Director's Message
Hello Everyone.
At Happy Hall Santa Inez we celebrate our differences and believe this is what enhances our school. We embrace diversity and welcome it. Our classrooms are set up for your child’s success providing experiences to learn from. Experiential Learning is what our curriculum is based on. Children learn through day to day hands-on experiences that ignite their curiosity . We are so happy that your children are here with us on this journey.
Our Core Beliefs
Experiential Learning: Engage in hands-on, immersive activities that ignite curiosity.
Social-Emotional Growth: Shape emotionally aware, resilient individuals ready for meaningful connections.
Diversity and Inclusion: Embrace the rich tapestry of cultures, fostering unity and understanding.
Innovative Curriculum: Champion a blend of creativity, emergent learning, and sharpened critical thinking.
Safety and Well-being: Prioritize the emotional and physical well-being at every step of our journey.
Community Engagement: Foster a sense of unity, valuing families as key partners in our educational adventure.
Holistic Education: Integrate classroom insights with invaluable outdoor experiences.
Emphasis on Journey: Value each step, recognizing that the process is even more significant than the product.
Autumn is here!
October brings to us vibrant colors of orange , red, brown and black. As we move into the whimsical days of Halloween, we want to highlight what we are planning!
Program Highlights
Learning in Action Hour
Please click on the link that represents your child’s classroom
Happy Hall is closed for Staff Development Day, Monday, October 14th.
October Spirit Week , October 15-18 Please see your child’s lead teacher for more info.
Pumpkin Patch Wednesday, Oct 30, 2023 / Child only event 3:30pm to 4:30pm.
Happy Hall-o-Ween BLOCK Trick or Treat: Friday, October 25 / Time: 3:30-4:30 PM / Outdoor family event.
For this event we are requesting parent donations to give out to the children as they trick or treat around the block. PLEASE no candy. Small Halloween play / party type favors, stickers, etc.. Pretzels are OK in individual packs and Fruit snacks in individual packs
Halloween in Class Celebration - Thursday, October 31, 2024 Please be on the lookout for information from your child’s lead teacher.
When preschool children engage in making Halloween creations, they learn and develop a variety of important skills across multiple domains. Here’s what they gain from these fun, creations:
1. Fine Motor Skills
Cutting, Gluing, and Drawing: Activities like cutting out shapes, gluing pieces together, and drawing designs help strengthen children’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Manipulating Materials: Handling small items such as googly eyes, string, or stickers enhances dexterity and precision.
2. Creativity and Imagination
Creative Expression: Halloween creations allow children to express their imagination and creativity as they design masks, decorate pumpkins, or craft spooky creatures.
Exploring Themes: Halloween themes, such as ghosts, witches, or pumpkins, inspire children to think creatively about storytelling, symbolism, and self-expression.
3. Problem-Solving Skills
Planning and Executing Ideas: Children learn to make decisions about materials, colors, and designs, encouraging them to think ahead and solve challenges that arise during the crafting process.
Spatial Awareness: When arranging shapes and objects on their projects, children begin to understand concepts of space, size, and balance.
4. Language Development
Vocabulary Expansion: Halloween-themed activities introduce children to new words like "bat," "witch," "pumpkin," or "spooky," broadening their vocabulary.
Storytelling: As children describe their creations or imagine stories behind their Halloween characters, they practice verbal communication and storytelling.
5. Emotional Expression and Regulation
Exploring Emotions: Halloween often involves themes of fear, excitement, and humor. Creating spooky crafts provides a safe way for children to explore and express these emotions.
Building Confidence: Successfully completing a Halloween project boosts children's confidence in their abilities and fosters a sense of accomplishment.
6. Social Skills
Collaboration and Sharing: Working on Halloween crafts in a group setting encourages children to share materials, cooperate, and appreciate each other’s work.
Following Instructions: Halloween crafts often come with steps to follow, helping children learn to listen and follow directions, which is a critical skill for their development.
7. Cultural Awareness
Understanding Traditions: Through Halloween activities, children learn about cultural traditions, symbols, and customs associated with the holiday, helping them understand the world around them.
Celebrating Diversity: Halloween crafts offer an opportunity to explore how different cultures and families celebrate the holiday in unique ways.
8. Cognitive Skills
Color and Shape Recognition: Working with various shapes and colors in their projects helps children enhance their ability to recognize patterns and distinguish between different visual elements.
Counting and Sorting: Some crafts might involve counting objects like beads or sorting items by color or size, reinforcing early math skills.
