School Announcements

By ACA

Screenings and Assessments: How you can get involved!

A Child's Academy is preparing for the fall screenings and assessments. Every child enrolled in the school is screened within their first three months of enrollment. These screenings check for any obvious developmental delays or concerns that may need to be further evaluated and also identifies exceptional or gifted intelligence. Assessement results are shared with the child's parents or guardians.

In addition to the screening, all of our children's development is assessed twice a year (three times in VPK). Observation notes, daily journal entries and samples of their "work" are used along with a checklist of developmental milestones and stages of typical development. These assessements help our teachers identify areas they can focus on within the classroom curriculum and learning environment and is one of the reasons our school tests higher than other Alachua County preschools on the Kindergarten Readiness rate! These results are shared with parents and guardians at a parent-teacher conference in January and May.

In the May conference, VPK parents are presented with a portfolio of their child's year and accomplishments.

You can help us by alerting us to any developmental concerns or difficulties that you may have observed at home. During parent-teacher conferences, please ask questions and feel free to request meetings throughout the year whenever you need to talk with your children's teacher. Building stronger partnerships with parents, helps better prepare us for caring for your child. Thank you for all of your support!

Halloween Slideshow

Our kids and teachers had so much fun dressing up on Halloween and at our Halloween Party that we thought you wouldn't want to miss any of it! View our Halloween Slideshow.

Literacy Opportunity for you and your family!!!

We would love to take this opportunity to introduce you to the wonderful benefits of Scholastic books. Scholastic offers books at a friendly below retail price. We encourage our families to take this opportunity to make reading a part of your child's life and enrich their language skills. We will be sending home Scholastic booklets each month with your child. If you are interested in ordering please make checks or money orders payable to Scholastic Books and drop them off to Jackie or Samantha. You can also order online using the code provided on the book form. Make reading a part of your family time. Reading to your children will encourage them to love books and become great readers.

Cuddle Up & Read Program

Once a month, we will host a Cuddle Up & Read night. This event will be held the first Thursday of each month from 6:00pm to 7:00pm beginning on November 3rd. We will have refreshments available for your family to enjoy while cuddling up and reading a good book. We will also have group story time. Please make sure and sign-up if your family will be attending.

The date for the December Cuddle Up & Read will be on December 1, 2011 and we will have a special guest...Santa!! There will also be a photographer here to take pictures. Please plan on attending!!!!

Thanksgiving Activity: Thankful jar

An activity that brings unity to the family and helps children realize the meaning behind the Thanksgiving holiday is a Thankful Jar. You can create this Jar using any plastic or glass container that can be decorated. Items to include in the Jar include photos of your family, short letters about things that really matter to your family such as birthday, anniversary, or other celebrations and other mementos from the year. You can add things throughout the year and then on the next Thanksgiving holiday the whole family can enjoy re-living and appreciating the items placed inside.

A Child's Academy "Giving Tree"

We will be having a Christmas Tree in the lobby with star ornaments containing the name, age and wish list for a child that is involved with the Partnership for Strong Families located here in Gainesville, Florida. This organization deals with families that have been thru an ordeal of some kind where the child was removed from the home. These children are in foster care waiting to be adopted or the Partnership is working with the family on services to help reunite the family.
The Giving Tree is a tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit, apples to eat, branches with which to build a home. As the boy grows older he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut her down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years later, the boy, now an old man, returns and the tree says, "I have nothing left to give you." The boy replies, "I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Well, an old tree stump is a good place for sitting and resting. Come boy, sit down and rest." The boy obliged and the tree was happy.
Please help by choosing a star (child), purchasing the requested items and placing them under the tree by December 9, 2011, so that the Partnership can pick up and deliver the items to the proper child.
By helping these children and families, we are like the tree....unselfish and giving, expecting nothing in return. In the end, we will obtain a sense of peace and goodwill towards men.

Websites of Interest

Is the Art of Potty Training Proving Difficult to You?

Visit www.toddler-troubleshooting-tips.com/ for Potty training tips, etc.

Roli Polies (Infants)

By Ms June & Ms Gail

We have been exploring the different changes in weather and what fall is already bestowing upon us. The children have loved the longer walks we have been able to go on. We have been squirrel and bird watching as well as people watching. The children love seeing all the unusual sights.

We also enjoyed discovering jello. The children smeared and squished strawberry jello using their hands and their mouths. Fun was had by all!! We are planning to explore vanilla pudding next!

