Brutus is a Special Guest at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Please join us!
Western Hills Child Daycare Home will be walking with Kramer K-9
November News
Finally, I am getting around to getting my November Newsletter out.
Most of the children have a change of clothes here, thank you for providing them. Those that haven't sent clothing, please do so.
The children have been enjoying the beautiful fall we have had with lots of outdoor play. It won't be too long and our outdoor play will decrease due to the cold and indoor learning will be more abundant. We have really had a beautiful long Fall. We will be going outdoors a minimum of 1 hour per day all winter. This is a requirement for all childcare facilities. Please send appropriate clothing.
I will be closed Thursday, November 25, and Friday, November 26 for Thanksgiving.
I have 2 vacation days left. I plan to carry one over to 2022; however, I will be closed Monday, December 13, 2021.
I have reached out to Stoneybrook Retirement Home to see if they had any idea if the visits by the children would resume and they do not foresee this in the near future. We all really miss visiting the residents.
Closures for the remainder of 2021 are as follows~ **Thursday, December 23, 2021 & Friday, December 24, 2021 **Thursday, December 30, 2021 & Friday, December 31, 2021
We will plan to do several activities to celebrate Winter/Christmas next month. Christmas Ornaments are always a favorite.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!
Today is National Home-made Cookie Day; however, we will be making cookies tomorrow. I thought I’d wait for a bit cooler temperatures.
Stoneybrook has a new Activities Director. We will be visiting weekly from 10:30-11:30 on Friday’s. It will be “Story Time” with our friends at Stoneybrook. We will first read a story and then do some planned activities which are associated with the book.
Fire Prevention week is 10/7/2019-10/11/2019. We will be learning about Fire Prevention and Safety.
Just a reminder, I am closed for my personal vacation 10/14/2019-10/18/2019. Other childcare arrangements will need to be made, payment is required. The children are continuing to learn their alphabet letters and doing very well. We are doing various activities to help with letter identification.
I am planning to buy a couple of pumpkins for us to carve with our friends at Stoneybrook. I will give you advanced notice before we visit. Also, in the past we have had a Halloween Parade to Stoneybrook. We are still working to secure a date for this. Our “Caring is Sharing” project with the blue surgical wraps is going awesome. So far we have bags, sleeping bags, and rain ponchos which we have made for the less fortunate.
With cooler temperatures, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately. When in doubt, please send a jacket. We go outdoors daily for at least an hour.
SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWS
*Just a reminder, I am closed for Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2019. Cooler morning temperatures are making it a bit chilly when we go outdoors in the morning. Please be sure your children are dressed appropriately for the weather.
*I would like families to bring updated pictures for my picture board at the bottom of the steps if they have any. The children love to look at them.
*Beginning Tuesday, September 3, I will be posting weekly menus for the week on the bulletin board at the bottom of the steps. We have been working on eating healthy!
*The first week in September is National Waffle Week, we will be making homemade waffles!
*Grandparents Day is Sunday, September 8. Please let me know how many Grandparents your child has so we can make the appropriate number of gifts per family.
*Monday, September 9 is National Teddy Bear Day. Please have your child bring a Teddy to Daycare. we will be doing various activities with our bears, including a picnic if weather permits.
*On Thursday, September 12th, we will be visiting our friends at Stoneybrook from 9:30-10:30.
*Friday, September 13th is Scooby Doo Day!!!
*National Farm week is the week of September 22. We have had kind of a “mini farm” all spring/summer with our baby ducks and chicks!
*Monday, September 23rd is the first daly of fall. We have already began our fall activities.
*Thursday, September 26th we will be visiting our friends at Stoneybrook from 9:30-10:30.
*This month is Fruit and Vegetable Month and Children’s Good Manner Month, we are always encouraging good manners and healthy eating but will really be stressing it this week. *Bill and I are continuing to make improvements in the backyard. We hope to have our Gazebo started this upcoming weekend. My goal is to have a roof on it before winter so the children and I can have bird feeders outside and watch the birds throughout the winter. We will be planting some Larkspur and various types of nectar producing plants in the backyard in hopes of attracting hummingbirds for the children to watch as well.
I don’t have too many dates on my calendar for June, I am still working on securing a few more dates. I will let you know when they are scheduled.
*June 4th, Tuesday is National Cheese Day, the kids will be tasting a variety of cheeses.
*June 6th, Thursday we will be visiting our friends at Stoneybrook.
*June 7th, Friday is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Of course, we will be eating chocolate ice cream.
*June 16th, Sunday is Father’s Day. We will be making a special gift for our fathers.
*June 20th, Thursday is National Ice Cream Soda Day. I am hoping to share Ice Cream Sodas with our friends at Stoneybrook.
