Quality Early Education for Your Children

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a great Spring Break! We are kicking off April exploring the animals and new life that come with spring and Easter. Following this, we will learn about some of the different types of weather and other signs of spring. As usual, it looks more like winter! Our special day this month will be Crazy Hair/Hat Day to be held on April 23rd/24th. Do something crazy with your hair and/or wear a crazy hat on this day! Dad’s Nights are quickly approaching! The children are invited to bring their dad with them for a fun filled evening at school from 6:00 – 7:30. If dad is unable to attend, your child may bring another special adult (grandpa, uncle, adult friend, mom, etc.) with them instead. As this is a special evening for your child with their dad/special guest (and due to our limited space), siblings are not able to attend. Please note that your child does not come to school during the daytime on the day of their Dad’s Night. April 14th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for T/Th am classes April 15th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for MWF am classes April 16th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for afternoon classes If you currently have a child in our 3 year old program that is registered for one of our programs in the fall, you will be receiving a package from I’m For Kids Team this month. Digital copies of the package will also be emailed out to families. We partner with this organization to provide children with extra support if needed. The screening and support (if your child qualifies) are at no cost to you as they are both covered by funding from the provincial government. I’m For Kids Team will be at Tot Spot May 4th and 5th to complete these screenings. Watch for further information regarding this program next week! Thank you for the paper towel tube donations! We will continue to collect them for the month of April. Reminder: please cut all grapes and grape tomatoes in half lengthwise. It helps us out if we don’t have to cut them during snack time! Important Dates to Remember: April 3rd – Good Friday. Tot Spot is closed. April 6th – Easter Monday. Tot Spot is closed. April 14th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for T/Th am classes (no school in the morning) April 15th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for MWF am classes (no school in the morning) April 16th (6:00-7:30) – Dad’s Night for afternoon classes (no school in the afternoon) April 23rd/24th – Crazy Hair/Hat Day. Do something crazy with your hair and/or wear a crazy hat this day! May 4th/5th – I’m For Kids Team Screening

March will be a fun filled month at Tot Spot! Our three year olds will be learning about nutrition using the Canada food guide and will sample some foods from the different food groups. The four year old classes will be making their very own books of some of our favourite stories. Watch for these special keepsakes to be coming home before Spring Break! Our special day this month will be Green Day on March 16th and 17th. Wear some green to school that day! Mom’s Nights are approaching quickly. It is an evening for moms to come and enjoy some special time with their children one on one. The first half of the evening is spent just hanging out and playing with your child and their class in the three main play spaces we have at Tot Spot. This is followed by some special entertainment and the evening culminates with a snack. Mom’s Night is from 6:00 – 7:30 on the following days: Tuesday, March 10th for the T/TH AM Classes (no school in the morning) Wednesday, March 11th for the MWF AM Classes (no school in the morning) Thursday, March 12th for the Afternoon Classes (no school in the afternoon) If mom is unable to attend, your child may bring another special adult (grandma, auntie, special friend or dad). Please make alternate arrangements for siblings as this is a special time with your child and space is very limited. We would also recommend that you dress lightly as it tends to get very warm! Dad’s Nights will be April 14th (T/Th morning classes), April 15th (M/W/F morning classes) and April 16th (afternoon classes). The children are invited to bring their dad to school for an evening of fun and entertainment. The evening begins at 6:00 pm and wraps up around 7:30 pm. Save the date! We are running low on paper towel tubes. We will gratefully accept donations of the cardboard tubes from your paper towel rolls. Those of you with children in our 4 year old program may be thinking about what your child should be able to do to be ready for kindergarten in the fall. I’m For Kids Team has prepared a checklist that you might find helpful and has graciously allowed us to share it with you. You will find it attached and we will continue to work on many of these skills at school. Remember that every child learns at his/her own rate and this is just meant to be a guideline. A special thank you to all the parents that have made presentations to enhance our Community Helper theme this month. We look forward to a few more the beginning of March! Registration for next fall is ongoing. Thank you for continuing to recommend us to your family, friends and neighbours. We have a few spots left in most classes. The church we are located in (Bonavista Baptist Church) is offering an Emotional Coaching course for parents on March 6th and 13th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Please see the attached poster if you are interested. Important Dates to Remember: March 10th 6:00-7:30 (T/Th am classes) – Mom’s Night (no school in the morning) March 11th 6:00-7:30 (MWF am classes) – Mom’s Night (no school in the morning) March 12th 6:00-7:30 (Afternoon classes) – Mom’s Night (no school in the afternoon) March 16th/17th – Green Day. Wear some green to school! March 23rd- March 27th – Spring Break. Classes resume Monday, March 30th. April 14th 6:00-7:30 (T/Th am classes) – Dad’s Night (no school in the morning) April 15th 6:00-7:30 (M/W/F am classes) – Dad’s Night (no school in the morning) April 16th 6:00-7:30 (Afternoon classes) – Dad’s Night (no school in the afternoon)

