DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN? 

On Wednesday, January 28, 2015, we had a very special visitor, Olaf came to visit! Olaf was very excited to be at Holly Tree, all of our friends LOVED that he had come!

Olaf was super excited to meet all of our friends at Holly Tree! He walked in and was given a great big Holly Tree welcome!

Olaf was very excited to find out there was a birthday girl in the house! He took time to make sure he posed with the birthday girl. This made the little girl's day! 

 Then, we had a 'Frozen Dance Party to one of our favorite 'Frozen' jams, "Do you Wanna Build a Snowman?"

Our PreK friends were thrilled to gather around Olaf and give him a big hug! They were sad to see Olaf go, but they knew he had to get back home.  

Before he let he took a group picture with Ms. Shanice's Preschool 3 classroom, along with one of the grandparents  before he left to go back to Arendale.

For more information about our program, please visit us at: http://hollytreechildcare.com

Turn Mealtime Into Learning Time!

Mealtime is a great time for you child to learn. They can learn manner's, independence, work on fine and gross motor skills, and build math skills. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, mealtimes are ideal for modeling manners and for serving up some learning. What can your child learn while preparing a meal? Below are a few examples. 


Use of Manners:
 Chew with your mouth closed
Say please, thank you, your're welcome, and excuse me.
Sit in a chair while eating at a table
Pick up food with a spoon or fork
Ask for and pass food politely

Gain Independence: 
Serve themselves and pour their drinks
Discuss feelings, experiences, and plans
Make good choices about healthy foods and drinks
Try foods they may not have tried before
Distinguish left from right
Do things for themselves with a teacher's guidance, if needed

Stay Healthy
Wipe the table with a damp paper towel before and after eating
wash hands before and after eating
cough or sneeze into an elbow
throw away food that falls on the floor
place dirty utensils, cups, and plates in the sink or dishpan
Wipe face and hands with a napkin
Take small bites and chew completely before swallowing

Take part in Conversation 
Establish eye contact 
Use indoor voices
Swallow before speaking
Engage in small talk 
Listen while other are talking
Ask for someone's attention in a polite manner
Discuss like and dislikes 
Follow directions and respond to request 

Practice Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Turn on the water faucet, pump soap,wash hands, and dry with a paper towel
Set the table with plates, silverware, and cups
Fold napkins
Pour drinks with minimal spillage
wipe up spills with a paper towel or sponge
serve themselves using a large spoon or tongs
pass a bowl or pitcher of milk from person to person

Build Math Skills 
Count how many children are in the room. How any adults? How many apple slices are left on the plate?
Apply one-to-one correspondence as they set the table with one plate, cup, and napkins for each child. 
make and name geometric figures. Fold the square napkin in half. What shape does it look like now?
Measure liquids. The pitcher has enough milk to fill six cups

For more information about this you can visit:http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/turn-mealtime-into-learning-time
For more information about our program visit us at: http://hollytreechildcare.com

Mr. Steve's Musical Winter Show

On Wednesday January 14, 20015, Mr. Steve put on a fanatic show for our friends in the back building. The kids gave him a great big Holly Tree welcome when he walked into the classroom. 

Mr. Steve started off the afternoon with singing his version of "It's raining, it's pouring", when he reached "the old man is snoring" he would pretend that he was asleep. The children would say "WAKE UP MR. STEVE!" He would jump up and start singing again! 

One of the fun songs Mr. Steve sang with our friends was about a bunny. He asked the friend's where's the bunny? Not knowing that our Pre-K class has a pet bunny, all the children pointed in the direction of Oreo the bunny! It was only when Mr. Steve left he realized that there was a real bunny in the class! 

Who doesn't love the Wheels on the Bus? Well, Mr.Steve added extra parts to the song, like the daddy on the bus says I love you, the headlights on the bus go on and off, and the money on the bus goes clink, clink, clink. 

One of the last songs the children sang was a classic Old MacDonald! All the child love this song. With all the songs Mr. Steve added extra animals sounds. One of the animals he added was a fox and alligator. 

When Mr.Steve left, he told the children to keep a song in their heart and a smile on their face! All the children told him goodbye, and that we would see him soon! 

For more information about our program, please visit us at: http://hollytreechildcare.com

FRIDAY FUN!!!

 The weather outside is frightful, but PJ's, movie day, and snowman cupcakes are delightful! Today at Holly Tree we had several events going on. In our nursery class we had several friends sporting their pj's! 

One of our friends in toddler was all smiles when having his picture made today. 

In our PS1 class we were also all smiles. While this picture was taken our friend was saying "cheese".

Another nursery friend enjoying playing with the sensory bottle. He loved sporting his dino pj's on this cold day.

Our friends in the back building very much enjoyed having their pj's on, and getting to watch the movie of the day....Frozen!! When this picture was taken they we're sing to the song "Let it Go".

The movie starting getting a little intense and all the children were patiently waiting to see what would happen then...The camera flashed and everyone turned around, looked at me and said "hey!"

The start of the snowman cupcakes. I was able to test one, and it was yummy! The parent's get to pick one up before their leave the center today! 

Aren't these the cutest little snowman cupcakes you have ever seen? Mrs. Sara was hard at work today getting these cute little cupcakes together for the parents when they arrived at pickup.

Mrs. Sara made three different designs on the cupcakes. These cuties are made with chocolate chip and butterscotch chips and coconut flakes. We have had a fanatics day here at Holly Tree today, and we can not wait for the other fun events for this month holds for us! 

For more information about our program, visit us at: hhtp://www.hollytreechildcare.com