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Airport Learning
Tree
Director: Penny Haakinson
Assistant Director: Ru Coyne
Front Desk: Debbi Alger & Deby Waldner
October 2014
Mothering Heights by Penny Haakinson
Contents
Mothering Heights
1
New Faces
Upcoming Events
1
We have added a lot of new faces to our staff, so I thought a review of all staff might be in
Front Desk News
2
Snuggle Bunny News
3
Our infant room is still headed by Char who has been with us for 2 years. Soon Joy, who is
Wobbly Lambs News
3
Jan, (16 years), and Denae who is just completing her first year.
Tiger Cubs I News
4
Tiger Cubs II New
4
Fuzzy Duck News
5
Bouncy Bear News
5
Kangaroo News
6
Panther News
7
Family Matters
8
Menu
Attachment
Our Theme This
order.
coming over from the Jr. K room will be joining her. The Wobbs room remains constant with
The Todds are still headed by Jennifer, (8 yrs) and Kim (3 yrs) with new additions of Terrie,
who has worked as an instructional assistant since 1992, and Caitlin, who has prior daycare
experience.
The preschool has Deby (13 yrs) in the morning and Trisha (1 yr all day. Of course we have
Deby at the front desk in the afternoon. We are excited to tell you that Kristi is back and will
be helping Trisha in the afternoons. Kristi worked in the preschool room before she left last
year.
You may still see some changes in the Jr. K room as we introduce Allyson who is pursuing her
Master of Arts in Teaching at Concordia University and Ileana who is our bilingual specialist.
Both of these girls have a wealth of knowledge and experience, so I am excited to see what can
happen as they make this room their own.
Month
Our Kindergarten continues with Ru who just completed her Master’s in Education this year as
We are Thankful
the head teacher in the school-age room (1 yr), but will be leaving for maternity leave in
Upcoming Events
11/14 PNO
well as her ESOL Endorsement. Ru is also the Assistant Director in the afternoons. Christy is
December. She is joined by Robin who worked for 3 years in an afterschool program. Alicia (5
yrs) and Shirley (8 yrs) also help out in the afternoon as they finish their van runs.
Our new cook is Dennise, and she comes to us with a lot of cooking and van driving experience.
11/21 Scholastic Orders
Other staff members include Debbi (13 yrs) who opens our center every morning and a number
Due
of part-time aides that help in so many ways. Stacey has been substituting for us for two
11/27 Thanksgiving –
McKenzie is now helping on a part-time basis and Deby’s daughter Shayna helps out when she’s
CENTER CLOSED
years. When they are not in school, Leah and Hannah help out where needed. Debbi’s son
not at nursing school.
As you can see, it takes over 25 people to keep everything running smoothly, and these people
are so special I could write pages about them and all that they do each and every day to
nurture and love your children. Please take the time to introduce yourself to the new faces and
let them know how much you appreciate all the love and care they share.
Page 2
Front Desk News
Dear Parents…
Looking Ahead
We will be closed Thanksgiving day,
Thursday, November 27th. We will be
open Friday, November 28th. Look for
a sign-up sheet to let us know if your
child(ren) will be attending so we can
plan ahead for staffing purposes.
Holiday Hours
12/24 Christmas Eve
Center Closes at 12pm
12/25 Christmas Day
CENTER CLOSED
12/31 New Year’s Eve
Center Closes at 3pm
1/1 New Year’s Day
CENTER CLOSED
Save the Date
Our next big event coming up will be
our Christmas Program. This special
event will be on Wednesday,
December 10th at 3pm. Each class will
make at least a short appearance,
with the older kids performing for a
longer time. The children are always
eager to show off their talents and
we hope that you can make it for
their special day. The performances
will be followed with a “special guest”
visitor and refreshments. This is a
wonderful time to mingle with other
families, building a stronger learning
community and environment.
Winter Clothes
With the weather beginning to
change, we have noticed many
children coming to school in clothes
that are not appropriate for the
colder weather. For our cold, crisp
mornings, please be sure to dress
your child in layers, provide a warm
coat and mittens or gloves for their
little hands. This is a wonderful time
of year to explore the neighborhood
and just breathe in the fresh air. We
want our children to be comfortable
while they are outside and staying
inside when their class goes outside
is not an option.
October Newsletter
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear…
Jude
Malia
Alexa
Myra
Abigail G.
Rakeb
Ben
Lucy M.
Khloe
Heather
Everett
Samantha
Nelai
and Penny
Happy Birthday to you!
