OUR SCHOOL HAS BEEN PAINTED, THE FENCE IS UP, AND, EVERYTHING LOOKS JUST BEAUTIFUL!!!!

"WELCOME TO 'FUN IN THE SUN'!!!!"

DEAR FRIENDS,

WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF "FUN IN THE SUN" WITH MRS. DOLHAM AND MISS SASHI -- ENJOY!!!!

LOVE MISS PEACOCK XOXO

THANK YOU, FRESHMEN -- HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE MEMORIES -- AND -- COOKIES -- MADE AND SHARED BY MRS. DOLHAM AND THE CHILDREN!!

" The Last Week of the School Year "

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

Well . . . the last week, of said, has come and gone . . .

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ERIN BORDEAU, FOR SPENDING MUCH OF FRIDAY, AT THE MM CDC, DECORATING AND TIE-DYING TEE-SHIRTS WITH THE TEACHERS, BUTTERFLIES AND PUPPIES -- THE PATTERNS AND PRINTS ARE TRULY INDIVIDUALIZED, ARTSY AND GORGEOUS!!!!

We trust that Fathers and (Father) Figures enjoyed their beautiful, hand-made gifts, lovingly created, by the children, under the experienced tutelage of Liz Dolham -- we spent a great deal of time, outdoors, this past week -- our MM Freshmen assisted in quite a bit of body painting and art activities stationed at the picnic tables -- and -- OMG -- (Goodness?!) -- the perfectly balmy weather continued into Friday evening's Year-End Picnic!!!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

**** "OUR SUMMER PROGRAM BEGINS ON MONDAY -- LIMITED SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE!!!! " ****

The teachers WELCOME you all to our sparkling clean and re-decorated classroom for the summer sessions, and, the start of running a year-round program -- ENJOY!!

. . . A Few Notes . . .

THANK YOU, CATHY FAHY, FOR A DELECTABLE FEAST -- (and, for considering my vegetarian status in the planning and cooking of said) -- YUMMY!!!!

THANK YOU TO ALL FAMILIES FOR THE KIND THOUGHTS AND WORDS AND CARDS AND GIFTS -- YOUR CHILDREN ARE ABSOLUTE TREASURES . . .

**** PARENTS OF "PUPPIES" -- SOME OF OUR FRIENDS HAVE SMALL GIFTS, FROM LIZ AND ME, (Ms. Peacock :)), that were left behind, at the Picnic, and, are currently being stored in the Cubby Room. ****

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL, AGAIN, BEGINNING ON MONDAY, FOR THE SUMMER PROGRAM!!!!

Liz and Sashi will be running the Summer Sessions throughout the end of July, Maria and Sashi will continue said for the first two weeks of August, and, Kelly and Sashi will finish off the Summer, together -- GO TEAM!!!! :) :) :) :).

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"THANK YOU TO STAFF AND FAMILIES FOR A WONDERFUL END-OF-YEAR PICNIC!!"

GODSPEED TO YOU, MS. SMITH, ON YOUR SUMMER CAMP ADVENTURE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!!

THANK YOU, OUR VERY DEAR HIGH-SCHOOL FRIENDS, FOR THE TRULY MEANINGFUL CARDS!!

. . . Here's to Our 2nd to Last Week of the School Year . . .

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

. . . Tis bittersweet, indeed . . .

This school year has brought, with it, many changes, much growth and unduplicable leadership -- per Kelly's mantra, Together We Achieve More, we truly comprise a TEAM.

Always thinking ahead, Kelly planned and prepared a pancake breakfast, for Tuesday morning, as we would all be enjoying ice-cream, at Great Brook Farm, in Carlisle, before lunch-time -- our adventure was all that and more than we could have expected -- the weather was perfect and our animal friends were delightful -- much gratitude, to the many, many large and gentle cows, for the Wildberry Crunch and Coffee Heath Frozen Yogurt!!

As well, that morning, we were all treated to David's photos of "his day at work with Daddy" -- in fact, we all saw a classic green and yellow John Deere tractor, at Great Brook, which was very similar to David's own truck!!

On Wednesday, Kevin proudly "showed and told", to a very full house, the previously mentioned bird egg, which we housed in the Butterfly Pavillion, for the day -- thank you for the wonderful addition to our own egg shells, hanging on the window, above the science table, in the Cubby Room, and, the curriculum, Kevin!!

Liz spear-headed an all-out, made-up-on-the-spot, pirate story and outdoor venture, which lasted just about all of Thursday morning -- the Butterflies and Puppies made treasure maps and used them on their long and wet journey, all around 20 Mill Street, until the mystery was unravelled and the treasure found -- aarrgghh!! . . .

Later on, during Activity Time, Amanda and Bri guided the children in creating beautiful "summer art", Victoria and Hayley joyfully blended delicious fruit and berry smoothies, Elise introduced the kids to some new and different pasta art and Jenn designed, implemented and assisted the little ones with a multi-media colors and shapes art project -- and -- Krista visited!!

Krista's arrival was coincident with a small celebration we were having for our departing Sophomores and Miss Amy -- " . . . Make new friends and keep the old -- one is silver and the other gold . . . "

And, Friday, we enjoyed great water fun at the Waverly Oaks/Beavor Brook Reservation Water Park in Belmont -- THANK YOU, for all of your hard work, Miss Downing, Mrs. Dolham, Miss Sashi and Ms. Smith, as well as our enthusiastic and engaged high-schoolers -- WE LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS, ALREADY!!!!

I do hope that you all had a very pleasant week-end and productive beginning to a new and full week of days.

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"DAPHNE AND DON FLOAT THE WATERS OF EUROPE!!!!"

Ellie's Nanna and Poppy are adventuring in Europe -- a much-needed and well-deserved treat -- ENJOY!!!!

A HUGELY SPECIAL "THANK YOU!!!!" TO KELLY DOWNING AND LIZ DOLHAM FOR MAKING THE MINUTEMAN CDC A TRULY SPECIAL PLACE FOR ALL!!!!

. . . Especially, now, as we gear-up for year-end responsibilities, conferences and festivities . . . THANK-YOU, both, for a stellar year of change, growth, leadership and teaching -- XOXO . . .

"HAPPY B-DAY, CASSIE SIERRA!!!!"

"FLUTTERBIES"

Our Butterflies, Painted Ladies, named "Tutti", (thank you, Gryffin), and, "Flower", (thank you, John), have hatched and are free!!

Special thanks, to Kevin, for bringing in the blue, speckled, Robin's, (we think), egg, for us, now, to develop into a baby bird!!

"SPECIAL CONGRATS TO OUR OWN SENIORS AT LINCOLN LAB -- ASHLEY, NICOLE AND KATRINA -- WE MISS & LOVE YOU & WISH YOU GREAT SUCCESS!!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PENNY TAYLOR!!"

DOWN TO THE WIRE . . .

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

****A ginormous, humungous "THANK-YOU!!" to all of the families that participated in Movie Night, featuring the amazingly true tale of "Andre the Seal" -- we had a grand time and raised some money, for the CDC, as well!!!!****

**** The Bakery at Minuteman's Career and Technical High School is now closed for the summer -- :( -- however -- there are spectacular cooking and baking classes offered through Community Education -- The Mall Store remains open until Friday, I believe, with heavy discounts!!!!****

**** CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!!!! GRADUATION WILL BE HELD, THIS EVENING, @ 6:30, UNDER THE TENT, ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD -- WOO-HOO KRISTA!!!! ****

This past week was spent, primarily, preparing for our two visits to "The Big School", which took place on both Thursday and Friday -- special THANKS to Kate Smith, and, our own Freshmen, Tray Von, Jeanetta and Erin, for their planning and hospitality!!!!

Constructing boats, with additional recycleables, was the focus, early-on, as we floated said, later on, creating a Charles River-type experience, at the BIG water table, located at our old digs -- the Butterflies and Puppies had two wonderfully, fun-filled mornings, with their boats and a myriad of educational and very fun water toys.

As well, Ms. Smith, Tray Von, Jeanetta and Erin put out a wide variety of building blocks and manipulatives, puzzles and art activities, including, but not limited to, flip-flop and butterfly and tissue-paper collage making, finger-painting and drawing -- additional "kudos" to, of course, Kelly and Liz -- and -- Penny Taylor and Brenda Wells, of the LABB Program, and all who helped to make our mornings successful endeavors -- :).

Mrs. Dolham worked, diligently, as well, assisting the Puppies in producing self and family portraits, this week.

AND . . . WE'RE OFF TO THE FARM TO INTERACT WITH THE ANIMALS AND ENJOY ICE-CREAM -- MANY, MANY THANKS TO THE COWS, FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS!!!!

