A Note from The Director November 2015
Dear ICDC Families, Now that the cooler weather is here, our classes are enjoying spending more time outdoors. This playtime is an important part of our daily schedule. Children have the opportunity to develop gross motor skills used for activities such as pedaling the tricycles, climbing the stairs of the play structures, and kicking the balls. In addition, they get to run and play and just enjoy being a kid! Our classes have also spent some time in our Outdoor Nature Classroom recently visiting the pumpkin patch and enjoying a story or two. Many thanks go to Tina Tyler and Lauri Cleek for setting up this area to enhance our fall curriculum. I want to express my thanks to all of you who have donated items for the class baskets for the silent auction this coming spring. As I walk down the halls, I am amazed to see the baskets overflowing with books, toys, Barbies, Legos, puzzles, games, arts and craft activities, and many other items that children enjoy. I also want to thank you for supporting our school through the Innisbrook Fundraiser. All of the money raised through these activities will go directly back to ICDC in order to improve and enhance our curriculum and our facilities. I am truly appreciative of your generosity and your support of our school and our Parent’s Club. Kindest regards, Lisa Whittle, Director
ICDC Newsletter
November 2015
Important Dates
Thurs. & Fri.
Spirit Days – wear your ICDC T-shirt
November 23rd – 27th
Thanksgiving Holidays for MDO, Partial Day, and School Day Programs
November 25
Thanksgiving Day Eve Open at 6:30 am Close at 4:00 pm
November 26-27
Thanksgiving Holiday Break – Center Closed
Curriculum Corner November 2015
Science Lab Fall is in the air! This month our little scientists will be learning about the changes that happen to nature in the Fall. They will have fun with changing colors. One activity they will do is the Walking Water Experiment. It’s all about color mixing. There will also be a STEM Challenge activity. STEM is: ScienceTechnology-Engineering-Mathematics. The children will get creative with toothpicks and small candy pumpkins! The books available in the Science Lab for reading are: Fall by Tanya Thayer Little Blue, Little Yellow by Leo Leoni Fall, The Seasons Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin Colorful Leaves by Maria Fleming Color Dance by Ann Jones
Literacy News: Some of the themes our classrooms will be exploring this month include friends, families and thankfulness. Some books that will be shared include: The Best Thanksgiving Ever by Teddy Slater I know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Allison Jackson Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by James Dean During the month of October, our classes read many books and talked about ways in which to stay safe. Later this month, The Assistance League of Montgomery County will be visiting ICDC to present “Poison Information – Always Ask” to our four year olds. They will talk with the children about the importance of always asking whether an item is safe or unsafe. They will use puppets to convey this important message.
ICDC Newsletter
Health & Safety Autumn is a beautiful season with the leaves dropping and the cooler weather. Along with the season comes more time spent indoors which leads to the spread of colds and the flu.
Most are aware of the signs of the common cold such as sneezing, stuffy nose, coughing, and sore throat. There are 100s of different virus strains and there is no vaccination available for the common cold. Most of the time, colds should not be treated by antibiotics. Antibiotics only fight bacteria not viruses, and overusing antibiotics can cause resistance. Be careful when offering your children over-thecounter (OTC) medications. Many are not appropriate for young children. The best way to treat a cold is getting plenty of rest, fluids, good nutrition, and treating symptoms as necessary. Influenza, commonly called the flu, is not the same as the stomach "flu" viruses that cause diarrhea and vomiting. The flu might start out with symptoms similar to a cold, but the flu comes on more suddenly and severely. Symptoms of the flu include fever, aching muscles, chills/sweats, headache, and weakness. It is important to see a doctor if you or your child have signs of pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infection, or ear infection. The annual flu vaccine is one of the most effective ways to prevent getting the flu. Now is a good time to consider getting flu vaccinations for you and your family to allow for your body to build some immunity before the flu season reaches its peak (typically in JanMar).
