Our December theme is Nursery Rhymes and Mother Goose. This is an appealing and instructive theme that prepares children for kindergarten. Participating and playing with sounds of language (rhymes/syllables) is an important pre-reading skill. Watch for “Hey Diddle, Diddle” and “Jack Be Nimble” projects. The children will also learn about winter holidays and cultural traditions.

Scholastic book orders are due on Friday morning, December 9. Please make your check payable to Patti’s Preschool or you can easily order online. We also accept credit cards and cash for book orders.

Celebrating birthdays this month are Loretta, Carlo, Xander, Gavin C., Leanna, Oliver, Robert, and Jackson. Four of our staff members – Patti, Annie, Faith and Susan are also celebrating. It will be a fun birthday month!

Mrs. Allison is celebrating her 1 year anniversary of teaching at Patti’s Preschool! We are grateful for her hard work and dedication!

We are grateful for all the thoughtful, generous parents who brought desserts and paper products for our Thanksgiving feast. Several parents also volunteered their time and helped the teachers with preparation and clean-up. The children enjoyed their special lunch!

The Elks Preschool Vision Screening Program will be here at school on December 8 and 9 to perform free vision screenings. If you’d like your child to participate, please fill out the release form that was sent home with your child and return to Caroline or Amy.

Please remember to tell Amy, Caroline, or your child’s teacher if your child will be absent for an extended period of time during the month of December. Thank you!

Ms. Faith is organizing a toy drive for CHOC Hospital. If you would like to contribute, please bring a new, packaged, unwrapped toy to school by December 16th. We have a collection box in the front office. (The hospital cannot accept stuffed animals, clothes, or books.)

Read for the Record was a huge success this year! We helped break last year’s record with a total of 2.35 million participants throughout the nation. Thank you to all the parents who came in to read.

We would like to thank the Junker family for their donation of letter matching boards and a new parachute for the classroom. Jenny Sullivan donated a puzzle for room 1 that the students are enjoying. The Zuniga family brought in toys, puzzles, and books for multiple classrooms to use. The Amirpour family brought in toys for room 5 to play with. Thank you, parents!

We are pleased to announce we have a new teacher on our staff. Brittney Jaime is replacing Ms. Nicole and will work in Room 4 along with Ms. Rowana. Brittney has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development from Cal State University, Los Angeles, She has experience working with children for many years and is eager to join our team of teachers. Welcome, Brittney!

We will have pajama days on December 22 and 23. Children may wear their pajamas to school on those days.

School will be closed from December 26 through January 2. (Tuition is not charged for the week of December 26.) Our winter session will start on Tuesday, January 3, 2016.

Happy holidays from all of us at Patti’s Preschool!