Welcome to the November edition of the Downey upBeat!  Enjoy!

Dear Downey Families,

Along with the gorgeous colors of Autumn and All-Things-Pumpkin which grace the grocery store shelves, one of my favorite hallmarks of the season is the chance to slow down and reflect on the things for which I’m most thankful.

When we first moved to Indy, we had a three year old who joined Downey as a Polliwog, a one year old who found trouble like it was her job, a serious fixer-upper, and zero friends.  We found a community among our eldest’s classmates that has sustained and grown over the past four years.  Now we have the pleasure of running into Downey friends wherever we go!

So here I find myself in the second and final year of my tenure as Downey President.  I’m so thankful for those who have passed the torch for the last 50 years and for those who will carry it forward for the next 50.  We are an incredible group of creative, energetic, and conscientious families who do our best everyday to teach our young ones the value of sharing our gifts (and toys) with those around us.  Thank you for all that you are and all that you bring to this special community.  Happy November!

Cheers,

Erin

The Frogs went on a field trip to Tuttle Orchard on our first day returning from break.  The children learned about the life cycle of the apples and got to pick from the Red and Golden Delicious trees.  We also took a hayride out to their pumpkin patch and chose our own pumpkins.  In the classroom, we have spent some time exploring gourds, improving our fine motor control by tracing various objects, thinking about the order of events while sequencing picture cards, and comparing the colors/textures/flavors of various apples.  

During our Leapfrog time we have focused on the letter P, practicing our counting by using one-to-one correspondence and taking turns while playing games in groups.

Mrs. Lovold

The Polliwogs have done a nice job transitioning back to school after our Fall Break.  We spent the month of October sorting shapes, creating our own jack-o-lanterns and enjoying the pumpkin pie scented moon sand in the sensory tables.  The children also helped with our first cooking experience by chopping apples and pressing the cooked apples through a food mill to make applesauce.  

Our first field trip was a great success!  I think that all of the children enjoyed our time at Waterman’s and finding their own pumpkins.  Being out on that chilly day did serve as a nice reminder that we are definitely moving into Fall.  Please make sure that your child has a set of “weather appropriate” clothing in our extra clothes bin.  We will continue to head outside on these cool days so sending your child in layers may be a good idea.  There is a bag of mittens/gloves available in the classroom for the children to borrow; if you happen to have any unused mittens/gloves that you’d be willing to donate to our class we can always use replacements. 🙂

Mrs. Lovold

Tadpoles are swimming right along. They came back from fall break ready and raring to go!  Like real tadpoles, the Downey tads like to keep moving so that’s what we do.  We’ll do a little “Animal Action” and “Listen and Move”, and “Silly Dance Contest” is always fun.  One rainy day, we played with the parachute which was a good time.

In November we will continue to explore fall.   You may have noticed some of our colorful leaves in the window.  (So if you think of it, please bring in some fall items like seed pods, twigs, dried flowers, etc., and we will make fall sculptures and collages.)  I want to try some new books this month.  The tadpoles’ favorite is ” Go Away, BIg Green Monster!”  It is a good book for colors and parts of the face.  We will also try our hand at cooking this month.  I like to have the children make bag bread. We will need an extra parent on those days. (The extra parent is needed for clean up toward the end of class.)  We will bake on Wednesday, November 16 and Tuesday, November 22.  We will talk about Thanksgiving (my favorite) and continue to work on sharing.

Enjoy this crazy fall weather.  We won’t have these warm days much longer so please bring in a warm change of clothes and rain boots.  Tadpole families are great!  I appreciate how hard they work in the classroom and help each other in class.  They dive right in and are so personable that I forget that they are new families.  Thank you for your patience.  Please never hesitate to ask me questions.  I want your co-op experience to be as much for the grown ups as it is for the children.

Thank you for choosing Downey.

Mrs. Egan

SPECIAL THANKS!

The Downey Co-op booth at the Irvington Halloween Festival was hopping!  There were many different fun and colorful ways for children to “learn through play”.  A very special thanks goes to Cary Patterson & family for leading the effort.  Thank you also to all those who contributed or volunteered in some way.  The booth was a terrific representation of our school.

COMING EVENTS

NOV 7 – BOARD MEETING (6:30-8:30 PM)

NOV 11 & 18 – CPT (9AM-NOON)  Please see the sign up just to the left of the bulletin board.

NOV 23-25th – THANKSGIVING BREAK (NO SCHOOL)

NOV 28 – POINSETTIA DELIVERY DAY!  This is a fun and all-hands-on-deck event for our school.  Mark your calendar, and stay tuned for details.

A FEW HEALTHY TIPS

All adults and children should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  If you want to increase your family’s fruit and veggie intake, try smoothies.  Here is a recipe and some tips: http://blog.jumpinforhealthykids.org/vegetable-and-fruit-smoothies. 

And did you know that your children’s diet profoundly impacts their performance in school?  Learn more: http://blog.jumpinforhealthykids.org/how-does-nutrition-affect-student-performance.

‘TIS THE SEASON

It’s that time of year…cold and flu season!  In order to keep our kiddos healthy, we need to be extra vigilant in our efforts to keep classrooms clean.  Also, be sure to err on the side of caution in keeping your child home from school when symptoms present themselves.

We also must be informed of the details of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), a common viral infection in children under 10.  lt can cause mouth sores and a painless rash on the hands, feet, or buttocks.  HFMD can be easily spread from one person to another.

HFMD has been presenting a real challenge to schools in recent years, as a child is very contagious during the first week of the illness, and he or she can still be contagious for days to weeks after the illness resolves.  Symptoms usually appear 24 lo 72 hours after exposure, so if you are aware that your child has been exposed, it is critical that you keep him/her at home to watch for any symptoms to appear.  Symptoms include:

• Rash (small, red bumps or blisters on the hands, feet, or buttocks)
• Mouth sores that often occur on the gums, tongue, inside the cheeks, and in the back of the throat (mouth sores may not occur in some children)
• Sore throat
• A nonspecific rash over the rest of the body .
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Pain when swallowing; drooling

Of course, we all know that having children means contending with germs.  That’s just a fact of life.  However, the best way to prevent HFMD or illness of any kind is to teach and encourage our kids to wash their hands often with soap and warm water.  Hand washing is especially important before eating or handling food and after using the bathroom.

BENEFIT DOWNEY WHILE YOU SHOP!

“AmazonSmile” is a simple and automatic way for you to support Downey Co-op every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to our school! It’s fast and super easy to sign up.

To shop at AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.

If you already have an Amazon or Amazon Prime account, you use that same account on AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.

On your first visit to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), you need to select “Downey Parent Cooperative Preschool” as your choice of a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.

If you’re an Amazon user, sign up today! We are looking into other similar programs to benefit our school so stay tuned.