We look forward to celebrating Miss Sashi's birthday, this week, as well as, Tina Johnston's, of the LABB Program, and, "partying" with Miss Amy and our outgoing Sophomores and friends from LABB.

We will surely miss Miss Amy, Amanda, Brianna, Haley, Victoria, Elise and Andrea, as they will spend the remainder of their time with our high shool, at LINC, with the infants and toddlers -- additional thanks to Jen, Sarah and Hayley, who joined our team of high school students, at the CDC, this year, via The Labb Program, along with their returning teachers, Penny Taylor, Tina Johnston and Brenda Wells, (Cameron's mom!! :))

ONWARD . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"POTPOURRI"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers . . . Welcome, long-awaited June . . .

So far, this week, we have begun learning "The June Song", while reflecting on the new month's very many upcoming events and activities . . .

The children have been measuring bits and pieces of nature, keyboarding themed words, "hatching" out of boxes, doing floor puzzles, riding wheeled vehicles, (both in and outdoors!!), and, most importantly, building boats to float, tomorrow, at "The Big School"!!!!

We look very much forward to two days of great fun in "our old digs" . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

. . . HOPE THAT YOU HAD A PLEASANT LONG MEMORIAL DAY WEEK-END AND BEGINNING TO THE MONTH OF JUNE . . .

Our Last Week of Oceans . . .

Well . . .

Last week marked, formally, the end to the theme of "Oceans", and, this week . . . we embark upon "Potpourri" -- "a lotta bit of this and a lotta bit of that"!!

The Butterflies were enthralled by their visit to "The Butterfly Place", last Monday, while the Puppies enjoyed their version of "Sports Day" -- thank you to Tim Carlson, Molly's dad, for providing the group with finger puppets, and to all of the family chaperones, for their support and assistance.

PLEASE VIEW OUR CATERPILLARS TURNING INTO BUTTERFLIES, AS THEY HAVE ALREADY FORMED CHRYSALLISES, AND, SOON, WILL BE "PAINTED LADIES"!!!!

During the course of the week, the children crafted colorful Octupi, specifically, and fish and other sea creatures and multi-media collages, generally, which, hopefully, will soon be on display, on the board, in the front hallway -- and -- to the utter joy of all -- we spent many happy hours engaged in outdoor water play -- in addition, we all participated in celebrating Miss Downing's birthday with an in-house Fiesta -- OLE!!!!

Toward the end of the week, two groups of Freshman, along with their teacher, from our own Minuteman Career and Technical High School, came to read -- old and new friends and old and new stories are always welcome at the Child Development Center . . .

The children and staff said "good-bye . . . " to Lexington High School Seniors Laini, Andrea, Kiana and Kira, off to grand new adventures, come September -- thank you for your many contributions, and, "Congratulations, Ladies!!"

Mrs. Dolham made, (blue), cream cheese and goldfish treats, with the children, while the MM C & T HS Sophomores presented their weekly projects, including, but not limited to, painting conch shells in vibrant colors and sprinkling said with glitter, (Amanda), styling ocean scenes in sunrise and sunset hues with plastic utensils, (Brianna), rubbing shells, (Elise), embellishing fish shapes, (Andrea), creating ocean-themed magnetic and foam picture frames, (Jen), playing ocean-themed games, (Haley), and, engaging in outdoor coloring and related water play, (Victoria) -- thank you, everyone!!!!

PLEASE VISIT OUR GARDEN, OUT BACK -- THANK YOU, KELLY AND LIZ, FOR PURCHASING AND PICKING-UP, FROM HORTICULTURE, AND, DELIVERING, TO THE CDC, THE LOVELY PLANTS!!!!

AND, THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED LEXINGTON'S DISCOVERY DAY, MAKING IT FAR MORE ENJOYABLE FOR ALL INVOLVED . . .

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

UPCOMING EVENTS . . .

OLA!!

ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE TEACHERS, WE DO HOPE THAT, AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE, PARTICIPATE IN OUR "MOVIE NITE", ON FRIDAY, 06/04/10, PER THE NOTICE DISTRIBUTED BY KELLY -- AS WELL, WE WILL BE VISITING "THE BIG SCHOOL", ON BOTH THURSDAY, 06/03/10, AND, FRIDAY, 06/04/10, TO "FLOAT OUR BOATS" IN THE BIG, OLD WATER TABLE!!

ON TUESDAY, 06/08/10, WE HEAD OUT TO THE FARM, TO VISIT OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENJOY ICE CREAM!!

"HAPPY FATHERS DAY", JUST A LITTLE BIT EARLY!!!!

"HAPPY, (JUNE), BIRTHDAYS TO MISS SASHI AND MRS. JOHNSTON!!" :)

"HAPPY BELATED B-DAY, TO OUR HIGH-SCHOOL FRIEND, AMANDA!!"

"ENJOY THE LONG MEMORIAL DAY WEEK-END!!"

"HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS DOWNING!!!!"

BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!!!!

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

In addition to the very many story book characters we enjoy, here, at school -- such as -- Froggy and Harry -- is George -- always "trying to help", and, always "getting into mischief", as a result -- lately, the children and teachers have shared lots and lots of giggles about George's adventures in the water, as well.

Friday was, yet, another bittersweet experience, as, although kids and adults, alike, maximized their time outdoors, and, Hayley worked on beach scene collages, containing a mathematical component, with the Butterflies and Puppies, we all said "good-bye" to more of our Lexington High School friends, moving on in their lives . . . To acknowledge their time at Minuteman's Child Development Center, Olivia, Ariane and Kelly planned and implemented a wonderful project centered around "friendship" -- they sang, with the kids, "Make New Friends and Keep The Old", and, decorated "people" with silver and gold glitter and a multitude of multi-dimentional embellishments -- the Butterflies will use their artwork as props during graduation, while, Mrs. Dolham and I plan to display, in the classroom, the pieces lovingly created by the Puppies.

And, while outdoors, Penny Taylor, one of the very helpful aides from Lexington's LABB Program, noticed a hawk, which many of us observed fly amonst the trees, stalk prey and, eventually, move onward -- the goings-on were quite captivating, and, resulted in many more photos!!

Please do enjoy this week-end's beautiful weather, and, remember the field trip to The Butterfly Place, for the Butterflies, and, Sports Day, for the Puppies, on Monday -- :).

With Much Love, Miss Peacock XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"DOE A DEER"

. . . I truly hope that seeing a beautiful young doe, yesterday morning, on Mill Street, was a true sign of sunny days to come . . . XOXO.

"TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, ALL DAY LONG!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

"Today is Wednesday all day long, doo-dah, doo-dah!!"

Although the weather has been chilly -- and -- today -- rainy -- the children continue to enjoy many engaging and stimulating activities during the course of their school days, here at Minuteman's Child Development Center.

On Monday and Tuesday, for example, in addition to parading, with instruments, outdoors, the Butterflies and Puppies crafted paper bag fish and giggled as Mrs. Dolham told her own marvelously made-up stories and read, (more), about "Froggy" , (humerous frog series), and Mrs. Goell read, (more), about "Harry", (humerous dog series) -- especially concerning Froggy's and Harry's adventures in the water!!

Today, the children fashioned a huge ship out of the Block Area, where we all settled, together, for Miss Downing's rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", a multi-verse adaptation in story book form, followed by Goldfish for snack, and, then, by a kitchen activity, spear-headed by Mrs. Dolham, which entailed "fishing" for crackers and raisins with peanut-covered pretzel sticks -- many thanks to Kelly and Liz for making the best of a rainy day!!

Mrs. Dolham's "question of the week" was posed . . . "Who lives on the ocean floor?" and the wall decor is looking rather "fishy" . . .

As well, some of you may have noticed that the jungle-like, (?!), greenery, in our yard, was cut-back and the area was sprayed -- yahoo!!

Hopefully, Scholastic book order forms will be placed in your mailboxes, for the months of both May and June, sometime this week -- I haven't forgotten -- :) -- . . .

Nella Mattina . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

FIELD TRIP REMINDER!!!!

Good Evening!!

Please note that, on Monday, May 24th, the Butterflies will venture out to The Butterfly Place, (. . . how befitting . . . ), and the Puppies will enjoy a Sports Day, with Mrs. Dolham and Miss Sashi -- details to follow!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, IN CHILDCARE, GRADUATING FROM BOTH MINUTEMAN CAREER AND TECHNICAL AND LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOLS!!!!"

". . . WE MISS YOU, KRISTA . . ." -- . . . MINUTEMAN'S GRADUATING SENIOR . . .

