"K" is for Kim

Hello Preschool Families!

I cannot believe that we are down to one month left of school!  The year has gone by so quickly.  I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall.  I give them back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible and more mature then they were then.  Although he would have attained his growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch their personalities unfold day by day and marvel at this splendid miracle of development.  I give them back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.  We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned and enriched our lives together this year.  I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give them back I must J, take good care of them, for they are precious!!  Thank you so very much for sharing your child with me this year!!!

Teacher Kim

September 2, 2006

Treasurer's Chest

I would like to thank all of our preschool families for a great year! It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. Please remember that May is the last month we pay tuition. I have enjoyed getting to know all of our families and I look forward to seeing many of you next year!

Kari Beck

Treasurer

January 22, 2008

Ways to Raise

Garage Sale - The 2nd Annual Garage and Bake Sale is coming up quickly on Saturday, May 19th! The sale will be open to our families and the public from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Please remember to box/bag up all your donated items and have them priced and ready to sell for Saturday! Thank you to all those that have started signing up to help. We still have a few areas we need help in, including: 7 a.m. Set-up; 5 p.m. Take Down/Clean Up; Placing Signs around town morning of the sale; 8-11 Shift; 2-5 Shift; and providing Canopies/Tents. Please let Megan McFarlane or Annie Massey know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Raffles - The Pampered Chef Sweet's Basket Raffle ends on April 30th! Thanks to all those that bought tickets!

Serenity Salon Gift Certificate - May 1 - May 15 - The sun has been shining and now it's your turn to shine! You'll be ready to spring into summer with a fresh and stylish new "do," if you win our next raffle. Buy your raffle tickets to get a professional haircut by our favorite local family salon and spa... Serenity Salon! Raffle ends May 15.

The Pampered Chef Naturally Good Basket - May 16 - May 31 - This is the FINAL raffle of the year - so don't miss out on your chance to win this gorgeous Pampered Chef basket! This Naturally Good basket includes a Medium Round Bamboo Bowl, Salad Choppers, Bamboo Salad Tongs, and the Spin on Salads Cookbook. Total value is $75!

February 20, 2007

Happy Spring!

Our first ever egg dye-ing session this year....what fun! The time with our children is about Quality, not Quantity - something I try to remember! Because what preschooler has an attention span lasting more than about 20-30 minutes per activity anyway? Enjoy those kiddos!

Book sale

SCHOLASTIC
Customer appreciation book sale

BATES
South campus in Tacoma
2201 S. 78th Street Tacoma, WA 98409 Commons area- building E

Thursday April 26, 10 -9pm
Friday April 27, 10- 8pm
Saturday April 28, 10- 6pm

Activities include:

• Time with Clifford
• Games, Prizes and crafts
• Meet Clifford, the big red dog!

Garage Sale....

Thank you to all who have signed up so far in the class rooms to help out with our 2nd annual Garage sale fundraiser being held on May 19th in the Waypoint Church Parking lot.....looking good you all!!

Raffle

"Sweet Wishes" basket of goodies - Pampered Chef Raffle $2 each in the Vaughn site classroom

"M" is for Mary

Parents,

It hard to believe that we are coming up on the end of April, where has the year gone.

Beginning the week after Spring Break we will have some special visitors in our classroom, I am not going to tell you what or who they are,so you will have to come into the classroom and find out. We will also be exploring bugs butterflies and as the Month of May roll around we will hopefully be exploring the sunshine and sea life. I hope to throw a few more of the classic books into the mix as well. We are still working on prekindergarten readiness skills.

It has been a fun and exciting year, thank you for sharing your children with me

Miss Mary

January 15, 2008

"K" is for Kim

Hello Preschool Families!

Welcome Spring!  It is so nice to finally have some nice weather!  I hope that you are all enjoying some outside play time.

We will be beginning our caterpillar/butterfly unit when we return from Spring Break.  We will watch caterpillars go through “metamorphosis” and talk about all of the changes that are happening to the caterpillars.  We will creating some wonderful dough caterpillar creations and many other caterpillar and butterfly art projects.  Some stories we will be reading are “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” and “Charlie the Caterpillar”.  This is such a fun time of year!  We will also begin planting seeds and taking care of them by watering them and making sure they are getting sunlight and air, when they are big enough we will send them home so that you can plant them in your gardens.

If your child will be entering Kindergarten next year, please make sure that you register them as soon as you can.  Each school wants to make sure they have enough kindergarten staffing for next year, so the earlier they know how many incoming kinders they have, the earlier that they can begin hiring staff.

Thank you all so much for your continued support of our preschool and mostly for sharing your child with me!!

Teacher Kim

Bates Updates

April 30, 2007

Dear Parent,

One of my favorite parent educators is Bonnie Harris. I subscribe to her on-line newsletter called “Connective Parenting Newsletter”. It is almost always informative and thought-provoking. She is all about the relationship between parent and child and not so much about specific techniques; although she often has practical advice as well.

In her March newsletter she talks about “when the best isn’t good enough”. This resonated with me since I see so many of you wonderful parents struggling with being the perfect parent and raising perfect children. Not only is this aspiration not possible, it is also not even necessary.

Years ago we had the concept of the “good enough” parent. Today we seem to think that good enough isn’t good enough – for ourselves or for our children. I remember complaining to one of my friends that none of my children were musical. She said, “They can’t be good at everything, Carol”. She was so right. Why was I focused in on what they were not good at and not enjoying what they were good at? This attitude put more pressure on me and my children and could have interfered with my relationship with them.

Does this mean that we settle for mediocrity? Of course not. We give our children time, structure, opportunities, resources, encouragement, love and sometimes a gentle push. If we concentrate on what they need for their brains, bodies, and spirits, they will figure out what they like, what they are good at, where they want to excel and where they will just be good enough.

Below are some more suggestions from Bonnie to help your children be less stressed and to be good enough.

 “Listen to your children, allow them to complain

· Provide opportunities and watch which ones your children are drawn to

· Watch for signs of stress: changes in sleep or appetite, a more hostile attitude, frequent headaches and stomach aches

· When you see signs of stress provide a "mental health day", have a heart-to-heart and re-evaluate schedules

· Pull back on saying, "I'm so proud of you." Instead try, "You must be very proud of yourself."

· Make sure your child has plenty of down time. Boredom is necessary for relaxation and creativity.

· Relax. Be more, teach less. “

To being good enough….

Carol