Bowen=20 Cooperative Newsletter

Jan. 18,=20 2008

3D"Your Director=E2=80=99s=20 Notes

It was definitely a wintry week = at=20 Bowen! Despite the weather, we did manage to squeeze in some = sledding and=20 digging in the snow!

Our Giving Tree has = sprouted some=20 wintry fruit as well! Thank you so much for the donations of hats, = scarves, mittens, gloves, and boots! They will be donated to = Cradles to=20 Crayons and distributed to local charities. Our last day to = accept=20 donations will be Monday, January 28^th.

Big thanks are due to our = Enrollment=20 Committee! The 5-DAY AND 3-DAY classes are fully enrolled for = 2008. =20 There are a few spots left in the TK class for girls. Please = spread the=20 word to friends, neighbors and co-workers!

Enjoy the long=20 weekend!

Barbara

Tuition = Reminder

Tuition was due January 1. If = you haven't=20 already, please remember to turn it in to Barbara Cleary's=20 box.

Thank you!

Newsletter=20 Reminders

The newsletter is published = every=20 Friday. Please email contributions (WS Word files are best) to = fiveabbotts@hotmail.com or place a hard copy in Jen and Todd = Abbott=E2=80=99s=20 mailbox at Bowen. Submissions received by Wednesday evening are=20 appreciated.

3 Day=20 Class

3 Day Class = News

What ever snow fairies there = are have=20 certainly dropped many flakes on the 3 day class! It's a good thing we = are not=20 preparing for the MCAS!

Last Friday, the children had = fun with a 2=20 step process. The results were beautiful, and they were proud of their=20 accomplishment. They took brightly colored strips of paper (one side = shiny with=20 glue), ran the shiny side over a wet sponge and stuck it to a bright = piece of=20 construction paper. The strips went over and around and under making = interesting=20 designs. Look at them hanging in the room. The duplo rescue vehicles = were=20 popular. We were pleased that the boys and girls were able to share = them. =20 When the timer went off the children traded places and play continued = smoothly.=20 Brian was a big hit with the children, and we can't wait for him to = return and=20 play with us. He was impressed with how well they all=20 listened.

Wednesday was a Bowen Beach = day. There was=20 a pool for "swimming" and a swim tube, as well as beach towels. There = were flip=20 flops and enough sunglasses for everyone! The discovery table held sand = and=20 shells for digging and sifting. The house area was transformed into a = picnic=20 spot with lunch boxes and sandwiches. The boat was well used for ocean = trips,=20 and it was also a sanctuary from the alligators who seemed to be = swimming in the=20 water too. This was cause for much glee and excitement! The children = painted the=20 colors of tropical fish and made summer shapes with playdoh. Jessie was = very=20 proud of her playdoh ice cream cone, fish and shell shapes. = Mia=20 (Tai's mom) was tireless in her pursuit of orange juice! She helped the = children=20 try all three types of orange juice machines. It was delicious, and we = have all=20 had a good dose of vitamin C! For some reason, the children requested a = familiar=20 Halloween story. Jane read them The Haunted House. They like to = see the=20 ghost pop out at the end and be scared.

The playground was beautiful in = the snow,=20 and there was much shoveling and scooping going on. You are all doing a = good job=20 of sending proper snow gear. Thanks.

I guess we are in for some more = wintry=20 weather, but it is fun to be cozy inside when it is stormy = outdoors. If=20 you are fed up with indoors you might try an outdoor picnic with hot = chocolate=20 and cookies. Keep sane!

Priscilla and=20 Jane

5 Day=20 Class

Dear = Parents,

Martin Luther King Day in the = five-day=20 class was a very positive experience for the entire class including the=20 teachers. Until 9:45, the class consisted of red children and blue = children. The activities in the classroom corresponded with the = colors of=20 the children. When the children were called together at 9:45, a = wonderful=20 discussion took place among the children and the teachers. = Feelings were=20 expressed and a =E2=80=9Cproblem-solution=E2=80=9D time took = place. The thoughts of the=20 children were also very well expressed, and they came up with wonderful=20 solutions. The Land of Many Colors mural turned out very = well and=20 will be put on the bulletin board in the hallway. There were some = good=20 comments made while the mural was being created. Another activity = occurred=20 when each child was presented with a hand. Each child was asked = how they=20 could be a =E2=80=9Chelping hand=E2=80=9D to the world. The = responses of the children are=20 on the bulletin board near the back of the classroom. They are=20 great! This exercise is one that is beginning to open up inner = thoughts=20 and feelings about others.

