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Spring Has Flung:
Spring is here and how exciting this one will be. It is time for us to plant
flowers and watch them grow
as our children are growing. Trips to to the park and other field trips will
commence soon. More sunny days put smiles on our little one's faces.
These activities took place this month at A Step Ahead Learning Center:
Muscular Dystrophy Hopathon Fundraiser - April 4 & 5, 2006
Storyteller - Gwen Hillary April 6, 2006 at 4 PM - 6 PM Family
Nite -
Friday, April 7, 2006 Movies 4 PM - 6 PM
Afterschoolers Spring Break April 7 - 14, 2006 Good Friday Holiday Center
Closed - April 14, 2006 Public School Report Card Pick-Up
Day April 19, 2006
Other Activities in the Chicagoland Area:
Garfield Park Conservatory (Saturday & Sunday) All Ages 773-638-1766 The
Cenran Earth & Space Center at Triton Community College 12 Years & Up
708-583-3100 Illinois Gymnastic Institute 630-325-3333 Heller Nature Center
847-433-6901The Kohl's Museum 847-832-6600 Barnes & Nobles Bookstore Offers
Story-time Beverly Arts Center (Offers Goldie Locks & the Three Bears on
Saturday) 773-445-3838 Comedy Sportz 4Kids (Offers comedy shows on Saturday
at 2 PM) Ages 4-12 Years 773-549-8080 Lifetime Theatre Ages 5 Years & Up
773-761-4477 Northbrook Theatre Ages 5 Years & Up 847-814-2464
Parents Corner:
Parents at A Step Ahead Learning Center we encourage your participation with
us always. Come monthly to our parent meetings and activities
as they occur here. Statistics show that children whose parents participate
in their education process have higher IQ's, less behavioral problems
and a better relationship with their parents and peers. If there are any
questions feel free to talk with the Director and teachers at anytime. Sign
up for the Parents Committee we can't do it alone, it takes a village to
raise our children to be the productive citizens for tomorrow. We look
forward to this partnership for the future of us all!
Director's Corner:
Happy Spring to all of you. We finally completed our Hop a thon for Muscular
Dystrophy Association. However, we did an obstacle course
instead of hoping. I am very proud of our pre-school and pre-k students. The
average run time was about 12 times both rooms. We would also
like to remind the parents to please bring in their donations for Muscular
Dystrophy Association. They have our event goal et at $960.00. We
are highly suggesting parents to donate at least $15 - $25 per child. I want
to remind all parents that we have an open door policy if your child
attends this center. We are trying to plan a June Community Festival. If you
are interested in working with us to plan this event please let us know.
I want all parents to feel welcome to participate in other activities here
at the center. Keep in mind that every third Friday of each month we will
have movie night. This May we will show Mary Poppins. Come and join us for
the movie and popcorn! Also remember that on May 16, 2006
will be another RIF event at 6:30 p.m.
Now that spring is here it is time to work on our backyard, if you would
like to help me accomplish this task let me know. Donations of flowers
are always welcomed. Last year Mr. & Mrs. Langley donated the marigolds that
we placed in our flower boxes in front of the school. We will
again have flower boxes out front. Thank you again for helping us beautify
our environment. If you have not received the last letter that speaks
of the tuition increase for the after-schoolers and the infants please ask
us for a copy.
What's happened in the
Classes:
Infants - The Director made Easter baskets for all infants and they painted
paper Eggs and bunnies. We took picture of their efforts. These
pictures will be displayed soon. I'm special T-shirts were made with their
handprints. I believe a few babies still have to do theirs. In May we
will begin to paint flowers and butterflies for display on the walls.
20 Months - 3 Years:
They went on an Easter egg hunt!!! Throughout the classroom teachers placed
Easter eggs (each of a different color) with jellybeans inside.
The eggs were numbered from 1 to 10 with a specific number of jellybeans
inside and the jellybeans were the same color as the eggs.
Example: A red Easter egg was labeled #3 and had red jellybeans inside and
there were only 3 jellybeans placed in it. Students focused on
color and number recognition. Making a Bunny!! Children were given a
picture, which Ms. Latisha drew of an Easter bunny. With materials such as
cotton balls, twizzlers (very thin), gumdrops, etc., the children placed
these items on the picture of the bunny making a candy bunny. The purpose of
this activity was to help the children focused on hand and eye coordination,
as well as give them another sweet way to enjoy the Easter bunny.
3 Years - 5 Years (Pre-K):
In April the students will be discussing occupations. Parents are requested
to take pictures of themselves in the workplace. Here, at A Step
Ahead these pictures will be placed on a wall with the name of the parent,
occupation and title. A classroom discussion will center on these
occupations and various careers. We are encouraging parents to participate
in this career fair. Please give Ms. Jennifer the pictures and
available dates to visit us. Any clothing or supplies that refers to an
occupation that you would like to donate would be truly appreciated.
For Chinese New Year, which was a few months ago, the students have been
constructing a dragon made out of household supplies as
our class project. It is almost finished and will be displayed soon. We will
also have a school event to celebrate this accomplishment where
parents & students are invited to enjoy a dragon dance performance done by
the children. We are also hoping to hire professionals to liven
this experience! We will be serving Chinese baked goods for refreshments.
Donations of any amount will be welcomed to pay for the
professional dancers and the baked goods. For Easter, we made Easter baskets
out of ribbons, pipe cleaners and fruit baskets. This was
used for the Easter egg hunt, which was fun experience for the children!
After-schoolers (Ages 6 - 12 Years):
Easter baskets were made with cotton balls and milk cartons and filled with
treats brought in by the children and Easter eggs were dyed and
placed in the baskets. T-shirts were made with their handprints stressing
self-confidence.
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