March, 2011 Dates to remember March 21 Room 21

March, 2011
Dates to remember
March 21
Room 21 & 25 no class for conferences
April 4, 5, 6 Spring break for Rooms 21 & 25
7 & 8 Spring break – program closed
22 & 25 Program closed – Good Friday & Easter Monday
Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 7 for a TC morning at the Exploratorium in Skokie,
from 9:30 -11:30.
Problem solving takes a lifetime, a word
from Susan
At the February inservice one of the topics
teachers worked on was Ramps & Pathways.
They had the chance to be a doer and an
observer while using some new materials we
have for the classrooms. As an observer
teachers had the opportunity to see what a
small group of children might encounter when
using a toy that they haven’t used before. As
a doer they had the opposite experience of
actually using materials in a small group.
Even though the teachers are experienced
players it was interesting to see how they
went through the same stages of play that
children do as they encounter something
new. One group worked with a set of small
ramps with balls, pompoms, marbles, small
tubes and blocks which invited a lot of
individual play and experimentation. After a
while one child became absorbed in trying to
get a marble to flip off the end of a curved
block and land on a ramp. While she worked
on this idea the other two in that area worked
individually but would look over at what the
other one to check out what she was doing.
After a while one child invited the other to
play with her and they started to work on
combining their structures while the third kept
trying out her idea.
In a different area of the room another group
was using a larger set of tubes that could be
connected then attached to a base so it
would stand up and be built much higher.
This toy had one part that would flip if an
object landed on it. Since the pieces were so
big they required immediate cooperation
between the children because they felt
frustrated that what he/she was trying to do
wasn’t working. This group was engaged in a
lot of conversation, trying out different ideas
and different strategies.
From an observers viewpoint the second toy
with the larger tubes seemed to be a better
toy since it required more cooperation, but
when everyone had a chance to talk about
their experiences; it turned out they all
thought the first toy was better. They felt it
offered more possibilities for experimentation
and choices that also gave a more immediate
result. When the children wanted to work
with someone else it was based more on
wanting to try the other person’s structures
and/or incorporating their ideas together
rather than a feeling of frustration. As the
teachers used the materials they discovered
many ideas and challenges to use with the
children in their classrooms. So when you’re
looking for a new toy for your child, remember
bigger isn’t always better.
Mandarin song on a horsehead fiddle. We
thank the Silent Theatre Group for
entertaining us with a series of short fables
after lunch.
Special thanks to the parent volunteers who
helped with set-up and clean-up; Susan
Worth, Lee Perlstadt, Aparna & Ankur Jain,
Heather Sweeny, Denise & Jake Chaitkin and
Brian King and our photographer Carrie
Goldman Segall. And thank you to all of the
many families who shared their culinary
talents by assisting with the feast. Thanks to
all who participated and of course we thank
the First United Methodist Church for the use
of the facilities. And a HUGE Thank you to
Ama R. Thompson and Aparna Brush for
coordinating the event.
International Family Day! Thank you’s
Another successful Family Day!!!
Family Day 2011 was a huge success! Thank
you to Tanja Sitzer and her friends, Lena &
Ricarda from Germany taught us about
Karnevalmasken.
Robin Gilson, Carlos
Lopez-Espina
&
Sacramento
RoselloMartinez showed us how to make Carreras
de Chapas & Flamenco fans from Spain.
Anita Engh led the crafters making Crowns &
Noisemakers for Purim representing Israel.
Krista Fabian taught the children about
Antigua & Barbuda and made Caribbean
Coconut Trees. Jenn Gerrard taught about
Egypt and made Ancient Egyptian Collars.
Cheri & George Asante showed us how to
make Wooden Bead Jewelry from Ghana.
We heard a wonderful song from India
performed by Priya Vansisha. Cythnia
Rosario and her daughter Willa taught an
American folksong and dance. Lars Toender
played guitar and sang two Danish songs and
Michael Combopiano shared an American
song on the trumpet. We even heard a
Exploratorium
Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 7 for a
TC morning at the Exploratorium in Skokie,
from 9:30 -11:30. Total Child has rented the
museum space for the morning during the
spring break and all interested families are
welcome to attend, cost is $4 per person. Class Pictures
Class pictures are scheduled for Wednesday,
March 23 and Thursday March 24. Rooms
22, 23, 25 (2/3’s) and 26 will have pictures on
Wednesday and Rooms 21 and Room 25
(Just 2’s) will have pictures on Thursday. If
you will be ordering pictures, please return
the completed form along with your check
before the 23rd. Order forms will be in your
child’s folder or mailbox.
Fall classes
We are in the process of finalizing the classes
for the fall. We currently have a few openings
available in the Just 2’s class. We especially
encourage
applications
from
families
receiving state certificates and those in need
of financial aid.
Transitioning out
For families that will be leaving Total Child
that are moving on to kindergarten or moving
to their home country you need to give Total
Child notice by April 30 in order to receive
credit for the two week deposit which was
given at enrollment. Our budget is based on
full enrollment and as families prepare to
leave we need advance notice in time to
notifiy incoming families.
Babies
Congratulations to Arvinda & Sreenath on the
arrival of Vibha and making Varsha a big
sister.
Total Child Google Group Email
You have been invited to join a group email
list for all Total Child parents and staff. The
idea behind TC Group is to create a place to
share information relating to our lives as
caretakers of children. If you did not receive
this invitation, it may have been recognized
as Spam and sent to your Trash. If you
are interested in being re-invited, please send
an
email to
Meagan
Novara
at
[email protected]. If you sign up for TC
Groups, we ask that only appropriate school
and community related topics should be
posted on this group - it is not intended for
commercial purposes. Info posted could
include anything from babysitters wanted, to
baby equipment to be sold, to referrals for
pediatricians. Opinions on personal matters,
TC staff and other people's children
are not permitted. Please also refrain from
having back-and-forth discussions on TC
Group as we don't want huge amounts of
email filling up member's In-Boxes.