Spirit Week at HCA!

 

Blaze came to our classroom for a visit!

He hid dragon eggs in our classroom that spelled out, "early childhood, you won ten extra minutes of recess"

WOOOHOOO!

We learned about planting vegetables with Ms. Z, our middle school science teacher, we planted carrots, onions and radishes in a clear grow house so that we can watch the growth.  Ms. Z showed us the seeds and we talked about the differences and likeness for each vegetable.

 

We planted Marigolds too!

First we scooped the dirt into our pots.

Then we put the marigold seeds into the dirt.

We love a comfy day in our pjs!

                        

Twinning Day

The teachers matched too!

We played Can you guess the animal sound? And Can you guess the Disney voice? with all our EC friends.

We had a glow in the dark dance party!

We had such great outfits for Decades Day!

Greasers, 80's gal and a cowboy

☮ Hippy teachers ☮

Teach. Love. Inspire.

To close Spirit Week, we had an Easter egg hunt.  We had so much fun!

❤Thank you to Mrs. Mossor and our Student Council students for planning such a fun filled week!❤

Enjoy your Spring/Easter Break!

We look forward to seeing you when classes resume on Tuesday, April 6th!

March 15-19

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans!

Have you ever trapped a Leprechaun?

We read the story How to trap a Leprechaun; after reading it, we decided we needed to build our own trap!

Painting our trap.

We set our trap!

The leprechauns made a GIANT mess!

  

They tied up Ms. Webb with a rainbow!

And stepped on Mr. Hartsock's head!

Our things were everywhere!

They used our crayons to spell out a message.

Did you know that leprechauns have glittery footprints?

watch us find the mess!

https://youtu.be/1kKvnHOo1Pk

☘WE GOT GOLD!!!!!☘

 

• Next week is SPIRIT WEEK!  Here are the themes:

• Monday, March 22: Pajama Day Children should wear pajamas and sneakers.

• Tuesday, March 23: Twin/Triplet Day In EC, students have been learning about warm and cool colors in art classes. Since twin/triplet day is a hard concept for this age, we are asking that all the girls wear warm colors (red, orange, or yellow) and all the boys wear cool colors (green, blue, or purple).

• Wednesday, March 24: Sweats Day Children should wear sweat pants/shirts. Think comfy!

• Thursday, March 25: Throwback Thursday/Decades Day Children can come dressed in an outfit of your choice from a different decade.

• Conferences are next Thursday afternoon and Friday morning (3/25 & 3/26). The Zoom links will be emailed home next week. Please remember that conferences will last approximately 15 minutes. Please be on time and be mindful of those families who are scheduled after you.

• Spring/Easter break is from March 26 through April 5. Classes will resume on Tuesday, April 6. Please refer to the guidelines sent by Mrs. Fox-Tully if you plan to travel during the break.

• Are you following us on Instagram? Be sure to check out the EC account @hcadrexelhillec!

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

 

We were so excited to enjoy the sunshine this week!

When children play outdoors, the following are strengthened:

-Cognitive and social/emotional development

-Coordination

-Motor planning

-Appreciation of nature

-Vestibular Integration- this is the system of our bodies that affect inner ear and brain function (balance)

-Hand eye coordination

Mr. Hartsock brought his bike to school this week.  He was excited to share bike safety and how the bike works with us.  He showed us how the gears and brakes work, how to put air in the tires and where he stores his water bottles.

Our weekly Reader this week taught us about baby animals.  We learned that baby animals are usually born in the Spring.  Many babies do not know how to do things that big kids, like themselves, know how to do so they have to learn.

Our dance break taught us to waddle like a duck, hop and wiggle our noses like a bunny, and tip toe like a fox. 