Page 3
October Newsletter
Classroom News
Snuggle Bunnies loved by Char & Joy
What a month we had in the infant room! We have had a few new faces join us and will be saying good-bye to
a couple friends in November. We welcomed Ryker, Troy, and Jack to our classroom. These boys quickly
adapted to our classroom and fit in just like they belonged with us! It has been great. We have also come to
the time to say see ya later to Eden and Mason Dance as they will be moving up to the Wobbs classroom. As
we say bye to these two, we will welcome a few new friends next month. We anticipate Jaxin and Skyler
joining our classroom. During October, we had plenty of Halloween fun! We played with mini pumpkins and
opened them up to play with the guts. We also made little ghosts using our feet. Lastly, we enjoyed a
Halloween costume parade as the older kids came to our door to show off their costumes and trick-or-treat.
October was an action packed month for us.
Looking ahead to November, we will be focusing on everything fall and practicing our fine motor skills. We
will be also practicing showing our teachers “more” and “all done” using our sign language as we are starting
to eat more food. Hopefully you are practicing these at home as well. Lastly, we would like to welcome
Teacher Joy to our classroom. Although she is new to our class as a regular teacher, we all know her as she
is usually the teacher who closes the infant room in the evening. She is moving to our class from Jr. K and
we are excited to have her join us. Parents, if you haven’t yet met Joy, please introduce yourself when you
see her.
Wobbly Lambs loved by Jan & Denae
Here we are in November
Our room is about learning
Counting
already! Where does the time
things by doing them over and
blocks and pop beads also.
go? We hope you have a happy
over. The babies love the
Halloween!
looking
routine and are preparing to
forward to Thanksgiving and
be Toddlers. They learn to
all it’s goodness!
sleep
We
are
We are sad to see Emily, Evan,
and Dexter move up to Todds,
but we know they are ready
for a new adventure. On the
other
hand
we
will
be
for
the
one
nap.
Although at first we may give
short cat naps in the morning
to help a child that can’t quite
make it. We are flexible and
do what’s best for the child.
welcoming Eden, Mason Dance,
We will be practicing our
and Mason Wridge to our
letters,
Wobbly Lambs room!
sounds, and colors this month.
animals
and
their
and sequencing with
There will be a transition time
for the new ones, but they have
been visiting so it should be
smooth.
Classroom News
Page 4
October Newsletter
Tiger Cubs I loved by Jen & Terrie
Fall is finally here. The rain,
we are thankful for. Look for
yummy vegetables! We are
the wind, and the leaves. We
our thankful feathers to be
very excited to have Emily,
get a whole playground full of
hanging up. We will also be
Dexter, and Evan moving up
leaves, so on non-rainy days,
making
some
fun
from Wobbs. Hopefully this
we will be outside. Make sure
crafts.
This
month,
our
allows our two year olds to
your child has an appropriate
letters of the week will be S,
move up with Teacher Kim,
jacket.
in
T, U, and V. For S, we do a lot
but they may still visit our
our
of paper plate crafts like our
class from time to time. Hope
Halloween decorations. It was
suns. T will be about trains,
everyone
also fun seeing all the kids in
trees, and turkeys. For letter
Thanksgiving full of family
their costumes. In November,
U, we will decorate umbrellas
time and delicious food.
we will be talking about what
and unicorns. Letter V will be
October
We
had
making
fun
all
turkey
has
Tiger Cubs II loved by Kim & Caitlyn
Wow! October really flew by and we had so much fun! We read lots of books
about Halloween, did a lot of Halloween crafts, carved a jack-o-lantern, and
played outside and played with leaves on our few sunny days. We also got to
welcome our new friend Kio and Sean to the class and we’ve enjoyed learning
more about them.
For the month of November, we will be learning about the letters S, T, U, and
V and the numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6. We’ll be learning all about Thanksgiving and
writing down all the things we’re thankful for.
Last, as usual, with this time of year, we have lots of germs and sickness
floating around. To minimize the spread of colds and flues, we’re asking that
parents wash their child’s hands in the morning before bringing them into the
classroom. Thank you for helping us keep the kids healthy and happy this
season!
a
great
October Newsletter
Classroom News
Page 5
Fuzzy Ducks loved by Deby, Trisha & Kristi
October is over and it’s almost
enjoyed a bumpy but relaxing hay
we will be talking about being
Thanksgiving! Our focus in the last
ride. The carnival was a blast and it
thankful for our many unnoticed
few
was very delightful to see all the
blessings and learning how we can
little happy smiles.
share those blessings with others
months
was
on
getting
acquainted and easing into a new
routine. We will be having a few
toddlers moving up to our preschool
classroom this month. We are very
Now that we’re all getting settled
in, our focus turns to Veteran’s Day
fortunate
than
ourselves.
