SARA HOLBROOK COMMUNITY CENTER

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

We spent a lot of time last week building and designing with different materials. We used magnet shapes, wooden blocks, pegs, and straws to build different structures and ramps. We even used pegs to make an “X” to mark a spot for treasure.

We sent our bean plants home so we can share them with our families. However, before they went home, we all measured and graphed our bean plants. We used both counting cubes and rulers to measure. We found that most of the plants had grown several inches.

The preschoolers also started their ocean unit last week, in preparation for the play “ImaginOcean!” at the Flynn on Monday, January 23rd. Please remember to be at the center promptly at 8:30 am on Monday so we have time to eat before we leave for the play at 9 am. We painted a beautiful ocean background after reading Swimmy last week, and then added rocks and seaweeds by using different types of tools to paint later in the week. We also made our own colorful collage fish by sharing scales, like the main character did in The Rainbow Fish.

In preparation for the play, we have been completing our own performances with singing and dancing, with some of us practicing to be audience members. We are very entertaining!

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:35:00 +0000

The last week we had of school in December and the first week in January have been quite busy with new visitors and volunteers, as well as a variety of projects. We said farewell to Nui, who has gone to work with another school in the Burlington School District. We welcomed our volunteer Donna back last Wednesday. Kaylee, who has subbed at Sara Holbrook before, was with us last week while Ms. Esther was at trainings. Mrs. Leavitt, Dick, and Charlene continue to read to us. We have done several fun projects, including making hats out of paper bags and creating collages from recycled paper and ribbons. We also finished designing and sewing our mittens.

We have been enjoying exploring puzzles lately, both the matching kind with two pieces (that tests us on different conceptual skills) and the larger, multi-piece puzzles.
One of our main themes has been nutrition. We had a special Head Start visitor, Susan Willis, who talked to us about eating healthy foods and brought us four different colors of pepper to try. We’ve colored and sorted different types of food onto our own individual food pyramids as well as on paper plates. We put together food puzzles during free choice activities and placed plastic food in our guessing bag.

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Despite the colder weather, we have still have been having a lot of fun outside. Last week we got to watch the neighbors use an excavator to help destroy and clean up the debris from their woodshed. It was so exciting to see a real construction vehicle in action! We also played on the see-saw and the bikes.

We also spent a lot of time last week exploring and building with different materials. We read a Vietnamese tale about a boy and how he used different boxes and learned a song about “Jack in the Box.” Afterwards, we explored a variety of ways to use cardboard boxes and built our own box out of straws. We read the story of the 3 Little Pigs and built houses for the pigs and other fairy tale figurines out of solid wooden blocks (bricks) and popsicle sticks (sticks). We also used the blocks to build a ramp for trucks.

We did lots of reading last week, sharing books with a friend or two or having teachers read to us, like Mrs. Leavitt. Last Friday was our last day with Sascha, and she read us one of her favorite books as a kid, Princess Grace. We will miss her and wish her luck!

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:36:00 +0000

Last week we read a book about trains called Two Little Trains. We used the book to learn about the different directions—north, south, east, west. Then we formed our own train and took a train ride through the classroom and upstairs, saying directions as we turned.

We recently ordered a lot of new materials for the class. One of our favorite things to build with now are foam letters and numbers that interlock. We can play all sorts of fun games with them, like counting, hopscotch, and Alphabet Twister.

We learned some more nursery rhymes, as well as a few fairy tales. The children acted out “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” using figurines and the dollhouse, and used a paper cutout and toy people and animals to act out “The Gingerbread Man.” Mrs. Leavitt read us Three Little Kittens and Esther read us Hansel and Gretal. Three Little Kittens, which we also have as a book on tape, was so popular that several children read it on their own that day and we took turns borrowing it to take home

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:11:00 +0000

The past few weeks we have been learning more structured games outside, like “Red Light, Green Light.” We also have found several creative ways to share the hula hoops.

Several of the students in the class have had dental appointments in the last few weeks, or will go to one soon. We have been exploring with the dental kit again for this reason.

