This week we will focus on Birds and Flower’s. We plan to take a walk to the bird trail in Tower Grove Park. Eagles seem to be of interest as well so we will study them along with other birds we may find in our backyard. We will also go on a walk to see what types of flowers we can find in our neighborhood. Our skill this week is practicing tying shoes for our 4-5 year olds. If your child has tie shoes this week would be a good week to wear them. For our three year olds we are going to practice loosening our laces so that we can put our shoes on. These would be great things to practice at home as well.

Our letter of the week is Z.

Have a great week!

Last call for t-shirts. I will order Busy B’s t-shirts for parents and children that are interested this week. If you would like one please let me know ASAP. The cost will be under $10. It will be a great shirt to wear on field-trip outings.

Once again, I have sent everyone an email several weeks ago regarding paying your childcare bill on-line. If you are interested in paying this way, you can log on and enter your account info. This is a great way to help cut down on the paperwork on our end. So if you’re thinking about it, I encourage you to give it a try. If you need help getting started please don’t hesitate to ask.

This week on Friday is our Field trip to the World Bird Sanctuary. We currently do not have any parents joining us. If you have not been able to join us yet this may be a good one to come to. We will explore the birds and have a picnic lunch. If you can go please let me know. Thanks! Please pack a sack lunch for your child. There is no cost.

Also, Friday is babysitting night. Please sign up if interested.

Our summer program starts on Monday May 28. We are closed on that day due to Memorial Day but are summer schedule will start at that time. If your child will attend different days for the summer this is the week that it will start. We ask that your child has the following items at school by that time: swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, water bottle, water shoes and sunglasses. Thanks!

On the hiring front, I have accepted many resumes and have narrowed down the search. On Monday, we will have several teacher assistant candidates in the classroom to observe their skills in hopes to reach a decision by the end of the week. We will keep you posted!

Have a great week!

Upcoming May events:

Moms and Grandmas please join us this Friday, May 11 for Muffins with Mom.  We invite you to come to school so we can say “thanks for all you do”! Please come anytime between 7:30-9:30AM. Join us the whole time or just for a bit, depending o what your schedule allows. We’d love to have you. Please RSVP by Wednesday. Thanks!

Due to Muffins with Mom we will not have parent’s breakfast this week. Sorry Dad’s L

Please join us for a field trip on Friday, May 18^th to the World Bird Sanctuary. Admission is free but we do ask for your child to have a sack lunch. Field trips are always a great way to get to know your child’s friends and enjoy our fun outings. Hope you can make it!

Babysitting Night is scheduled for Friday May 18^th as well. It will start at 4:30PM and last until 9:00PM. Look for the sign-up sheet next week.

We did say goodbye to Ms. Danielle and Ms. Nicole last week as they both have taken full-time positions elsewhere. We will miss them.  For the next few weeks Ms. Anne and Ms. Michele will be filling in where needed. We are also hoping to hire a part-time person starting this summer.

Speaking of summer, it is fast approaching. We will send out the “summer letter” this week so please look for it. It will remind everyone of schedule changes and what your child will need at school for the summer. I feel like it’s no longer spring with this weather but here’s hoping for a spring like week!

Lastly, I am taking orders for T-shirts with the Busy B’s logo on it. I would imagine the price range would be between $8-$10. They would be terrific for field trips. If you are interested in purchasing one please let me know the size you will need by this Friday. Thanks.

Have a good week!

This week we will be learning about Mexico, so you should see the children playing with maracas and learning about some Hispanic food and the country.

On a sad note, my last day at Busy Bs will be on Thursday I received a promotion at my other job at PW Pizza and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I want to thank you parents for the opportunity to teach your wonderful children. The things I will miss the most Scout and his love for fixing things in the classroom and him bringing Boris to school, Sam’s love for nature especially Christmas trees, Trinity’s imagination and kindness, Paul’s way of making everyone laugh and his cute smile, Emmet’s hugs and laughter, and Charlie’s fun personality and he way he says “okay” is so cute. Busy Bs will always be in my heart!

On a happier note, the St. Louis Blues are in the 2^nd round of playoffs ! Let’s show our support this week by wearing blue or yellow or even better our St. Louis Blues gear!

Thank you parents for making my time here awesome! Please come an visit me at 1111 Mississippi for lunch Monday through Friday!

Mr. Russ also came last week. We sang, dance and played our musical instruments. The children always request him to play Rock-n-Roll!!!!

This week we are going to study Mexico. If you have any information or items from Mexico please feel free to share with the class.

Ms. Nicole will fill in for me on Tuesday and Friday as I am taking a few personal days.

