GOOD SHEPHERD NURSERY SCHOOL

March 2006 Newsletter

Congratulations to  Christopher on the birth of Moira Elizabeth, who arrived on February 23! 

Thank you to Gregory's parents, Nancy and Thomas who delighted the children by teaching them some Armenian dancing during multicultural week! 

A nice article on parenting is attached.  Thank you Moira for sharing this with us.

We began the busy month of March talking about trips to the doctor and hospital.  This is such an important topic for the children; they were able to discuss their fears, worries and triumphs involving themselves and their loved ones, and to know that they are not alone in those feelings.  The next week was multi-cultural week.  We talked about how we are all different -- our hair, eyes, size, etc. -- yet all alike in the way we laugh, cry, and love our family and friends.  We also learned to say “hello” and to count in several different languages!  Currently we are talking about music, and enjoyed a presentation by our in-house musician Miss Cathy, who played the guitar, banjo and violin for us and showed us some neat instruments from Cambodia.  We talked about ways in which we can make music ourselves with our voices, our hands, and our feet.  Next up we look forward to Spring, and hope the weather cooperates as we discuss the many changes this wonderful season brings!  We will also do a unit on 

birds, noting the many different types of birds, the songs they sing, nests they  build, and food they eat.   We praise God in all we do -- for doctors,  and spring, and birds, and music, and for His beautiful children all around the world.   

During small group this month we practiced sequencing.  The children were given several different sets of cards consisting of four pictures which they had to put in the correct order to tell a story.  For example, “first the boy picks up the bowling ball, then he throws it, then he watches it roll, and then it knocks all the pins down”, or “first he puts the worm on the hook, then he waits, then he feels something pulling, then he catches a fish.”  This is a fun and important pre-reading activity.

At the beginning of March we spent circle time discussing different types of doctors and where they might work.  We talked about what role a doctor has in our lives, and that they are here to help us.  We then went into multi-cultural week.   The children learned that there are other cultures besides our own, that people may be different but we are all alike in many ways.  We are currently enjoying talking about, listening to and creating different types of music.  We will end the month discussing birds, spring and opposites.

We have recently introduced a class pet in each of our three circles.  The children have named these stuffed animals, and they will soon go home with a different child each week.  The children are so looking forward to becoming young authors as we create illustrated booklets about their pet-sitting experiences!  The pets’ names are Bailey the dog, Friend the frog, and Bob the porcupine.  We look forward to reading about their adventures every week! 

Have you ever made a design from marshmallows?  That was the question posed to the children as they flocked to the craft table.  Toothpicks secured the small colored marshmallows, encouraging many creative sculptures such as homes, boats, lollipops, and believe it or not, even letters of the alphabet.  Several children discovered, much to their