Our main focus last week was nursery rhymes. We learned the rhyme “Jack Be Nimble” and then acted it out by jumping over a candlestick. We did a science experiment with several eggs and a stack of blocks to find out how far Humpty Dumpty could fall without cracking or breaking. We learned our letters by pointing to different ones located in the nursery rhymes. We even passed the bonnet of “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary” and “Old Mother Hubbard” around as part of our circle greeting. Now we are making on a nursery rhyme book. Although each students will only represent one rhyme in the book, they all like acting out the different rhymes. Can you guess which nursery rhymes we are acting out below?

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:50:00 +0000

We continued to explore the theme of families. The dollhouses were again a popular free choice activity, as was playing family during mealtimes in the dramatic play area. Washing babies in the sink was such a popular activity that we did it a second day as well.

Besides washing babies in the sink, we had several other sensory opportunities last week. We explored using funnels and glass jars with different colors of sand in preparation for our rainbow sand art project this week. We also practiced cooking and baking with sand in the sensory table, using measuring spoons and muffin tins. The students really enjoyed using watercolors, and we found out how beautiful it looked when we mixed the colors together with the stencils.

We had several outdoor adventures last week. We took a walk around the block one day, where the children pointed out the fire station, traffic signs, and different colored houses. We also pretended to fish—some of us even were the fish. Finally, a lot of excitement was had when one of the students found a live worm. We built him a house of leaves.

We did several activities that centered around music and dance last week. We made time for free-style dancing at circle. We read four different versions of the classic lullaby “Hush, Little Baby” and then graphed which one was our favorite. We also learned a Thai song for children about an elephant. Nui helped us make colorful elephant headbands, taught us how to act out the song,, and played the khim, a Thai stringed instrument, for us. We were so excited to learn about the music and national animal from her country.

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Last week we began a unit on families. This was also the theme of the books for the family literacy workshop on Friday, November 4th. In preschool, Lis modeled how we could set up the dollhouses with different rooms and how we could use it to play with the dolls as families. We had a lot of fun doing that this week.

We have been doing a lot of reading-related activities, as a whole group, with a few friends or on our own. The new family books we have rotated into our library are a lot of fun to share with teachers and volunteers. We’ve also enjoyed listening to books on tape and CD.

Our class has been doing a really great job working and playing together during free time. We share and help each other out, regardless of whether we are playing with the dollhouses, exploring in the sandbox, putting together puzzles, or building with a new kind of block.

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:12:00 +0000

We used several activity kits, puzzles, and pictures to work on a variety of conceptual skills. For literacy, this included spelling simple three and four-letter words and sorting pictures according to their beginning letters and sounds. We also discussed the concept of before and after, and matched before and after pictures in small groups. The students also worked on color matching and sorting objects according to their size.

We also finished our unit on magnets this week, with students completing their paintings with magnetic objects and exploring on and under a magnetic table that had trains, bolts, washers, and all sorts of other magnetic objects. We also built with magnetic tiles.

Friday was special for two reasons—we had a community health coordinator from Fletcher Allen come to measure us for new bike helmets, which were generously donated by Kohl’s. We also had our first family literacy workshop/parent committee meeting of the year, conducted by literacy expert and librarian Anne Hawley, with free books kindly donated through the Vermont Humanities Council. Thank you to those who attended the workshop/meeting, and to everyone for completing your parent surveys.

What's on Tap for Teens?

noreply@blogger.com (SamuelJohnWilliam) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:15:00 +0000

Here's the November edition of What's on Tap for Teens? We've got some great events going on this month. Check them, out below!

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:02:00 +0000

This newsletter will cover the shortened week of October 17th through 19th and last week. We did a lot of different projects and activities during the past two weeks. Art projects included making our class scarecrow, painting with magnets, and decorating foam pumpkins with a variety of materials, including beads, rhinestones, and wooden pieces. Whole group activities during circle have included building Mat Man while learning different bodies parts and what they help us do (several students also built Mat Man on their own) and acting out the poem “Five Little Pumpkins” with masks.

We have been practicing our literacy skills through a variety of different activities. We have been practicing writing and remembering our letters and numbers (and short words) through the use of stencils, puzzles, dry erase cards, magnetic drawing boards, and Boogle cubes. We have also been enjoying books with Charlene, Dick, and our other teachers, as well as listening to books on tape.

