February 22- 26

We began the Lenten season by receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.  We talked about how the ashes let others know that we love God and he loves us.

I was so happy to  have been the one to place the ashes on the children's foreheads.

We have been practicing tracing and writing our names.

We have also been practicing our pencil control and grip.  Holding a writing utensil correctly requires strong finger and hand muscles and dexterity.  The correct grip helps to allow the child control with efficient finger movements. 

Correct pencil grip

Activities that strengthen pincer muscles.

• play dough
• transferring beans or rice from bowl to bowl using fingers or spoon
• Knobbed puzzles
• lacing cards
• button sorting 
• pushing pom poms into a water bottle
• transferring with tongs
• coloring
• painting
• using scissors

Reminders:

• Summer camp registration is open! You can find more information on our website https://www.holychildacademy.com/page.cfm?p=533.

• March is Women’s History Month when we will be celebrating women in history.  If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division, or multiple groups to enhance our celebration in any way, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com, and we will make it as easy as possible. 

• Looking forward, April is Arab American Heritage Month and May is Asian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. If you have ideas or suggestions for our celebrations for those months, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com. 

Have a great weekend!

February 8-12

Valentine Pattern Match

Matching is an important pre- reading skill.  Matching activities improve language, concentration and memory. Children use matching skills to tell whether two words or letters are the same or different.  Learning and mastering the ability to match shapes and patterns helps children as they learn to recognize letters and words.

Valentine Math - One to One Correspondence

One-to-one correspondence is an early learning math skill that involves the act of counting each object in a set once, and only once with one touch per object/picture. Three years old children are often able to rote count.  Rote counting is just reciting the numeral names in order, "one, two, three, four...." and very different from counting with one-to-one.  Counting with one-to-one involves touching each object/picture and saying the numeral; name aloud, which is a much more complex skill for young children.  In the photos below, we are matching dots to the numeral to make a complete heart.

Reminders:

- There is no school on Friday, February 12th and Monday, February 15th.

-Pre-K and Kindergarten are hosting a sock drive to benefit The Joy of Sox.  Please send in NEW socks for men, women and children and The Joy of Sox will donate them to families experiencing homelessness.  The drive will run until February 19th.

-Enrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 academic year are due on Friday, February 26th. 

Enjoy the long weekend!

February 1-5

Since St. Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year, and is part of a long holiday weekend, we'll observe the day on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021.  Your children are welcome to celebrate by: Wearing red or pink clothing and sharing Valentines cards with friends.  Please refrain from sending in food products or candy.  We look forward to celebrating a day of friendship!💖💖

Dmitri

Derek

AJ

Gavin

Max

Amelia

Otis

Vienna

Teigen

Mahalia

Connor

Johnny 

What kids need more of......

unstructured play

sunlight

nature

hugs

freedom to explore

play time with parents 

laughter 

simplicity

belief in their goodness

daily routine

a calm environment

compassion

a shoulder to cry on

expressed gratitude for who they are  

We began our celebration of Black History Month with a dance party!

We danced to "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Ain't no mountain high enough' by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, "ABC" by the Jackson Five, "Motown Philly" by Boys II Men, and "Rappers Delight" by the Sugarhill gang (clean version).  We had such a great time!  You can enjoy some of our dance moves in the videos below.💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

Have a great weekend!

REMINDERS 

• Student Council is selling Candy Grams - $1.00 per candy gram; deadline to purchase is Wednesday, February 10th.  Delivery date is Thursday February 11th.

• Thursday, February 11th will be a dress down day and students may wear red/pink for Valentine’s Day. Students may bring in valentines for their classmates, but please refrain from sending in any food treats per the email from Mrs. Fox-Tully’s email.

• There is no school on Friday, February 12th and Monday, February 15th.

• Enrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 academic year are due on Friday, February 26th.

• February is Black History Month when we will be celebrating Black history and culture. If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division , or multiple groups to enhance our celebration in any way, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com and we will make it as easy as possible. 

• Looking forward, March is Women’s Month, April is Arab American Heritage Month, and May is Asian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. 

• Pre-K and Kindergarten are hosting a sock drive to benefit The Joy of Sox. Please send in NEW socks for men, women, and children and place them in the boxes in your hallway. The drive will run until February 19.