November and we’re ready to focus
children learn through play and
on the new letters of the week, T
interaction with their peers and
and O. Preschool will continue to
adults. Consistency and continuity
work on counting and calendar
are extremely important to the
every day. Our colors will be orange
development of each child. With
and brown. Our shapes will be
consistency,
circle and square. Preschool will be
routines, rules, and expectations.
making turkeys and pumpkin pie in a
We try our best to provide this
cup with graham crackers and whip
each day and hope that our parents
cream. We will be experimenting
are working on this too! Thank you
October was filled up with special
with
for all that you do!
activities and events! The pumpkin
working on fine gross motor skills
patch was great! Every child that
by using tweezers to pick off corn.
attended was able to take home a
November will be a very busy
pumpkin
month for preschool. Most of all,
Lizzy.
learned
The
the
children
names
have
of
their
classmates and teachers and have
helped establish class rules. All
rules
in
our
school
setting
encompass respect and care for
self, other and our school. It has
been an amazing delight watching
our little ones grow!
they
picked
out.
We
growing
It’s
less
It is important to remember that
and
Thanksgiving.
are
finally
excited to welcome Taylor, Evalyn,
and
who
Indian
corn
and
a
child
learns
Bouncy Bears loved by Ally & Ileana
It is getting colder and wet
This last month has been very
This
exciting
volcanoes and even got to see one
outside as the year comes to a
welcomed our new friends Kameron,
explode
our
close. Please remember to send
Stella,
our
classroom. We also got to go on a
your child to school with a nice
classroom. We also welcomed two
fun field trip to the pumpkin patch.
warm coat. We will continue to go
new teachers! Teacher Ally has
The school age children put on a
outside every day, rain or shine!
joined us and is working on her
Halloween carnival that the Bouncy
We are so excited to continue
Master of Arts in Teaching at
Bears had so much fun playing at.
being good and helpful friends.
in
Bouncy
and
Bears!
MacKenzie
to
We
Concordia University while she is
teaching in our classroom. We also
welcomed
Teacher
Ileana
this
month. We are very excited to have
her join us as she is bilingual, and
we are excited about all the new
things she can teach us!
month
we
right
learned
about
outside
November is here and we are
looking forward to plenty of fall
crafts and games. We will continue
to work on learning our days of the
week and months of the year. We
are
going
to
practice
making
letters and writing our names.
We look forward to our next
adventure together!
Classroom News
Page 6
October Newsletter
Kangaroos loved by Ru & Christy
Wow can it be true we are
drawing circles on paper and
small groups. We are starting to
starting
of
showing us how to put 10 seeds in
get to the point where we are
Kindergarten? The time has just
each circle. We then counted by
ready to form some small reading
flown by. October was a really
10’s and found that our pumpkin
groups which means our other
exciting month! We seem to
had 518 seeds in it!
classmates will have to work
our
third
month
finally be getting used to our
routine and daily schedule. We
know what day we go swimming
and always walk into class ready
to do our morning work. We are
also learning to look at our
calendar and see what special
events
are
coming
up.
We
practiced this a lot in October
with
a
field
Halloween,
a
trip,
carnival,
birthday,
and
picture day to look forward to.
The highlights of October were
mostly
surrounding
Halloween
and included going to the pumpkin
patch,
completing
a
pumpkin
investigation, and working on the
Halloween carnival with schoolage kids. We also read A LOT of
Halloween stories and many of us
were excited to notice that we
had the same books at home!
While working on our pumpkin
investigation,
we
practiced
estimation and measurement as
we
measured
how
tall
our
pumpkin was with cubes and how
many inches around it was. We
also
practiced
describing
the
pumpkin and drew a picture of
how we would like to see it
carved. Lastly, we opened it up
and counted the seeds. Some of
us were not too keen on touching
the guts, but others dove right
in. Our teacher helped us by
When
not
Halloween,
we
talking
learned
about
about
colors. We practiced saying the
colors
in
Spanish
and
even
practiced spelling them with sign
language letters. Mixing of colors
independently so teacher can
focus on our groups. This will be
a learning process but we will
pick it up quickly, and really
benefit from the small group
work!