New NNEYC Logo (Though it might look familiar)

noreply@blogger.com (SamuelJohnWilliam) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:15:00 +0000

The New North End Youth Center has been under the Sara Holbrook umbrella for many years now, and there has always been an NNEYC logo. But recently, the only one we could find was small and unusable. Luckily we have a digital genius on staff at the center and Marni Salerno whipped up a new version of the old logo. We also added in a reference to Sara Holbrook so people are sure to know we're affiliated and that Sara Holbrook has a presence in the New North End. See the logo below. What do you think?

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:15:00 +0000

We had several specialized exploration centers and activities available to the children last week. These included a work bench and hammer and nail set for construction, an “I Spy” scavenger hunt where we looked for different pictures and signs around the room through binoculars (and made our own!), and a dental center complete with dentist tools, toothbrushes, smock, fake teeth, and stuffed animals as our patients. We explored this last center after Sandy, the tooth tutor, came to visit us on Monday.

We also continued to enhance our math and conceptual skills through a variety of activities, such as shape and number puzzles, activities where we match what two things go together, and by sorting different sized objects.

We also worked on our literacy skills by writing a short sentence using the letter bibs with Esther, working on simple word puzzles, and reading a fun story with Mrs. Leavitt. We have a family literacy workshop scheduled for Friday, November 4th. Please sign up near the attendance sheet if you wish to participate so we know how many books we will need, or ask Lis if you have any questions about the workshop.

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Last week the children explored construction. We made different shapes and structures out of the rainbow puzzles and legos. We continued our play with the magnet tiles, working together to make complex structures and buildings. We also learned about how to properly use construction tools, and got to utilize a workbench and hammer and nail set, though we were careful to put on our safety goggles first!

We also tried out some new materials at the writing center. We used the Handwriting Without Tears wooden pieces to trace letters and words. Another day we filled our papers with letter and shape stickers.

We explored the math skill of sorting last week, both by size with our Early Language Concept Kit objects, and by color with autumn leaves. Sorting is a skill that many of us are becoming increasingly good at.

We had a lot of fun outside last week. We drew with chalk, practiced our basketball skills, and went fishing with Pauline, who was a sub on Wednesday.

What's on Tap for Teens?

noreply@blogger.com (SamuelJohnWilliam) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Here is the first monthly installment of "What's on Tap for Teens?" It's a picture file and I hope it works. If you have any trouble reading it, please leave a comment. We run programming out of the Miller Center at 130 Gosse Ct. It's all free and a ton of fun so stop on by! Thanks!

Preschool Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Last week we talked about fire safety, and went through the steps of a fire drill before we completed one. We also talked about fire stations and the different tools firefighters use. We passed a special fire truck around during circle—it was painted gold and was a trophy that the center won for being the fastest team for the fire truck pull on Church Street a few weeks ago.

Nui talked to us about clothes in Thailand and showed us a Thai children’s book and a Thai outfit. Some of us even tried on the beautiful, colorful outfit. Nui also taught us to say “hello” in Thai by placing our hands together.

We have been exploring making letter and words. Several of us have used the Velcro letters from the “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” cocoanut tree to spell our names. We have also used the wooden curves and straight lines from the Handwriting Without Tears program to make the letters in our name and simple words.

Last Friday we had our first visit from Robert Resnik and Mrs. Buck. They come once a month to sing and play their instruments for us. We really liked singing with them. They even made up some songs on the spot!

Preschool Newsletter: September 26, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Last week, we continued our exploration of learning about the letters of the alphabet by spelling simple words (usually two or three letters long) with our letter vests. We also read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in small groups and used our special prop coconut tree to act out the story with Velcro letters. It helped us become more familiar with our lowercase letters.

For the past several weeks we have been building and designing with a large variety of construction materials. We especially like working with magnet shapes. All this building and designing help us learn about shapes and spatial reasoning.

We have been doing a large variety of activities outside, enjoying the warmer weather before the crisp autumn days come. We have played “Ring-Around-the-Rosy” together and explored in the sandbox. We have practiced learning to jump rope and how to wait in line for the swings. We have also used chalk, tricycles, and the water table outside.

