Our First Week

Our first week of PreSchool has gone very smoothly. Everyone adjusted quickly and is learning the routine.

Preparing for the First Day of School

The Kissing Hand~A perfect first day story. This is a story about a little raccoon ready to start school. He talks about his fears to his mother, fears that most children have before beginning school. His mother comes up with a wonderful solution to help her little raccoon remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him. A wonderful and heart-warming story to share with little ones.

On the first day of school there are mixed emotions everywhere! Some children are thrilled to be at school while others have much difficulty making the home to school transition. I always read the kissing hand with my students that first day. We talk about our fears and hopes about coming to school. We also discuss how moms and dads might feel when their children are away from them.

Listen to the story online. The Kissing Hand

A New School Year

It is hard to believe that the summer is coming to a close and the new school year is about to begin! We are very excited to start off the new school year.
Open House is scheduled for Monday, August 15 at 10am for our 3-year old friends and 11am for our 4-year old friends. Each open house will begin with a circle time and a chance to meet new friends and your child's teacher. Half way through open house we will conduct a parent meeting with our director. We will go over school policies at this time.

Please bring with you to open house:
*A change of clothing in a zip seal bag labled with your child's name to be left at school.
*Your child's current immunization record. This may also be faxed to 1-843-689-5201.
*August and September Tuition Payment. We do offer a 5% discount if you pay for the entire year by August 15th.

The first day of school for 2 and 5-day students will be August 16th and the first day for 3-day students will be August 17th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-843-342-2500.

Ooey, Gooey Sensory Fun!

Week Two of summer camp was full of sensory activities. Each child was sent home with a small sample of our concoctions that we made each day. Below you will find the recipes to the popular creations. Enjoy!


Oobleck
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
food coloring

Mix ingredients together. Mixture will crumble in the hands, and then appear to liquefy.

Jell-O Finger Paint
Any sugar free flavored jello
enough boiling water to make it a gooey consistency for fingerpaint. (very little is needed)

Flubber
2 cups Elmer's Glue
Food Coloring
4 tablespoons Borax (found in the laundry section)
warm water

In one bowl mix in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, glue, and food coloring. In a seperate bowl mix in Borax with 1 1/3 cups of warm water. Pour the glue mixture into the mixture. Do not stir or mix it will form on its own. Pour off extra liquid. Store in a plastic bag.

Goop
1 Part Liquid Starch
2 parts white glue
food coloring

Add starch to glue mixture becomes a workable ball. Store in refrigerator in a covered container.

When jello is cool, children may begin to fingerpaint.

An Evening of The Arts ~ Masterpieces In The Making

Mark your calendars for Friday, March 4th. ILP will hold an Evening of the Arts event to raise funds for ILP. Funds raised will used in a variety of ways such as updating the playground, staff enrichment and the scholarship fund.

On March 4th the children's artwork will be on display and the children will perform a short program. We will also serve a spaghetti dinner and hold a silent auction. It will be a busy but fun evening! To see our great Silent Auction items donated by local businesses click here.

Each family is asked to help make this evening a success. There are many ways to help, from small tasks to larger ones. Click here to sign up.

Artwork inspired in the style of Vincent Van Gogh.

Pre-K Handwriting

Stages of Development
Pre-printing strokes usually develop in a specific sequence. However, while
there are general age guidelines for when each stage develops, children will
individually vary in the amount of time needed to pass through each stage.
The information below offers some general developmental information:
* Ages 1 and 2- The child engages in random scribbles. As the
child gets closer to age 2, the scribble will often develop a very
distinct direction-horizontal, diagonal or vertical. This is most
often done in imitation of an adult’s writing. At this stage, the
child is not ‘copying’ or reproducing a specific shape from a
picture. The child is ‘imitating’ or reproducing a form after
watching someone else draw it first.

* Ages 2 and 3- The child can copy vertical and horizontal lines.
As the child becomes nearer to age 3, circles may also be
copied.

* Ages 3 and 4- The child can imitate and then copy a cross or a
plus sign. By age 4, the child may be able to imitate and then
copy a square.

* Age 5- The child can imitate and copy a triangle. Once this is
clearly established, children are capable of learning to print.
Given these developmental levels, it is apparent that most children will not
enter kindergarten having mastered printing. The time in both prekindergarten
and kindergarten should be spent building the foundation of
prerequisite writing skills.



Sources: “The Development of Pre-Printing Skills.” found on
http://www.skillbuildersonline.com

Dinosaur Days

The children will return in January to “The Land Before Time”. We will learn about the time of the dinosaurs and become young paleontologists.


Books used in the classroom:
Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
A Trio Of Triceratops by Bernard Most
Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton

Dinosaur Song
To the tune of "I'm a little Teapot"
I'm a little dinosaur ready to hatch,
Tapping at my shell,
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
When I crack it open, up I'll jump,
And walk around with a
Stomp, Stomp, Stomp!

"Little Stegosaurus"
Tune of "Little Bunny Foo Foo"
Little Stegosaurus tromping through the forest,
Munching on the green plants from morning until night.

Down came a T. Rex, and it said,
"Little stegosaurus,
I don't want to see you
Munching all the green plants from morning until night.
I'll give you [three chances],
And if you don't do as I say,
I'm going to have you for dinner-yum, yum, yum!"

Our curriculum focus will be on the letters D, X and M; the number 6; the color purple; and the oval shape.

Bible Stories
Jesus in the Temple
The Baptism of Jesus
Jesus Calls the Disciples
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man