Poison Prevention

STOP!

DON'T TOUCH!

TELL A GROWNUP!

We are so lucky to have parents involved in our school! Our former parents are still very supportive and frequently enrich our classrooms long after their children have graduated! This week our classrooms were lucky to have a former parent visit to teach our children about Poison prevention. She does a wonderful job and the children learn so much from her short visit! Thanks M, we appreciate your support and expertise!

The Mitten

Every year my 4's class participates in a special project. Each project is based on the children's interests. Sometimes it's an invention unit or an architecture unit or an art unit (this was a great unit which ended with a gallery showing of all the children's art) or a play. This year's class loves to perform so a play was perfect! We performed "The Mitten" by Jan Brett. The parents made the costumes with child input. We did have to create a few extra characters since we had more children than animals from the book. So we added a cat and a bear cub. Ms. Anna was "Baba" since she is old already! :-)

Open House

Visit Coop at our Open House on Friday March 11, 2011 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Meet our Teachers, observe our 3's class and parent-child playgroup in action! Coop is the preschool where children, parents, and teachers work together!

Site visits are available! Please call the school 217 384-1128 or email coopnurserycu@gmail.com to schedule yours today!

Busy 4's!

We started the week with passing out valentines to our friends! Group projects can be fun! We taped long paper to our long table used wood blocks to make sides and then we used ping pong balls to paint with. We used our hands, our mouths, and straws to move the balls around on the paper. It really was beautiful when completed!

We worked on set design for our class project/performance "The Mitten".

Since we're getting ready for "The Mitten" we're learning about plays and imagination. We started at circle time with the flannel board story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Then during work time the children took turns performing Goldilocks. They were careful to include the correct props, 3 beds (though ours had 4 beds "Just in case we need an extra bed" (always thinking of others) 3 chairs, and 3 bowls of porridge. We had an audience and plenty of actors! The stage was set and the performances drew standing ovations!

Open Enrollment

Coop has begun accepting applications for the 2011-2012 school year. We offer half-day classes for 2 year olds, 3 year olds, and 4 year olds. We also have a parent-child playgroup that meets on Friday mornings. Potty trained is not a requirement of our program. Visit our website: www.coopnursery.org or telephone the school: 217 384-1128 for more information.

We will be holding two informational open houses on Wednesday February 23 from 5-7 p.m. and Friday March 11 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Please stop in and meet our teachers!

Open House!

The Cooperative Nursery School will be holding their informational open house on Wednesday February 23 from 5-7 p.m. We will begin accepting applications for the 2011-2012 school year on Tuesday February 1, 2011. You can visit our website www.coopnursery.org to download an application. We are proud to state that we are a preschool where children, parents, and teachers work together!

Awww Play.......

Our preschool uses the Creative Curriculum. Alot of what you see going on in our classrooms looks like play and it is, but the learning is tremendous! I am proud of the fact that the children in our school make up games, create and act in their own plays, problem solve, learn to take turns, and use materials in the classroom creatively!

I hear people complain all the time about insensitivity, rudeness, anger, just bad behaviour in general in our communities. Perhaps it's because we've forgotten how to play. My best childhood memories are about play. We played from the moment we got up on a summer's morning until the fireflies went to bed. We came home when we heard our mother's call and ate our meals as a family at one table and then back outside we went! In the winter we escaped to our basements, porches, bedrooms to use our imaginations for hours. We didn't need TV's, computers, video games to entertain us and stay out of our parent's hair, we just entertained ourselves and did a great job at it. We learned to make up games, rules, and to settle arguments. Yet we knew we always had the safe haven of our parents arms to run to when the going got a little too tough for us to handle.

The New York Times recently published an article about the movement to restore children's play. Click on the link and enjoy!

The Movement to Restore Children’s Play Gains Momentum - NYTimes.com