 Dear Parents,
I am writing you this letter today to regretfully announce that Tuesday, June 30th will be my last day at University Child Development. The past eight years have been wonderful for me. Your children have taught me nearly as much as I have been able to teach them, and I have had an amazing time getting to know them and helping them grow throughout the years. Please understand that as much as it pains me to leave, this move is better for my family in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I feel this is a good time for an exit, as most of the children I have taught the past year will be off to Kindergarten and a new teacher will have a month to settle in and be completely prepared for the beginning of the new school year. Ms. Alex will be in contact with you when we have more details about a replacement for the KR Room. Please know that your children have been my joy to teach and will always hold a special place in my heart as my Superhero Sidekicks! Love Always, Ms. Rachel Johnson
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 Important Dates: June 20 - First Day of Summer! June 21 - Father's Day June 26 - National Chocolate Pudding Day (No, really!) July 4 - Independence Day! Have a safe and happy holiday!  Themes: June 1-6 - Pond Life June 8-12 - Life on the Farm June 15-19 - Summer Fun! June 22-26 - Under the Sea June 20-July 3 - Stars & Stripes July 6-10 - Bicycle Safety July 13-17 - Picnic July 20-24 - Sports July 27-31 - Opposites  Summer Schedule:
Messy Mondays - We'll be doing a messy project, so be sure to send your child in clothes you don't mind coming home dirty and/or stained! Crafty Tuesdays - Arts and Crafts is the name of the game! Weird Science Wednesdays - We'll be doing a theme-related science project. Hint: Exploding soda bottles may or not be in the near future! Splash Thursday - Due to COVID-19 we will be decreasing the number of splash days in the KR room to just one day. Children may bring their swimsuits, towels, and water shoes/flip flops to play in the sprinkler outside. Please send your child's belongings in a separate swim bag to aid in keeping distance between student's belongings. Field Trip Fridays - You don't need a bus to go on a field trip! We've got several field trips planned within walking distance of the center, including the Washburn frog pond and Dairy Queen!  Themes: May 4-8 - Things that GO!/Transportation May 11-15 - Plants and Seeds May 18-22 - Zoo Animals May 25-29 - Camping  Important Dates: May 10 - Mother's Day May 22 - Last day of schoo! May 25 - Memorial Day! No School! May 26 - First day of summer care   Themes: Mar 30- Apr 3 - Weather Apr 6-10 - Bugs & Insects Apr 13-17 - Easter Apr 20-24 - Recycling/Earth Day Apr 27-May 1 - Outer Space  Mega Memos: Easter Egg Hunt - In order to maintain the health and safety of our children and staff, our traditional easter egg hunt at Washburn University will be cancelled this year. Although we are saddened by this, we are happy knowing this is just another step to keep us all healthy!  Super Student of the Month:   For any parents interested, I am attaching next week's lesson plans. Please note, there will be several activities you will not be able to do at home (i.e HWT activities), but please do not let this concern you. We will catch up on all HWT curriculum once we return to our normal schedule. Feel free to use this as a baseline to come up with your own activities! Below I have also listed Read-Aloud books about Spring and a few miscellaneous activities we would have done had we been in session. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there! Sincerely, Ms. Rachel 
Read Aloud Books
(You may need to copy and paste the links into your browser in order to make them work!) When Will it be Spring? by Catherine Walters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqyVSlwE4nw When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_kNU3XpMew The Thing About Spring by Daniel Kirk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkc78nhsDoQ Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gBL7I1Bm8E Misc: Spring Discussion/Vocabulary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEb1GsqxhZc Spring Songs for Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DobrRgD5aOU Brain Breaks/Springtime Dance by Jack Hartmann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udrIY0nts-E  Dates to Remember: Mar 2-6 – Dr. Seuss Spirit Week: Monday: Mixed Up Monday Tuesday: Top Hat Tuesday Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday Thursday: Theodore Thursday Friday: Funny Food Friday Mar 11 – Boomer and the Library Lady visit, 10:00 AM Mar 12-13 – CLOSED for Spring Break Mar 17 – St. Patrick's Day  Themes: Mar 2-6 – Dr. Seuss Mar 9-13 – Rainbows Mar 16-20 – St. Patrick’s Day Mar 23-27 – Spring Mar 30-Apr 3 – Weather Mega Memos: That’s a BIG Hat! In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday (March 2) the UCD classrooms take part in a little competition throughout the month of March. We place the head of the Cat in the Hat (minus his hat) on the bulletin board in the hallway and invite parents to help us make his hat grow! How do you do that? By reading to your child at home! We will be sending slips of red and white paper home with each family to fill out every time a book is read. After the slips have been filled out, bring them back to school for us to hang on the hallway bulletin board! Spring Break Washburn University’s Spring Break is the week of March 9-13. UCD will close only Thursday 12th and Friday 13th Super Student of the Month:   Dates to Remember: Feb 12 – Boomer visits! 10:00 AM Feb 14 – Valentine's Day Party, 3:15 PM Feb 21 – CLOSED for Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Themes: Feb 3-7 – Testing/Eric Carle Feb 10-14 – Valentine’s Day Feb 17-21 – Dental Health Feb 24-28 – My 5 Senses Show-And-Tell: Feb 7 – FREE CHOICE! Feb 14– Something RED or something to do with VALENTINE’S DAY! Feb 21 – No Show-and-Tell. Closed for Parent/Teacher Conferences Feb 28 – Something that I can FEEL! Mega Memos: Testing - Testing week will be February 3-7. It is very important for your child to be in attendance during this time. If your child will be missing more than their normal schedule, please be sure to let me know so that I can get them tested first! Parent/Teacher Conferences - Parent/Teacher Conference appointments will be Friday, February 21 and will be pre-arranged by Ms. Alex and I. If you would like to request a specific time, we would be more than willing to work with you. If you cannot make your appointment, please see one of us and we can get you rescheduled! Super Student of the Month:   Dates to Remember: Dec 4 – Boomer visits! 10:00 AM Dec 6 – Christmas Program, 6:00 PM Dec 12 – Santa visits UCD, 10:15-11:15 AM Dec 13 – Cosmo’s Birthday Dec 17 – Daphne’s Birthday Dec 20 – Christmas Pajama Party and book exchange!! Be sure to sign up for snacks and bring a wrapped book as a gift for your child to exchange. Dec 23-Jan 2 – NO SCHOOL! Christmas Vacation! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  Themes: Dec 2-6 – Snowmen at Night Dec 9-13 – Seasons: Winter Dec 16-20 – Christmas  Show-And-Tell: Dec 6 – No Show-and-Tell Dec 13 – Something WHITE or something to do with SNOW. Dec 20 – My SNUGGLE BUDDY.  The Elf on the Shelf - A Note from Ms. Rachel: Every Christmas I sit down with my students and read to them, “The Elf on the Shelf” by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this story, it is an interactive holiday hide-and-seek tradition. We start by reading the book and naming our stuffed toy elf. Our elf then sticks around the classroom, magically moving to a different lookout every day because, as the story goes, he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa Claus every night and then flies back by morning. The kiddos love looking for his new hiding place every day and it becomes a favorite game until our elf “goes home” on Christmas Eve. As I have worked in childcare for many years, I understand that not every family celebrates Christmas in the same manner. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you do not wish your child to be encouraged to believe in Santa Claus. It will only take a few moments a day for me to pull your child aside and remind them that we are just pretending. It will not mess up or interfere with our fun tradition and will allow me to help reinforce your own family’s traditions. Thank you!  Christmas Program: Friday, December 6th is the big day! UCD’s 8th annual Christmas program! Together with the Toddler and Preschool rooms, we will be performing an adaptation of “Snowmen at Night” by Caralyn Buehner. What you need to know: The program will start at 6:00 PM. This year we are asking parents to please make sure their child is in their classroom, dressed and ready by 5:30. If you are unable to pick up your child early that day, don’t worry. Bring their costumes to school and we will get them dressed for you. After dropping your child off in their classroom, family members can then head to the church sanctuary to find their seats. Costumes are white T-shirts, black pants, and a colorful scarf. Refreshments and family friendly activities will follow the production in the gym.  