January 2017

Happy New Year and welcome back!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday break with their family. 

December was a great time for self-help skills.  With the colder temperatures the children had many opportunities to work on dressing themselves in layers, putting gloves and hats on, as well as boots and coats.  The teachers spent time talking each of the children through the steps, and breaking down more complicated tasks.  This helps each child feel a sense of pride in being able to do things for themselves.  The month also provided the opportunity for each child to make a wonderful picture frame gift for their family.  They enjoyed painting their hands with glue, adding glitter to their hand-print, as well as smiling big for a picture.  Hopefully these gifts will be cherished over the years!

As we enter January our classroom gets the privilege of welcoming new friends into Celeste.  Some of these friends are new to our school, and others will be transitioning over from the infant room.  This is always a great time for the toddlers to work on language skills, as they learn new names and greet new friends.  The month will also bring a focus on some fine motor art skills, as well as some new math concepts.  Our classroom will add some hole punching and new gluing works, as well as works that allow for the sorting of materials into the categories of large, medium, and small.  Some of the toddlers of Celeste will also work on defining the difference between one and two with different counting materials.