From the Principal’s Office:
This month the article from our education department is on “Appreciating the Wonders of Mother Nature” by Dr. Lauren Starnes. Our students will be appreciating more and more outside time as mother nature provides us with warmer and warmer weather. In April our students will start some units on nature, the environment, recycling, and of course the celebration of Earth Day. Please make sure to check your child’s cubby to make sure they have appropriate clothing and outwear for “up and down” spring like temperatures.
Last month the article from the education department is all about literacy, please take a moment to scroll down to read “Developing Confident Future Readers” by Dr. Lauren Starnes. Dr. Starnes also gives some suggestions of stories to read to your child. Reading out loud with your child not only models reading for them, but gives you and your child some one on one time together. I have included some spring favorites of mine.
My Favorite Books about Spring
- From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
- Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
- The boy who didn’t believe in spring by Lucille Clifton
- Hopper Hunts for Spring by Marcus Pfister
- Briannam Jamaica, and the Dance of Spring by Juanita Havill
Colors
My skin is kind of sort of brownish
Pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
But I’m told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
But it’s silver when it’s wet.
And all the colors I am inside
Have not been invented yet.
~Shel Silverstein
Wishing you and your family a month filled with the warmth of spring (let’s keep our fingers crossed)!
Nicole Gleason
Principal
Our calendar for the 2015-2016 school year is viewable online at: http://centralnaperville.chesterbrookacademy.com.
Upcoming Events
April
- Bake Sale starts on Wednesday, April 8th
- Summer Camp Registration due on Monday, April 20th
- Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22nd
- Spring Portraits (class pictures taken) on Thursday, April 23rd
- Spring Portraits (class pictures taken) on Friday, April 24th
- End of Month Folders sent home on Wednesday, April 29th
May
- Teacher Appreciation Week begins on Monday, May 4th
- Mother’s Day Breakfast on Friday, May 8th
- Chesterbrook Academy is closed for Memorial Day Holiday on Monday, May 25th
- Spring Parent Reports sent home on Wednesday, May 27th
- Curriculum Night “Portfolio Night” on Wednesday, May 27th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm
June
- Summer Camp Begins Monday, June 1st
- Graduation on Tuesday, June 2nd at 6:00pm
- Water Play & Sprinkler Fun Begins on Monday, June 1st (see camp calendar for individual class days)
- Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday, June 19th
- Family Movie Night on Friday, June 26th TBA
School Spotlight
Bake Sale
This month we will be hosting our annual bake sale. Prek, Prek2B, and Prek2A will be busy creating yummy goodies in class starting the week of April 6th. The bake sale will open on Wednesday, April 8th from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. All items will be a dollar (cash only). The money raised this year will be used to help children in need. First we will again be donating some toys to the children’s hospital at Edward Hospital. Secondly we will be purchasing items to create birthday bags for a local food pantry. Our students will have an opportunity to visit the food pantry and assemble the bags. We are very excited about this annual project and all of skills and learning our students will encounter as they help other children.
Traffic Flow in Parking Lot and Safety Concerns
Please take a moment to review how traffic should flow in our parking lot: Traffic is to enter the parking lot on the Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School side and then follow all the way around the lot and park on the preschool side. Traffic should exit the parking lot on our preschool side.
Please make sure to slow down near the cross walk so that you are able to watch for pedestrians crossing from one building to the next and to avoid any accidents or injuries.
Heavy traffic times are from 8:30am to 8:45am and 3:35pm to 3:55pm; to avoid these heavy traffic times please arrive to the campus either before or after these arrival and dismissal times.
Become a Chesterbrook Ambassador!
If you refer a family to any Chesterbrook Academy school, you will receive a free week of tuition off of your oldest child’s tuition. There is no limit to the number of families you refer. Note: The referred family must be full-time student and enrolled for 90 days before the free week of tuition can be applied. If the referral is for a part time student you will receive one hundred dollars off your child’s tuition.
Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School
Please take a moment each month to view what is new and exciting at our Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School website at: http://naperville.chesterbrookacademy.com. You can learn more about all the specialty teachers under the Parent tab or enjoy reading the elementary newsletter.
From the Education Department
Developing Writing Skills in Young Children
– From Crayons to Concepts –
In the early preschool years, writing starts with practicing fine motor skills and progresses to include concepts such as vocabulary, sentence structure and inventive spelling. Our curriculum builds the foundation for writing beginning with our infants. Our teachers not only instruct students how to write, but they also help instill a love of writing and self-expression.
Below are activities we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about writing, as well as fun activities to try with your child at home.
INFANTS/TODDLERS
In the classroom: Our infants and toddlers practice picking up and placing objects into containers, building hand strength and coordination.
At-home activity: Give your child plastic cooking utensils, such as spoons and spatulas, along with a large bowl. Place appropriate finger foods in the bowl, and encourage your baby to pick up the utensils and use them to move the food around. Choose utensils with different sized handles so your baby learns how to grasp and hold objects in various ways.
BEGINNERS (Ages 2-3)
In the classroom: During imaginative play, teachers provide pens, markers and crayons to encourage students to practice writing. For instance, they pretend to own a restaurant and write food orders, and pretend to be doctors and take notes about the condition of their stuffed animals.
At-home activity: Incorporate writing activities during playtime. Bring sidewalk chalk outdoors and ask your child to write what they see. Don’t correct spelling or proper letter formations. Show enthusiasm in any efforts he makes, as this is how children learn that words are powerful and have meaning.
INTERMEDIATES (Ages 3-4)
In the classroom: Different writing tools and surfaces make writing more interesting for children. Our Intermediates use chalk on a chalkboard, form letters using modeling clay, and finger paint on canvas.
At-home activity: Three year olds enjoy mimicking adults in their daily activities. Allow your child to engage in a new writing activity with you, such as writing a grocery list or a thank you card. Explain to him what you are writing and the purpose it serves.
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 (Ages 4-5)
In the classroom: Teachers make writing fun for our older preschoolers by creating a classroom post office and asking the children to write and mail letters to each other. Through this activity, students practice communicating thoughts and ideas on paper, using proper grip, writing first and last names in correct case, and writing words independently by using inventive spelling. Inventive spelling encourages a love for writing and reinforces phonics. Traditional spelling is encouraged as students move into more formal writing in early elementary grades.
At-home activity: After a family outing, invite your child to write about his day in a journal. Encourage him to use uppercase and lowercase letters. If he asks for help writing more challenging words, have him attempt to spell them by sounding out the word and writing the letters that make that sound. Invite him to read his journal entry to you.
We provide many opportunities for our preschoolers to develop and practice their writing skills. By setting this foundation, they will be better prepared to communicate thoughts and ideas through writing in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education
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April News
From the Principal’s Office:
This month the article from our education department is on “Appreciating the Wonders of Mother Nature” by Dr. Lauren Starnes. Our students will be appreciating more and more outside time as mother nature provides us with warmer and warmer weather. In April our students will start some units on nature, the environment, recycling, and of course the celebration of Earth Day. Please make sure to check your child’s cubby to make sure they have appropriate clothing and outwear for “up and down” spring like temperatures.
Last month the article from the education department is all about literacy, please take a moment to scroll down to read “Developing Confident Future Readers” by Dr. Lauren Starnes. Dr. Starnes also gives some suggestions of stories to read to your child. Reading out loud with your child not only models reading for them, but gives you and your child some one on one time together. I have included some spring favorites of mine.
My Favorite Books about Spring
Colors
My skin is kind of sort of brownish
Pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
But I’m told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
But it’s silver when it’s wet.
And all the colors I am inside
Have not been invented yet.
~Shel Silverstein
Wishing you and your family a month filled with the warmth of spring (let’s keep our fingers crossed)!
Nicole Gleason
Principal
Our calendar for the 2015-2016 school year is viewable online at: http://centralnaperville.chesterbrookacademy.com.
