Celebrating our 35th year of learning and fun!!

NEWS & NOTES

This September marks the start of our 35th year at Needham Children’s Center! It is so rewarding to witness how our work with children comes full circle as we continue to see many of our first students here at NCC with their own children, as well as some of our past students at NCC becoming teachers at our center. We will celebrate 35 years of quality education with many lively and engaging activities throughout the year and are so happy you will share them with us.

Carole, Carolyn, Elise, and Susanne spent Saturday morning at the Needham Harvest Fair. It was wonderful to visit with and see our students and families. Our activities were enjoyed by all! We will attend the Needham Preschool Fair as well as the Kindergarten Expedited Night in the weeks to come. We would love to show you our Kindergarten classroom and explain how Kindergarten at NCC is a wonderful extension to the Needham Public Kindergarten. Please let us know if you would like a tour. Our PreK children will explore with with our Kindergarteners throughout the year.

Thank you for joining us at our Parent Night and learning about our classrooms. The children and teachers put a lot of hard work into planning and preparing their classrooms and were excited to show them off. On November 6th, we will host a Harvest Breakfast. Please join your child for a bite to eat before heading off to work.

This fall, we welcome Daine Rothauser to our PreK team. Diane brings a wealth of experience to NCC. Please take a moment to say hello. Katherine Finegan has also joined PreK. Katherine is a student from Wheelock College and has chosen NCC for her student teaching practicum. Christine Day has joined our Preschool I team, many of the children know her from Open Window. Christine as been working at NCC for over 20 years, its exciting to have her back in the classroom. Jake, Sydney, Delany, and Ally are our new high school assistants. Ally and Delaney are both NCC graduates. It’s great fun to have them back at NCC.

Our overarching theme for September through December is “France in the Fall”. The children enjoyed visits from Beth and Pat this summer and their French curriculum will continue this fall. Visit your child’s classroom and look for the following books: French Gardens,Castles, and Flowers. We will be having cafe-themed snacks for the next couple of weeks. To finish our French theme, we will be making luminaries and have a picnic in the Jardin des Tuileries. Our curriculum for the fall will also promote friendships and getting to know the classroom. All activities will help all children successfully adapt in their new environments.

Hughes Photography will be here October 2nd for class and individual pictures. Sibling pictures can also be arranged. If you have any questions about this day, please let us know.

DATES TO REMEMBER
PICTURE DAY: OCTOBER 2nd
COLUMBUS DAY/NCC CLOSED: OCTOBER 13TH
ANNUAL HALLOWEEN STROLL: OCTOBER 31ST
HARVEST BREAKFAST: NOVEMBER 6TH

OPEN WINDOW

This month for Open Window, visits will work with our overarching theme ofFrance and we will learn about crepes.At circle, we will read a great book called Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington. It is a wonderful story about a girl with a crepe pushcart who ventures all over the city of Paris selling her yummy crepes. It features wonderful mixed media illustrations and also teaches several common French words. After the book, we mix up crepe batter together and use an electric crepe pan to create our own yummy treat. Bon Appetite!!!!

INFANTS

We have lots of exciting events for the infants this fall. We have been learning about shapes and colors. We will be discovering new textures and many hands-on activities. We will be exploring with apples and doing apple prints and making some homemade apple sauce. In October, we will be exploring fall’s natural settings…collecting leaves, pinecones, and sticks. We look forward to celebrating and participating in the annual Halloween Stroll at the end of October.Thank you to all of our parents who attended our Parent Afternoon last week! We look forward to having you back in November for breakfast.

TODDLERS

The toddlers have been having a blast getting to know their school and their friends! Toddler curriculum this month has focused on school and friendships. The toddlers have been exploring the different parts of the day, meeting their friends, and creating friendship collages. The children have enjoyed bringing in a special bag of their favorite items from home to share with their friends. Thank you for coming to to our Open House last week. The toddlers were happy to share their environment with you and their favorite classrooms activities as they gave you a glimpse of the fun circle time they have each day.

PRESCHOOL

The school year is off to a great start and we are happy to welcome our new friends and their families. This fall, our curriculum will consist of learning about Lois Elhert and the letter “A”, We will learn about our five senses by doing different taste tests and trying some new foods. We will also learn about yummy Apples and the letter B. We will spend a lot of time enjoying the fall weather and taking many walks into town.

We are very excited to have Christine Day join our staff Monday through Friday. She will be working in all of our classrooms. The children are so happy to have her with us. Christine will also continue her Open Window Project as well. Welcome Christine!!

PREKINDERGARTEN

We have had a fantastic September start in PreK to our official school year! We have all been very busy working to get to know each other, our school, and learning all about our new program as we prepare for Kindergarten. So far, we have learned about different types of families, how to work and play with friends, and have been mastering the art of working through various types of manners and feelings. We were happy to see everyone at our Parent Afternoon last Wednesday. The children prepared the all the special activities and were happy to take home their treasures. Most of all, they were excited about sharing their classrooms with you! All the children loved Bike Day, we will have another one soon! Please be sure to keep in mind our peanut and latex allergies! Items containing these products will not be allowed in the program at any time. Thank you for your understanding! We are looking forward to a fun October!

KINDERGARTEN & AFTERSCHOOL

The Kindergarteners are off to a great start at Needham Children’s Center!! Anray, Ben, Brooke, Carter, Celia, Jane, Mia, Molly, Nicole, and Seth have all joined Elise and Denise in the Rock Room. We have been getting to know our new teachers, learning our new schedule (no more nap time) upon our self-help skills, going over the rules and expectations in kindergarten, and working and working on “pre-writing” practice worksheets. We took our first trip to the Green’s Field Playground and had a blast! We look forward to many more days spent there while the weather cooperates.The first week back at school can be a bit overwhelming for everyone but we feel it has been an easy transition so far!

Afterschool has been off to a great start too! We have been doing a lot of fun back to school projects like flags and apple name tags. We also have been learning all about France! Did you know the Rooster is the official animal of France? We made berets and painted a banner that says Bonjour! We have a picture hanging up on the bulletin board of our friends in their cute hats!We are going to be starting some fun activities like Yoga, Buddy Club, and Baking! We are thrilled to have some familiar faces back in Afterschool this year; Elise, Denise, Kristen, Nick, Joli, and Jeremey. New this year is Rebecca, our Site Coordinator, and Jake, our new Needham High helper, who will be bringing in his guitar for us to sing along with soon! Can you believe it is October? As the weather gets colder, please make sure to send it appropriate outside clothes. Speaking of October, we are getting ready for our annual Halloween Party and are planning a trip to Carter to pick out some pumpkins. If you have any ideas for clubs or activities you’d like to see in Afterschool this year, please let a teacher know!