Hope you have a great week!

I have some important news to share with you. I found out last week that Ms. Danielle has taken a full-time managerial position at PW pizza and thus we will say goodbye to her this week. Thursday is her last day. We sure have enjoyed her enthusiasm and love for her classroom. We will miss you and wish you well!!! Ms. Michele has agreed to temporarily take on the full-time duties again as classroom teacher.

If that wasn’t enough, we are also saying goodbye to Ms. Nicole this Friday. She has accepted a fulltime nanny position. She has the experience and am confident that this will be a good fit for her. Good Luck and we will all miss you!  Ms. Anne has graciously accepted to step in to cover lunch and help in the baby room on a daily basis.

I will also be looking for another part-time person to help out this summer. I will keep you posted on this front.

Just in case you hadn’t heard, our chicks did hatch in our classroom this week. Of the dozen eggs 6 of them hatched. They are named Mickey Mouse, Blue, Princess, Basketball, Tony and Quail. They are getting big and headed to the farm early this week.

Please keep Barry in your thoughts this week as he is having surgery on Tuesday. He will be out of work for a couple days. I will be absent on Tuesday and Friday as well. Please email me with any questions you may have on these days and I will get back with you. Thanks!

Monday is Ms. Nicole’s birthday. Please take some time to wish her a happy birthday. Thanks!

Have a good week. Let’s Go Blues!

We also had a chance to do some planting in our class last week. We planted grass, corn, cantaloupe, watermelon and cucumber. We hope to plant them outside in a few weeks as they start to grow.

This week in our class we will talk about weather. On Monday I am going to ask the children what they want to know about the weather and we will explore from there. We will also discuss in more detail about the eggs and where they came from.

Mr. Russ is scheduled to come on Wednesday this week. He typically arrives at 9:30 and stays for a half hour. Anyone is welcome to join us if interested.

We have finally posted the RSVP for family night in our class. If you can join please indicate what you will be able to bring. Don’t forget to bring your blankets! It starts at 5:30 on Wednesday.

Have a great week!

I wanted to let you know over the weekend our staff attended a six hour workshop sponsered by ARCH’S entitled Science and outdoor Learning. We all gained some new ideas and are anxious to try them out in the classroom!

In other exciting news, the chicks are scheduled to hatch on Tuesday. While this is an amesome experience we do need to be mindful that chicks have the potential to carry salmonella. We will ask the children not to handle them without an adult present to ensure they wash their hands and handle them properly. We do not object for you and your child to experience them together while you are at school but just ask that you make a conscious effort to wash hands. Thank you!

Lastly, I am working on a program that will allow childcare payments to be received electronically for a minimal fee. I should be sending an email to each family this week that will provide more information. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Don’t forget to RSVP for Wednesday’s family night. Hope to see you there!

This week we will be learning about Plants and the Earth. Our skill of the week is to name plant parts. We will read about plants and the Earth as much as we can so we can help our environment.

If you would like to bring in any Earth books or recycling information please feel free so your child can show the class.

Reminders…

 Show-n-Share on Wednesday

  Library time on Thursday at 10am

  Babysitting night on Friday from 4:30-9:00

I just wanted to say thanks for helping to sign the photo releases this week. Thanks for helping with that process.

Reminder that Friday Night is Babysitting Night so please take advantage of the opportunity and have an adult night out. It starts at 4:30 pm and kids need to be picked up by 9pm. The sign-up sheet is by the check box.

Wednesday, April 25^th is our next Family Night. We are having a pot luck picnic. Sign-up sheets for this event will go up sometime this week. It is from 5:30-7:30pm. Hope you and your family can join us!

We have installed a new bulletin board this week. The purpose of this board is to display upcoming events in our neighborhood and outlying communities. It will be a good place to look if you are trying to find a family fun event. Please feel free to add any events that you know about. It is located in the Butterfly Room as you pass the table.

This Sunday Forest Park is celebrating Earth Day with music, food, and activities. In fact, I was interviewed by channel 11 on recycling and it should air on a continuous loop here. So if you go, look for meJ

As many of you have already seen, we have an incubator in the Butterfly room. The kids are very excited because on Tuesday the chick eggs will arrive. We have been educating the children on the importance of keeping the eggs safe so they will hatch. We ask them not to bang on the incubator or open and close it. If all goes well the eggs are set to hatch the following Tuesday. We will keep them for a week in our classroom before they go to live on a farm. We will discuss with your child the importance of washing hands when handling the chicks and all animals. This is a neat opportunity for the children to experience how eggs are hatched and we really enjoy doing this.

Have a great week!