Outright VT Firetruck Pull

noreply@blogger.com (SamuelJohnWilliam) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:15:00 +0000

This past Saturday a team from Sara Holbrook participated in Outright Vermont's annual Firetruck Pull, raising over $750 to help Vermont's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Spearheaded by Adam Catanzarite (who works at both Outright and Sara Holbrook) the team of Sara Holbrook employees came together to fund-raise in the weeks before the event. Donations were made through the First Giving website. Mine is still active and if you are interested in donating please do so here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samgraulty/outrightvermonts8thannualfiretruckpull

We had a great outpouring of support. On the day of the actual pull, all the teams met at the top of Church Street to pull a full-sized BFD firetruck. (What did you think this was a metaphor?) Because we were a smaller team we were due to be partnered with other small teams, but a number of those people did not show up. Luckily, thanks to the amazing friends we had there watching who jumped in at the last minute we were able to not only compete, but to win fastest pull! Here's the team, the judges and the TROPHY:

Almost $30,000 was raised in total. It was a great time and a great way to help out a fellow non-profit serving Burlington's youth!

Preschool Newsletter: September 19, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:04:00 +0000

We had a great second week at preschool. Now that the students are a little more used to their environment and our classroom routines, we have been able to do more academic related activities, such as reading. We read as a whole group, with teachers or volunteers in small groups, or with our classmates last week.

Many of us also practiced our fine motor skills by writing, drawing, and painting last week. Once Lis modeled drawing an apple tree for us, several of us practiced drawing or even painting apple trees on our own. We also did a group art project outside with watercolors. We made drawings of animals and our family members. Some of us even practiced writing words or the letters of our name.

We also used many materials and did different activities that taught us a variety of math concepts last week, like measurement, size, color (for sorting and categorizing), and counting.

Preschool Newsletter September 12, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC Staff Member) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Welcome to a fun and exciting year for the preschool program at Sara Holbrook! Our first week was busy with getting to know our new teachers and classmates and exploring all the different materials and activities available to us in the classroom.

One of our first activities was making placemats that we will begin using this week . Some of us drew with many colors, while others traced plastic food. We all had a lot to say about what we liked to eat! We also practiced bobbing for apples after our teachers read us several books about apples. So much fun!

We also had fun playing outside on the swings and with musical instruments this week. After reading the Dr. Seuss book Ten Apples Up On Top! we practiced balancing too, with beanbags on our heads. We even helped each other to put the beanbags on. Next week we will finish our own version of this counting book. We had an excellent first week and are excited about all we will learn and do this week!

SHCC TIMES

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:12:00 +0000

FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER CAMP!

We had a great First week as we kicked off the beginning of summer camp! The week was full of face painting, playing in the sand and plenty of fun as we enjoyed trips to the beach and the Farmer’s Market. Lauren paid a visit to us from the Very Merry Theater to prepare us for our performance of 'Chronicles of Narnia' in the Wig Wag festival. This summer our camp is once again involved in the Fletcher Free Library Reading Program. Students read for a half an hour each day and will get cool prizes for the week!! Keep those reading muscles working! As the temperatures rise we recommend that your camper bring a water bottle WITH THEIR NAME on it so they can continue to hydrate themselves regularly. There is access to water
fountains, but for their own personal convenience this will be beneficial.

No Summer Camp on Monday July,4th.

Beach on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday- Please
make sure your camper has a towel and bathing suit.

Bike Club on Thursday Morning July, 7th: Please check to see if your camper signed up, each camper needs to have a helmet and a bike lock. Please NO scooters or skateboards.

Sailing Center on Tuesday July, 5th : Gabe and Emma’s Group will be going to the sailing center in the afternoon from 1 to 4. Please have your camper wear CLOSED TOE SHOES, they
cannot sail without them! If your camper is prone to motion sickness PLEASE let us know before he/she goes sailing.

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Preschool Newsletter May 23, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:10:00 +0000

We have been having several camera issues recently, so this newsletter will serve as an update for the past two weeks. We apologize for the delay.

The week of May 9th we finished our author study with an exploration of the books of Rosemary Wells. After reading Bunny Cakes the children made their own mudcakes outside in the sandbox, much like Max did in the book. Esther taught us how to jump rope like the animals did in the book My Kindergarten. We also learned about paper money and coins from the book Bunny Money and played with toy cash registers in the dramatic play area, and made vegetable sushi like Yoko’s mother in the book Yoko.

