October 2024

Peek Inside our Children’s House Community

Dear Bobcat Parents, 

We're excited to welcome the fall season. This season brings a wealth of learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors. We look forward to sharing the exciting experiences and milestones of our students with you throughout the fall. A heartfelt thank you to our amazing volunteer parents who generously gave their time and talents to make our auction project a huge success. Your dedication and hard work are truly appreciated. Thank you for all your donations!

Grace and Courtesy Lessons

This month, we've been focusing on observing respectfully someone at work. We've been practicing standing next to the table and observe silently with hands behind our backs. Maria Montessori once said, “Concentration is the key that opens up to the child the latent treasures within him” and as guides, we must protect each child’s concentration.

Reading Time and Favorite Books

Reading is a crucial part of our learning at Bobcat classroom. This month, we read “The Girl Who Makes a Million Mistakes” a growth mindset book for kids to boost confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

Song

At circle time, we have been practicing a spanish song about fall “En Otoño las hojitas”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_JlKjRObnU

Lyrics

Qué lindo sonido

Son las hojas secas que suenan cuando las aplasto

En otoño las hojitas de los árboles se caen

Llega el viento, las levanta y se ponen a bailar

La-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la

En otoño las hojitas de los árboles se caen

Llega el viento, las levanta y se ponen a marchar

A marchar, a marchar y parar

En otoño las hojitas de los árboles se caen

Llega el viento, las levanta y se ponen a brincar

Toing-toing, toing-toing, toing-toing-toing

En otoño las hojitas de los árboles se caen

Llega el viento, las levanta y se ponen a correr

Rápido van, rápido van, rápido, rápido, rápido, uf

¡Hey, espérenme!

¡Oh!

Reminders

Clothing: As the weather is changing, please label your child’s jacket with his name

Show and Share: This is done every Friday and it is optional. Please, refrain to send toys to school.

Happy fall!

Ms. Hany and Ms. Roxana

Hello Cactus Wren Families,

It has been an amazing October and we are excited for the colder mornings when the children can enjoy the weather while working in the outdoor environment. This past month, we have been learning about fall and what happens during this beautiful season. The children have also been practicing hammering wooden golf tees into pumpkins and washing some pumpkins, both activities are great to refine fine motor skills. We have talked about the different types of pumpkins we can find at stores and we have learned about differences between them.

Another thing we enjoyed so much was our delicious cornbread. Below is the recipe for the cornbread for your family to enjoy at home!

Corn Bread

· ½ cup yellow cornmeal

· ½ cup all-purpose flour

· 4 tablespoons of sugar

· 1 tsp baking powder

· ¼ tsp salt

· ½ cup milk

· 1 large egg

· 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat the inside of a 9-inch pie plate, cast iron skillet, or 8x8 casserole dish with non-stick spray (or butter for more flavor)

2. In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil.

4. Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until everything is moist. Avoid over stirring. It is okay if there are a few lumps.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top and edges are golden brown. Cut and serve.

In our Cactus Wren Family, we love to sing and dance! Our favorite song this month was ‘’ En otoño las hojitas” by Trepsi. This song talks about leaves falling from the trees involving different movements.

Thank you, families, for all your support and letting us be a part of your child’s journey!

Warmly,

Joselyne and Roxanne

Dear Gray Fox Families,

As we welcome October with open arms, I'm thrilled to share the highlights of this exciting month in the Gray Fox classroom. The cooler weather has brought changes in the environment, creating perfect opportunities for new learning and exploration.

Discovering the World of Pumpkins and Gourds: This month, we've been exploring different types of pumpkins and gourds, discovering how unique each variety can be. Alongside this, the children are learning about the various parts of a pumpkin, from the stem to the seeds, gaining an understanding of how these plants grow and develop. It’s a joy to watch their curiosity bloom as they interact with these seasonal items.

Baking Fun in the Classroom: Our children have shown great enthusiasm for baking recently. Engaging in baking has provided them with hands-on experience in measuring, mixing, and following steps, all while having fun together. We’d love to share a fall-inspired recipe below that you can enjoy with your family:

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

- 2 large eggs

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

**Instructions:**

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, melted butter, eggs, and milk until combined.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in

the diced apples.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick

inserted into the center comes out clean.6. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool

completely.

This Apple Cinnamon Bread is perfect for cozy fall mornings with a warm cup of cider or tea!

Songs Celebrating the Season :

The children have been singing wonderful songs related to vegetables and fruits, adding a fun, musical dimension to our lessons. You may recognize a few tunes from home:

"Mango Fandango": [Mango Fandango song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pj_tYoejiU)

- Another favorite: [Link to song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Y3bYRC5QU&t=24s)

Preparing for Cooler Days :

As the weather cools down, we encourage our children to practice putting on jackets and using zippers and buttons independently. This fosters both self-sufficiency and preparedness for the changing temperatures. Please remember to take jackets home daily to keep space available for everyone.

Thank you for your continued support in making each day a memorable learning experience for our children.

Warmly,

Ms. Rama and Ms. Rocio

Hello Jackrabbit Families,

What a great month we had at the Jackrabbit classroom, we hope everyone had a fun and restful fall break. Now that the weather is changing, the children have been enjoying the crisp air in our beautiful outdoor environment and spending time gardening. We have been reading about pumpkins, and we also have on our museum table some types of pumpkins which the children have been enjoying looking at.

Thank you to each one of our beautiful families and to our amazing parent helpers, Crystal, Lyndsey, Lynn, and Marie, for all your support for our “CreoFest Event”. We are excited to help raise funds for our “Esperanza Charity Foundation”, your help is appreciated, and the event is just around the corner.

The children have been baking Corn Bread and I would like to share the recipe in case you would like to bake at home with your child.

Corn Bread

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and coat the inside of a 9-
inch pie plate, cast iron skillet, or 8x8 casserole dish with non-
stick spray (or butter for more flavor).

In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar,
baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil.

Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry
ingredients and stir just until everything is moist. Avoid over
stirring. It's okay if there are a few lumps.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for about 20
minutes, or until the top and edges are golden brown. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

A few reminders:

• The children need to bring back their clear plastic work folder after they empty it at home once a month

• If your child was sent home with a bag of dirty/wet clothes, please bring back a fresh replacement the next day (all clothes need to be labeled with your child’s name)

• If your child would like to bring a Show and Share on Fridays, it should be something meaningful, and they should be able to answer questions like who, why, what, where? about their item (No toys please).

Our Parent-Teacher conferences have started and it has been wonderful to share your child’s progress with you. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your trust and support, we feel grateful to be part of your child’s journey.

Thank you Jackrabbit Families!

Kindly,

Ms. Yadira and Ms. Karen