Themes
The themes that we will be working on this month are Dinosaurs, People in our Community, and Space. We will be reading stories, participating in discussions, making crafts and doing activities based on each individual theme.
Dates to Remember
November 2 – The occupational therapist will be working with the 4-year old classes on fine motor skills
November 8 – No school because of the Fall Break at Carstairs Elementary School
November 9 – No school because of the Fall Break at Carstairs Elementary School
November 13 – No school because of the Remembrance Day holiday
November 14 – No school because of the Remembrance Day holiday
November 15 – Marg from the library comes to read to the 4-year old class
November 16 – Marg from the library comes to read to the afternoon 4-year old class
Parent Craft List
The Parent Craft list is posted in the Parent Corner. I intend to have each craft template ready before the beginning of each month.
The following parents have their craft due this month:
Lindsey Cornforth Due November 15
Jennifer/Kenneth Foat Due November 15
Name Printing
When your child prints his/her name, they must use an upper-case letter to begin their name, followed by lower case letters (e.g. John). Over the last few years, I have found that the children are learning how to print their name at an early age, which is great, however a lot of the children are printing their name in capital letters. This can be a very hard habit to break. In kindergarten they will be expected to write their names correctly. At playschool, we teach the children how to print their name by following the same guidelines as the elementary school. If we work on this process together, we will have the children properly prepared for kindergarten.
Speech Screening
We, at the Carstairs Playschool Society, feel it is important that we utilize all our available resources to prepare the children for kindergarten, and life in general. Language, speech, and articulation are important aspects to a child, as they must have communication skills in everything and everywhere they go. I will be using a speech screening checklist and will be completing these for the children during class time.
If I hear that certain sounds or letters are missing, or if I can’t hear a word clearly, I will be recommending that parents contact Garth Schindel, the speech therapist at Didsbury Hospital for further screening. We believe it is important to target these speech and language difficulties at an early age, and if needed, get support in place prior to kindergarten.
I want to stress the fact that the Alberta Government only funds PUF (Personal Unit Funding) program for ages 3-5. The PUF program is a free service that is provided to children who require extra assistant in areas, such as Speech. I feel this program is very beneficial in helping children succeed and become more confident with their speech and language skills. Having PUF support should not be seen as a negative experience; instead it gives those children experiencing some language difficulties a chance to thrive in order to be ready for kindergarten.
I am not a speech therapist, but I feel it is important that all children get as much help and support as they can so that they can be confident in all aspects of their lives. We will be adding some information to the website outlining what each age group should be experiencing in terms of speech, articulation, and language. If you are at all concerned that your child does not meet some of these criteria, I highly recommend you make an appointment with Garth Schindel. Not all children who see the speech therapist will be given PUF funding, but Garth is highly skilled and will be able to give you lots of ideas to help your child in every area pertaining to speech and language.
Reminders
Snacks must be peanut free. Please bring snacks in a lunch kit and please label all containers as we have a few juice cups that are the same.
All Scholastic orders must be paid by cheque – NO CASH please.
The Lost and Found bucket has a few odds and ends in it that need to be claimed. It is located on top of the lunch kit shelf. Please take a look and see if any of these items belong to your child.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to discuss them with myself or Lorraine, or you can email me at carstairsplayschoolteacher@gmail.com
Danielle