Now with the cooler weather here, please make sure that your child has the appropriate changes of clothing (including pants, long sleeves and socks) in their cubbie. Also, please supply a jacket or warm sweater because we will continue to explore the outdoors even when the weather is nippy.

View our October Pictures!

Busy Bees (Toddlers)

By Ms Sabrina, Ms. Virginia, Ms. Kathryn & Ms. TJ

Autumn is such an exciting time, all the changes in the environment, the colors, the food... We will be discussing all this and more with the toddler group over the next month. We will include Fall Fun, Thanksgiving, Bears and more. We will explore our themes through a number of different art, fine motor and music and movement activities. Autumn is also a great time for science and sensory experiences such as making our own applesauce and using fall leaves for leaf shading experiments. Stories we will be reading include Ten Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss and Clifford's first Autumn by Norman Bridwell. The teachers all have a wide variety of felt stories and songs to choose from each day as well. Watch for our beautiful art displays throughout the room too!

With changes in weather come many changes in the room-- lots of new jackets, sweaters and shoes"? Please send extra clothing for those "just in case" moments and please label all your child's new clothing before leaving them in the mornings or ask staff to label. This will result in much less frustration when collecting your child's belongings in the evenings.

In addition, some new friends are joining our program while other friends are "graduating" to the twos' room, this means that some of your children's cubbies may have been moved, please make sure that your child's' name is on the cubby that you are leaving belongings in.

Your feedback and questions are always welcome.

View our October Pictures!

Itsy Bitsy Spiders (Twos)

By Ms Ana & Ms Amy

What a great month we had in October! As we finish up our colors and move into November, we are going to focus on all the elements of Fall. We had a great time learning about our colors through pictures, nature, paintings, and collages, but now we are going to move onto bigger and better things! We will still incorporate our colors into learning about Fall, so parents please continue the good work at home with colors.

For the month of November we will focus on the letters Ee and Ff as well as the numbers 4 and 5. Our activities will include tracing our letters with a variety of objects such as uncooked pasta, pipe cleaners, and crayons. We will also be counting such objects and doing all kinds of arts and crafts. We will be discovering new ideas as Fall brings us closer to nature with colorful leafs, pinecones, and pumpkins. Our arts and crafts this month will include many of these natural elements and much more.

Lastly, and most importantly, we will be focusing on being thankful. Parents please remind children about saying "please" and "thank you" when receiving food, toys, etc. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner we will want to keep in mind the people and things we are most thankful for.

Please feel free to come in at any time to volunteer in our classroom or to come and talk with the teachers!

View our October Pictures!

Creative Caterpillars (Threes)

By Ms Monica

We had a spooktacular October! We learned about Connie the Cow for the letter Cc, Dexter the Donkey for Dd, and Ellie the Elephant for Ee. We had so much fun at the Halloween Party. Thank you for the treats!

This month, we will be talking about what we are thankful for and making Thanksgiving crafts. We are all so excited about our Thanksgiving luncheon on Thursday, November 17th. We will be learning about "God's World", the letter Ff with Freddy the Fish, the letter Gg with Gomer the Goat, counting 1-15, and how to share with our friends (If you have pictures or stories of your children sharing, send them in! We would love to share them in our newsletter). Some of the activities will be counting green crayons while putting them in Button Bear's Pocket and writing our letters in shaving cream.

There are some great ways that you can help your child continue to learn when not in class. You can ask your child about the letter of the week and tell them words that start with that letter. You can also help them learn but telling them the day of the week everyday.

I hope to see you all at the Thanksgiving luncheon. If you have any questions, please come see me. The door is always open.

View our October Pictures!

Brilliant Butterflies (Older Threes)

By Ms. Liz

The school year is going by so fast and we're having a lot of fun learning! We had a lot of fun in September learning about our colors, shapes, numbers 1 and 2, listening to stories, poems, a lot of "cool" art, and learning about exciting things.

October is over and we've made a lot of Halloween arts and crafts, decorated letters C-F and drew pictures that started with A-D. Some of our outside activities included Red Light Green Light, races (their favorite!), Duck, Duck, Goose, hop skip and jump, I Spy, observe, and Mother May I.

This month we'll focus on letters C-F and review A-D. You can help you child at home by going over the concept and sound of letters C-F, as well as reviewing words that start with those letters.

We're focusing on numbers 2-4. We're doing a lot of counting (sometimes with our fingers) and learning the concept. You can help at home by counting anything with your child.