Super Student of the Month:   Dates to Remember: Nov 3 – Daylight Saving Time Ends. Don’t forget to set your clocks! Nov 6 – Boomer & the Library Lady visit! Nov 11 – Veterans Day Nov 11-15 – Testing Nov 22 – RSVP cut off for Thanksgiving Luncheon Nov 26 – Family Thanksgiving Luncheon Nov 28-29 – NO SCHOOL! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  Themes: Nov 4-8 – Scarecrows/Birds Nov 11-15 – Testing/Disney Nov 18-22 – Manners Nov 25-29 – Thanksgiving  Show-and-Tell: Nov 8 – Something BLACK or something to do with BIRDS. Nov 15 – Something to do with DISNEY. Nov 22 – FREE CHOICE!  A Note from Ms. Rachel: I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that we are required by licensing to take our students outside for recess every day, twice a day, as long as the weather does not go below 32 degrees. A light jacket is encouraged, especially for these chilly mornings!  Upcoming Events: Thanksgiving Luncheon: Tuesday, November 26th will be UCD’s Family Thanksgiving Luncheon. From 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM family members are invited to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with their children in the gymnasium, served by our very own G’s Catering. Please R.S.V.P by Friday, November 22nd so we can have an accurate head count for the big day! Thanksgiving Break: Don’t forget, UCD will be CLOSED Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Super Student of the Month:   Dates to Remember: Oct 2 – Picture Day! Oct 7-11 – Parent/Teacher Conferences. Oct 9 – Boomer visits! Oct 21-25 – Spirit Week! Monday – Animal Day Tuesday – Masquerade/Hidden Identity Wednesday – Decade Dress Up Thursday – Career Day Friday – Washburn Pride Day Oct 26 – WU Homecoming Parade Oct 31 – Trick-or-Treating around Washburn campus / Halloween parties  Themes: Sept 30-Oct 4 – Community Helpers Oct 7-11 – Family Oct 14-18 – My Body Oct 21-25 – Feelings/Emotions Oct 28-Nov 1 – Halloween  Show-and-Tell: Oct 4 – Something BLUE or something to do with COMMUNITY HELPERS. Oct 11 – A picture of my FAMILY. Oct 18 – FREE CHOICE! Oct 25 – Something that makes me HAPPY! Nov 1 – Something ORANGE or something to do with HALLOWEEN.  Upcoming Events: Parent/Teacher Conferences: The week of October 7-11 is Parent/Teacher Conferences. My Conferences are extremely easy and short! We will go over your child’s beginning-of-the-year developmental testing and set goals for them if necessary. Conferences are a great time to ask any questions you have about curriculum, our daily schedule, or pretty much anything you’ve been wondering about! The times available will be posted outside the classroom. If these times conflict with your schedule but you would still like to come in, please see me and we can find a time to work you in! Spirit Week: October 21-25 is Spirit Week at UCD! Spirit week days are as follows: Monday – Animal Day Come dressed as your favorite animal (or any animal costume you may have). Remember, t-shirts with animals on them work, too! Tuesday – Masquerade/Hidden Identity Masks! Face paint! "Mask" your identity for this dress up day! Wednesday – Decade Dress Up Choose a decade, any decade for this dress up day! Wild West? Medieval lords and ladies? Groovy 60s? The possibilities are endless! Thursday – Career Day What do YOU want to be when you grow up? Friday – Washburn Pride Day Show your support for our very own Ichabods by donning your navy blue and white. Trick-or-Treat! Thursday, October 31st we will be taking the entire school to Washburn to trick-or-treat around campus. Your child will need their Halloween costume, comfortable shoes, any weather appropriate additions to their costumes (for instance, tights under a dress or a jacket for a chilly morning), and a large/strong trick-or-treat bag. We request that all pieces of your child’s costume are properly marked with their names or initials to avoid loss and/or mix-ups, and I personally would like to ask that all costumes are sent to school in their own separate bag. We will change into our costumes after breakfast and leave as soon as everyone is ready. We will return to the school in time for lunch and naptime will proceed as usual. Parents are WELCOME to come and help out! The more adults we have to help corral our little ones, the less chaotic and more fun the trip!  Super Student of the Month:  |
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