MANY THANKS TO KIRSTEN, DAVID AND ORION, AND THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, FOR VISITING THEIR TEACHERS AT THE BURLINGTON MALL!!

THANK YOU, KIRSTEN, FOR THE RICE KRISPIE TREATS!!!!

GOOD EVENING . . .

Dear All . . .

Yet another very busy week has passed, filled with a wide variety of ocean-themed projects -- special thanks to all of the high school students who contributed their time and efforts via truly wonderful lesson plans in math, science, literacy and art, much of which is being displayed throughout our school!!

As many of the children ate them immediately after their completion, families probably did not see the marshmallow and pretzel stick octupi -- (most often) donning eight "arms" -- prepared, in the kitchen, under the supervision of Mrs. Dolham, beginning on Monday -- however -- photos were taken -- :) --!!

Activity time was spent sponge-painting and on several projects involving collage work, as well as, playing with water, sand and many different types of sea creatures -- and -- the kids learned about the cycle of ocean life, via the food chain, matching games and scavenger hunts.

On Thursday, following Miss Downing's laptop viewings the day before, Miss Amy brought in her hand puppet of "Orca", (alias the Killer Whale), along with books, rich with information about deep sea predators, for our little friends to peruse -- and -- Liz re-introduced the "mystery bag", full of things, we all see, during summer outings, seaside.

And, so, after one more bustling week-end, another Monday arrives -- welcome!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"CONGRATULATIONS, ALANA, ON RECEIVING YOUR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION!! -- XOXO :)"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALANA, FROM ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AT THE MM CDC!!!!"

"HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!!!!"

"HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, KOLBY, (WITH A "K" ) -- AND THANK YOU FOR THE DELICIOUS CUPCAKES!!!!

SPECIAL OCCASIONS . . .

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

Good day -- I do hope that Mother's Day was joyous for all . . . and . . . special thanks to all who contributed to making Teacher Appreciation Week special, as always . . . :).

This past week, many special occasions were celebrated, such as the birth of Noy's new baby sister, Kolby's 4th birthday, the arrival of our newest Puppy, Meredith, and Cinco De Mayo -- yahoo and hurray!!

On both Tuesday and Wednesday, we all soaked-in as much of the beautiful weather as possible, and, as a result, spent just about all of our activity time outdoors -- what a treat and what an appropriate introduction to our new "almost summer" themes of "Nature", "Oceans" and such!!

Mrs. Dolham opened, on Tuesday morning, with her "Question of the Week", which was, of course, "Who Lives in the Ocean?" -- we read abundantly about said, and, thoroughly enjoyed gummy worm and chocolate frosted cupcakes for Kolby's birthday -- there are oh so many delicious ways to bring the great outdoors indoors -- thank you, Kolby!!

And, beginning early on in the week, Kelly and Liz, especially, with the capable assistance of many high school students, organized our Mother's Day projects and gifts, which we hope you enjoyed "berry, berry much!!"

Early Wednesday morning, Meredith arrived, we sang and danced in honor of Cinco De Mayo, Liz role-played a "thunderstorm", in tandem with the children, and, Olivia spear-headed "look and find" beach scenes to challenge, both the Butterflies and Puppies, artistically, as well as, mathematically.

Upon opening the door of our School, just after Circle Time, Wednesday am, Mrs. Dolham discovered that the telephone pole, just outside the CDC, was being replaced, which lent itself to a fantastically spontaneous lesson in "community helpers" -- and so much more -- the workers and police officers were more than gracious in their roles as part of a super de duper learning experience -- :).

As well, we hosted William, for the second time, one of several new students joining us, at twenty Mill Street, come September!!!!

In addition to sculpting play-dough, embellishing paper fish and engaging in a myriad of ocean-themed activities, on Thursday morning, Ariane presented her "Rainbow Fish" lesson plan, which included teaching the kids to make fishy faces, Jeanetta guided the creation of an "under the sea" poster and Erin assisted Butterflies and Puppies in decorating Octopi -- both Jeanetta's and Erin's projects are hanging in the front hallway.

"Waffle" visited on Friday -- Kate Smith's talking parakeet -- much to everyone's delight --a gigantic "thank you, Waffle and Katie"!!

Liz continued with an outdoor Circle, resplendent with new music, games and discussion, on Friday, before which our high school friend, Kelly, made Mother's Day cards, with the kids, and after which Hayley, a LABB student, prepared an acquarium-making art-based project and Tray Von designed and implemented a food-chain science-based activity for our little ones.

Kelly continues preparing the Butterflies for their grand entrance to Kindergarten, while everyone enjoys the journey, with activity galore, in all of the School's learning centers.

As is always the case, adults and children alike, look forward to another learning and fun-filled week, at our school -- and --please be on the look-out for Scholastic's terrific end-of-school-year, (?!?!), offerings, which are scheduled to be in your mailboxes, shortly.

**** The last day of school, for Butterflies and Puppies, along with graduation and a celebratory gathering, is planned for Friday, June 18, 2010 -- details are forthcoming .****

Oodles and Oodles of Love . . . Miss Peacock XOXO

"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOLEDANO FAMILY ON THE BIRTH OF THEIR NEW BABY DAUGHTER!!!!"

"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!"

"WELCOME, MEREDITH!!!!"

"GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

Although it was an especially beautiful week-end, it was not without chaos . . . hopefully, everyone is coping, as well as can be expected, with the water crisis -- Kelly has, as always, gone above and beyond, by preparing the School for the dilemna, even though it is now located in Lincoln, (which has its own water supply) -- thank you, Miss Downing :) !!

This past week, we finished making birthday cards for Defne, and, the finished product will be mailed, shortly -- as well -- the tree, in the cubby room, is now fully embellished for Spring, (although, there is always room for more decorations!!)

Tuesday was a very exciting day, for me, as I received new books from Scholastic -- Woo Hoo?! . . .

In the early morning, Mrs. Dolham read both "I Knew You Could", written by Craig Dorfman and illustrated by Cristine Ong and "Our Earth", by Anne Rockwell, and, at afternoon meeting, Mrs. Goell read a lovely book about butterflies.

WE PLAYED ON THE BIG SCHOOL'S FOOTBALL FIELD!!!! . . . (a little bit wet and a little bit cool, but, invigorating, nonetheless!!)

Liz began introducing the Butterflies and Puppies to more "intense" recycling concepts, this week, and, on Tuesday, as well, continued the practice of "reducing, reusing and recycling" -- enjoy the bookmarks, kids!!

All week, the children enjoyed painting with watercolors, keeping the beat with drums and playing in the water table, with a variety of floor and table puzzles, manipulatives and more complex patterning and keyboarding resources -- and -- of course -- recycleables!!!!

On Wednesday morning, Mrs. Dolham skewered fruit and cheese, with our little friends, which they ate for dessert, that same afternoon.

As well, Laini read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by ever popular Eric Carle, had the children complete a wonderful art and language-based activity, and, turned it into a new CLASSROOM BOOK, (!!) -- and -- Shakira gathered the kids together for a re-telling of "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister, after which they decorated fishbowls -- thank you, ladies!!

Just before lunch, I read "Rose's Garden" by our very own Peter Reynolds, a lovely story based on the life of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Andrea designed, implemented and played Spring Themed Bingo, with the children, early Thursday morning, and Kelly made pancakes, for the kids, early Friday morning -- both Thursday and Friday were particularly exciting days, as we ventured over to "The Big School"!!

On Thursday, our Director/Teacher of very many hats drove us over to march in the Earth Day Parade, and, On Friday, we walked, through the woodsy path, to attend a special math class, courtesy of Debbie Dew, Kirsten's mother, at which the kids had great fun using both the Smart and dry-erase boards and piecing together fabulous shapes books -- thank you, Debbie and Kirsten -- :) -- !!!!

Please note the Minuteman CDC's EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR AND SUMMER FUN HOURS!!!!

Please note that May is a super de duper special month for the renewed awareness of our animal friends!!!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"WECOME BACK, MRS. DOLHAM -- WE MISSED YOU . . . XOXO."

Sprint & Buddy our pet turtles!

Good Afternoon,
I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and fun break! Enjoy the weather as much as you can ! Well, Sprint and Buddy went for their 1st Pedicure at the Lexington Veterinary Hospital. They were very good for the doctor! :) Their nails were very long and we needed to groom them. See everyone next week!
Kelly :)

"HAPPY PATRIOT'S DAY!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

Well, it is windy, but, not wet -- and -- very sunny -- so, enjoy the day!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"GET WELL WISHES TO OUR FRIEND, PENNY TAYLOR, OF THE LABB PROGRAM!!"

"APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS . . . "

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

According to lore, it is true . . .

We have really enjoyed spending lots of time, outdoors, this week, and, in addition to utilizing the new, coned-off bike area, we have had great fun dancing to music, planting seeds, (with Victoria -- mid-week), splashing in the water table and working on art activities, both in the yard and on the deck!!

On Monday, the children began painting with q-tips, and, by later in the week, were embellishing their artwork with glitter -- in tandem with said, by Thursday, our Butterflies and Puppies were stamping with spring shapes, with Krista, and using watercolors, with Bri.

Some of our little friends were playing Twister, on the hopscotch rug, while others were "fishing" in a pond, complete with magnetic sea creatures and boats, in the block area, in addition to a variety of math and literacy-based activites "planted", (:)), throughout the learning centers.

On both Tuesday and Wednesday, we made pretzels, with Liz, and, for meeting, Tuesday, just before lunch, Mrs. Goell treated everyone to a fabulously interactive puppet show, with her Slothy friend, Oliver!!

Early Wednesday morning, the children fashioned moon sand creations and participated in Kiana's "April Showers Bring May Flowers" project, out of which she made a stellar classroom book!!

Among the many stories enjoyed by all was "Zomo", an African-based tale, ehanced by colorful artwork, both written and illustrated by Gerald McDermott.

On Thursday morning, Kira, as well, reinforced patterning, by presenting her spring bracelet activity, while, later on, Tammy read about "creepies and crawlies" and Miss Amy prepared frozen juice and fruit pops, eaten out on our back deck.

Liz focused quite a bit on patterning, this week, as well, with a variety of activities, in which the kids were truly engaged, and, made a beautiful, fold-out paper flower to which we sang and about which we talked.

Mrs. Dolham's "gardening mystery bag" was a big hit, and, was reinforced by acting out weather patterns and writing and drawing in new and individualized observation books, now located in the cubby room on the science table -- thank you -- :)!!

At Friday morning's meeting, Kelly had all of the kids pretend that they were seeds, covered them, gently, with blankets, and sprinkled them with water -- genius!!

Haley patterned clouds, Andrea designed puppet umbrellas and Jen produced coloring, accompanied by a quacking duck and the book "Five Little Ducks", with the assistance of Brenda Wells, Cameron's mom!!

Thank you, everyone, especially all of our Early Childhood Care and Education students from both the Minuteman C and T and Lexington High Schools -- :)!!

Our Spring-themed tree has been partially decorated with artwork, including butterfly shapes, and crepe paper, and will, hopefully, be completed with paper chains and stickers, after vacation week -- as well -- the wooden peace sign is finished and ready to be displayed.

And, "Happy Birthday!!" to our good friend, Defne, for whom we are lovingly making cards.

Now, I am off to the parade and a party, with family and friends -- ENJOY!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY BARTLES, (KEVIN'S MOM), AND, PAPA JOE -- 100 YEARS OLD, (TAMMY'S DAD) !!!!"

SUN, SHOWERS AND FLOWERS . . .

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

As plants and flowers bloom, both in and outside the classroom, we rejoice in the light at the end of the tunnel!!

I must say that I have found it increasingly difficult to write about all of the details of school life, these past few weeks, as so very much occurs within the boundaries of each day -- (which is a good thing :)) -- for example -- in addition to the curriculum planned by, primarily, Kelly and Liz, the Early Childhood Care and Education students from Minuteman's Career and Technical and Lexington High Schools prepare, for the teachers, and present, to the children, their lesson plans, and we continue to have many visitors, predominantly our friends from the LABB Program, every week -- wonderful learning opportunities and great fun are had by children and adults, alike!!

This past week, especially on Monday and Tuesday, our Butterflies and Puppies crafted paper plate fish, learned the many parts of a flower and "drummed" like African animals, all thanks to Mrs. Dolham!!

In addition, Liz posed the "qestion of the week", which was: What do frogs eat? The answers are written, up on the bulletin board, closest to the kitchen, of the classroom -- grilled cheese, fingers and bones were among our favorites . . .

Morning projects included finishing-up and displaying two nursery rhyme based posters, Red Riding Hood role-playing -- (thank you, Trayvon, and, the dramatic play continues) . . . , fashioning Spring-themed crowns and tree ornaments, and, decorating a large wooden peace sign, to be hung over the "cube", toward the week's end.

On Wednesday, Arianne read the ever-popular "And The Rain Came Down", and, designed an interactive weather chart, for the kids, which is, now, up on the wall, in the block area -- as well, Liz cut open fruits and vegetables, for our little friends to study and discuss, and, afterward, placed said, (okay the foods -- not the kids?!), in the cubby room, for further scientific examination!!

And, because the weather was so very beautiful, Mrs. Dolham sectioned-off an area for bike-riding, Miss Downing temporarily freed the turtles, (Buddy and Sprint), and MM's Freshmen brought their plans outside and blew bubbles and played ball games with the little ones -- outdoor art and language-based activities included finger-painting the "Tree of Life" on Wednesday, (Jeanetta), Spring time drawings, (now displayed in the front hallway), (Trayvon), and playdough and wilderness sculptures, (Erin), into Thursday -- kudos, all!!

Indoors, on Thursday, our high-school friend, Kelly, spear-headed a floral and fauna scavenger hunt, photos and names now hanging alongside abovementioned drawings, Miss Amy made frozen fruit-flavored pops and Mrs. Goell guided a music lesson.

Several family members were happy to see their boys and girls paint and embellish "pet rocks", on Friday morning, thanks to Olivia, a Senior from LHS, and, later, match spring and winter clothing items, thanks to Hayley, one of our friends from the LABB Program.

In addition to her butterfly sandwich making activity on Friday, Liz continues to tell many, many stories about "Princess Sarah" and "Prince George", discuss what creatures live in ponds, leading walks in the rain, and, along with Kelly, reinforcing color, shape, letter and number recognition, via varied means, throughout the day.

And, dinosaur stories and fairy tales are always well received!!

As always, thank you for blessing all of the teachers with the lovely flowers that are your children . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXO





letts#sprojectstrayvondisplay&redridinghood

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHEENA FAHEY AND KEVIN BARTLES!! :)

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!!

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, INDEED!!!!

. . . And, what a lovely transition from Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes and Spring Time Holidays . . .

Bits and Pieces of last month's themes are now displayed all over our school -- ENJOY!!

Last week's projects ranged from crafting "glittery shoes", on Monday, to celebrating both Juliana's and Mrs. Dolham's birthdays, by mid-late week, resplendent with Spring-themed cupcakes, (thank you, Juliana), and applesauce muffins, on Wednesday, and a Bunny Rabbit cake, on Thursday -- included in our cooking activities, as well, were -- Matza/o balls made on Tuesday, and, turned-into soup on Thursday, and Charoset and Matza/o Pizzas made and eaten on Tuesday -- a special thanks to Miss Amy!! :)

On Tuesday, although rainy, even more great fun was had by all -- in the early morning, our children decorated paper flowers and, then, "Cinderella's Dress", after Laini, an Early Childhood high-school senior, from LHS, read the story and encouraged role-playing -- flowers are secured on the far, inner wall, and, Cinderella's Dress hangs in the front hallway.

And, in tandem with themed, learning center and indoor play, some of our little ones were treated to a walk in the rain, led by Mrs. Dolham -- just ducky!!

On Wednesday morning, Kira prepared chick eggs for the kids to personalize and Laini began a poster finished-up with black sheep -- (the completed projects should be hung on the walls, shortly), and, in the afternoon, Minuteman's own high-school sophomores, in addition to planning and implementing math, science and literacy-based activities, turned the kids into "bunnies" with pastel-colored face paint and fluffy rabbit ears!!

Our high-school friend, Kiana, presented lily pads to decorate, for Thursday morning's lesson plan, and, as well, during Circle Time, on Thursday, Liz borrowed "Jim's" tools, -- (lucky for us that Jim was here making repairs) -- which she aptly demonstrated for all to see, and, during activity time, our Butterflies and Puppies created spring blossoms, bead necklaces and enjoyed a scavenger hunt, outdoors, with Amanda!!

THANKS FOR ANOTHER WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE!!!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

APRIL BIRTHDAYS: MRS. DOLHAM, (LIZ), KEVIN, JULIANA AND SHEENA -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

"A FAIRY TALE ENDING . . . "

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

At the outset, "WELCOME, KENDRA NOONAN", our new Puppy!!

And, "Happy Birthday!!" to our April celebrants, including Mrs. Dolham and Kevin!!

Our last full week of Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes has come to a close . . .