We had a special visit from 2nd through 5th graders from the Lawrence Barnes Elementary School on Tuesday, May 10th. They came to our classroom and talked with us about familiar places in our community and helped us make maps of our neighborhoods.

Last week we discussed friendship and the importance of it in preschool and kindergarten. On Friday, May 20th, Merlin’s mother Becca came in and helped us make an obstacle course with a slide, a sled, and crawling, among other things. The obstacle course emphasized physical activity and teamwork, as each child went through the course with a partner. At the end each child received a red cape for their participation and for being a “Super Friend!” Thanks Becca for all your help and for the fun idea!

Last week we also brought some new toys outside to play with. The children had lots of fun pushing toy babies around in strollers and pretending to fish with poles that really worked!

Preschool Newsletter May 2, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:49:00 +0000

This week there was an emphasis on reading, as we had an author study of Mercer Mayer and Esther read aloud a book she wrote and illustrated for her literacy class, House Wren On a Fence. As a project after reading the Mercer Mayer book Bubble, Bubble the children had lots of fun blowing bubbles and using bubble wands outside.

The children also enjoyed showing each other some of their favorite toys during show and tell week.

The children also enjoyed our monthly visit from Robert Resnik and Mrs. Buck. They sang some new songs and old favorites. Mrs. Buck played the bass clarinet, a new instrument to most of the children. They were very interested in her explanation of how it worked.

Preschool Newsletter April 18, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:50:00 +0000

Last week we focused on learning about health. We created a dental clinic for dramatic play during free choice time where the children could brush and check the teeth of stuffed animals. We discussed nutrition throughout the week. We read two versions of the story about making stone soup and compared them. For related activities we made a paper, glitter, pompom, and yarn soup collage out of foods that begin with the letter “Ss” and cooked our own stone soup with vegetables, pasta, and chicken. It was delicious! Shelby also read a book about nutrition with the children and played a game that taught them about healthy and unhealthy foods. She also led a project where the children drew a picture of their favorite healthy foods, which they later shared with the whole group during circle.

The children explored writing and drawing a lot last week. Besides drawing pictures of their favorite foods, they also practiced writing the date and using picture cards to write simple words. We also used dry erase boards to write and draw. All this practice writing and drawing is especially important for our students going into kindergarten next year.

The children also learned math skills like shapes and spatial reasoning last week. For greeting one day we went over different shapes and fed them to Shape Monster. Pattern blocks and puzzles were very popular activities during free choice last week.

We were also excited to have Governor Peter Shumlin come visit us on Tuesday, April 12th.

Preschool Newsletter April 11, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Last week, the preschoolers practiced some of their yoga moves and learned some new ones. The children had been saying recently how they missed doing yoga on a regular basis and were excited to practice their poses several times last week.

We also started learning about spring and some of the changes it brings in nature. We brainstormed a list of words that make us think of spring (the listed is posted on the door). We made our own muddy hand and footprints with paint. We discussed the water cycle and sang some songs about rain. We made umbrellas with glitter as decoration. We also acted out the life cycle of the butterfly (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly) and made our own colorful butterflies with Jill out of paper towel, food coloring, and clothespins. Finally we discussed how things grow, learned about the different part of a plant, and dissected bean seeds during circle.

We also did a lot of reading last week, sharing books with our friends during free choice time and during read-alouds with teachers. Jill read us The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Mrs. Leavitt read us The Umbrella.

With all the rain last week, the children spent much of their time indoors. We got out the indoor play structure, teeter-totter, and mats to play on one day last week.

Preschool Newsletter April 4, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SHCC) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Last week the preschoolers learned about sap and maple sugaring. We passed around a branch with frozen sap and re-enacted the different steps in the maple sugaring process. All this inspired some of the children when they were in different center of the classroom to make creatures that drank sap and spell the word “sap.” We also got to try some tasty biscuits that Esther made with maple syrup. Yum!

We also focused on our sense of hearing and explored sounds through musical
instruments, moving in multiple ways to different beats, and sound experiments with
cardboard tubes, PVC piping, and paper cups and yarn. We found that even when we
combined these different materials they still carried sound quite well.

The class also took the opportunity of a nice day on Thursday to walk to Battery Park and enjoy the wonderful playground there.