was also interesting to us as
We are having such a great time
many of us were surprised to
in kindergarten and it seems like
find out that yellow and blue
all of us are really enjoying the
make green or blue and red make
action—including
purple. Because this seemed so
schoolwork, and not taking naps.
new to us, we will visit this again
We are also really becoming a
at another time in the year.
tight knit little group who all
Looking ahead to November, we
will have the themes All About
Me,
Family/Pets,
and
Thanksgiving. These themes will
be great as we discuss the things
we are thankful for going into
Thanksgiving. We will work on our
graphing skills as we complete
graphs that show our birthdays,
how many letters we each have in
our name, our pets, the members
of our families, and our favorite
Thanksgiving food. We will also
do a couple writing projects
where we will write and illustrate
our idea of the perfect pet and
what we are thankful for. Our
letters of the week for the
month will be letters I, D, and G.
Another one of our focuses in
November will be building up our
stamina working individually or in
play,
know each other very well and
are compassionate towards our
friends. Although this class does
focus more heavily on academics,
compared to the other classes in
the building, much of what we do
is designed to create respectful,
self-managing students ready to
enter the public schools. We
practice following two, three,
and four step directions, being
kind and courteous to everyone,
and
of
course
making
good
choices. There is also a little
more freedom and responsibility
that takes some time to get used
to but we are getting there!
Hopefully you are noticing these
things at home too and thank you
to our families for all that they
do for us!
October Newsletter
Classroom News
Page 7
Panthers loved by Christy, Robin, Alicia & Shirley
October has been a great month! It
had
our
pumpkin investigation. We examined
is always a fun way to start off fall
investigation with our hands. One
a pumpkin inside and out. It was
and begin our busy holiday season.
of our favorite food projects was
documented visually, by weight, by
Believe it or not, now that Halloween
when we made pumpkins out of
height
has passed, we are only a few
pretzels. We melted down white
comparison between estimation and
months away from the New Year!
chocolate, added orange food-dye,
the actual amount of seeds that it
The fall season brings us so much
and then dipped our pretzels. As
contained.
color, nature to explore, new and
they lay drying on wax paper, we
experiment further by adding a
interesting foods and, of course,
added a green M&M to be the
chemical
many rainy days. In the school-age
stem. We all were able to take
baking soda and vinegar inside the
classroom, we focused on pumpkins
home a few of these tasty treats.
pumpkin
and Halloween the entire month;
there were so many activities to get
fun
furthering
The second half of the month
and
we
We
even
then
reaction.
and
We
enjoyed
made
took
a
this
combined
the slight
eruption that took place.
focused on everything Halloween.
Being October, this month is full of
We explored more pumpkins, bats,
fun excitement, and since we are
skeletons, spiders, and candy corn.
the school-age classroom, we are in
The month started off with our
Some of our favorite crafts were
charge of planning and running the
attention
the hanging bats, which you can see
carnival. We were so busy making
pumpkins. We looked at all the
in our
Q-tip
signs, re-arranging the classroom,
different
make
skeleton arms. These turned out
and setting up decorations that the
pumpkins, decorate pumpkins and
very creepy and spooky, but this
last week of the month flew by. It
even do experiments with pumpkins.
made them even more fun for the
was all worth it in the end though,
Some of our favorite crafts were
kids to partake in. We also had a
because the carnival was such a fun
our paper-strip pumpkins, magazine
lot of fun making spiders; one kind
success and we really enjoyed being
cut-out
our
we got to eat, and the other we got
in charge of all the different games
stuffed pumpkins we made out of
to wear. We made spiders out of
and handing out prizes. Thank you so
paper bags. These fun pieces of art
chocolate
and
much for all the families that came
are either being displayed in our
pretzel twists, they sure were
by and participated and helped make
hallway or have gone home for you
tasty! Our other spiders were
this day more enjoyable.
to enjoy on a more permanent basis.
turned into headbands; they had
A fun science experiment we did was
eight crinkly legs and
done that we spent two weeks on
each subject.
making
directed
ways
we
towards
could
jack-o-lanterns,
pumpkin
and
slime.
We
hallway, and
donuts,
our
M&Ms,
multiple
googly eyes so they were more
investigated the chemical reaction
realistic.
