Good Shepherd Lutheran Preschool February 2014 February Highlights Thank you to all who took part in “Dad and Me” Day. What great Dad’s we have! Thank you for braving the weather and attending this special day. It was so fun to see laughter and smiles as children shared this day with their Dad’s (or someone special). A special thank you to Miss Helen who did a presentation for our 3,4,and 5-yearold classes about Chinese New Year. Gung Hay Fat Choy is how we say “Wishing you a prosperous new year.” in Cantonese. Our Valentine’s Day parties will be Thursday, February 13th (Young 3s class) and Friday, February 14h (for all other classes). SignUp Genius will be posted online for parents to bring in special snacks, paper products and juice. Please note: No School on Monday, February 18th; it is President’s Day, as well as Friday, February. 28th; it’s County Institute Day. We have a lot of things planned for February and we are looking forward to an exciting month! Inside this issue: Bible Verse ............. 6 College Seminar ..... 3 Church Happenings ............ 5 Colonial Café Family Fundraising Event Save the Date! Join us at Colonial Café in Naperville (Gartner Road at Washington) on Cold Weather Drop Off ................. 3 Lunch Bunch + Enrichment ........... 4 Parent Points ......... 2 Parent Team Update ................... 4 Wednesday, February 26th, 4:00 to 10:00pm for a day of food, fun and fellowship. Everyone is invited! Please bring your flyer and 15% of all preschool sales will go back to the preschool. 1310 Shepherd Drive • Naperville, IL 60565 • Phone: 630.961.9055 Website: Preschool - www.gslp-naperville.org • Church - www.goodshepherd-naperville.org Parent Points Did you know that area schools are now registering for kindergarten? Please check with your school district for more information. Fitness for Preschoolers Childhood obesity has tripled in just 20 years. Preschool children who are inactive risk becoming overweight as they grow up. Provide at least 60 minutes a day for active free play. 2|Page As educators in the field of early childhood, we know the value and importance of children having many opportunities for physical activity. In education, we refer to this as large motor activity. This provides children with activities that will develop their large muscles. Generally large muscles are developed first (hopping, walking, running) and then small muscles are refined later (these muscles are used to cut, hold a pencil, etc.). What can we do as parents to encourage our children to be physically fit while they are developing their large muscles? Listed below are some ideas from the Illinois Early Learning Project. 1. Encourage them to get moving. Make positive comments that focus on effort: “You almost made a basket!” 2. Provide at least 60 minutes a day for active free play. Let them run, climb, march, pedal, throw, roll, skip, dig and jump. Offer riding toys, balls, beanbags, climbers, balance beams and obstacle courses. 3. Think about safety. What ever the weather, avoid overexposure to sun. Remember hats and mittens in cold. In hot weather, see that they cool off in the shade and drink plenty of water. 4. Plan an hour or more of structured physical activity each week. Families can teach creative movement, dance and game playing skills. Some park districts offer swimming, tumbling and ballet for young children. In most cases, organized sports are more appropriate for older children. 5. Turn off the TV and computer. Limiting “screen time” provides more opportunities for active play. Experts say preschoolers should not sit in one place or lie down for more than an hour at a time unless they are sleeping. 6. Set a good example. Let children see you eating healthy foods and being active. 7. Exercise together. Try sledding, hiking, gardening. Stress cooperation and fun rather than winning. 8. Share books that show the importance of fitness. Phone: 630.961.9055 Thank You to our Parent Volunteers! … to Carolyn McCambridge for ordering MANNA gift cards. … to Erin Falbo for ordering our Scholastic books. … to Kat Clark for being our snack shopper. … to Deb Long for helping with our kitchen prep work. … Jessica Struyf for decorating the Parent Bulletin Board. … to Sarah and Delia Whaley for sorting and distributing our book orders. … to Kim Peterson, Sarah and Delia Whaley for re-shelving our school library books. … to Emily McBroom, Jelma Varghese and Sarah Whaley for refilling our soap dispensers. … to Claire Dee, Jessica Dieterle, Barb Kleczka, Kim Peterson, Jennifer Travis, Delia and Sarah Whaley and Karen Wright for keeping our Literacy Boxes in order and ready for weekly check-out. … to Mylene Dial, Becky Lynch and Wendy Zelazny for covering our library books; to Wendy Zelazny for the wonderful training session! College Planning Parent Seminar ABCs to College Degrees Parent Seminar will be on Friday, February 21st. Be prepared. Funding your child’s education can be easier than you may think - if you start today. Join us for a free