BOOK CLUB - The Biggest Valentine Ever

Join Desmond and Clayton as they make valentines for their teacher, Mrs. Mousely. During the story, they realize that they work better as a team as they end up creating the biggest and best valentine ever! See the Arts & Crafts section below for an activity to create your own valentine. 

LITERACY & NUMERACY - Scientific Exploration

For preschoolers, hands-on science activities and investigations help promote the development of problem-solving skills, recognition of cause and effect, and organizing and classifying. Luckily, since preschool age children are naturally full of questions, the scientific process comes easily to them, and it just needs to be nurtured. One easy way to nurture scientific thinking in your child is to ask open-ended questions that encourage children to guess and make predictions. 

Another way to nurture scientific thinking is to set up experiments that help children to observe cause and effect, predict outcomes, and test predictions. One easy experiment that you can do at home is dissolving Valentine's Conversation Hearts in different liquids (soap, vinegar, soda) or in water at different temperatures (cold, mild, hot). Which variable will make the heart dissolve fastest?

ARTS & CRAFTS - 3D Valentine Hearts

Materials Needed:

Construction Paper  • Pencil • Scissors • Glue • Cards

Directions:

Gather the materials above and trace 10 hearts on construction paper (one color or multi-colored paper) that are all the same size. After the cards are traced, cut them out. 

Fold all but one heart in half. Glue the heart that is not folded on the center of your card. These cards are great to use, but you could also just fold a piece of paper in half.

Select four folded hearts and while they are still folded in half, glue one side on half of the heart that is already glued on the card. Repeat this on the other side of the heart with four other folded hearts.

With the remaining heart, glue both sides on top of the rest of your heart stack. 

For help with this project, click here to view a video demonstrating how it is done.

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE - Friendships

Preschool friendships can be complicated! Even though they are filled with a lot of fun, these first friendships can also feature fighting, jealousy, and even exclusion. Parents can help their children navigate their friendships more successfully by helping them build a few key social skills. Click here for an article shared by Lauren Cilley, the Associate Director of the Early Learning Center at Fay, that lists five ways to build and nurture your child's social skills.  

FIELD TRIP - Valentine's Day Concert

Children’s musician and songwriter Jeannie Mack will join Fay School on Saturday, February 11 at 9:00 AM to perform a Valentine's Day-themed concert. This is a lively and fun performance for children that will have them singing, dancing, and clapping the entire time. 

PARENTING ADVICE - Five Things to Look for in a Summer Camp

You might not know it from the weather, but summer is closer than you think - especially if you want to send your kids to summer camp. Registration is already open for many summer camps, and spots can fill up fast for popular sessions. However, if you are selecting a summer camp for the first time, or are thinking about making a change, weighing the pros and cons of different programs can feel overwhelming. 

Sam Renshaw is the Camp Director at FaySummer, which has offered a summer camp program at Fay School, for over twenty years. FaySummer offers full-day and extended-day summer camps with special interest, sports, and academic immersion options. As parents start to evaluate their options for the summer, Sam shares his best advice for what to look for in a great summer program.

Kindergarten at Fay School

Kindergarten lays the foundation for a child's entire learning experience. At Fay, our small class sizes and differentiated approach help each kindergartener establish the skills they will need for a successful educational journey. Our teachers focus on each child’s literacy, numeracy, science understanding, and social-emotional development, supported by a team of expert specialists who coordinate instruction in art, music, French, and Spanish, and P.E. Our teacher also focus on fostering a love of learning, and they know that when students believe that their learning matters, they give their all.