The abovementioned theme is well-loved by teachers and high-school and pre-school students, as well, and, I must say that, this year, the children truly optimized their many opportunities and valuable resources for role-playing, with beautiful costumes, a fabulous puppet theater and, most importantly, their imaginations, and, we exchanged stories not only by reading books and story telling, but also by utilizing additional means, such as song and dance, felt boards and puppets, to name but a few.

Although much of the week was rather cold and wet, the Butterflies and Puppies achieved a very good balance of both outdoor and indoor gross motor activities -- on Tuesday, the gymnastics mat and an obstacle course were, again, set-up in the "Royal Ballroom", and, on Wednesday, Miss Downing spear-headed a discussion about weather and led the kids on a walk during which they discovered sprouting buds, a bird nest and a chipmunk hole.

As well, during the earlier part of the week, Kelly and Liz successfully brought the outdoors inside by planning planting activities, measuring rainfall and plopping mud into the sensory table.

In addition to the multitude of activities outlined in the curriculum, we prepared food and decorated for the "Royal Feast", which was held on Thursday -- the children made english muffin pizzas, decorated plastic goblets and hung crepe paper -- and -- we were treated to our first wonderful experience with Freshman project planning -- While Kate hung spider-webbing along the stand and a backdrop on the wall, Erin made colorful "spiders" and Jeanetta made glittery stars with the children -- great fun was had by all!!

In addition to the spiders and stars displayed toward the back of our classroom, the beginning of our quilt has been hung, along with new theme-inspired artwork and the "Question of the Week", on all three bulletin boards.

In closing, while we await the delivery of this month's Scholastic book order, new forms will be placed in mailboxes, this week.

Please enjoy the remainder of the week-end!!

Much Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"A FABULOUS DISCOVERY!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

At the outset, please know that all of those, affected by this week's flooding, are in our thoughts, and we wish you a good start to Spring . . .

Water aside, Monday's Preschool Association of Lexington, (PAL), Conference was, for the third year in a row, a huge success, and, upon returning to school on Tuesday, John noticed that Mrs. Goell's Forsythia was in a full and beautiful golden yellow bloom!!

As our immersion into the world of Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes continues, so does a myriad of related activities in oh so many areas of learning and fun!!

On Tuesday, Kiana asked the Butterflies and Puppies what they saw when they looked into their magic mirrors -- the results of her project are displayed on the bulletin board located in the front hallway -- and -- Andrea assisted the children in creating a pot of gold, which has found its home by the sign-in and out book . . . the next morning, Kira debuted her "matching glass slippers" game -- a great big "thank you" to our friends, from LHS, for sharing their lesson plans!!

Both Tuesday and Wednesday, especially, were very busy days, with lots of visitors and a great deal of preparing for the St. Patrick's Day festivities -- Liz was busy helping the kids to make green-colored play-dough, a giant pudding-filled green cupcake, (pan courtesy of Kelly -- :)), and Irish Soda Bread and Muffins!!!!

Our own high school students, (the Sophomores), enthusiastically guided their little friends in "comparing" short and long "curls" -- thank you, Krista :) -- making brown paper bag puppets, keyboarding themed words, and engaging all in a variety of math, science and literacy/language-based activities, while our Word Wall currently displays the letters "P" and "Q".

On Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, the teachers took loads of photos of the very many students wearing green -- it was "easy being green", (?! -- :)), on that day!!

Victoria arranged a sinking and floating activity, on the deck, Elise designed a math game of wands and wings and Brianna set-up an obstacle course, while Amanda gave a lovely tea party, complete with miniature plates and cups and crepes and jam, (!!), and Krista, Haley and Andrea planned and implemented additional and wonderfully themed projects, as well -- thank you, ladies!!

This week, we have spent a great deal of time playing outdoors, and, both inside and outside, the children have, as well, initiated and enjoyed dramatic play -- for example -- acting out Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and Miss Muffet, after Mrs. Goell and Liz presented the stories, interactively -- and -- many dragons surrounded the castle, outside, ably protecting their kingdom!!

We have had great fun sharing fairy tales, nursery rhymes and social stories, as well as utilizing our great big puppet theatre for themed and related role-playing.

As well, we have completed our fire-breathing dragon, made out of cardboard boxes and other recycleables and art supplies and begun making quilt squares for the project, which will, hopefully, be finished by the middle of next week.

Our adventures at the Discovery Museum, on Friday, were truly joyous -- (my own children and I were members, there, for years, {in a land far, far away in space and time . . . } -- please ask your children about "Bessie" the Dinosaur and all of the differently-themed rooms in the victorian house turned museum!!

What follows is a list of what each child enjoyed most at The Discovery Museum:

Nicky The Train
Nyah The Train
Juliana The Train
Kirsten The Train
Molly The Train
Phil The Boat
Orion The Alligator in the Safari Room
Tyler The Food in the Kitchen
Charlotte All of it (!!)
Sheena A Squeaky Toy
Gryffin Train Tracks
David The Choo Choo
Kolby The Choo Choo Train -- the Big One (!!)
John The Pirate Ship

The bulletin board on the far end of the classroom will soon display paintings done, that day, at the Museum.

Please do remember that the Royal Feast will take place next week and to enjoy the beautiful weather, today!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, DAVID, &, THANK YOU FOR THE YUMMY CUPCAKES!!"

"A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE, FOR ALL, AT WALTHAM CROSSINGS!!"

Hola, Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

The week-end may be very, very wet, but, this past week was filled with one sun-shiny day after another!!

We were blessed with weather that allowed us to be outside for a substantial amount of time, and, per my last "blast", the CDC community looks forward to the new playground, scheduled for completion by the end of April -- just after the onset of Spring -- WOO HOO!!

As many of you already know, the Butterflies and Puppies were a big hit at "Papa Joe's" place, (Waltham Crossings)!! The children sang and danced the morning away, and their kindness was rewarded with cupcakes and juice and baseball bats and balls -- it was truly a beautiful experience, the melding of the young and old.

Other special treats, this week, included Miss Amy's, (and "Oreo"'s), presentation of a jumbo, (Zoo), Animal book and Arianne's and Olivia's wonderfully interactive portrayal of singing and dancing kings and queens, resplendent with glittery crowns and much laughter -- as always, thank you, ladies!!

And, thanks to our lovely Mrs. Dolham, as well, our "royal bakery", (aka the kitchen), and its little bakers, made both apple and strawberry muffins, while singing verses from "The Muffin Man" and a variety of other nursery rhymes.

The kids have thoroughly enjoyed playing in their hand-made castle, as well as building said, and, will begin working on a dragon made primarily out of recycleables, this week.

In addition to all of the wonderful projects available at Activity Time, such as "trash" art, sensory exploration, math games and literacy activities, our little friends have enjoyed fashioning, primarily out of construction paper, fans and jewelry, beanstalk leaves and dragon puppets, some of which is on display in the front hallway.

We continue to review the calendar, letters of the week, word wall and practice our skills at Handwriting Without Tears, (HWT), as well as read some wonderful children's literature, much of which is partnered with music and movement.

And, in the Cubby Room, where our Science Table is newly located, the Forsythia branch, donated by Mrs. Goell, begins to bud!!

Please remember that the teachers will be attending a full day of Early Childhood Education workshops at the annual PAL Conference, on Monday, and that, on Friday, we will all be heading over to the Discovery Museum, in Acton, for a morning of learning and fun with "Bessie" the Dinosaur!!

I do thank you all for continuing to build home libraries, for your children, with Scholastic Book Orders!!

Lots of Love, Miss Peacock XOXO

****"A FAIRYTALE IN THE MAKING: OUR PLAYGROUND IS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION BY THE END OF APRIL!!!!"****

"BEAUTIFUL WEATHER CLOSES THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH!!!!"

Ciao, All . . .

What a beautiful week-end, &, fine close to the first week of March -- ENJOY!!

The introduction to fairy tales, nursery rhymes and Spring has gone very smoothly, this week, and has included, as well, a second sweep of pajama days, celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss -- complete with hand-crafted "Cat in the Hat" hats -- and Read Across America Day, and, parent breakfasts, for which our Butterflies and Puppies enjoyed preparing!!

Fairy tales and nursery rhymes, together, create an optimal environment for dramatic play, language-based learning and art exploration, and, so, Monday morning opened with a new supply of themed books and a myriad of related activities, such as glueing candlesticks, (using recycleables), painting kingdoms, (referring to visuals), building castles, (with blocks and boxes), and telling stories, (utilizing felt boards) -- a great big thank you to Nyah, who has loaned our school many wonderful costumes, and, to Gryffin, as well, who has nicely shared his "talking" tool set!!

