We have had a busy first month here at Douglas Park Preschool!  Here is a peek at our first few weeks of exploring Autumn, All About Me, and Our Five Senses....

Our classrooms have booklets of architectural monuments from around the world.

Here, some students are replicating one of them!

Exploring the new Orca Room house corner

Fine motor eye dropper painting and colour mixing

Autumn straw (raffia) painting

Sensory paint made with Jell-o

Our coloured floral water table

Some cooperative play with animals and blocks

Helping hands on the playground!

Fall collage art

Felt acorns number recognition

Fill up the tubes counting activity

Natural materials building

Three-year-old "Sleeping Bunnies" song

Teamwork in the sandbox

Duplo animal building

Amazing block construction for a car garage

Train city

Snack time is where we practice turn taking/ impulse control, manners, socializing with friends, and even fine motor skills!

Lavender scented sensory bin

All About Me playdough

My Hands

Making faces

Describing popcorn using our five senses

Painting eye colours

Light table X-rays

Five senses matching

What colour is your hair?

Self portraits with mirrors and charcoal

Getting a closer look at our thumbprints

Body parts puzzle

Self portraits using natural materials

Everyone's thumbprints are unique!

 

A New School Year

Welcome back to Douglas Park Preschool!

We have spent the last week finishing up paper work and making the classes look spectacular. Us teachers are looking forward to a new year with some returning faces and many new ones.

For those of you that are new this blog is used as our monthly newsletter, documentation of activities in and around the class as well as important reminders so make sure you check back often or follow us!

Some important notes for new and returning families:

We will NOT be keeping "inside" shoes at school this year. 
*If the weather requires rain or snow boots, please send clean shoes for the classroom on those days.*

Please remember to send a change of clothes, including socks, in a small backpack each day.

We are a NO NUT classroom. 
Please remember not to send any products with nuts.

First here is a list of the important dates, a hard copy can also be found in your child's pick up file. As a classroom we are trying to make a lighter foot print on this earth so we please as you to refer back to this page if you have lost of misplaced your copy, thank-you.

Douglas Park School Important Dates Year 2015-2016

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Holidays/ School Closures

Thanksgiving	Monday, October 12, 2015
Remembrance Day	Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Last Day of Instruction before Winter Break	Friday, December 18, 2015
Winter Break	Monday, December 21, 2015 – Friday, January 1, 2016
School Re-opens after Winter Break	Monday, January 4, 2016
BC Family Day	Monday, February 8, 2016
Last Day of Instruction before Spring Break	Friday, March 11, 2016
Spring Break	Monday, March 14, 2016 – Thursday, March 24, 2016
Good Friday	Friday, March 25, 2016
Easter Monday	Monday, March 28, 2016
School Re-opens after Spring Break	Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Victoria Day	Monday, May 23, 2016
Last Day of Instruction before Summer Break	Orca 4 year olds: Wednesday, June 22, 2016 Orca 3 year olds & All Unicorn:  Thursday, June 23, 2016

Dates to Remember

Winter Celebration	Friday, December 18, 2015
Park Day	Friday, June 10, 2016
Graduation Ceremony (4 Year Old Classes)	Friday, June 24, 2016

Professional Development Days (No Classes)

Friday, October 23, 2015

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Friday, May 20, 2016

Monday, June 6, 2016

Now  here is a look at the classrooms, the Orca and Unicorn rooms are just having the finishing touches added and will be ready for the children Monday morning. Gradual Entry is throughout the week for the 3 year olds, for the 4's their first full day is Tuesday and Wednesday.

To end here is our routine and schedule to help with first day transitions. This is always changing depending on the group and for the 3's this will be a regular schedule as of Friday Sept 18th.

• Upon arrival:  Sign in, choose name tag and hang things in cubby area, shirt on, snack item in bowl (fruit or veggie.  We prepare here to avoid cross contamination)  and check to see if they need to go to the bathroom.

Routine:

• Say good bye at door (have a routine that your child can depend on and feel comforted by.  1 hug, 1 kiss, wave at window, etc)
  • Stay close by, class is only 1 hour.
• Children choose a spot at circle time carpet.  Attendance and welcome circle time.
• Outside free play.  3 yr olds do not go out during gradual entry; most likely not until beginning of Oct.
• Inside play and activities
• Clean up, wash hands
• Snack
• Closing circle. 
• Sing our goodbye song and ask children to wait on carpet.  Teachers call children 1 or 2 at a time.

We Look forward to seeing all children and families in the coming days!