March 2016 Volume 11, Issue 9 PALS Press OUR 2 YEAR OLDS SHEFANIM (BUNNIES) OUR 3 YEAR OLDS ZEKITOT (CHAMELEONS) OUR 4 YEAR OLDS TZIPORIM (BIRDS) From the Director Shalom! Is spring around the corner or are we in for more snow? While I cannot believe that we are more than halfway through our current school year, this has been a strange winter with either unseasonably warm temperatures or snow storms. Hopefully, true spring will come soon! PALS has very exciting news to share! We are adjusting our schedule in the fall to accommodate families that may want to enjoy more time at PALS. In addition to our regular schedule (our core program), we will be adding early morning drop off to our morning session beginning and an afternoon session from 12:00 to 6:00 pm for the 2 year olds and 2:00 to 6:00pm for the 3 and 4 year olds, five days a week! Registration forms are available in the PALS office. In addition, I hope you will take advantage of our early bird special, extended through the month of March. Talk with Melissa for more information. The Jewish calendar is filled with celebrations and festivities this time of year. We will be celebrating the holiday of Purim, by baking delicious hamentashen, learning the story of Queen Esther, making groggers and dressing in costumes. Please join us for a special PALS Purim celebration on Thursday, March 18 at noon. A community wide Purim Carnival, co-hosted by TBaZY (TBZ Youth Groups) will take place on Sunday, March 13 from 11:00am 1:30pm at Temple Beth Tzedak. There will be games, bounce house, face painting and pie throwing. Please come in costume! We are very excited about our great Tot Shabbat on March 11! Our Tot Shabbat will begin at 5:45 with a small snack for the children, followed by a service filled with story and song, ending with a special Oneg and craft. As always please don t hesitate to give me a call with any questions you have.
Page 2 Shefanim (2 s) February was a short but fabulous month. The children are growing so quickly. When we came back from our winter break they all looked so much taller and seemed more mature. It was wonderful seeing them re-acclimate so quickly to the school routine. We started the month learning about shadows for Groundhog day. We traveled through tunnels and using flashlights, we saw our shadows. Our theme for February was Keeping our Body Healthy. We learned about the importance of heathy eating, taking care of our bodies and brushing our teeth. Our Doctor s Office was a very popular place to examine, X-ray and heal. It s amazing how many bandaids it takes to cover a tiny boo-boo! Next month will abound with swirls and curls as we paint and learn about colors during our March through the Arts theme. Learning about artists, composers and dancers is always a fun and exciting time. If you play a musical instrument, dance or can draw a stick figure, you are welcome to come in and show off your skills! During March we will also learn about the story of Purim. All our classes are invited to celebrate together on Friday, March 18th at 12:00. Bring a lunch and wear a costume! A delicious dessert will be provided. Hopefully March will bring some sunny, less muddy days and we will be able to venture outside again. Please make sure your child is prepared for the weather so we can enjoy some fresh air! Keep in mind, we are adjusting our schedule in the fall to accommodate families that may want to enjoy more time at PALS. In addition to our regular schedule, we will be adding a morning session beginning at 7:30 am and an afternoon session from 12:00 to 6:00 pm for the 2 year olds and 2:00 to 6:00pm for the 3 and 4 year olds. Registration is available. Looking forward to a wonderful month ahead. Lauren and Melissa
Page 3 Zekitot (3 s) While February was a quick month, it truly was an exciting and busy one in our classroom! In a few short weeks, we packed in a lot of wonderful learning and growing experiences. Our unit on Keeping our Bodies Healthy was really interesting for our class. We saw CPR being administered to a doll, brain surgery performed on a teacher, body casts and even babies being born. You will notice that the children are beginning to recognize their first and last names! They are able to sign themselves in each morning upon arrival. We continue to read books, sing songs and recite poetry to reinforce sound and letter recognition. A real highlight for the teachers and the students this month has been a visit from hygienist, Miriam Shainbrown from Amherst Dental Group. We all counted our teeth, learned about brushing with a giant toothbrush and received new toothbrushes! In March our thematic unit is called Marching through the Arts. We will explore different art forms and learn about some of the masters. We welcome musicians, singers, dancers and anyone who can draw a stick figure, to come in and show off your skill! During the month of March, we will also learn about Purim, the holiday that tells the story