June 21st, Friday is the first day of Summer. We will be having a summer celebration!
*June 27th, Thursday is National Sunglasses Day! I will be providing the kids with cool sunglasses to wear!
I am hopeful the weather will cooperate and we will be able to re-schedule our visit with the Riley County Police Department. I will provide you this date when it is confirmed.
The forecast appears to have relatively mild temperatures so we will be walking to Bergman School a couple of mornings to play at the playground and have a picnic lunch. I will let you know the day prior to this outing.
Please make sure your children have a change of clothing at daycare. We will be doing various water activities throughout the month.
As always, we love trash. Any recyclables you may have, please bring them to us for our art projects.
I am still trying to get a consistent schedule for the children to visit Homestead Retirement Home and Stoneybrook Assisted Living. Once I get this I will let you know. The interaction with children and elderly is so important to both.
*May 1st is May Day, the children will be making May Baskets and delivering flowers to their friends at Stoneybrook Retirement Home.
*May 7th the Kansas State University Football Team will be visiting Stoneybrook with their new coach, Coach Klieman. The children may get autographs. I am trying to think of a creative way for the children to collect the players autographs. This event is at 2:30pm. Wear your PURPLE!
*May 8th is Iris Day, we hope to pick some of my Iris from the yard if they are still blooming to take home.
*May 9th, we will be visiting Stoneybrook to pan for gold. The children have settlers hats and are prepared to “get RICH!” We will be visiting at 9:30am. *May 15th our baby ducks are due to hatch.
*May 16th, everyone is to wear PURPLE to daycare to celebrate PEACE. *May 23rd is Police Officer Day, I am making arrangements for a Police Officer to visit Stoneybrook and speak to the children and the elderly about safety. *May 27th is Memorial Day and I am closed.
One of our new sensory tubs I have made is one with black beans. The children use gardening tools, pots, and flowers to pretend they are planting plants. The children love sensory play.
I am always accepting the following: Dillons plastic bags, milk caps, wine corks, beer caps, lids of all types of containers, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, etc. We love trash! The widening of Kimball Ave. will begin mid May. There will be alot of congestion in front of my house till the first part of October. Please use an alternate route to pick up your children. As much as I dislike the mess, the city is trying to make Manhattan a better place!
APRIL NEWS We have several fun activities planned this month.
*April 2nd, is PBJ day so we will be having Peanut Butter and Jelly of Course.
*April 3rd, we will be creating various rainbows. It’s “find a rainbow day!”
*April 4th, we will be visiting Stoneybrook, 9:30-11:00. We will be panning for gold and have a golden snack!
***The week of April 8-12 is The Week of the Young Child. *Monday is “Music Monday,” we will be making various instruments out of recycleables. *Tuesday is “Tasty Tuesday,” we will be tasting new foods that the children may have never tried. *Wednesday is “Work Together Wednesday,” we will be going on a walk and picking up trash along Hudson trail. *Thursday is “Artsy Thursday,” we will be doing a craft of course! *Friday is “Family Friday,” depending on the weather and if Bill is in town, I hope to rent the bouncy house and have a small get together from 5:30-6:00. The kids will have access to the bounce house all afternoon.
*April 10th is national farm animals day, we will be doing activities associated with farm animals.
*April 11th, our baby chicks are due to hatch.....round #2!
*April 12th, is “grilled cheese sandwich day!”
****The week of April 15-19 is Dog bite prevention week, we will be discussing proper behavior around dogs.
*April 16th, is National Pajama Day, so everyone will be wearing their pajamas!
April 18th, we will be visiting Stoneybrook 9:30-11:00. I haven’t planned an activity yet but will let you know when I decide what we will be doing.
***April 19th, Good Friday, we will be hunting Easter Eggs at Stoneybrook at 3:00. I will be providing buckets to all of the kids to hunt with.
*April 22, is Earth Day and we will be making some cool hats from recyclables.
*April 25, is National Macaroni Day. All activities will be associated with macaroni.
*April 26, is Arbor Day and National Pretzel day. We will be making our own soft pretzels.
I have added 2 vacation (personal) days to my calendar so please mark yours! I will be closed July 8 and 9, in addition to July 4 and 5. I now have one week of my vacation scheduled. The final week I plan to take 5 consecutive days sometime in the fall, late September or early October. I will give you dates as the time gets closer. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
MARCH NEWS
One more week of cold temperatures and then hopefully it will begin to look like Spring is on it’s way! This month we will continue to learn about recycling, and composting. I have decided Dental Health will be an ongoing lesson. Proper hand washing and safety will be things the children will continue to learn about as well.
