April 2012

Coming up this SPRING at RPNS!

Hello everyone! Spring is here and every spring, the children at Riverside Park Nursery School participate in the Hop a thon for Muscular Dystrophy. This year the children will be hopping on April 26th and 27th. Along with the Hop a thon, we will have our Annual Pyjama Day. The children and (duty parents) are welcome to wear their pyjamas and bring in a favorite stuffed animal to “hop” with. Please check your child’s file for pledge forms. Collecting pledges is completely voluntary and all proceeds go to Muscular Dystrophy of Canada.

Reminders:

School Closure

Please be advised that Nursery School will be closed for Easter: Friday April 6th and Monday April 9th. We will resume classes on April 10th. To celebrate Easter, the children will be dying eggs and going on an egg hunt during the first week of
April.

Back packs should be at school every day and should contain the following items:

• Extra pants and shirts and underwear and socks!
  
• Diapers, pull ups, wipes and a change pad
  
• Indoor shoes
  
• Outdoor extras (hats, mitts etc)
  

Show and Share

Show and Share is on April 12th and 13th for all the groups. Please provide an item that is labelled with your child’s name. Make it something that your child can tell us a little about. Just a few words is all it takes to provide your child with enough confidence to speak in front of a group!

Birthdays

Happy April Birthdays to:

Junior Preschool: Madeline 12th
James 15th

Senior Preschool: Alicja 2nd
Tristan 13th
Emily 17th.

Birthday Snack Days will be on April 16th and 17th!

Volunteers Needed!

As a cooperative nursery school, all parents are required to volunteer their time for special events and housekeeping duties (on top of scheduled duty days). Many thanks to the dedicated families that have helped out in various ways so far this year. For those of you who have not had any opportunity to contribute thus far, we have two major events coming up that require many volunteers: (check the sign-up sheets posted in our hallways)

• SPRING CLEAN UP (Saturday, April 21) ~ our play yard and gardens needs some TLC and our classrooms could use a good scrubbing!

• FAMILY FUN DAY (Saturday, June 2) ~ this fun event requires volunteers to assist with the crafts and games for the children; as well as set up and clean up duties.

Donations of small toys and prizes: we will need lots of small toys (new or gently used) for prizes on Family Fun Day. Drop them off in the labelled box by the Communication Table.

Outdoor Toys & Equipment Donations: some of our outdoor toys, like our ride on cars, are getting pretty ripe! We would welcome any gently used toys for our play yard.......keep a look out at spring garage sales for us!

Kleenex Donations: we are running low on tissues due to little running noses!

PARENT ~ TEACHER INTERVIEWS

The implementation of our ELECT based curriculum this school year has rovided
positive results to the children, parents and teachers!

Parents that are interested in discussing their child’s progress and development
may do so during the month of MAY. A sign-up sheet will be posted at the end of
April.

GRADUATION DAYS!

You certainly don’t want to miss your child’s graduation, so here are the dates to
put on your calendars and in your Blackberries:

~ Toddler and 2Day Preschool Classes will graduate on Thursday, June 21

~ Junior and Senior Preschool Classes will graduate on Friday, June 22

The RIVERSIDE CHURCHES OF OTTAWA have kindly requested that parents do not let their children climb the PINE TREE located at the walkway to the entrance of the nursery school. Thank you for your cooperation.

Did You Know??? That it is against the LAW to leave your child(ren) unattended
in a parked car? Yes, it is. Note that RPNS is obligated to phone the police should
a baby or child be left in a car while the parents are picking up their child from
the nursery school. We suggest that you bring in your baby/child or ask another
nursery school parent to watch your baby/child.

Thanks for Reading!

An April Note from Lisa and Janet

It has been wonderful to play outside without the snow and without the usual wetness that goes along with spring weather. The children have been driving the cars and pushing shopping carts, digging in the sandbox and racing up and down the hill. Flowers are blooming and the garden is looking “active” with bugs and worms! The few separation tears that our new friends have when they come in the morning, are soon gone with all the fun games and activities that outdoor play offers.