of Queen Esther and how she saved the Jewish people. Our PALS Purim celebration will be held on Friday, March 18th at noon. There will be Hamentashen, crafts, singing and a costume parade. We hope you can join us! Keep in mind, we are adjusting our schedule in the fall to accommodate families that may want to enjoy more time at PALS. In addition to our regular schedule, we will be adding a morning session beginning at 7:30 am and an afternoon session from 12:00 to 6:00 pm for the 2 year olds and 2:00 to 6:00pm for the 3 and 4 year olds. Registration is available. Hopefully March will bring some sunny and less muddy days so we will be able to venture outside again. Please make sure your child is prepared for the weather so we can enjoy some fresh air! As always, we welcome your input. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestions! B Shalom (In Peace) Melissa and Shira
Page 4 Tziporim (4 s) During the recent conferences, we were frequently asked for advice about practicing pre-reading and prewriting skills at home. I wanted to give you some of my ideas about the subject in order to insure a connection between school and home. I hope this helps in giving you some developmentally appropriate ideas. One of our central philosophies is that children need to be exposed to many literacy experiences so they can appreciate the value of the printed message. In our class, we make every effort to incorporate literature, words and letters into every corner of the room and every activity we do. Our book corner is loaded with literature about our monthly themes. In our class, books are not only in the book corner. Science journals and books are kept on the science shelf with the dead bugs, moldy oranges and rocks. In the dramatic play area we keep cookbooks, coupon flyers and magazines. There are books about Van Gogh and Matisse on the art shelf and alphabet books on the writing area. Read with them as much as you can. Tell them stories when you are in the car. Have them tell you stories start them off Once upon a time there was a great, big, bear named Tiny To enhance thinking and mathematical skills, if I have 2 pennies in one pocket and 2 in the other pocket, how much money do I have? How many apples do we have in the refrigerator? If grandma eats one how many will we have left? If they are beginning to recognize beginning and ending sounds of words have them make the shopping list. I bet they all can read the word STOP on a stop sign and EXIT at a doorway. Point out these repetitive symbols and add a few more. Learning to read and to write is a continual process that a child has to be developmentally ready to do. At this stage, make it fun and engaging and they will become confident life-long learners. If you have any other questions or would like more specific ideas or games please don t hesitate to ask. While February was a quick month, it truly was an exciting and busy one in our classroom! In a few short weeks, we packed in a lot of wonderful learning and growing experiences. Our unit on Keeping our Bodies Healthy was really interesting for our class. In our Doctor s Office, we saw CPR being administered to a doll, brain surgery performed on a teacher, body casts and even babies being born. It s truly amazing how many Band-Aids the children can stick on imaginary boo boos! Our curriculum for the month of March is so exciting. We will be Marching through the Arts, with special guests who are artists, dancers and musicians. If you can sing, play an instrument, dance or have the ability to draw a stick figure, we would so appreciate a visit to our class. March is also a time we talk about one of our favorite Jewish holidays. Our PALS Purim celebration will be held on Friday, March 18 at noon. There will be Hamentashen, crafts, singing and a costume parade. We hope you can join us! Keep in mind, we are adjusting our schedule in the fall to accommodate families that may want to enjoy more time at PALS. In addition to our regular schedule, we will be adding a morning session beginning at 7:30 am and an afternoon session from 12:00 to 6:00 pm for the 2 year olds and 2:00 to 6:00pm for the 3 and 4 year olds. Registration forms are available. B Shalom (In Peace), Shira and Melissa
Page 5 Upcoming Events in March: PJ Library Tot Shabbat Hop Friday, March 11th 5:45 Broder Building Community Wide Purim Celebration @ Temple Beth Tzedak March 13th PALS Purim Party Friday, March 18th 12:00 1:00 pm ************ March 21-28 NO PALS SPRING BREAK PALS Registration 2016-2017 NOW UNDERWAY March Birthday: Archie - March 28 Noam - March 29 Albert Einstein - March 14 Lady Gaga - March 28 Dr Suess - March 2 UPCOMING IN APRIL April 8 : NO PALS Staff Development Day April 20: Zekitot (3 s) and Tziporim (4 s) Passover Seder @ 11:30 April 21: Shefanim (2 s) Passover Seder @ 11:30 April 22: NO PALS/ Passover Begins April 29: NO PALS /Passover Ends First family to send in paper towels, wipes and Tissues, gets a hug!