Our baby chicks are due to hatch on Monday. We have held a flashlight to them and can see chicks in 7 of the 9 eggs. I am not sure how long we will be able to keep them due to the cold temperatures but I plan to keep them as long as we can. I am not too crazy about having “house chickens!” I am hoping Mr. Wayne will have duck eggs to “refill” my incubator with soon, but if not we will incubate another 9 chicken eggs. The children loved having them in the backyard with them last year. I plan to incubate several rounds of eggs this year.
We will be visiting Stoneybrook on Thursday, March 7 @ 9:30-10:30 and March 22 @ 9:30-10:30. I need to try to set a date up with Homestead this month as well.
We will be doing lots of St. Patrick’s Day activities this month. Also, we will be celebrating SPRING!!! I am excited for this, it’s been a long cold winter!
I am always happy to take your donations of milk caps, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, wine corks, beer caps, Dillon’s (or other stores) plastic grocery bags, and any other things you think the kids might be able to create with. When in doubt....bring your “trash” anyway and I can always put it in the Recycle container if I cannot use it. We love JUNK!!
Please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for outdoor play!
February News
The month of February is National Dental Health Month. We will be learning about proper brushing and flossing. The children brush after breakfast and lunch daily.
Waste Management has generously offered a Recycle Container to my childcare free of charge. The children will be learning about recycling and the benefits to doing so. This will be an ongoing lesson for them.
We will be visiting Stoneybrook Retirement Home on 02/07/2019 @ 9:30am and 02/21/2019 @ 9:30am. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately to walk. Currently, we only have one visit to Homestead Assisted Living Facility. We will be walking there on 02/08/2019 @ 10:00am. Again, please dress your children appropriately.
The week of February 11-15 is National Kindness Week, we will be doing acts of kindness each day for various people who provide services for us in our community. The week of February 11-15 is also National Jell-O week. I have several Jell-O activities planned.
Elementary school is closed February 8, 14, 15, and 18th.
February 25th is National Cupcake Day, we will be making CUPCAKES!!!
The kids are getting excited to begin incubating eggs again this year. I have made arrangements to get 6 duck eggs mid February. The life cycle is very similar to the chicken eggs we hatched last year but duck eggs take 28 days as opposed to the chickens 21 days. I have various learning activities which will accompany this fun Science lesson. We are planning to incubate at least one incubator of chicken eggs this spring as well.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to ask!
*Tomorrow, Thursday, November 8th @ 9:15 we are planning to walk to Stoneybrook. Please make sure your child (wears/brings) boots if they have them. Also, hats, gloves and a warm coat. The weather isn’t supposed to be very nice but all kids love snow, especially the first snow! Fresh air is great for everyone! *We will be making pine cone bird feeders at Stoneybrook. The kids will spread peanut butter on the pinecones and roll them in bird seed. They will also be making molded bird feeders. Please be sure to hang these outside your home for the kids to enjoy!
*We have been learning about Veteran’s Day and how they soldiers keep us safe. The kids love making poppies. The poppies are the official flower of Veteran’s Day for they symbolize “sacrifice.”
*Monday, November 12, we will walking to Homestead and Stoneybrook and having our own Veterans Day Parade. The kids have musical instruments we have made and some will carry flags to honor our Veteran’s.
*Please make sure your children have a weather appropriate extra set of “play clothes” at my house. We do go outdoors daily and many times they will get we, snow and water is so tempting!
*I always welcome any recyclables you may donate: toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, beer caps, wind corks, juice lids, etc. We will use them for our winer crafts.
*Remember, I will be closed Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday.
*I have attached a calendar which lists some fun activities which we will be doing this month.
*pictures and posts daily on www.westernhillschilddaycare.weebly.com* please feel free to share with relatives, I’m sure grandparents would love it!
*As everyone can see, my yard is a muddy mess!!! We will continue to go outdoors but will walk around in front of my house, down the rock path and through the hot tub gate. If my sign is up that says we are in the backyard, please enter the backyard this way as well. **I drained my hot tub to prevent any danger**
*We will continue to visit Stoneybrook at least twice a month as long as weather permits. I have changed the day from Tuesday to Thursday to accommodate some of my children’s conflicts. Our next visit is Thursday, August 23.
*This month we will be working on letters and studying ants. I have ordered an ant farm but the temperatures are still too warm to ship any live ants. Hopefully after Labor Day we will receive our ants for our farm.
*Please keep in mind, changing temperatures will require jackets and weather appropriate change of clothing in their cubbies. We go outside everyday!
*Please donate your “trash” to us! Creamer bottles, beer tops, wine corks, plastic Dillon’s bags, Pringles cans, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, scrap paper, newspapers, magazines, etc. We love to create with your trash!