883 Hwy. 34,
(732)
566 – 9246
40 Years of Learning Through Play
Spring Newsletter
Springtime
is here! The weather will be getting
better each week now, and we know our time with your children will fly! Here are some of the upcoming events we have
planned. I also want to offer a snapshot
of activities in the classrooms, and the learning behind them, as an example of
our developmentally appropriate method of teaching your children through fun,
active, multi-sensory experiences:
“learning through play.”
Easter
was celebrated on a level the children can understand, with emphasis on the joy
of Jesus always with us after the cross, and including the Easter traditions of bunnies, baskets and colored eggs.
The
THREES classes used real carrots to engage multiple senses – the best way for
preschoolers to learn. Math skills were
used to measure ingredients for carrot cupcakes in Mrs. Harrison’s class. Kids had a chance to taste fresh raw carrots,
making a graph visualizing the results of the taste test. They played with carrots with the greens
still on, planted carrot seeds, read The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Kraus, and
even painted pictures of bunnies using carrots as paintbrushes! Mrs. Cavagnaro’s classes used their senses as
they added color to shaving cream, spreading and mixing on the table filling
the room with the smell of freshness and with the sound of children’s laughter! Each of the senses was explored as they
brought in something in their senses box that used on of the five senses,
getting the children eager and excited to come to class. Mrs. D’Elia’s class used marbles to paint
their egg pictures. Using language and
imagination, they told what they thought could be inside their egg.
The
FOURS use an unusual tie-dying technique for dying their Easter eggs, and make
their own baskets. Mrs. Farry’s class
had “basket day,” charting the attributes of their baskets using categories of
size, shape, color, what they are made of, what they are used for – using math
and language.
The
season of Spring, with the beauty of nature’s
re-awakening is explored as the children planted seeds and bulbs.
In this Olympic year some of the classes will be having
their own Olympics experiences, combining the best preschool versions of winter
and summer sports, channeling their energy and encouraging physical fitness.
2
You will notice on your helper days that the children are encouraged to do as much dressing themselves as they can. This fosters their independence skills: putting on hats, coats, mittens, zipping, buttoning, keeping track of their own belongings. Please continue to send appropriate outer wear (labeled with their name) every day. You can count on us to go outside on good weather days because of the importance of fresh air, sunshine, exercise and free play!
Encouraging independence at home will help your child feel good about himself/herself and help prepare them for those right-around-the-corner times when they will need to take care of themselves without you for a short while. I understand that it’s hard to think about letting go – but your child needs you to be o.k. with their increasing independence! Small steps are happening with our youngest, in Mrs. Chidichimo’s Transitional THREES class. Some parents are now able to leave their child for the afternoon, and others are working toward that independence.
FREE Vision Screening at PNS
Thursday, April 24
There
will be a FREE vision screening held during the day at PNS on Thursday, April
24th, by the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired,
through their prevention program. The
thorough screening covers acuity as well as muscle balance and amblyopia (“lazy eye.”)
Each year we have participated some children have been identified as
needing further opthalmological or optometric
testing. The importance of early
identification of problems can’t be overstated.
The sooner vision problems are identified and corrected, the better
learning and adjustment can occur in all areas of a child’s life!
We need to provide three parent volunteers to assist the
screener, a.m. and p.m. If you signed up
on the parent helper volunteer list we’ll be calling to invite you to help – or
if you’re just interested, let your teacher know.
The families that have school on Wednesday are asked to
come in on Thursday between
An informational letter with permission slip will be
coming home soon.
3
April is the Month of the Young Child
“Bring Communities Together for Children – Children Bring Communities
Together”
The
Association for Education of Young Children celebrates April as the Month of
the Young Child. The PNS teachers are
all members of this professional educators’ association. Our state and local affiliate are planning
events to support the Month of the Young Child.
On Sunday, April 13th,
Several
other events include the free showing of the documentary “Where Do the Children
Play?” at
On the same topic, the importance of recess: Some families are finding that their schools are choosing to eliminate the free play time of recess during their children’s day. Concern for the physical and mental health of their children has prompted discussion at the local and state level. Assemblyman Joseph R. Malone sponsored a bill (Assembly, No. 467) which establishes a task force to study the benefits of student recess and to make recommendations on the advisability of mandatory recess in school districts. A copy of the bill is located at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A0500/467 I1.HTM and further information on the value of recess for children can be found at http://howellrecess.tripod.com/. If you’re interested in writing a letter in support of this legislation you can find your district and contacts in the Legislative Roster of the New Jersey Legislature website at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/Roster.asp. One of our Shore Chapter Board members, Dr. Stephanie Harakal has a sample letter you can use as a guide if you’d like. Contact her at sharakal@optonline.net .