9. Sensory Exploration
Tactile Experience: Handling different materials, like sticky glue, textured paper, or soft cotton, gives children sensory experiences that can help with sensory processing and exploration.
Visual and Auditory Stimulation: Bright colors, spooky music, or themed decorations create a multi-sensory experience, engaging children’s vision and hearing.
Halloween creations provide an enriching experience that not only entertains but also promotes essential developmental skills in preschool children.
Classroom Snippets
Maple:
This month in October, Maple class will be highlighting the fun activities we can do in the Fall. Our projects will start to incorporate new tools such as sponges and paintbrushes in addition to adding sticks and crunchy outside leaves to our crafts. We will continue to work on gross motor skills with activities such as stacking blocks, legos, puzzles and coloring. To bring some holiday fun into our day to day we will be reading books all about fall and halloween in addition to our crafts and circle time.
Birch:
In October, Birch Class will be focusing on the letters D, E, F, and G, as well as exploring their creativity through fall-themed art projects. Throughout the month, we will be engaging in discussions about everything related to the fall season. Additionally, we are excited to announce that our first spirit week of the year will take place from October 15-18, and we look forward to the fun and enthusiasm it will bring!
Cedar:
Cedar Class will be going over their letters during the Letter week. We will also be name tracing to work on our name recognition. We will continue to work on our days of the week and our months as well. We have been working on making our beds and we will keep working on that to be more independent.
Willow:
For the month of October students will learn about fall, the season of intense preparation for the coming winter. From deers to birds to bears, many species are triggered by the shortening days to switch into a frenetic mode of gathering food, finding mates, and hibernation.
We are also planning for our Halloween event ! So decorating with Halloween projects and having a mad scientist month with a lot of experiments will take place weekly.
Redwood:
Redwood Class will be working on the alphabet, (the focus will be the letters in their name,) writing them uppercase and lowercase. Eye Hand coordination, such as cutting with scissors, lacing beads, tracing with proper pencil grip, and focusing on coloring inside the lines. Identifying the numbers out of sequence and graphing, (how many and fill in the number).
Learning letters and numbers in preschool is crucial because it lays the foundation for literacy, numeracy, and cognitive development. Here are some key reasons why it's important:
1. Foundation for Literacy and Communication
Letter Recognition: Learning letters helps children understand the relationship between sounds and symbols, which is essential for reading and writing.
Phonemic Awareness: Recognizing letters leads to understanding the sounds they make, which is a critical step in developing phonics skills.
Vocabulary Building: Knowing letters and their sounds helps children recognize words, thus expanding their vocabulary.
2. Foundation for Numeracy and Problem Solving
Number Recognition: Learning numbers helps children identify and understand the concept of quantity, which is the basis for counting and performing mathematical operations.
Basic Math Skills: Early exposure to numbers and counting helps children grasp concepts like addition, subtraction, and sequencing.
3. Cognitive Development
Memory and Concentration: Learning letters and numbers exercises children's memory and attention spans, which helps them develop focus and cognitive skills.
Problem-Solving: Recognizing patterns in letters and numbers promotes logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
4. Preparation for Formal Schooling
Preschool learning prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by introducing them to academic concepts in a fun and engaging way.
Familiarity with letters and numbers ensures children are ready to start reading and doing basic math when they enter primary school.
5. Boosts Confidence and Independence
Mastering letters and numbers gives children a sense of achievement, boosting their self-esteem and independence in learning.
It enables them to engage more meaningfully with the world around them, from reading signs to counting objects.
6. Enhances Social Skills
Learning in a preschool setting often involves group activities centered around letters and numbers, fostering collaboration, communication, and social interaction.
7. Creative Expression
Understanding letters allows children to begin writing their names, labels, and simple words, which can foster creativity and self-expression.
By learning letters and numbers in preschool, children gain essential skills that support their overall development and readiness for school.
Reminders
Attendance/ Policy Reminders: Gentle reminder about general policies or attendance policies and encouragement for consistent participation. *Note: If including notes about UPP policies, be sure to specify!
As a reminder, please be sure to notify staff of absences prior to the end of the school day via greenhills@happyhall.com, 1Core absence, or go.happyhall.com/absence. All absences must be reported as soon as possible for record-keeping purposes.
Also, please remember that only staff and students are permitted in the classroom.
Looking Ahead
Next Month's Themes: Preview of upcoming themes or focus areas.
Special Events: Brief information about any significant events or activities planned for the next month.
Stay Connected
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Thank You!
Thank you all for your continued support and we look forward to this coming month!
Frank DiFede
Program Director
Happy Hall @ Santa Inez
