Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd. This day is based on the activities of a groundhog coming out of its winter hibernation to check for his shadow. The legend is if the groundhog sees his shadow on this day, there will be six more weeks of wintery weather. If he doesn’t, the spring weather is right around the corner. The most important groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil who lives in a burrow called Gobbler’s Knob near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. We are having a party in anticipation of celebrating the possibility of springtime weather soon!
Our Valentine’s Day party will be held on February 12th. Please check with your child’s teacher to see if he or she should make a box or how many valentines to bring. Here are some valentine day activities you can try with your child from Pennsylvania Promise:
Hands on learning is so much fun, especially when candy is involved! Grab a bag or two of conversation hearts and let the fun (and learning!) begin. There are so many ways to use conversation hearts to help any child learn. For the youngest learners, talk about the shape and colors. Help young children recognize letters and words written on the hearts. Use them to teach counting, addition and subtraction, as well as fine motor skills by manipulating the hearts and trying to stack them.
The following activities are good to use with children ages 3 through 6.
- First, talk about the shape and colors. Labeled all the colors and then sorted them.
- Count each color to see how many there are. Write down the numbers and then compared them. Which one has the most? Which one has the least? Do any have the same amount? T
- Take some of each color and place them in a cup. Make predictions of what would happen if we poured hot water over them and write them down. Pour the hot water in and set them aside
- Make patterns like pink-yellow-pink-yellow or green-green-purple-green-green-purple.
- Use the hearts to make the letter shapes and to spell sight words.
- Go back to check on the hearts you put in water. Add some flour to make it thick and use that to finger paint on aluminum foil.
Also, this is the month when we update all the children’s files. You will be asked to look over files, make changes and sign evaluations. Please remember that we need up to date physicals on file for every well visit your child has.
You may have noticed some work being done on the front doors. We are in the process of adding different locks and ways to enter the building. We will keep you updated as progress is made.
Thank you all for your support and for allowing us to care for your children. If you ever have any concerns, or suggestions, please let us know. We are always willing to entertain new ideas.