February is an exciting month at Tot Spot beginning with a Valentine theme for both our three and four year old classes. Friendship and kindness will be our focus along with Valentine crafts and activities. Our Valentine celebrations will be held on February 10th (T/Th am classes and ALL pm classes) and February 11th (MWF am classes only). Children are invited to bring in valentines for their friends that day. We have found it makes it easier to deliver the cards if the child puts only his/her own name on the card (eg. From Sam). Please leave the “To” section blank. To add to our celebrations, please wear valentine colours (red, white, pink and/or purple) to school this day. After Valentine’s Day, the three year old classes will learn about community helpers while the four year olds will explore space and our solar system. We look forward to some special visitors during this time as well! Pink Shirt Day (Anti-Bullying Day) is on Wednesday, February 25th . We will observe this on both Tuesday, February 24th and Wednesday, February 25th so all the Tot Spot children can participate. Wear your pink shirt on these days as we emphasize how important it is to be kind to everyone every day! In preparation for kindergarten, the four year old classes will be working on printing their names. Lots of reinforcement of this concept at home is helpful. A good way to encourage proper letter formation is to encourage the children to “start their letters at the top” (except for lower case “e”). We also find this is a good time to start working with your child on learning a parent’s phone number and their address orally. A great time to do this is when you are driving/waiting in the car! A few reminders: - Registration for next year is on-going. At the present time there are spots available in most classes. A big thank you to all who have recommended us to your friends, neighbours and family! - Please make sure your contact information is up to date. If you have moved, changed your cell number or have new emergency contact information, please let us know. - Please ensure your child has visited the bathroom before class and has proper indoor footwear for our gym activities and fire drills. - Please ensure your children arrive and leave the school in a safe manner. Running up and down the ramp or in the gym and climbing on the railings can result in someone getting hurt. We appreciate your help in reminding children to use their “walking feet”. - Please label all outerwear (boots, coats, etc) and snack containers/bags. Important Dates To Remember:Feb 10th (T/Th am classes and all pm classes) / Feb 11th (MWF am classes only)– Valentine Celebrations. - Bring your cards for your friends and wear red, pink, white and/or purple! - Feb 12th & 13th – Teachers’ Convention (Tot Spot will be closed). - February 16th – Family Day (Tot Spot will be closed). - February 24th /25th – Pink Shirt Day (Anti-Bullying Day) - Wear a pink shirt! - March 10th (T/Th am classes), March 11th (MWF classes), March 12th (All pm classes) – Mom’s Night 6:00-7:30 (Children don’t attend during the day on the day they come in the evening for Mom’s Night.) - March 23rd – March 27th – Spring Break (Tot Spot will be closed). Tot Spot reopens on Monday, March 30th . - April 3rd – Good Friday (Tot Spot will be closed). - April 6th - Easter Monday (Tot Spot will be closed). - April 14th (T/Th am classes), April 15th (MWF classes), April 16th (All pm classes) – Dad’s Night 6:00-7:30 (Children don’t attend during the day on the day they come in the evening for Dad’s’s Night.)