Greetings!
Happy Spring! We are very excited to see the snow go and start our spring activities. This April there are a lot of events at Stay & Play and throughout the county. A very special celebration is for NAEYC's Week of the Young Child. Week of the Young Child is held each year to honor young children and thank teachers and all those who make a difference in young children's lives, The theme for this years celebration is: Bring Communities Together for Children- Children Bring Communities Together.
This year WOYC is April 13th-19th. Stay & Play will start the week off with a kickoff breakfast. Staff will be providing a pancake breakfast and short story for families on Monday April 14th from 8-8:45 a.m. We ask that if you are going to attend with your children please sign up on the Parent Board.
Stay & Play and the HUB Family Resource Center will also be holding a Building Literacy for Families evening on Wednesday April 16th from 5:30-7 at the McConnell Center. This event will consist of a two session storytelling performance from Shawn Middleton, and workshops for parents on how children learn to read and write, supporting literacy at home, and choosing books for children. Registration is required for this event and space is limited to 75 children. Speak with Laura or Taryn to register: 749-9754, lsheehan@hubfamilies.org |
| Important Dates
Mark your Calendars
Friday April 11th- Trike-A-Thon
Monday April 14th- WOYC Pancake Breakfast 8-8:45 a.m.
Tuesday April 15th- Music For Littles Ones with Marcus Gale
Wednesday April 16th- Building Literacy for Families Event
Saturday April 26th- Strafford County Children's Festival |
| Program News
Spring is in the Air?! 
During the month of April we'll be learning about transportation. Your children will be making various vehicles during activity time including a shape truck and an egg carton school bus. We will also have an activity day devoted to Lego play. The kids will be encouraged to use their imaginations to create their own methods of transportation. Mark your calendar for April 11th for our Trike-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. All Stay & Play families are invited to join us from 10:30-11:15 a.m.
We'll also begin talking about spring this month. The kids will be making crafts such as pine cone bird feeders and wind chimes that they can use in the world outside of Stay & Play to investigate the spring environment. This will allow them to translate the things we've talked about at Stay & Play into the real world.
We have finished our letter of the week curriculum and will begin a focus on number recognition this month. During circle time and through songs and activities we will learn about the numbers one, two, and three. We will also be learning about the shape diamond.
The color of the month is pink. If your child wears pink to circle time he/she will get to show it off! |
| Trike-A-Thon
Benefiting St. Jude's Hospital
Stay & Play is sponsoring the St. Jude's Trike-A-Thon to help raise funds for the internationally recognized hospital. These funds will help St. Jude's in its ongoing fight against childhood catastrophic diseases.
The children will be participating in a week long bike safety program, exposing them to using riding toys safely through fun activities.
Our Trike-A-Thon is open to all Stay & Play children on Friday April 11th from 10:30-11:15, at our Atkinson St parking lot. Children will have time to ride their bikes and eat snack. Stay & Play will have 8 riding toys available, for children who are not able to bring their own bikes.
St Jude's is recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other diseases. St Jude's freely shares its discoveries with the scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude's is financially supported by ALSAC and fund raising events such as this Trike-A-Thon.
Sponsor sheets will be distributed Monday March 31st in your child's cubby. Rain date will be the following Friday. For more information please visit www.stjude.org/trike. |
Building Literacy for Families 
Wednesday April 16th, 5:30-7 p.m.
Join us for a fun and informational evening focusing on literacy. Shawn Middleton will do two storytelling performances. He is a professional storyteller who has performed throughout New England. Storytelling with children is a unique and positive experience where children can exercise their unlimited capacity of imagination and creativity. It is a time when children can feel safe to explore their creative abilities. It fosters a child's imagination and sense of humor while teaching morals and values. Storytelling allows children to captivate their imagination and start to develop a deep appreciation for reading and writing.
Parents will have the opportunity to attend workshops on literacy. Every child will receive a free book to take home.
Registration required. 749-9754 |
| Scholastic Books
Stay & Play is happy to announce that we are participating in the Scholastic book club! Each book you order for your child will help Stay & Play to earn more books and educational resources for our program as well as provide a fun treat for your child when the books arrive.
Order forms can be found in your child's cubby or by asking Laura. Please return your completed book order, with check for the total amount made out to Scholastic Book Clubs, by Friday April 11th. You can also place your order online. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site. Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card. Your order will come to me, and your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic's secure server. There's no need to send money to school. After I submit the entire class's order to Scholastic, your order will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home. www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: staynplay Password: Reading
Remember, placing your online credit card order is completely safe and secure. Ordering online is the most convenient way to use Scholastic Book Clubs. You can order anytime, right up until the online order due date. And this month, our class can earn additional FREE books, just for trying this online ordering service. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Books will be in at the end of April. |
 Strafford County Children's Festival
Saturday April 26th- 10a.m.-12
Strafford County Child Care programs will be holding a Children's Festival in Somersworth at the Flanaghan Center. Children will have the opprtunity to have their faces painted by Dipsey Doodle, see Magician Tricky Dick, and participate in fun activites. Door prizes to be awarded include stuffed animals and gift certficates to local family friendly businesses. More details to come soon! |
| Happy Birthday
We wish a very Happy Birthday to children celebrating their birthdays in April! 1st- Andy
12th- Isabelle
17th- Morgan |