Miss Downing and Mrs. Dolham spear-headed an experiment based on "Humpty Dumpty", which required the kids to think like scientists, and, resulted in the breaking of many not-so-hard-boiled eggs, (?!).

Beginning on Wednesday, the children began decorating colorful foam crowns and gold paper stars, for our themed tree, now, fully loaded, and, located in, the Cubby Room -- stellar job, children!!

(Our Science Table is, as well, now located in the Cubby Room, and, our Listening Center has been moved into the main classroom.)

Many of the Center's high-school students rose to the occasion of both planning and implementing a grand selection of wonderful theme and learning center-based projects -- in the giant-sized puppet-theatre/castle, for example, the children donned period clothing, tiered crowns and glittering wands -- and, by week's end, the little ones were dancing, with each other and to joyful music, at the Royal Ball!!

As well, our small princesses and princes tried on Cindarella shoes, drew related pictures with captions, matched castles and royal symbols, and played "Prince, Prince!!", (outdoors).

We gathered together to view an elaborate pop-up book of Alice in Wonderland and to read "In the Castle", several times -- a(n) (Usborne) favorite, in addition to other stories with happy endings!!

Scholastic book order forms have been distributed, and, feature many fabulous selections!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRUEKNER FAMILY ON THE BIRTH OF SEBASTIAN WOLF!!!!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS!!"

Dear Families, Friends & Blog Followers,

Good morning and "Happy Birthday!!", as well, to Nicky and Phil Smith -- aka "the boys"!!

As another, (very busy), week -- no -- month, (!!), comes to a close, many new days unfold, before us all, filled with bustle and excitement!!!!

Come Monday, our new themes will include the onset of Spring, (!!!!), fairytale talk and castle play -- Miss Downing and Mrs. Dolham have planned another stellar curriculum for the month of March, and, the teachers, with the assistance of the Butterflies and Puppies, of course, plan to re-decorate much of the classroom to reflect said.

We begin with a blast of activity, this week -- Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are additionally scheduled pajama days, Wednesday and Thursday will open with parent breakfasts, and Tuesday, we will travel "next door" to celebrate the birthday of beloved Dr. Seuss and "Read Across America" Day.

As well, Orion is expecting a baby brother, this month, David will turn three, we will go "green" for St. Patrick's Day, and, on March 10, we will head on over to Waltham Crossing, where Mrs. Goell's dad resides, and, where the children will sing for the elderly, there -- the kids have been diligently practicing "Caps For Sale", with Tammy, and engaging in miniature concertos, with Liz, in preparation for the event!!

We welcome Cameron, a new Puppy, and are thrilled that some of our "established" Puppies will be spending more time, with us, at Minuteman's CDC!!

We had many visitors this week, including five high-school students, newly enrolled Freshmen in the Minuteman C & T HS Early Childhood Education Program, and, under the tutelage of Ms. Smith -- welcome, all!!

On Tuesday, Miss Amy both planned and implemented a project on the weather, which she presented at Circle, and, on Friday, our LHS high school friends, Arianne, Olivia and Kelly, as well, involved our little friends in a fine project on body awareness -- the perfect close to February -- thank you, ladies!!

On Monday, I understand that Kelly brought out the "volcano", which, working with, is always fascinating to the children -- the kids played with both "clean" and "dirty" mud and made a roadway on the hopscotch rug for small vehicles -- truly a day of scientific discovery and sensory exploration.

By Tuesday, the Butterflies and Puppies were painting with barber-style brushes attached to painter-style caps, playing with soft crystals and manipulatives, keyboarding theme-related words, and, had an interactive musical lesson in body parts, thanks to Liz.

As the week progressed, and even with a morning delay, Miss Downing successfully taught the little ones to sing, utlizing sign language, (ASL), -- on Wednesday, as well, they increased body awareness by doing tricks on the gymnastics mat and building ginourmous cities, (inhabited by dinosaurs!!).

The learning and fun continued, as Mrs. Dolham re-introduced the "mystery box", the children played with farm and city-themed mats and vehicles, sensory bottles and dinosaur-themed rubbing plates and assembled "dino teeth" crowns.

We read many wonderful stories about dinosaurs, the senses and other topics, including, but not limited to "My Nose Your Nose", by Melanie Walsh, "How Big is a Million" by Anna Milbourne and Serena Riglietti, (Usborne), and, one of my personal favorites, read many many times to my own children, "The Singing Chick", written by Victoria Stenmark and illustrated by Randy Cecil.

This week, I am hoping to distribute new Scholastic Book Order Forms, (and, work on my taxes -- aagghh!! :().

Enjoy the week-end, and, I look forward to seeing you all, beginning on Tuesday!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"GREETINGS!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog-Followers,

(Egads -- it has been quite a few days since I have written . . .)

At the outset, thank you, to those of you who attended the CDC's fundraiser @ The Chateau, last evening -- it appeared to be an enjoyable evening for all!!

Beginning on Monday, the CDC's curriculum will focus more on "body awareness" than on "dinosaurs" and "Valentine's Day", as we have spent quite a bit of time on the latter two themes, already, this month, and, wrapped-up last week with many "sweets for the sweet" -- thank you, all, for your thoughtfullness on Valentine's Day and always!!

Thursday morning, Miss Downing and Mrs. Dolham began preparing the children for the festivities with a myriad of cooking and baking projects, which included dinosaur sandwiches, a strawberry heart cake, (the batter referred to by our little sweethearts as "the love mix"), rice krispie treats and brownies -- we did, indeed, enforce portion control!!

Besides being yummalicious, such activities reinforced skills and experiences in the areas of sensory, fine motor and social/emotional development, as well as utilized basic tools associated with science, math, language and art.

Additionally, Liz has continued to do a great deal of science, math and language-based charting relative to dinosaurs, much of which is displayed in and around the classroom, and, as well, Kelly continues to integrate movement and music into the language-based component of our curriculum -- all of the teachers invite and encourage you to tour the hallway and classroom areas for a glimpse into the world we share with your little Butterflies and Puppies.

On both Thursday and Friday, our friends from Minuteman's C & T HS planned and implemented a variety of theme-related projects, including, casting fossils, (Amanda), molding fossils, (Christa), sorting dinos, (Elise), decorating hearts, (Brianna) and playing games, (Haley).

Victoria engaged the kids in a theme-based coloring activity, accompanied by messages, to be forwarded to American Soldiers, overseas -- the premise similar to the project recently completed and mailed to Tim Wood -- thank you, ladies!!

Earlier Friday morning, the high school students from LHS prepared a wonderful "I love you" project for the children, which many of you may have proudly displayed, in your homes.

The children enjoyed playing outdoors, as well, "stamped their hearts out", and, heard quite a few stories about dinosaurs and love and oh so much more!!

Please do enjoy the remainder of vacation!!!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO :)

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COOL MR. HOULE!!"

"SOMETHINGS NEW!!"

Dear All,

Hopefully, you have seen new artwork on display, such as the "bubble-wrap dino paintings", (classroom board), and the beginnings of our "Love Bug", (front hallway) . . .

Valentine canisters are almost complete and on display in the cubby room -- thank you for your anticipated participation -- the children are very excited -- we continue to work on our celebratory tree for Valentine's Day, look forward to additional love-related activities and parties and sending-off many beautiful cards to Tim Wood!!

The letters "J" and "K" are being featured, this week, and, as always, are being reinforced with stories and sing-a-longs, galore!! And, among the many books read, were, the "pop-ups" "Love Bugs", by David A. Carter and "Dinosaurs", by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart and "Frederick", by Leo Leoni.

The teachers, high-school students and little ones, alike, are thoroughly enjoying a wide variety of dinosaur, body awareness and Valentine Day themed activities, such as studying, drawing and measuring dinosaur models, digging for fossils, making paper mache dino eggs, building villages and towers, piecing together several theme-related puzzles, and much, much more!! As well, the kids have been keyboarding, utilizing the "listening center" and getting a great deal of gross motor play.

Yesterday, Miss Sashi made "Pakora", her version -- direct from India -- of tempura-style vegetables, for afternoon snack -- delicious -- and, today, Miss Downing initiated hours of balloon games and play -- thank you, Sashi and Kelly!!

As always, it has been a joy to have Katie Smith and many of our high-school friends join us this week, at the CDC.

Please be safe, all, and a "Happy Valentine's Day" to everyone!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"ME-O-SAURUSES!!!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog Followers,

Please check-out the "Me-o-sauruses" all along the hallway -- they are truly awesome -- thank you, Liz!!!!