The best way to help prevent spreading infection is through hand-washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub. Try to teach your children to sneeze into a tissue or their elbow instead of on their hands. Avoid touching hands to your mouth, eyes, or nose. If your children have a fever over 100.4 degrees, diarrhea, vomiting, unusual discharge from ears or eyes, mouth sores, suspicious rashes, or lethargy please keep them at home. Have a happy and healthy fall season!
ICDC Newsletter
ICDC Parent’s Club From The President
On behalf of the entire Parent’s Club, we would like to say thank you for supporting our school with your t-shirt orders! We sold 263 shirts!! That is awesome! A big hooray to Lindsey Perkins for chairing this event and for doing such an outstanding job! ICDC Spirit Days are every Thursday and Friday so have your child wear their new t-shirt to show school spirit! Thank you also to all of our MINIONS who participated in our Innisbrook fundraiser! Amounts earned and other details to come soon… Thank you to our Innisbrook Chair, Elizabeth Reno, for all of her hard work!
A final thank you also to our room parents for organizing our classroom basket donations for the silent auction! The baskets look amazing and we couldn't do it without our parents! Thank you for your generous donations! Our Silent Auction and Family Night will be held on Friday, March 4, 2016. Our theme will be “Deep In the Jungle”…..so mark your calendars now to attend this fun, family event! If you or someone you know would like to make a DONATION to the auction please contact me directly. We need your support to make the event successful! The holidays are quickly approaching and so is the Holiday Teacher/ Staff Appreciation Brunch! This is our chance to show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate them and everything they do for our children. The brunch will be held on Thursday, December 10th. There are many ways you can participate --- you may sign up to bring food, volunteer to take food from cars during carline, or help at the brunch. Sign-up information will be coming soon! Please join us in celebrating our ICDC staff!! And last, but not least….join us for SPIRIT DAY--TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd at any CRUST PIZZA location from 4:30 pm until close for dinner and 15% of your purchase will come directly back to ICDC. Dine in or take out. Please mention ICDC or present your flyer. Help support our school! Our next Parent’s Club meeting will take place on November 4th at 1:30 pm in Room P-18, with a silent auction meeting to follow. All are welcome! I hope you and your families have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! Mary-Kathryn D’Agostino ICDC Parent's Club - President mkdagostino@sbcglobal.net 832-236-2400
‘Like us’ on Facebook, our page is listed as Interfaith Child Development Center. Please encourage your friends to ‘like us’ too.
ICDC Newsletter
People of ICDC Each month our Parent’s Club will be highlighting some of our teachers in the newsletter. This will give you a chance to get to know the ICDC staff a little better. Ellen Kallaher is the new P-20 lead teacher. She joined the ICDC family in 2011. She has been working with young children since 1989. Experiencing their honesty and unconditional love is a true blessing for Ellen and makes working with children rewarding. Ellen was born and raised in Kentucky. She moved to The Woodlands in 1999. She is married with two children, Chip and Haley. She is looking forward to another great year working with Ms. Anita and the three year olds.
My name is Anita Pellerin and I am very excited to have teamed up with Ellen to teach the P20 3 year old class! I am 54 years old and a native Texan. My husband Keith and I have been married for 26 years and have 4 beautiful children - 2 boys and 2 girls. We also have 4 awesome grandchildren and one more on the way! Prior to coming to Interfaith Child Development Center I was working with my husband in our computer business for many years doing various things from sales to administrative duties. Before that, I was a stay at home mom and home schooled my own children. Before my children were of school age, I had my own registered home day care in Cypress, Texas. Working with children is one of my greatest joys! I also enjoy cooking, camping, music, spin classes, photography and spending time with my family. I'm looking forward to a great year at Interfaith getting to know my little students!
A special thank you goes out to our Parent’s Club for purchasing some new couches for our classrooms! The children are enjoying their time in the classroom libraries on their new comfy couches! Thank you so much!!
We are so grateful to the Montgomery County Firefighters for visiting ICDC in October! The children had fun seeing the truck and learning about the important role they play in our community. They also loved the hats the firefighters brought them!
ICDC Newsletter