “Thanksgiving Feast,” “Ten Little Turkeys” “Albuquerque Turkey,” “Turkey in the Straw,” “Turkey Freeze Dance,” and “The Bear went over the mountain.”
Art: Nature/Food collages, practice cutting, and corn rolling. Creating turkeys.
Math: Counting in our circle & during lunch/snack times. Counting objects while setting the table and counting the members in our family. Sorting fruits/vegetables, non-refrigerated and refrigerated/breakfast/lunch/dinner food.
Physical: Dancing & marching to music, obstacle course in our playgrounds. Using the instruments for parades and using the parachute.
Block Area & House Area: Building and re-creating our own homes and families. Re-creating and pretending to have a Thanksgiving Feast. Pretending to bake in our kitchen area and/or creating an oven/table in block area
Science: taking nature walks and collecting fall items for our science center, such as leaves, grass, sticks and straw. Discussing the changes that are taking place outside. Taking care of our fish and our Big Chief farm animals, Lily the goat, Tilly the turkey, Big Red the hen, Coco the duck.
***PARENTS PLEASE SEND IN A FAMILY PICTURE OF THANKSGIVING DINNER. HAVE YOUR CHILD DICTATE TO YOU ABOUT 4 SENTENCES OF WHO WAS THERE, WHERE DID YOU HAVE DINNER AND WHAT DID YOU EAT. *** ALSO, FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER INSTEAD OF SENDING IN TWO FRUITS PLEASE SEND IN 1 FRUIT AND 1 VEGETABLE FOR US TO TASTE AND TALK ABOUT.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM:
MISS KATYA & MISS RENEE
Theme: We will be starting our senses, taste, touch, and smell. Talking about Thanksgiving.
Language Arts: Reading stories: “Books on the Senses” by Maria Rues. “Tasting Party” by Richard Allington, “What is your Favorite Thing to Touch?” by Myra Gibson, “Touch will Tell” by Marcia Brown.
“Thanksgiving Day” by Maria Child, “Arthur’s Thanksgiving,” “Thanksgiving Magic” by Rowen Bennett. “The First Thanksgiving.”
-Language Dictation: “What are we thankful for?”
Fingerplays: Gobble, Gobble, One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, Five Little Turkeys.
Science: Senses – taste, touch, and smell.
-Different things have different tastes, textures, and smells. How are they alike & how are they different?
Exploring our world through these:
-Learn about our taste buds
Use our senses outside
-Take a “feely” walk to identify tree textures, leaves, etc.
-Categorize hard, soft, rough, and smooth.
-Taste testing – identify various tastes such as, sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
-Planting bulbs
Art: We will be finger painting with rice and sand painting. We will be using smelly markers for coloring and identifying different smells. We are making a mouth with a tongue and labeling the taste buds. We will make placemats for Thanksgiving, eye dropper leaf for the changing of the leaves. Decorate a table runner for Thanksgiving.
Block Area:
–Make a large block feely box and play guess what it is.
–Making a teepee, long houses & log cabins, etc. with blocks.
-Making a restaurant to taste our foods (pretzel shop, bakery).
House Area: Working with our Senses -Making lemonade (sour), -Individual Rice Krispy treats (sweet). Here are some ideas you can use at home to explore the senses, Pretzels (salty) we use pizza dough and Jell-O Jiggles for touch. We are also having the children practice pouring their own drink, pretending to have Thanksgiving, setting the table, and making a menu. We will set up a candle shop for our sense of smell. Making a Thanksgiving Day side dish (corn casserole).
Math: One to one counting and sorting & classifying.
Pre Reading: Auditory Discrimination. In order to understand and speak a language, and later to read it, children need to be able to distinguish differences and similarities in spoken words. Working on writing their names. First letter Capital and the rest lower case.
HERE ARE A FEW RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY AT HOME WITH YOUR FAMILY
PUMPKIN DIP
This is a recipe that I make nearly every year. It is the kind of recipe that you do not have to print out for elaborate measurements. Just dump and stir the ingredients until the desired consistency. I have served this to toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, teenagers, tweens, and adults. This is also a great recipe for kids to make themselves. Add your own combination of fall seasonings for a memorable dip.
Ingredients:
½ cup nut butter or seed butter
½ cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Optional)
½ teaspoon cinnamon (Optional)
Instructions:
Mix with a spoon until creamy. If you would like a whipped texture then use a food processor. Serve with any combination of sturdy fruits and veggies. We like jicama sticks, carrots, pea pods and apples.
So Easy Sliced Baked Apples
Ingredients:
3-4 medium apples (about 3 cups sliced)
1 Tablespoon melted butter or coconut oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Place the butter or oil into a pie plate or baking dish. Warm in the oven for a few minutes to melt. Remove from the oven and enjoy!!!!