Our theme for April is “Camping under the Stars”. This gives us the opportunity to pretend to fish and “cook” on the open fire! We will explore constellations, Easter eggs and frogs and turtles at the science table. The “stairs” will become a “rocking boat” and we will follow bear foot prints through the tunnels into our camp ground in the dramatic play area.

One of the songs we will be singing is called “March and Sing”. It uses the tune from the song the Mulberry Bush. This song makes particular use of action verbs!

March and Sing

Along the trail we march and sing,
March and sing, march and sing.
Along the trail we march and sing,
Along the trail today.

Additional verses: We walk and jump; skip and whistle; swing our arms

The junior preschoolers have had the chance to join the seniors and the French group when Liam’s Grandmother, Sharon, plays the piano on her duty days. One of the songs everyone enjoyed was Miss Polly had a Dolly. Here are the words to the song.

Miss Polly had a Dolly

Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick,
sick, sick,
She called for the doctor to come
quick, quick, quick,
The doctor came with his bag and
his hat,
And he knocked on the door with a
rat a tat tat.
He looked at the dolly and he shook
his head.
He said “Miss Polly put her
straight to bed”,
He wrote on a paper for a pill, pill,
pill,
I’ll be back in the morning with my
bill, bill, bill.

A few words from Tina

Hello Everyone!

Transportation month was really fun. The children were very keen to learn about fire safety. “Stop, drop and roll” is always a big hit! In April, we will be enjoying a little spring camping and the nature that we encounter while camping. There will be frogs and fish and stars and Easter Rabbits!

5 Easter Rabbits (finger play)

Five Easter rabbits standing by the door,
One hopped away, and then there were four.
Four Easter rabbits standing near a tree,
One hopped away, and then there were three.
Three Easter rabbits looking at you,
One hopped away, and then there were two.
Two Easter rabbits enjoying the sun,
One hopped away, and then there was one.
One Easter rabbit sitting all alone,
He hopped away, and then there were none.

It is Springtime (sung to London bridges)

Leaves are growing (on the trees x3)
Leaves are growing on the trees,
It is springtime.

All the grass is turning green……

See the birdie build their nests…….

Watch the flowers start to grow…….

Tina

Newsletter is the Month of April - Pui Wah

Hello everyone. The warm weather is quickly approaching and spring is everywhere.The learning curriculum for circle is about Easter, camping and spring. During the week of Easter we will be matching Easter eggs and singing songs and activities about the Easter bunny. The theme of camping will include where people camp, ideal weather and seasonal conditions, camping items we carry and their purpose i.e. flashlight. There will be a discussion about who is a forest ranger, what causes forest fires and camp fire safety. We will also begin discussing for spring the animals that return from migration, planting seeds, parts of a plant and what plants and flowers need to grow healthy.

Here is a Bunny with Ears so Funny
Here is a bunny with ears so funny
Here is a hole in the ground
When a noise he hears
He pricks up his ears
Then jumps in his hole in the ground

The Planting Flowers Song
(the tune of "Peanut, Peanut Butter, and Jelly") Create your own movements to go with
the song
First you take the seed and you plant it, you plant it
Chorus: Planting, Planting Flowers, for Springtime
Additional verses: Next you take a shovel and you dig, you dig
Put it in the soil and you cover, you cover
Next you take the can and you water, you water
Give it lots of sun and it will sprout, will sprout
Look at all the flowers that are growing, are growing

Going on a Bear Hunt

Going on a Bear Hunt (repeat)
I'm not afraid
Got a real good friend by my side
Oh, Oh,
What do I see?
Oh look! It's some tall grass!
Can't go over it
Can't go under it
Can't go around it
Got to go through it
(make swooshing sounds)
Then you repeat the whole thing over seeing a tall tree that you climb, then a wide river
you swim across, each time changing the Can't go .... to what every fits that item.
Oh, Oh!
What do I see?

Oh look! A deep dark cave.
(repeat first verse)
Oh, oh! It's dark in here.
I feel something
It has lots of hair!
It has sharp teeth!
It's a bear!!
(At this point, increase the speed of your thigh slapping and swim back through the
river, back up and down the tree, back through the tall grass, till you get safely home
and lock the door.)I'm not afraid.