Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What's going on at school?

To the casual observer it may just look like play...but don't be fooled, overwhelming research in the area of early childhood shows that preschool children learn through play. Cherry lane is a buzz with learning through exploration, problem solving, small and large group activities, reading, writing, art, and much more.

Children are socializing at the snack table. They are learning manners and sharing, as well as working on eye hand coordination, and learning to be responsible for taking care of their own needs and space.

Boys and girls are working on fine motor skills, as they learn to write their own names. Each child develops at his own pace and so opportunity is provided for all different levels of development.

Our Monday~Wednesday~Friday students have learned all the letter sounds this month through the awesome Zoo Phonics Program! Above Dominic is working on his letter of the week.
Not only has he learned about letter "a" but he is working on fine motor skills as he cuts out his letter for his Letter Book.

Every day the children enjoy building with the train set. Each day is a different track! Lots of planning and negotiating takes place when a group works together to figure out which way it should go!
DISCOVERY!!!! Look a spider in the doll house! It was interesting to watch as the children found a spider had invaded their space. Our normally shy quiet Alaina stepped up and shocked us all by grabbing a tissue and getting that spider out of the house!

Boys and girls learn a lot through the use of blocks, including, eye hand coordination, size and shape differentiation, balance, and gravity. As you can see from the two pictures....it's all about the process.

So...when you ask your child "what did you do in school today?"...they may not be able to verbalize all the learning that has taken place, but you can rest assured that they are developing strategies, and skills that will take them to the next level of learning.
We at Cherry Lane are thrilled to be a part of that process in your child's life!

Flu concerns

In light of area schools closing parents have been concerned about when and how we make a determination to close our school.
I wanted to assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and have been in contact with the Ottawa County Health Department. They would determine if a closure is warranted.
At this point although we have had children out sick, there have not been any confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus.
Ottawa County has provided a helpful web page on this subject.

http://www.miottawa.org/HealthComm/Health/flu/

Please be sure to let the school know if your child is sick and what the symptoms are.

Trip to the Apple Orchard

Make a Smilebox slideshow

September included a trip to Crane's Apple Orchard for Cherry Lane's MWF students.
Check out the pictures to see the children learning all about apples! The children picked apples, took a hay ride through the orchard, learned about making cider and even sampled a taste of the cider and cider donuts.
The Apple Orchard is a favorite field trip and I think this year was no exception!

Cherry Lane Annual Potluck

Make a Smilebox slideshow

On September 25 friends enjoyed a great time of getting to know each other at our annual potluck.
Thanks to everyone who came and brought fantastic food to share. I know the children had a wonderful time playing together, and the parents enjoyed a few hours of visiting with one another as well!