Thank you to Nyah and Gryffin for sharing a Dora DVD on the Arctic -- we learned a great deal about Puffins and Polar Bears, and, "Happy Birthday!!" to Orion's Daddy!!

As well, we are all very happy that both Charlotte and David are spending more time with us, these days -- :).

And, please know that new Scholastic book order forms should be in your mailboxes, shortly -- a reminder -- ordering online secures extra books for the classroom -- so -- if y'all are interested in doing said, please let me know, at your earliest convenience -- thank you.

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

The Start to a VERY BUSY Month!!!!

Dear Families, Friends and Blog-Followers,

As the health of our students and staff members improves, we head, quickly, into a month filled with fun, (even though Phil, {the groundhog}, saw his shadow, which results in another six weeks of winter -- ggrrhh?!).

Liz, among a myriad of other things, has been leading walks, outdoors, and arranging for, (faux), ice-skating, indoors, teaching the Butterflies and Puppies how to cough and sneeze, properly, (into their elbows), and to music, (!!), and the "February Song"!!

Tammy and Sashi have been playing games, with the kids, such as "parades" of colors and beanbags, reading stories, such as about "Katie" the snowplow, and, as well, engaging them in song and dance at every opportunity.

Some of our wall and window space has been re-decorated with dot art on contact paper, drawings of dinos, (very scary, indeed . . . ), theme-related posters and charting projects -- just today, during Circle, under the tutelage of Mrs. Dolham, we determined that fifteen human prints can fit into one dinosaur footprint -- the resulting piece is displayed in the front hallway -- superb work!!

Our themes for February include Dinosaurs, (of course, and, always a favorite), Body Awareness, Valentine's Day, and is sprinkled with special days -- "Happy Birthday!!" to Nicky, Phil, Ellie & Miss Amy!!

Our word wall has been expanded to include not only letters of the week, and, accompanying words, but also "sight words" -- we are already working on the letter "I" via stories, music, and much, much more, with reinforcement of language-based skills at Circle and Activity Times.

Our little friends have been working, very diligently, I might add, on lifesize "Me-o-sauruses", and exploring the ages and stages of dinosaurs via both sensory and science-based curriculum --beneath the glittery, soft and white sand, lie eggs and fossils, and, playdough is transformed into mountainous terrain fit for prehistoric creatures -- as well -- the children have been using their imaginations, and a few interesting tangibles, in the block area, to create ancient villages and volcanoes. And, we continue to work on our valentine canisters, (soon to be full), cards for Tim Wood, (a graduate of Minuteman, currently stationed in Afghanistan), and a community puzzle, (many thanks to Ernie Houle).

Today, Kelly spearheaded a strawberry and banana smoothie making jamboree, and, yesterday, as many of you know, we spent a very exciting morning over at the Minuteman C&T HS, witnessing all kinds of scientific trickery -- thank you, Mr. Cetrano -- :) -- and playing in the water table -- thank you, Ms. Smith and freshmen -- :).

Please know that the Scholastic book orders have been submitted and that we are planning Valentine Day Parties on the Eleventh and Twelfth of February!!

I do hope that all of us are completely well, soon, so that we may enjoy, together, all of the uupcoming events.

Much Love . . . Miss Peacock XOXO

"THANK YOU, TAMMY & SASHI!!"

Dear All,

As you know, Mrs. Goell & Miss Sashi have held down the fort, with the assistance of Tina Johnston and Katie Smith, as well as, the added help of all of our LABB and high-school buddies -- what stellar friends and colleagues and commitment to our families -- THANK YOU!! (And, of course, much gratitude to Kelly and Ernie for managing the logistics!!)

This week, the children were truly fascinated by "the fog", outside, which presented a wonderful opportunity to explain, yet, another science concept, and to play in the melting ice and snow!!

We watched "The Snowman" DVD, (by Raymond Briggs), which is wordless, as is the original storybook -- it was interesting to learn via pictures and music, and, to shadow-dance on the wall, as well -- the kids especially enjoyed the scene where the snowman changed his look by switching around the fruits used for his nose, and, flying, with his friend and creator, James, to the Arctic!!

(If anyone is interested in borrowing the {short} movie, please let me know.)

Kelly and Liz showed the Butterflies and Puppies that when black and white paints are mixed -- ta-da -- gray, (or "light black" . . . ) -- we have been doing a great deal of work with color-mixing, during the past few weeks, and, will continue to do said.

As well, Liz has been working on such concepts as "middle" and Kelly has introduced the letters "E" and "F", utilizing our word wall, books and songs.

Our Amaryllis is in full bloom, now -- four gorgeous flowers -- with another bud growing up from the side -- the plant presents endless surprises!!

Other activities have included, but were not limited to, keyboarding seasonal words, (language-bassed), determining what was contained in the bottoms of socks, (sensory/science based), and creating a multi-media collage on, (sticky!!), contact paper, (hung on the cubby room windows).

Our dear high-school friend, Christina, has decided to pursue Culinary Arts, (boo-hoo), but, she has promised to bake and deliver goodies -- it is good to have such connections!!

Stay healthy!!!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"Our Winter Wonderland Continues!!"

Good Morning, Families and Friends!!

I do hope that you are enjoying the remainder of the week-end -- yesterday presented a breath of spring-time, indeed . . . at school, however, it is still wintertime, with the exception of our flourishing, coral-hued amaryllis blossoms and basking turtles!!

On Thursday, we re-introduced two of our high school friends, Olivia and Arianne, to Circle-Time, at which they read, to the children, beautifully, and, it was not much later, that we headed over the the Minuteman C&T HS, for new fun in our old digs.

Katie Smith, and several freshman explorers, set-up the ginormous water table with color-mixing and math-based fishing activities, the sensory table, outdoors, with birdseed and plastic water bottles, and, indoor coloring fun -- thank you, all, for a wonderfully, fun-filled morning!!

The kids have generated a colorful display of wall art, using lots of colored tape and 3-D snowball foam and paw-print stickers, as well as, chaulk, crayons and markers -- the result -- a kind of abstract, winter-themed masterpiece, showcased on the far wall of our classroom!! And, additional seasonal "circular" art will be utilized to decorate our dot-themed hallway board, as well.

On Friday, our Butterflies and Puppies, with Liz's guidance, began working on their very own version of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", by Eric Carle, and colored pre-made penguins to be adorned with photos of themselves and used for new circle spots.

Kelly conducted an experiment, to parallel our "E" song, which encouraged the kids to taste hard-boiled eggs and, (very few!!), m & ms, in order to determine whether or not eggs taste like candy -- (I think not!!)

Tammy, Sashi and I have read many books, this week, including "The Biggest Snowman Ever", written by Steven Kroll and illustrated by Jeni Bassett, "The Biggest, Best Snowman", written by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand and "Elmer in the Snow" by David McKee.

And, added to our array of learning center and theme-based activities was, yet, another experience to be had with ice -- (very cold and very wet!!) -- and speaking of cold and wet, we
have been, quite regularly, spending time outdoors!!

Please know that we are still collecting the remaining, completed "leaves" for our Family Tree, as well as recycleables for upcoming projects, and, that, Scholastic book orders will be collected through Tuesday, of this week.

If anyone is interested in receiving colorful, informative and fascinating updates by either Peter Reynolds or Eric Carle, please let me know, and, I will be happy to forward said.

Nella Mattina!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"SNOW ANGELS!!"

Dear Friends,

Having fun in the snow has been a joyous experience, this week, as well as having come back to our beautifully flowering Amaryllis and playful turtles!!

The children have enjoyed a new twist on the matching mitten game, a math-based snowball toss, a variety of winter-themed art activities, riding wheeled vehicles and climbing around and "hibernating" in their "cave" -- as well, they "choreographed" their very own "Bears on Ice" shows and, with Liz, combined celery, cream cheese and goldfish, to resemble fish swimming upstream -- yummy!!

Liz continues to chart all kinds of seasonal data, and, Kelly has introduced the letter "E", this week, by utilizing our word wall, reading to and engaging the kids, musically.

Yesterday, we welcomed a new member to our team of visitors from the LABB Program-- "Hello, Liana!!"

Today, we are off to play in the big water table, over at Minuteman's C&T HS, with Miss Downing behind the wheel of the bus!!

(We will not be travelling there, again, tomorrow, as originally planned.)

It is very frosty outdoors, today -- please enjoy and stay safe -- cheers!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"It Feels Like Saturday!!"

Dear Friends,

I do hope that you are enjoying the, (rather balmy), long week-end!!

