May 2014 - Beautiful Butterflies

 From Paulette Young at the Director’s Desk (aka “little office cupboard in the storage room”)

The children will be learning all about life cycles this month through a wonderful science & discovery special event!  We have ordered little caterpillars that should be arriving via FedEx during the first week of May.  The children’s task is to place the little caterpillars in a butterfly house and take care of them every day.  We will watch them eat, poop (which they do a lot!) and shed their skins.  In a couple of weeks, the caterpillars will pupate, which means that they will form a chrysalis and sleep.   We will have to wait a little bit longer to watch them emerge from their chrysalis as Pink Lady Butterflies!

These lovely butterflies will continue their life’s journey as we release them in our play yard.

Be sure to visit our Butterfly Science Station to see this amazing event!

Race Day!

Our nursery school is “Club of the Event” for the May 17 Capital Classic Race Day with events for children and adults.  Registrants can get sponsors and pledges for their race participation online, directing it towards the RPNS Building Fund.  Check out the Race Day Display in our hallway to see who is participating in the May 17 Race from RPNS (children and parents alike) and sponsor them!  The Ryan Wylie Kids Race is for children aged 1 to 11 years with parents welcome to run, walk, totter or stroll beside their children (strollers allowed too).  A fun way for the whole family to participate!

RPNS will have activity booths set up at Carleton U on the race day along with water bottle & freezies sales, so bring the whole family. (Paulette is also in need a few volunteers on May 17 for the activity booths…please see her if you can help out)

Mini Spartans Race Week at RPNS!

To promote healthy active living for the children, we will be holding a training week here at the nursery school from May 12 to 16 with daily obstacle courses.  Our ‘Mini Spartans’ will be running, jumping, hopping , balancing and crawling around fun obstacles both indoors and outdoors!  Each child will have a pledge form and we ask that you get family, friends, neighbours and co-workers to sponsor your child as ‘Mini Spartan’ Ambassadors for healthy active living (all proceeds to the RPNS Building Fund).  Kindly return pledge forms and donations to the nursery school by May 16.

Dressing for Outside

With spring arriving later this year, our play yard tends to be damp and muddy early in the morning.  Splash pants for your child not only keep their clothing clean but they also help to keep the inside of our nursery school clean!

Time to put away the winter hats and bring out the sunhats!

Please apply sunscreen to your preschool child before coming to school.  The preschoolers start their day outside and it is recommended that sunscreen be applied 15-30 minutes prior to sun exposure!

Time for Trikes and Ride On Toys!

We are bringing the bikes out of their winter storage so remember to bring in your child’s bike helmet.  The children need to wear a bike helmet if they want to ride a bike. 

RPNS GRADUATION CEREMONIES

Mark your calendars, book off work and bring your tissues!!! June 19th   and 20th   are the scheduled Graduation ceremonies for the children. This is a very special event! These dates also mark the last days of school. (This is a good opportunity to go through our school’s Lost & Found and reclaim any items you may have forgotten! Remember to take all art work, helmets, toys, etc. home with you! Otherwise, these items will be donated to a local charity.)

Parents and family members, come celebrate with us in recognition of your amazing children and all their scholastic accomplishments! More details will follow, so please remember to check your child’s file in the communication box!

FAMILY FUN DAY! 

Join all the current and new (2014-2015 school year) families on Saturday June 7.  More details on this event to be provided shortly.

 We are collecting small prizes for the games (dollar store items, fast food place toys etc.).

SPRING CLEAN UP 2014

Many thanks to Jo-anne Dusseault and Stephane Levert for coordinating the spring clean up of our outdoor play ground and indoor space.  A big Smiley Face to all the parent volunteers who did a super job on Saturday April 12. 

2014-2015 RPNS SCHOOL YEAR ENROLMENT

Thanks for preregistering your children for the next school year!

We currently have spaces available in all classes and this is cause for concern.  Last year at this same time we had full enrolment in our Senior Preschool and French Introduction classes.

Most families here about RPNS through ‘word of mouth’, so kindly let all your friends, co-workers, family and neighbours know about our great program!

Should you have not provided your registration package for September to Paulette, kindly do so asap.  Thanks!

Family Literacy Library

Our books with cds/tapes library has been well utilized by our families! For participating in the Ottawa Family Literacy Day challenge, RPNS won a gift certificate for Kaleidoscope Children’s Books.  So we can purchase new books for our program.

