February 2025
Peek Inside our Children’s House Community
Dear Bobcat Families,
February brings a sense of renewal and growth, mirroring the budding life we observe in our garden and the blossoming curiosity within our classroom. This past month, we harvested tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and pick oranges from our tree. We enjoyed preparing and sharing these gifts of the earth. The children are increasingly taking ownership of these tasks, demonstrating both enthusiasm and developing skills.
Grace and Courtesy: Fostering Respectful Interactions
Our Grace and Courtesy lessons this month focused on respectfully interrupting and offering help:
Respectful Interruptions: Learning to politely gain the attention of a teacher during circle time by raising your hand and patiently waiting for your turn
Offering Help: Recognizing when someone might need assistance and offering help in a kind and appropriate manner. This includes learning to ask, "Would you like some help?" instead of assuming and taking over
Ideas for Extending Grace and Courtesy at Home:
Model Polite Interruptions: Show your child how to respectfully interrupt a conversation by patiently wait when adults finished their conversation and using phrases like, "Excuse me...”
Encourage Helping Others: Provide opportunities for your child to help with age-appropriate tasks at home, such as setting the table, folding laundry, or helping a younger sibling. Acknowledge and appreciate their efforts
Reminders:
Punctuality Matters: Class begins promptly at 8:30 A.M. Arriving on time ensures your child benefits from the entire work cycle and minimizes disruptions for other children.
Dress Code: Please ensure your child wears the Creo uniform daily. Comfortable clothing that adheres to the dress code allows for freedom of movement and engagement in classroom activities.
Friday "Show and Share": This optional activity allows children to share a meaningful object with their classmates. Please help your child choose an item that is special to them, ideally related to nature or a personal experience. Please no toys.
Thank you,
Ms. Hany and Ms. Evelyn
Dear Cactus Wren Families,
It has been a wonderful February, the children have been hard at work in class this past month! They have been taking turns caring for the plants in the garden—watering, tending to the soil, and eagerly anticipating harvest time. During lunch, we shared fresh celery and tomatoes from our garden, which all the children enjoyed.
This month, we have been practicing our memory skills by playing the game “Who is Missing?” We have practiced with numbers, Spanish vocabulary, colors, shapes, and more.
This past month has also brought a great interest in reading and writing activities in class. We have read many different stories during circle time, and it was wonderful to hear all the children's thoughts when story time was over. Our younger students have been especially drawn to Sensorial activities. We often see them matching shapes from the geometric cabinet to their corresponding shape cards, working from one end of the room to the other. This material is excellent for developing memory and concentration, as well as practicing lightness of touch when tracing shapes—an important skill that supports future writing development.
Thank you, families, for all your support and for sharing your children with us. It is amazing to be part of their journey and to see how they have truly formed their own community in Cactus Wren. We are excited for the months ahead!
Warmly,
Joselyne and Roxanne
Dear Gray Fox Families,
Hello Gray Fox Families,
Hello Gray Fox families,
What a wonderful February it’s been! With fewer holidays this month, we’ve had a great opportunity to settle back into our routines and focus on both social and academic growth. As we continue to build relationships, we are emphasizing grace and courtesy lessons and engaging in fun icebreaker activities to strengthen our classroom connections.
Our classroom garden is thriving! The marigolds are blooming beautifully, and the tomatoes are growing steadily. We have been using the marigolds in our flower arrangement work, bringing a touch of nature into our classroom. It has been a joy watching the children take part in caring for these plants and using them in creative ways.
In addition to our gardening, food preparation has been a major highlight this month! Activities such as making pizzas, grating cheese, and boiling eggs have been incredibly popular. These works not only enhance practical life skills but also bring a sense of joy and accomplishment to our young chefs.
Of course, alongside these hands-on activities, we have been deeply engaged in our academic learning as well. The children have been working diligently on their lessons, and it’s wonderful to see their enthusiasm for discovery and growth.
As always, we appreciate your continued support. If you have any extra seeds for seasonal vegetables or herbs, your child is welcome to bring them in, and we would be happy to plant them together. Thank you for being a part of our vibrant learning community—I look forward to sharing more in our Spring conferences next month!
Warmly,
Ms. Rama and Ms. Rocio
Hello Jackrabbit Families,
Hello Jackrabbit Families!
It was wonderful to see you at the “Fiesta Mexicana” Spring Social! The warmth and unity within our Jackrabbit community are truly heartwarming. A huge thank you to our amazing parent volunteers—Crystal Davis, Lynn Eyde, Marie Andrews, and Lyndsey Martinez—for organizing the event. We also appreciate everyone who attended and shared in the experience with us. The children had a fantastic time!
We'd also like to extend our thanks to the McKay Family for sharing their Chinese Lunar New Year traditions with us. It was such a meaningful and special experience learning about your celebrations. We truly appreciate the time and effort you put into sharing this part of your culture, and the children especially loved the presentation and rice treats!
The Jackrabbits were overjoyed to harvest some vegetables from our outdoor planters that they’ve patiently been watching grow. The children prepared a salad using our very first eggplant and tomato of the year, which was served for snack. And yes… they ate it and enjoyed tasting it!
Karen and I enjoy witnessing the environment come to life every morning as soon as we open the gate. At this point in the year, we have children who walk right in and begin preparing snack, folding laundry, putting clean dishes away, feeding our pets (Bubbles, Lucy, and Leo), continuing work from the previous day, baking for the class, watering plants, and more. It’s such a pleasure to see the children taking ownership of their environment.
There are many exciting activities happening in the classroom—everything from washing tables and windows, to working on division, counting the thousand chain, or writing stories. The children love both working and observing one another.
This month, we’ve been baking “Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.” Here’s the recipe in case you’d like to bake with your family:
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients.
1 ¼ cup rolled oats
1 cup of applesauce
¼ cup of raisins
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl, combine oats, apple sauce, and cinnamon. Stir with a spatula until all the oats are coated in applesauce.
• Stir in the raisins until they are evenly incorporated (your dough will be very wet and loose. This is normal)
• Using a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough and release onto your prepared baking sheet, spaced 1.5 inches apart. Use the palm of your hand to press down on each cookie dough ball so that it forms a thick round disk.
• Bake cookies for about 15 minutes. Let them cool on baking sheet. Once cookies are cooled, remove them using a thin cookie spatula.
A quick reminder: if your child brings a wet changed of clothes home, please replace it the day after to make sure your child has extra clothes at school. All items should be labeled with your child’s name and placed in a gallon size ziplock bag. The children also need to bring back their clear plastic work folder after they empty it at home when we send them once a month. Thank you for your cooperation.
Kindly,
Ms. Yadira and Ms. Karen