Thursday brought a great deal of, (happy), noise, in the am, thanks to our own Liz Dolham -- as our little friends began banging pots and pans with spoons and clanging lids together like cymbals, Liz jumped into her own rendition, with them, of "a little bit softer now" and "a little bit LOUDER now", (repeatedly) -- and -- as if that was not enough, she taught them, at Circle, how to yell piano-style, (soft), and forte-style, (LOUD)!! Thank you, Liz!!!!

The remainder of the day consisted of slightly quieter, (:)), activities, such as mixing chocolate and vanilla pudding to, (deliciously), represent night and day, and a fabulous acting-out of "The Jacket I Wear In the Snow", interpreted, with great detail, by Tammy.

The Fridays of the weeks in which we have our own Minuteman C&T HS Students, all day, every day, are quite special, for the children, as the, (mostly), Sophomores plan and implement activities of their own design.

The projects planned for this past Friday were just wonderful -- Christina set-up the climbing structure, covered it with sheets and added photos of bears, inside, to create an earthy habitat, cave or den, for the purpose of hibernation, Andrea adapted "I'm a Little Teapot" to "I'm a Little Snowperson", (I dig that politically correct phrasing . . . ), Crystal helped the kids to fashion headbands bearing, (no pun intended), pictures of animals that stick around during the winter months, Amanda used a book to guide a scavenger hunt, Brianna and Elise designed matching games focused on different seasonal elements, Victoria encouraged the Butterflies and Puppies to brainstorm winter-themed words and draw said, and, Haley assisted in the creation of, yet, more, beautiful snowflakes -- thank you, ladies, as well as your new teacher, Kate Smith!!

And, guess what -- we went for a very refreshing and much-needed walk outdoors -- just at the onset of the "January thaw", explained beautifully, by Liz.

Daily reports are going home, with some consistency, now, and, we invite all of you to view our fancy schmancy toothbrushing station!!

Scholastic book orders are due on or before Monday, January 25th, and, as always, there are some sweet offerings, such as an early reader version of "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs and a trio of "Skippy Jon Jones" books, both written and illustrated by Judy Schachner.

Please know that both next Thursday and Friday, we will be travelling, over to "the big school", to engage in activities with the high school students and staff.

And, a great big "thank you" to Kelly and Ernie, for their time spent, yesterday, at the Burlington Mall, on behalf of our school!!

Cheers!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"It Sure is Frosty, Out There!!"

Good Morning!!

Brrr!!

So far, this week, our curriculum has included many activities in sync with the weather, such as checking the forecast, additional charting, singing "Frosty the Snowman", over and over again (!!), reading a myriad of books about our Arctic friends, playing Mrs. Dolham's newly-made "matching mittens" game, fashioning a snow village -- snow, people and all -- in the sensory table and enjoying "Martha Stewart's" Igloo Cake, lovingly prepared by Ellie and Nanna Daphne -- it was delicious, and, very thoughtful -- thank you -- and, "Happy Birthday to Poppy!!"

As well, Briana's birthday was on Monday, and Molly's birthday was yesterday -- the brownies topped with m & ms were decadent -- tx :)!!

We spent a great deal of time conducting cold weather experiments, generating hypotheses and observing the outcomes -- for example -- we added salt to ice and sugar to ice -- the salt melted the ice -- we mixed water and food coloring to make both primary and blended colors, and, brought the containers outdoors for an overnite frost-fest -- the children really enjoyed playing with the colored and frozen concoctions.

Butterflies and Puppies, alike, compared light to dark, by drawing on yellow and black paper, created snowmen and snowstorms out of cotton balls, giggled themselves silly during snowball fights, (with rolled-up white socks!!), and, bowling with Amy's home-made pin set, and went to town with seasonal stickers!!

Kelly and Liz have begun a "letter wall" in the classroom, Kelly has started working on individualized calendars, with the Butterflies, and, Liz and I have been busy re-decorating our bulletin boards!!

We have had a great many visitors, this week, and thank all of our older friends for their many contributions!!

Lots and lots of love -- and -- please -- be very careful out on the ice and snow . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"Chilly Days!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog-Followers,

This week, we have brought the snow indoors, and kept our young friends very busy with new and interesting activities, much to their delight -- today, (Friday), -- Kelly supplied the children with large spray bottles filled with water and food coloring, and, what fun they had, with the, once white, snow, in the sensory table!!

On Wednesday, (Little Christmas), we continued to celebrate the New Year with an additional supply of props, marched around our classroom, made-up related songs and attempted to make resolutions -- all was going well -- very loud -- but well -- then Liz said "I'm gonna jump like a bunny all year long!!" -- and all semblance of seriousness turned back into silliness, (as it, most often, should . . . ) :)

Miss Downing introduced us all to "Rose's Garden", the newest book by Peter Reynolds, (via laptop), the concept of hibernation and wintertime, (brown bears versus polar bears), music and movement, (predominantly related to the letter "c"), and, made a stellar presentation on the art of tooth-brushing, (we now have a dental office, in the classroom, complete with "state of the art" scheduling equipment -- special thanks to Alana and Kirsten for sharing their very own laptops!!)

In tandem with toothbrushing, which we began today, both the Butterflies and Puppies have had a ball donning gloves and brushing our giant set of teeth, fondly referred to as "Choppers", with an enormous toothbrush coated with shaving cream and toothpaste -- the children have created some interesting pieces of art with said materials, as well.

Mrs. Dolham, among many other things, has begun "charting", with the kids, talking about light versus dark, and, I must say, is a model dental patient, as well -- go Liz!!

This week, I focused on reading books by Jan Brett, such as "The Mitten" and "The Hat", and, today, read about "Splat the Cat", by Rob Scotton, which everyone seemed to enjoy -- next week, I plan to read stories about our animal friends in the Arctic.

Gross motor practice has been at an all time high, taking place on the "hopscotch rug" -- such as riding wheeled vehicles, balancing on the curvy and bumpy beam, and performing gymnastics stunts and climbing through the tunnel.

Our young friends continue to enjoy all of the learning centers, a great many art activities, including making embellished cards for Mary Ellen Devlin, (to congratulate her on retirement), lacing and stringing colorful beads, playing themed games, reading lots of seasonal books, and so much more.

Please enjoy the weekend, and, look for the Scholastic book order forms, as well as, "daily reports", in your mailboxes, on Monday!!

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

Dear Families, Friends and Blog-Followers,

Welcome back to school and into a new year -- 2010 -- WOW!!

We returned to view an amaryllis blossoming into three beautiful flowers, and, Sprint relaxing in his water bowl -- what a life -- AND -- very importantly, transitioning back into the day's routine was very successful -- go us!! :)

We celebrated the new year with crowns, top hats, blowers, and -- yes -- noisemakers -- I trust that the parade was great fun, this afternoon.

The children drew pictures, cut paper, counted blocks, modeled snow, examined blooms, played bingo and learned to put on snowsuits -- a clever twist on dramatic play . . . And, of course, we "sang" songs, "danced" dances and traded stories, throughout the day, as well!!

Our theme, this month, includes hibernation, wintertime and the Arctic, and the kids are thrilled with all of the new books brought into the classroom from the basement -- we read Jan Brett's adaptation of "The Mitten", as well as, about snowflake friends.

Liz led us in the "January" song, and, Kelly taught us, through music and movement, much about the letter "C".

It was wonderful to be back together, again, this morning, with our big and little friends, alike . . .

Love Miss Peacock XOXO

Happy New Year 2010! :)

Good Evening,

I am so glad to see everyone today and am anticipating seeing the rest of the children throughout the week.

I had sent an email to everyone with some pictures of our Amaryllis which bloomed as we all left for our winter break. Today we found out that our flowers needs a bigger pot, so we will be replanting our flowers into a bigger pot this week. We all observed the flowers today with magnifying glasses and will continue to describe what we see inside and label all the parts of the flowers, also. :)

I would like to remind everyone that we will be adventuring out into the snow these upcoming days and to please have your child prepared with the appropriate clothing. Please bring any extra clothes, sneakers or slippers for them to change into as they come in from the cold and wetness. Thanks for all of your cooperation. It is much appreciated by the staff and your child.

We are going to be studying about ice, how it forms and watch as it melts in front of our eyes.
Could every family have your child or children pick out a clear (see through )empty container from home and bring it in for our activities, next week. The children will fill it with water outside and leave it over night. Then they will bring it inside and empty it. This will show how ice can form into different shapes and sizes. The children will then perform some experiments and see how it melts. If we could have a container by this Friday, that would be great! :)

Another on going project we have decided to do with the children is build an igloo out of clean Milk gallon containers.

PLEASE WE NEED YOU TO DONATE AS MANY MILK GALLON CONTAINERS AS POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY.

THANK YOU! :)
XOXOXXO Ms.Downing :)