Hop Aboard the Friendship Train!

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and the class has been talking about friendship. We kicked off the week by asking the children what makes a good friend.  The children know exactly what it means to be a good friend and we had a great group discussion! When we asked how everyone could remember to be a good friend, the children decided to make friendship rules including "share toys" and "help your friends." The Valentine's Day season is off to a great start!

To help everyone remember the friendship rules, the children created friendship bracelets.  The bracelets have very specific colors that represent a different rule:

Red = Use kind words

Blue = Be helpful to others

Green = Take turns and share

Yellow = Use the words please and thank you

Purple = Be a good listener

These bracelets aren't just for the classroom, use them at home as well! They will come in handy with older/younger siblings and will also help us to reinforce these wonderful rules to live by! 

Now, being a good friend doesn't just happen overnight! We all have to work at our relationships, adults too!  We created the friendship train to encourage the children to be a good friend to their peers, teachers and classroom visitors. Everyone starts the day riding on the train.  Because this is preschool, we are all still learning and practicing the rules. If a child comes off of the train (sometimes it is hard to share!), they can quickly get back on the train by doing something nice for a friend.  We have been hearing lots of friendly language around the classroom lately!

Lastly, to prepare for our Valentine's Day celebrations (moved to Wednesday and Thursday of this week because of the snow days) the children have been busy making a friend a very special card. Each child picked a classmate's name out of a bag and created a valentine for that friend. Inside of the card, each child wrote a special note to that friend.  Since the children didn't necessarily choose their best friend, this was a little tricky for some. The children were encouraged to play with and get to know their buddy before writing something nice inside of the card. It has been an absolute pleasure to see everyone branching out of their peer groups to enjoy the company of others!

What's Up Next?

It's the week of love and friendship! The children will continue creating their valentine cards for friends and we will exchange our cards on Wednesday and Thursday, February 15th and 16th.  The children will also enjoy a special Valentine's Day snack!

Voting Ends this Wednesday at 5pm!!
It's that time again to vote for your favorite local businesses (including your favorite preschool!).  We were voted Burlington's favorite preschool for 2016 and we would love to be your favorite again this year! Click here to vote! Don't forget, for your votes to count, you must nominate at least 10 businesses before hitting the submit button.  You can nominate us under "Local Services" and scroll down to "Daycare/Preschool." Voting ends on Wednesday so don't delay. And remember to share this with your friends, family and neighbors! Thank you for supporting our small, local preschool!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

February 15: Last day to vote for your favorite preschool (Click here)!
February 20: SEE closed in observance of President's Day
TBA: Cookie Decorating at Whole Foods
March 1: March Tuition is due

Pictures from the week:   

Friendship bracelets!

Our friendship train!

I hope everyone enjoyed the surprise long weekend! We are looking forward to seeing everyone back at school!
Joanna