Luckily the warmer temperatures have allowed us to get outside and get some, much needed, fresh air and sunshine. Hopefully this will help to ward off the runny noses and upper respiratory germs which seem to have affected a lot of people this past winter. As frustrating as it can be, please understand that we do not take the decision of sending children home lightly. We understand this can be a burden on families but we must consider the health and safety of the whole group as well as we must follow Missouri child care licensing regulations. If in doubt about if your child is well enough to attend please reference the HAFH Parent handbook where licensing regulation are outlined regarding when a child is too ill to participate in care.

Licensing regulations also require that children have a blanket for nap and that it be laundered weekly. Please be sure that your child has a blanket and that it is taken home and washed every week. With the changes in weather please be sure your child also has an ample supply of extra clothes that are the right size and style for the current weather.

The children as always enjoyed the time we spent focused on dinosaurs. They have an uncanny ability to remember dinosaur names and love comparing their different characteristics. We also had a lot of fun creating some dinosaur art work and reading some great dinosaur stories. Thanks to all our families who brought in books to share.

St. Patrick’s Day’s week-long celebration was a fun week of everything green. We read some Irish folktales and had fun talking about Leprechauns. We even had a hunt for “Leprechaun Gold” and strung green necklaces.

Our next focus was dragons. There is a great variety of dragon books for kids. Some of their favorites are “Dragons Love Tacos” , “ There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon” and “the Muffin Muncher”. Of course, if you talk about dragons the conversation leads to castles and everything Medieval. The children had a blast with our Princess dress ups and dragon costume. As expected, they never get tired of Princess Stories.

We’ve now moved on to birds which we have an abundance of to observe first hand as they search for worms and build their nests. We have also been talking about the different calls they make and the many different ways they look even though they all have feathers and lay eggs. “Eggs” what a great way to lead into Easter. Of course, when the children were asked were eggs come from their first response was “Bunnies”. They were also surprised to find out that not all eggs are white. We hope to do some comparing of eggs in the coming weeks to see first hand that even chicken eggs can vary in size and color.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:      HAFH will be closed Friday 4/19 in observance of Good Friday/Easter.

Book order forms are attached. Please see attached calendar for due date, Wednesday 5/1.