Kindly return all books on loan by May 30.

 

From Janet and Jenna: Toddler and Jr. Preschool

We have been singing a song with both groups, “Springtime is Coming”. I think that the weather is listening a bit, at least the snow is gone and our pumpkins in the compost have thawed and are beginning to look more like the decomposition that will eventually be able to be put onto our gardens. The small garden at the back fence has gotten some good sunlight so that the small daffodils are out in full force. Many thanks to the fall clean up crew, this garden with its rocky path is in great shape and ready for the next seasons.

The children have enjoyed the balance beam this past month. Many of them (both groups) can walk over the balance beam without adult help (they hold on to the wall with one hand and use the other arm for balance). The small stairs that are used between the Floor toy area and the Everyday living Area are used continuously throughout the morning.  Many of the children can now walk over these stairs using alternating feet, going up and down. Sometimes the tunnels are used instead of the stairs; these provide a different gross motor experience while the stairs become the boat which offers the chance to balance on one foot while lifting yourself onto a seat which may rock while you are getting in! These indoor activities and of course, our outdoor play area will be part of Mini Spartan Race Week from May 12 to May 16.

Our caterpillars are arriving this month. It is exciting to watch them develop cocoons and then turn into real butterflies. When the butterflies are ready we take them into the playground and set them free! It is such a lovely experience for all of us. Our snails will be given back to nature and new ones will be found for our room for next year. We find that the children have really learned to appreciate the cool slimy feel of the snail’s foot. Not everyone was ready to have a snail walk on their hand, but slowly many are now enjoying the experience.

The following is a lovely song for the month of May and is sung as the children move and “fly” around the room.

Ladybugs and butterflies, (repeat 2xs) 
Fly away home, (repeat2xs)
Ladybugs and Butterflies, fly away home 

(repeat until everyone gets tired and needs a rest!)       



From Tina – Sr. Preschool

May has finally arrived! We are looking forward to all that Spring has in store for us. The program is focusing on Bees, Butterflies and Insects. We will also be exploring camping and fishing. We will be closely observing our Butterfly eggs (when they arrive) and closely observing their life cycle. It’s going to be fun!

I hope that all of you have met our Algonquin student Angela. She is going to be doing her Master placement with our group. The children are enjoying her company and we all look forward to the special activities Angela has planned for us! She will be with us until the 6th of June.

Here are a few songs we will be learning: Enjoy! 

FIVE LITTLE LADYBUGS
Five little ladybugs on our front door, (Hold up five fingers.)
One flew to Daniel, and that left four. (Hold up four fingers.)
Four little ladybugs, oh so wee,
One flew to Alicia, and that left three. (Hold up three fingers.)
Three little ladybugs saying "howdy-do,"
One flew to Luke, and that left two. (Hold up two fingers.)
Two little ladybugs snoozing in the sun,
One flew to Ryder, and that left one. (Hold up one finger.)
One little ladybug alone on the door,
It flew to, Rebecca then there were no more. (Bend down last finger.)

HERE IS A BEE HIVE

Here is a bee hive
But where are the bees?
They are inside where nobody sees
Now they come creeping out of the hive
One, two, three, four, five


From Dulce  – French Introduction – Sr. Preschool

Bonjour, the children and I are looking forward to the arrival of the caterpillars. The butterfly house is ready. This month we will be talking about the cycle of the butterflies.

I will be away from May 16 to May 30; I will be attending a wedding in Colombia. Tracy Conlin will be taking my place.

Here are some of the songs that we will be learning:

La petite chenille (l’araignée Tiki)
La petite chenille se cache dans une feuille
File son petit cocon et puis s’endormit
Pendant qu’elle dormait
Elle rêvait qu’elle pouvait voler
Quand elle se reveille
Elle était un papillon !

Beau papillon (Air: Frère Jacques)
Beau papillon, beau papillon,
Que fais-tu? Que fais-tu?
J’étale mes ailes, J’étale mes ailes,
Pleines de couleurs, pleines de couleurs.

Petite fleur (Air: Frère Jacques)
Petite fleur (color), Petite fleur (color)
Où es tu? Où es tu?
Me-e voici, me-e voici,
Je fleuris, je fleuris!


Caterpillar / chenille        cocoon / cocon                leaf / feuille
Butterfly / papillon           flower / fleur

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