Since we have returned from the Thanksgiving break we have been doing an author study. The author’s name is Jan Brett and she is responsible for books such as The Mitten, Annie and the Wild Animals, and The Gingerbread Baby, as well as many others. She also illustrates all her books and the pictures alone could tell the story…she has wonderful illustrations. Many of her books take place in winter or have a holiday theme, so we thought this would be a good time of year to explore her works. Many of the first books we read focused around a character named Hedgie, who is a hedgehog. Due to this we focused part of our curriculum on learning about real hedgehogs..who are very interesting and pretty cute! We will continue to explore Jan Brett books throughout December, moving into her more holiday themed books, such Gingerbread Baby and Home for Christmas.

We have also started a new science unit and will be exploring motion. We will be working with ramps, rolling marbles and marble mazes, dominoes, and tubes.

Art area

Clay hedgehogs
Handprint hedgehogs
Mitten lacing and decorating
Mitten Collage

Upcoming dates and Reminders

• Please remember to call us and let us know when your child is going to be absent or late. Our direct line is 817-0404. We greatly appreciate it.
• We will be having a holiday party on Friday December 23 from 11-12! Our room parent, Jessica Sturtevant, will be sending an email out with details. Siblings are welcome also!
• Community School will be closed from December 26-January 2. Preschool will resume on January 3^rd.
• We will also be closed for Martin Luther King Day on Jan.16
• The SAU 50 school district is redoing all of the school’s websites. As some of you may know, our preschool website is very outdated, so we are looking forward to working on it. Denise, Dana and I will be pulling new information together as well as new pictures. We will also be trained on how to update the site when needed. We hope to be able to use it as a tool in the future to get important information out to families.
• I am also attaching the policy for snow delays and cancellations. Please read carefully and let us know if you have any questions.
• Uur winter outdoor policy states that as long as it is 20 degrees outside we will be going outside, so please send children in wearing boots,hats,mittens,etc..

Thanks!
Community School Staff