We used our baby pictures that were sent in to draw ourselves as babies and a self portrait of present day.  Enjoy! 😊😊😊 

• Please be sure to sign up for parent/teacher conferences on either March 25 or 26. Here is the link for our class: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7563864357?pwd=SXFBMTdsTHo4OWkwNG5mcHVBUzlMQT09

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

• March 17 will be a St. Patrick’s Day dress down day - be sure to wear your green!

• Spirit Week will kick off on March 19 and will continue into the next week. Stay tuned for more information!

• Spring/Easter break is from March 26 through April 5. Classes will resume on Tuesday, April 6. Please refer to the guidelines sent by Mrs. Fox-Tully if you plan to travel during the break.

• 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.

March 1-5

 

We began our week with a meditation break.  Children of all ages, adults too, really need an opportunity to take a few minutes to "unplug", relax and focus.  Meditation offers this break!  Ms. Webb led the class in some guided breathing to start our day.  As you can see, the children really enjoy this.  A good way that you can practice meditation is during your child's bedtime routine.  A few minutes of deep breathing in a child's bedtime routine can help them to wind down after a long day.  This practice will make taking a break easier to do when other situations arise.  

Lunch/Snack Reminders:

-Please make sure your child has 2 napkins every day.  One is used as a place mat and the other is used to wipe their face and hands.

-Please include the necessary utensils for your child's lunch.  We do not have access to plastic utensils.

-NO PEANUT OR TREE NUT PRODUCTS.  The entire Early Childhood division is nut free.

-Please fill your child's water bottle prior to coming to school.  We will re-fill if necessary.

Manners are a way of showing kindness to other people. We have been working on table manners this week.  

Good manners begin before we sit at the table!

HAND WASHING

The children know that it is important to wash their hands before every snack or meal. To reinforce this behavior at home, make sure your child sees you washing your own hands. Or, have them join you in hand washing prior to sitting at the table. 

PRAYERS

At school. we say prayers before we eat lunch and snack.  The children know that this is a time of quiet and we will be able to eat and talk as soon as the prayer is done.  To reinforce this behavior at home, ask your child to lead the meal time prayer.  

The prayer we say at school is:

God is great

God is good

Let us thank him

for our food and friends

Amen

AT THE TABLE

There are lots of teachable moments at the dinner/lunch table!  By three, children should be eating with utensils. Sometimes they get confused which foods can be picked up (chicken nugget) and which food requires a spoon/fork (rice), don't assume he/she should know better, gently correct the mistake.  

Three is a good age to teach the use of a napkin instead of a sleeve or shirt as by now, she/he should not be wearing a bib and be able to wipe her/his hands and face.  

At school, children must sit in their chair until everyone is done eating.  At home, this can be reinforced by having your child sit at the dinner table for a few minutes after they have completed their meal.  Show your child how to bring his/her plate to the sink or counter.  

POOR TABLE BEHAVIOR

Some behaviors just should not happen at the table.  If your child should burp or pass gas at the table, remind them that it is important to say "excuse me".  Remind your child to chew with their mouth closed.  This is a learned behavior that can be corrected with a few reminders.  

Teaching your child to use a fork and spoon correctly may prevent them from playing with their food; or playing around all together.  If your child is misbehaving at the table, give them one opportunity to stop the behavior with a warning, if it happens again, remove them.  

Family dinner times or lunch time gathering with friends is a perfect time to practice manners beyond "please" and "thank you".  It is also a great time for adults to model the behavior they would like to see in their child.

The most important thing in teaching children manners is that it is OK if mistakes are made.  Learning and showing manners is something we all do over our lifetime. 

 

PLEASE WEAR SNEAKERS EVERYDAY! Children will not be permitted to play in PE or on the playground equipment without sneakers.

Reminders:

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

• March 17 will be a St. Patrick’s Day dress down day - be sure to wear your green!

• Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on March 25-26. More information will follow next week.

• Spring/Easter break is from March 26 through April 5. Classes will resume on Tuesday, April 6.

• Spirit Week will kick off on March 19 and will continue into the next week. Stay tuned for more information!

• 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.