During
our
Halloween
between Borax, Elmer’s glue, and
weeks, we also played BINGO and
water; to make this more festive, we
used candy corn as our markers.
added orange food coloring. The
This was so much fun because
kids had so much fun seeing these
after we got five in a row, we were
simple products turn into a slimy
able to pick a prize and then eat
play-dough and afterwards, we all
our markers. We also enjoyed our
Next month we are looking forward
to more festive and holiday fun. Be
on the lookout for turkeys and giving
thanks. We are going to focus on all
the things that we appreciate in life,
what Thanksgiving stands for and
everything all about turkeys!
Page 8
October Newsletter
Just For Fun
Home Depot: Kids Workshop
When: First Sat., 9-12pm
Where:
Various
Home
Depot
Locations Description: Free, monthly
hands-on, “how-to” craft* workshops
designed for kids ages 5-12.
11/1 How to Build a Pallet Coaster
Lowe’s Build & Grow Workshop
When: Sat. 10am
Where: Various Lowe’s Locations
Description: Free, monthly hands-on,
“how-to” craft workshops designed
for kids
11/8 Science Lab
Lakeshore Learning
When: Every Sat, 11am –3pm
Where: Lakeshore Learning Store,
16901 SW 65th Ave., Lake Oswego
Description:
FREE
fun
craft
activities for ages 3+
Information:
503-620-9888
or
lakeshorelearning.com.
11/1 Scarecrow Puppet
11/8 Harvest Headdress
11/15 Family Picture Tree
11/22 Giving Thanks Centerpiece
11/29 Cool Catch Penguin
$2 Days at OMSI
When: First Sun. of every month,
11/2
Where: OMSI
1945 SE Water St., Portland, OR
97214
Description: Enjoy discounted $2
admission to OMSI.
$4 Zoo Second Tuesday
When: Tue. Nov. 11th, 10am – 4pm
Where: Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW
Canyon Rd. Portland, OR 97221
Description: Enjoy all of the fun
wildlife and adventure at the Oregon
Zoo for a fraction of the cost with
$4 admission per person. Children 2
and under are, as always, admitted
free of charge. Ride transit and
receive an additional $1.50 off with
proof of ridership. There is a fee for
parking a well.
Wondrous Wednesdays
When: Wed. Nov. 5th 10am – 5pm
Where: World Forestry Center
4033 SW Canyon
Description:
Tour
the
World
Forestry Center for the discounted
price of $3 per person. Ride the wetfree rapids, try your smoke jumping
skills, and discover interesting things
about forests all over the world.
There is a fee for parking as well.
Guided Nature Hike
When: Saturdays, 10-11:30am
Where: Tyron Creek Park
11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd.
Description: Free guided nature
hikes exploring the forest and stream
ecosystems and natural history at
Tryon Creek State Natural Area.
Topics will vary from week to week
but will be appropriate for all ages.
Parents must accompany kids on all
hikes. No pre-registration required.
For more specific information or if
bringing groups larger than 10, call
(503) 636-9886 ext. 225.
11/1 Unseen World of the Forest
Canopy
11/8 Conifers of Tryon Creek
11/15 Crows, Ravens, and Jays:
Living with Corvids
11/22 Woodpeckers: Homebuilders
of the Forest
11/29 Mysterious Mosses
Second Saturday at WREC
When: Sat. Nov. 8th, 1pm – 3pm
Where: Water Resources Education
Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way
Description: Second Saturdays at
the Water Resources Education
Center are not only fun, they're free!
Each second Saturday of the month,
from 1 to 3 p.m., kids and their
families are invited to explore a
different topic through hands-on
activities, games and stories. Join us
for the annual observance of
American Indian Heritage Month.
Kids will have fun with handmade
crafts and activities. Families are
invited to celebrate and learn more
about native cultures.
Kids Morning Skate at Oaks Park
When: Saturdays, 10:30am - 12pm
Where: Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks
Park Way, Portland OR 97202
Description:
Get your family's
weekend rolling at Kids Morning
Skate! This session is specifically
designed for kids ten and younger and
features music chosen by kids for
kids, a 15 minute group lesson taught
by a USA Roller Sports certified
instructor, and cool skating games
like "Dead Bug", "Roller Limbo" and,
of course, "The Hokey Pokey"!
Includes conventional skates.
Ages 0-10, with family. $6 per child,
grown-ups free. oakspark.com
Check out these great sources for
more family fun activities…
Multnomah County Library
https://multcolib.org/events/progra
ms
Metro Parent
www.metro-parent.com/calendars
Vancouver Family Magazine
www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com/ca
lendar.html
PDX Kids Calendar
http://www.pdxkidscalendar.com/sum
mer-fun-events/