Upcoming Events
April
May
June
School Spotlight
Bake Sale
This month we will be hosting our annual bake sale. Prek, Prek2B, and Prek2A will be busy creating yummy goodies in class starting the week of April 6th. The bake sale will open on Wednesday, April 8th from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. All items will be a dollar (cash only). The money raised this year will be used to help children in need. First we will again be donating some toys to the children’s hospital at Edward Hospital. Secondly we will be purchasing items to create birthday bags for a local food pantry. Our students will have an opportunity to visit the food pantry and assemble the bags. We are very excited about this annual project and all of skills and learning our students will encounter as they help other children.
Traffic Flow in Parking Lot and Safety Concerns
Please take a moment to review how traffic should flow in our parking lot: Traffic is to enter the parking lot on the Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School side and then follow all the way around the lot and park on the preschool side. Traffic should exit the parking lot on our preschool side.
Please make sure to slow down near the cross walk so that you are able to watch for pedestrians crossing from one building to the next and to avoid any accidents or injuries.
Heavy traffic times are from 8:30am to 8:45am and 3:35pm to 3:55pm; to avoid these heavy traffic times please arrive to the campus either before or after these arrival and dismissal times.
Become a Chesterbrook Ambassador!
If you refer a family to any Chesterbrook Academy school, you will receive a free week of tuition off of your oldest child’s tuition. There is no limit to the number of families you refer. Note: The referred family must be full-time student and enrolled for 90 days before the free week of tuition can be applied. If the referral is for a part time student you will receive one hundred dollars off your child’s tuition.
Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School
Please take a moment each month to view what is new and exciting at our Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School website at: http://naperville.chesterbrookacademy.com. You can learn more about all the specialty teachers under the Parent tab or enjoy reading the elementary newsletter.
From the Education Department
Developing Writing Skills in Young Children
– From Crayons to Concepts –
In the early preschool years, writing starts with practicing fine motor skills and progresses to include concepts such as vocabulary, sentence structure and inventive spelling. Our curriculum builds the foundation for writing beginning with our infants. Our teachers not only instruct students how to write, but they also help instill a love of writing and self-expression.
Below are activities we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about writing, as well as fun activities to try with your child at home.
In the classroom: Our infants and toddlers practice picking up and placing objects into containers, building hand strength and coordination.
At-home activity: Give your child plastic cooking utensils, such as spoons and spatulas, along with a large bowl. Place appropriate finger foods in the bowl, and encourage your baby to pick up the utensils and use them to move the food around. Choose utensils with different sized handles so your baby learns how to grasp and hold objects in various ways.
In the classroom: During imaginative play, teachers provide pens, markers and crayons to encourage students to practice writing. For instance, they pretend to own a restaurant and write food orders, and pretend to be doctors and take notes about the condition of their stuffed animals.
At-home activity: Incorporate writing activities during playtime. Bring sidewalk chalk outdoors and ask your child to write what they see. Don’t correct spelling or proper letter formations. Show enthusiasm in any efforts he makes, as this is how children learn that words are powerful and have meaning.
In the classroom: Different writing tools and surfaces make writing more interesting for children. Our Intermediates use chalk on a chalkboard, form letters using modeling clay, and finger paint on canvas.
At-home activity: Three year olds enjoy mimicking adults in their daily activities. Allow your child to engage in a new writing activity with you, such as writing a grocery list or a thank you card. Explain to him what you are writing and the purpose it serves.
In the classroom: Teachers make writing fun for our older preschoolers by creating a classroom post office and asking the children to write and mail letters to each other. Through this activity, students practice communicating thoughts and ideas on paper, using proper grip, writing first and last names in correct case, and writing words independently by using inventive spelling. Inventive spelling encourages a love for writing and reinforces phonics. Traditional spelling is encouraged as students move into more formal writing in early elementary grades.
At-home activity: After a family outing, invite your child to write about his day in a journal. Encourage him to use uppercase and lowercase letters. If he asks for help writing more challenging words, have him attempt to spell them by sounding out the word and writing the letters that make that sound. Invite him to read his journal entry to you.