I'm reading poems from the poems and finger places book. They love to get involved and act out the poems. We're still getting visits from Amber Lamb and Button Bear and reading us "Amber's Seat Belt," "Amber Visits the Dentist," and "Amber Visits the Circus."

Last month, we sang lots of Halloween songs. The children really loved them! You should ask your child to sing one or two or three for you.

Science was fun in October. They really loved the leaf shadows, collecting leaves, taping them to paper, and watching how the sun changed the leaf. Also, we've talked about colors, taking care of your teeth, pyramid poster, parts of a leaf, and flowers.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me.

View our October Pictures!

Our Fantastic Fours

By Ms Vickie, Ms. Kathryn & Ms. Aimie

The crisp autumn air is a gentle forecast of the many festivities, namely, UF Homecoming and our Family Thanksgiving Luncheon. The children and the teachers (especially Ms. Aimee and Ms. Kathryn) have settled in and the excitement continues to build in anticipation of a memorable school year.

Academic News: There are several approaches and techniques for learning to read. The ABeka Curriculum (which we use here at ACA) is a strong phonetic-based program. The children begin by mastering the names/sounds of the vowels first and then the consonants, in the order of frequency, with T, L, B, N, and M being the first five. Forming blends and reading simple words comes naturally after that. The children learn to write the letters and numbers as they are introduced. We continue to work with numbers 1-10. Be sure to check with your child's teacher or the Scope and Sequence or the teacher's Lesson Plans that are posted on the classroom bulletin board, for information on the current letters/numbers being taught.

Ms. Vicki:

View our October Pictures!

Last month, we talked about our favorite things: food, clothes, pets, family activities, books, songs, toys, and many other things. Through many activities, the children had opportunities to talk about and make decisions about their favorite things. Decisions are important in life and these activities help lay a foundation for your child to understand that he/she can make decisions. Your child is beginning to understand good and bad choices are made and these choices carry consequences.

One activity you can do at home to reinforce these concepts: Invite your child to help make his/her favorite food. Read the recipe together and allow him/her to help gather the ingredients. Allow the child to do as much of the work as possible.

We also talked about families. The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" became alive as we viewed the family photos you sent in. I greatly appreciate the glimpse into your family you shared with me and the class. The Family Trees helped the children realize God planned for families and helped them grow in appreciation of their families.

The following sorting and matching game will reinforce helping at home: Provide a tableware tray with dividers and invite your child to sort the tableware. Discuss the different kinds of tableware and ask him/her to name each piece. Ask about the different kinds of food we eat with each piece.

We would love for you to send in videos of you doing these activities with your family!

Next, we will talk about Pets and Giving Thanks.

Ms. Kathryn:

View our October Pictures!

In addition to learning new numbers and letters, this month we are working on a thematic unit concentrating on Fall/Autumn. We will briefly discuss the four different seasons and then delve into Fall and its many interesting features. The thematic unit will include: math, science, nature and many creative art projects.

We are looking forward to a great month of learning and fun!

Ms. Aimee:

View our October Pictures!

It has been an exciting month celebrating Halloween and getting to know all of your children. I have a great class and am very happy to be a part of the team here at A Child's Academy.

Some of the activities we focused on last month were: we performed an experiment to see which items would sink and float, made popcorn for the five senses theme we explored, and made ladybugs with crackers and cream cheese and raisins after dyeing the cream cheese red (the kids loved eating food that was "red" in color).

In addition to the A Beka curriculum, we have many exciting activities planned for November. We will be creating a thankful board, where each child will express things they are thankful for. We will also read the story of the first Thanksgiving and play act it out. The children really enjoy using their dramatic skills. Also planned for the month are several art projects. Look for requests for throw-away items to help us in our creation process.

Please feel free to stop by and visit anytime and my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns.

December 10th - ACA Shopping Day Out - 10am - 3pm

December 16th - One for Books Deadline

Are You Documenting Your Child's Growth?

Autumn is here and that means cooler weather, football, and outdoor fun! Think of all those memories that will be captured by photography this fall.

Learn & Master Photography is the newest course in an award-winning line of Learn & Master courses produced to take those flat, dark, blurry photos and make them come alive!

Reminder #1 Parent Involvement

We always want to make sure parents know they are welcome at any time. We always need parents to read books to children, participate in our fun activities or stop by to eat lunch with us!

Reminder #2: Tuition

A friendly reminder that all tuition is due on Fridays even if your child is out. (To avoid a late fee)