Peter Penguin visited the class = this=20 week. Each child made his/her penguin puppet this week. We = have=20 learned the =E2=80=9CPeter Penguin=E2=80=9D song to go along with the = puppet. During group=20 time we have been learning about penguins. We know that there are = at least=20 eleven species of penguins and there may be more. Next week will = bring=20 more information about penguins into the classroom.

On Thursday, the children = became scientists=20 about living creatures and winter. Each child was able to pick two = pictures of living creatures. With the help of Stacey Bracken each = child=20 placed the picture on one of three poster boards=E2=80=94Hibernation, = Migration, or=20 Adaptation. Hibernation means that the creature = =E2=80=9Csleeps=E2=80=9D during the cold=20 weather and its bodily functions slow down. Migration means that = the=20 creature moves to a warmer climate during the cold weather and then = returns when=20 the warm weather returns. Adaptation means the creature=E2=80=99s = body makes=20 changes or adaptations to the cold weather. The animal stays awake = during=20 the cold weather. The children were fascinated by the information = that was=20 presented to them about these creatures and what they do in=20 winter.

Snow in the Discovery = Table! The=20 children were very excited about the outside coming in. There was = digging=20 in the snow and filling pails and the winter outer wear did not even = need to go=20 on. The children did need the outer wear when we were outside, and = they=20 had a chance to go sledding. What fun we had outside on=20 Thursday!

Have a great long weekend and a = great=20 week!

Barbara and=20 Margie

=E2=80=9CPeter Penguin = Song=E2=80=9D

Peter, Peter Penguin marching = by

Toes turned out and head up = high

A long black coat and a clean = white=20 vest

Peter, Peter Penguin = you=E2=80=99re the=20 best.

TK=20 Class

TK has been busy as usual this = week with=20 our new letter J. James has been labeled our class = =E2=80=9Cexpert=E2=80=9D on J=E2=80=99s and has=20 been eager to demonstrate to his peers how to form a perfect J. = We=E2=80=99ve been=20 lucky! The class has been busy decorating with jewels, wearing and = making=20 jewelry, and playing jumping games. A big hit has been the = discovery=20 table, which is filled with water and juggling balls. Children = have been=20 practicing using their strong mathematical skills to count and sort the=20 balls. We made sure to spend time on two delicious cooking = projects. =20 Jell-O jigglers were a huge hit! We also made our own juice! = Squeezing oranges is very hard work and definitely made us all = appreciate the=20 cartons we can buy in the store. The children did a terrific job=20 brainstorming different words to describe how our juice tasted. = Some=20 notable adjectives included =E2=80=9Cbumpy,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cthe best = juice ever,=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cpulpy.=E2=80=9D =20

We took all week to slowly turn = our=20 dramatic play center into a jungle complete with trees, vines, animals, = snakes,=20 and many tree houses. If you haven=E2=80=99t been by, please come = check it=20 out. It is quite impressive! The enthusiasm for this project = has=20 been remarkable, with children working diligently each day to create new = animals=20 and other additions to our jungle. They have also taken time to = enjoy=20 their hard work by playing in this area! The jungle animals have = never had=20 such elaborate and fanciful homes! We have also enjoyed working = together=20 to complete some very tricky jungle themed puzzles. Even a puzzle = with 100=20 pieces can=E2=80=99t stump this group!

Our language skills continue to = develop=20 each day as we spend time working with the alphabet and practicing our = reading=20 skills. Children have been motivated to work in pairs to write the = class=20 morning message each day. We make sure to applaud each = pair=E2=80=99s hard=20 work. They have all been very creative and resourceful in finding = ways to=20 write the message by using their own skills for sounding out words or = looking=20 around the classroom to find printed words to copy. Our writing is = also=20 coming along nicely. We had fun brainstorming various activities = that the=20 monkeys in our jungle could take part in. Each child was = responsible for=20 creating their own monkey and writing down what their particular monkey = could=20 do. Our ability to decipher sounds into corresponding letters is = getting=20 better and better! Check out your child=E2=80=99s progress above = the=20 cubbies.

Thanks and have a great long=20 weekend!

Jen and=20 Jenn-Ann