one-hour, education workshop. Learn abut important strategies that can help you prepare financially for your child’s post-secondary education, including: current costs of a college education, college funding options and tax advantages, pros and cons of other funding options, such as loans and financial aid. Join us on Friday, February 21st , in the Seminar Room, at 9:15am or 12:30pm. Please let us know if you will need child care. Please RSVP with your complimentary special drink order from our Cornerstone Café. Look for Sign -up sheets in front of your child’s classroom’s bulletin board. Cold Weather/Curbside Drop Off: Thank You! We have used our Curbside Drop Off a lot this season. Many special thanks goes to all our parent volunteers: Nicole Jarrell, Kristen Munsen and Jen Schrieber, who assisted our staff in bringing the children to their classrooms. Please note: When the wind chill is below zero degrees, we offer Curbside Drop Off for families that have younger siblings. www.gslp-naperville.org 3|Page Parent Team Update Did you know that our preschool has a group of parent volunteers that meet monthly? Each month we meet and work on fundraisers as well as parent educational opportunities. Parents are always welcome our next meeting is Monday, February 11th at 7:00pm. The big fundraising event being planned is the golf outing which the Golf Outing will go towards the Scholarship Fund and classroom needs. will be held in June at Tamarack Golf Course. Last year, we surpassed our goal of raising $10,000. All monies raised from Following the golf outing, there is a dinner with a silent auction and a raffle. Our Parent Team is seeking donations at this time. If you or your company is able to make a donation, please let a staff member know. Lunch Bunch +(plus) Enrichment Classes: Update We are overwhelmed by your positive feedback of our Lunch Bunch + Enrichment program. Our Fun with Fitness and Cooking with Books classes are both full. Thank you! Our Around the World Adventure class has available openings. The class meets every Wednesday, from 10:45am - 12:15pm, during the month of February. Our first session starts on Wednesday, February 5th and they are planning a visit to India. Hope you can join us on our “trip.” With the success of our Lunch Bunch + Enrichment program and if we have enough interest, we will repeat the classes. If interested OR if you have a class title that you would be interested in seeing in the future, please email the Director at [email protected]. Manna Gift Cards O rdering can now be done online! Paper forms are still available at the Parent Table near Door A. If you have not ordered and would like to, please email us at [email protected] and information will be emailed to you. Gift cards orders are due by Friday, February 7th, March 14th, April 11th and May 9th. Please stop by the preschool office; select cash-and-carry cards are available. Registration Update for 2014-2015 T hank you for helping us spread the word. The interest in our preschool continues to grow. At the present time, for next fall, we have limited openings in our morning and afternoon classrooms. If you know of anyone looking for a preschool, thank you for telling them about our school. Parents telling other parents is our best advertising. Please call 630-961-9055, email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.gslpnaperville.org. 4|Page Phone: 630.961.9055 Good Shepherd Church Happenings Please join Good Shepherd Church at any of these events. For more information, please go to www.goodshepherd-naperville.org, call the church office at 630-961-9220 or e-mail at [email protected]. Feed My Starving Children - MobilePack Friday, February 14th through Sunday, February 16th Volunteers Needed! On February 14th, 15th, and 16th (Presidents Day weekend), Good Shepherd Church will host a multichurch Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) mobile food packing event in our Activity Center! The room will buzz with excitement as volunteers from Good Shepherd and eleven other Naperville area congregations team up to pack 500,000 meals for children in need around the world. As host to this event, we need over 500 Good Shepherd volunteers to help set up the Activity Center on Friday, greet and register participants Friday through Sunday, and clean up/tear down the Activity Center Sunday evening!  To help with Set-Up, Registration, Greeters, or Clean-up, click on: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C094AA5A92DA0F85-gslc/3418014  To Pack Food during one of Good Shepherd’s assigned shifts, click on: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C094AA5A92DA0F85-20141/3418014  To Donate Food for MobilePack staff’s snacks, lunches and dinners: Sign up at Connect Center.  SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER TODAY!!! To learn more, visit www.feedtheneednaperville.org or contact Mary Miller at [email protected] or Heather Kistner at [email protected]. www.gslp-naperville.org 5|Page February Bible Memory Verse