This page will answer questions commonly asked by students and parents.
Each year a small handful of preschoolers go through this and
it is very common. Rest assured that while your child may appear
very upset, it usually only takes a minute or two to settle into
the opening activity and begin some interaction with classmates
and they are ready for a great day. Sometimes they may require a
few hugs and some one on one time with a teacher or a parent
helper as well. We are all eager and ready to help, so no worries!
Honestly, the best advice we can give parents, is to follow the
daily routine of bringing the child to preschool in the car drop
-off line and allowing the teacher to greet your child at your
vehicle. You may see a few tears upon separation, but honestly,
most of our preschoolers who struggle, only do so for the first
few times coming to school and after that they have witnessed how
much fun school is and they look forward to seeing their friends
each day. You should see their anxiety lessen, but it will take
some time for them to adjust.
What can we do at home to support our child in the first year of preschool?
Set aside some time with your preschooler to snuggle, read stories
together about starting school and get them talking to you!
You might go through your child's backpack together after school,
read the notes and view their artwork and homework together.
Some parents like to purchase THE BEGINNER'S BIBLE and read the
weekly bible story together with their child at home. And there
are a lot of fun ways to have fun with the "Letter of the Week".
If the letter of the week is "P", serve Pizza, Pickles, Peanut
Butter, Pancakes ect. that week at home and you can even dress
your child for school in pink, purple, or polka dots!
Look for the Letter of the Week and the Weekly Bible Story on the
monthly snack calendar that will come home in your child's
communication folder each month.
Most importantly, have a wonderful year with your child. Enjoy all
of the growth and change, and write down all of the funny things they
say!
How do I place a Scholastic Book Order on-line?
Go directly to the Scholastic website: www.scholastic.com and
select the bookclub tab. Choose the parent tab and it will ask
you to enter a one time classroom code: L77H8
This code will direct your order to me and will be shipped directly
to the preschool so we can send your books home with your child. Around
the holiday time, we know some of these books make great gifts, so
we will bag your orders for you. If there are other times during the
year that you want to keep book orders a surprise from your preschooler,
I can bag them as well, just drop me a note or e-mail.
If you don't feel comfortable placing the order on-line. You may fill out the form on the back of the book order and send it in with your preschooler. Make sure you include a check.
What is Share Bag?
The snack calendar will list one child per day to bring in snack.
This child also has special jobs that day in class such as helping
at circle time with the calendar, the weather report, being our line
leader, setting the table for snack and bringing in THE SHARE BAG!
This is the highlight of the day as preschoolers get center stage to
share one favorite toy and one favorite story from home. We have also
had requests to share special items that are larger than what fits in
the share bag........family pets, big red fire trucks, parents who want
to share their jobs or a special hobby. So have fun with the share bag
this year. It will just come home in the backpack the class period before
your child's snack day. If your child has a special something to share,
please coordinate with me by e-mail or phone.What should I send in for snack or a birthday treat?
We encourage you and your child to select a healthy snack to share
for your child's snack day. The preschool provides milk/apple juice
or water to drink daily. We are a nut-free school due to the high
number of peanut allergies we see. Great healthy snack ideas are:
cheese/crackers, carrots/dip, apple slices/caramel, teddy grahams,
goldfish, yogurt tubes, grapes, or pretzels. Snacks can be homemade or
store bought.
We will also celebrate birthdays and 1/2 birthdays for summer birthdays.
On birthdays it is fun to send in a treat instead of a healthy snack.
Here are some birthday ideas: cookies, ice cream sandwiches,
jello jigglers, cookie cakes or mini cupcakes. ***We find that full size
cupcakes are not always consumed by the three year olds(some will only lick
the frosting---some will eat just a few bites of cake) so the mini cupcakes
work really well.
What if my child has a food allergy?
We are already a nut-free school due to the number of nut allergies
we see today. All allergies for your child's class will be listed
on the snack calendar. So if there is a fruit, egg or milk allergy
as well in the class, we will list it on the snack calendar so everyone
can be aware of those allergies and send in a snack that will work for
the whole class.
If your child is very sensitive to food and allergies, we will work with you.
We have an action plan in place for handling epi-pens and life threatening
situations involving food allergies. We also keep back-up snacks on hand at
the preschool for students with allergies in the event that alternate snack is
needed for a particular student.
My child still struggles with potty training at times, what should we do?
Everyone keeps a back-up set of seasonal clothing on-site at the
preschool (shirt/shorts or pants/socks and underwear). We understand
that 3's are still learning. In the 2 1/2 hours they are with us, we
take two potty breaks and we encourage them to tell us if they need to
go at any time between breaks.
You can also have your child use the bathroom at home right before they come
to school as well.
Please don't worry about the occasional accident. We have accidents and
even spills at snack time and at the art table. Dress your preschooler
in comfortable clothing and if they need to change during the day, we will
help them.
What parties and celebrations can we look forward to this year?
Halloween- parents are welcome to come at the start of the party to
help with costumes, assist with games and take pictures at the parade!
Thanksgiving Feast- the preschoolers have a short presentation to share
in the sanctuary. Each family also brings a side dish to share for our
feast in the fellowship hall.
Chistmas Party- All parents are welcome. We will sing some Christmas songs, do a craft, play a few games,and have a class gift exchange.
Annual Garage Sale-After Christmas, donations of used clothing, toys and
household goods are taken at the preschool and organized for our annual
garage sale. Parent helpers are needed to help organize, price, set-up,
run the sale and clean-up.
Valentine's Day Party- All families are invited! We have a special snack, pass out our valentines
and rotate to games and crafts.
Easter Egg Hunt- Stop in for the last half hour of class. We meet up
with parents, grandparents and siblings for an Easter Egg hunt located
in the fenced playground area north of the church.
End of the Year Celebration- We will work with the room parent to coordinate this
party. Typically, we have a picnic followed by games and activities out on the lawn.
What if my child is sick or will be absent for the day?
Feel free to leave a message on the preschool line: 586-6147 or send
me an e-mail that morning.
What if I am running late to pick up my child?
Please program the preschool line on your cell phone and
have your care provider do the same: 586-6147
If you or your care provider will be more than 10 minutes late, please
phone the preschool right away. We anticipate that families arrive for
preschoolers within about a ten minute window of school dismissal at 11:30
or 3:00. Beyond the ten minute window, we will start to call you or your
emergency contacts, so it is very helpful if you have phoned in ahead of time
to let us know you're running late for pick-up.
How do we know if the preschool is closed for weather conditions?
Mahomet schools occasionally close due to the heat at the start of
school; we are air conditioned, so there is no need to worry about
heat closures with the preschool.
During the winter months, please listen to your local news or radio
station for school closures. If Mahomet schools are closed for snow/ice/
or wind chill related concerns, then All God's Children will be closed as
well.