At PNS we
will have a special visit for our a.m. FOURS classes and anyone else who’d like
to come, from children’s book author George Skudera
on April 10th at
PNS
teachers will be attending the annual Early Childhood Conference at
Plant
5
April
Adventures for FOURS
Our FOURS classes have several exciting trips this
month: on April 3 and 4 the FOURS go to
Head Over Heels Gym for a one-hour gymnastics experience. Their professional staff lead
our children through an obstacle course and through some fun gym equipment as
they exercise their muscles and their hearts.
Parents will provide transportation.
Trips take place during regular class times, except Mrs. Farry’s class
has a later dismissal time:
On April 17 buses will transport our FOURS to
May 7, 8 & 9
We honor Moms with special celebrations in the THREES
in the form of a Mother’s Day Strawberry Tea.
This memorable event is held during the last hour or so of your child’s
class time. The children will have
worked to make special gifts, art work and food to serve their mothers at their
Tea. It is a day not to be missed for
every PNS THREES Mom. Check bulletin boards and your teacher’s
notices for details. Please arrange for
sibling care elsewhere so this can be a together time just for the two of
you. Space restraints also require us to
limit this event to just Mom.
On Friday, May 9th the FOURS’ Mother’s Day
celebration takes the form of a train ride and
Final tuition payment due April 16 & 17
4
PNS Parent Meeting
Kindergarten Readiness
Wednesday, April 9,
The concept of school readiness is misunderstood, although
it is discussed quite a lot these days.
A timely article from one of our professional journals is included at
the end of this newsletter. It’s written
by David Elkind, author of The Hurried Child
and Miseducation (both in our parent
library.) The gist of the article is
that “readiness” is not the academic or intellectual knowledge of shapes,
colors, letters and numbers, but is more importantly “...health, and such
skills as the ability to communicate, follow instructions, and to work
cooperatively with other children.” He
continues, “…play may provide the most solid grounding for the later attainment
of literacy and numerical skills.”
Safety in the Parking Lot 
Please be reminded to
drive slowly and to follow the arrows when coming and going so everyone can
arrive and depart safely.
Also, notice the addition of a connecting length of fencing
between the FOURS playground and the pastor’s house. This adds to our peace of mind by completing
the fencing off of the parking lot from the lake and ravine access. Thanks to the church for allocating last
year’s
6
FOURS Trip to Jenkinsen’s
Aquarium
Friday, May 30th,
All FOURS meet at PNS at
End of Year Celebrations
We’re sometimes asked if PNS has a graduation ceremony. We don’t and here are some reasons why not. Preparing for and putting on a graduation would require a lot of the children’s time, which we feel is better spent with them as active participants, rather than standing in lines or groups, doing what adults tell them to do. It’s not meaningful to the children, as fun as it might be for the parents to watch. (And an expense: we get catalogs selling pre-school sized caps and gowns!)
Also, with our respect for each child’s individual developmental time line some children may be given another year of preschool before “graduating” from PNS. We want to only send messages of success and if a school’s grand finale is a graduation ceremony, there could be avoidable bad feelings.
Our philosophy of active learning, and our emphasis on social development through interactive play leads us to choose a more imaginative, age-appropriate way to use the children’s time. That is the rationale behind these year-end special events for the THREES and FOURS;
THREES Circus Carnival – The THREES classes will be putting on their own Circus Carnival! Each child chooses his or her own circus act, complete with costume and props. This involves their imaginations and their whole bodies as they perform a high wire act on the balance beam, or have their trained lion jump through a hoop! It also gives the parents an unforgettable show. Siblings and grandparents are invited to see the Circus during the first half hour of the day. Then guests go home and children finish their day with carnival-type games and play. All classes’ Circus Carnival takes place during regular class days, but with a half-hour delayed arrival time to allow for set-up:
Mrs.
Cavagnaro’s a.m.class: Monday, June 2 –
Mrs.
Cavagnaro’s p.m. class: Monday, June 2 –
Mrs.
Harrison’s class: Thursday, June 5 –
Mrs.
D’Elia’s class: Friday, June 6 –
7
Special Circus-Week Entertainment – The
THREES will enjoy professional magician Bruce Bray during their Circus week,
for a show full of laughs, participation and MAGIC on Wednesday, June 4, from
To accommodate the show, class times will be modified as follows:
Mrs.
Cavagnaro’s a.m. class meets
Mrs.
Cavagnaro’s p.m. class meets
Mrs.
Harrison’s class will meet on Wed., June 4,
Mrs.
D’Elia’s class meets
FOURS FUN DAY 
The FOURS
have a special outdoor day, “FUN DAY,” on Tuesday, June 10th from
Thank you to PNS Board Members
Beverly Jones-DiSabatino, Jennifer Allen, Ann Shafto, Louise Peddell and Kelly Roseo for all their help this year with
fundraisers, the 40th celebration in the fall, registration, Open
House, publicity, and all the unnamed work, help, support and good words they
share!
July 14 – 18,
The First Presbyterian Church is again sponsoring