* Photo from: auburn.edu

* Picture from: perpetuallypeeved.wordpress.com

We are all very excited about the upcoming Colorado Rockies season. In order to show our support please wear Rockies gear or purple on Monday, April 9th for the home opener!!!

GO ROCKIES!!!

*Photo from: rockiesreview.com

It is that time of year again to start registration for the Fall and Summer 2012! We are very excited to see all of you at Registration. We have pre-school, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and elementary summer programs available for registration come on in and check it out! Registration for our current families and their siblings will be held in the multipurpose room of your school of choice. Below are the dates and times of registration for each of our centers:

Willows/Olde-Mill- Tuesday and Wednesday February 21st & 22nd from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Willows/Arapaho-Hills- Monday and Tuesday February 27th & 28th from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Willows on Quebec- Wednesday and Thursday February 29th & March 1st from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm

*Starting March 1st we will begin calling families from our waiting lists to invite them to register for the fall and summer. We look forward to seeing all of you at registration and we look forward to another fantastic year of fun and learning!

Our unit of study was farm and ranch life. We learned most of the food that we buy is grown or raised on a farm or ranch. Farm machinery was a popular week as well as talking about cowboys and rodeos. We tried our hand a roping a steer head with a lariat and climbed on top of a real western saddle. Every busy cowpoke works up an appetite so we put on our hats and bandanas and at some western grub at lunch time. We enjoyed singing songs like, “I Know a Chicken,” “Grandpa’s Farm,” and tried a few basic square dancing steps. Our last week in January was very exciting when we discussed pets and proper care. We were very entertained by a singing Labrador, a prickly hedge-hog, friendly chickens, snuggly cats, and loving dogs when they stopped by to visit.

We hope February will be just as busy and interesting as we explore health and nutrition. Please remember to bring in a few cans of food or toiletries for our Parker Task Force Food Drive.

Happy February and remember, The Groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter so remember to bundle up your children appropriately!

Orange Room Teachers!

*Photo from: photos865.bloguez.com

We need your help! In conjunction with our health unit this month, we will be doing our annual Parker Task Force food drive for the entire month of February. The Parker Task Force serves many families in our area who are in need of food, whether it is from job loss or natural disaster. Please bring in any non-perishable food items, toiletries (shampoo, toilet paper, tooth paste, etc.), and baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.) to school and place them in the box outside of your child’s classroom. As you look for items to bring in, this is a great opportunity to talk to your child about healthy eating habits. Because hunger is an issue at all times of the year, we hope you and your child will join us in gathering a record amount of food for this years drive!

*Photo from: diabetesdiabeticdiet.com

This month our Kindergarten groups were so excited to make their way to Downtown Denver to experience the annual National Western Stock Show and Rodeo at the Denver Coliseum. It was quite a show for all of the kids as they got to visit many different stations about farm and ranch life! As the made their way through the stock show they got to see pigs, sheep, graft horses, and highland cattle up close. After visiting with the funny farm creatures the children took their seats to experience and Colorado tradition, the National Western Rodeo. Some of the events included bare back bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, and of course bull riding! After the rodeo our children made their way back to school worn out but with huge smiles on their faces after such a fun and exciting day!

*Photo from: adventuresatkadep.blogspot.com

Happy Holidays from Orange Room! Through out the month of December we learned a lot about what types of “traditions” families have for Christmas or Hanukkah. Ms. McGrew and Mrs. Kugeler shared a few traditions of Orange Room as well. We went on an elf hunt and found “Chippy”, a special Christmas helper who visits our classroom everyday and returns to the North Pole each night. We practiced singing our Holiday Carols and were amazed how many parents joined us each morning to listen to our wonderful singing.

We studied the letter D this month an were busy creating projects like delicious donuts and “Dear Santa” letters. We are also working very hard on writing our names, ask your child to show you their handi-work!

Next month we are looking forward to studying farm and ranch life. Be on the look out for a pet visitation sign-up sheet. We are going to display photos of our pets so you are welcome to send along a picture with your child. Pictures will be returned at the end of the month.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Mrs. Kugeler and Ms. McGrew

Pre-school and Pre-kindergarten classes have been working hard on their singing skills as well.  Please join us for caroling, at each location, during the week of December 12 at 8:30 am each morning.  We will share our holiday songs with you and help you get your day started off great!  Holiday parties will be December 15 and 16 at all centers.

Just a reminder, Willows Child Learning Centers will be open for daycare only on December 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 29.  We will closed on December 22, 23, 26, 29 and January 2.  We wish you a very happy holiday season with your family!  See you at caroling!

October was an exciting month for Orange Room. We enjoyed two days of nature walks in the open space behind our schools. We looked for seeds, animals, and signs of fall. We all took the challenge of climbing a big “mountain” and succeeded! It was a lot of fun!

We continued our study of fall and the seasons in the classroom by growing seeds, having fun with leaf rubbings, and learning how animals prepare for winter. A week was spent reviewing the letters N,W,A,&P. Letter “H” was introduced just in time for Halloween themed projects, and Mr. Happy Hair graced us with his presence.

A special “Thanks” goes out to the families that provided us with treats for our Halloween parties. We had a “spooktacular” time! All the children were excited to “show off” their Halloween costumes to their friends and everyone had a blast participating in our Halloween parade!

*Photo from: kimbleforcongress.blogspot.com