Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Preschooler Winter 2016
The Preschooler Winter 2016
Pumpkin Party
Winter
Celebration
By Dayna Grayson
The Winter Celebration this year had two key highlights. First, it was a wintery WARM celebration on a balmy day
in early December. Secondly, Mr. Lilo was the main attraction, leading us in songs from his soon to be released CD
and a variety of fun holiday favorites. For the Winter Wonderland theme, each class decorated an animal that
brightened the walls of the Motor Room during the sing along. In between sessions, children and parents filled up
on coffee, cider and donut holes, as we all kept the cold weather away for another month!
February 26th
By Jen Dryer
March 11th
It was probably three days into my older sons first year at NCRC as an AM Rainbow that I distinctly remember a
quiet moment after drop off. I climbed into my car and sat silently as tears of relief rolled down my cheeks. This
was Zacks third school in as many years, and I was truly awed by NCRC. The staffs deep comprehension of child
development, thoughtful interventions and child-led curriculum was far beyond any preschool I had seen. The
gratitude I felt, and continue to feel, for having found this amazing little school tucked into this charming Cleveland Park neighborhood is hard to describe. Having already been recruited as a room parent, I felt warmly welcomed into the community, and I often joke that I not only sipped, but gulped the NCRC Kool-Aid.
April 8th
May 13th
EB includes weekly supplemental group support sessions every Thursday for the four Early Beginnings students
and 45 minute sessions with Becky Marquez, NCRCs Speech and Language Therapist, and with Marian Brice,
NCRCs Occupational Therapist. Parents get to sit in for a 30-minute session in the Bunny room and then the parents meet together with Judith to talk, share, and learn in order to better address the issues with which our children grapple. But wait, theres more! Roughly one Tuesday a month, the Bunny teachers actually come to our
house to support the work Max is doing in class and help me see how I can best support this work at home. I
havent heard of any other preschool that offers this level of support. Learning to heed the suggestions of NCRCs
expert staff, I again had that moment about a month into school this year, when I sat in my car quietly and cried
tears of gratitude that Max has had the opportunity to be part of this program. His growth since September has
been truly remarkable.
It bears noting how unique NCRC is as a parent advocate for those with children with developmental issues
ages 0-3, Ive spoken to many parents and they are consistently astounded by the level of support that NCRC
offers children. That NCRC creates regular opportunities to address the struggles, stresses and weight we bear as
parents is just one of the myriad ways NCRC supports and develops the whole family and community. Between
the Grandparent Scholar series, drop-off discussions in the playhouse, Downtown Brown Bag lunches for parents,
and all the many opportunities for parents to get to know one another, NCRC is in a class by itself in the ways it
educates, develops and nurtures the whole family community. Enjoy the Kool-Aidthis one is actually good for
you and the whole family!
Grandparent
Gingerbread
House
Workshop
Fathers, Grandfathers,
& Fatherly Figures
Breakfast Series
March 4th
April 29th
May 14-15:
Dads Team Camping Trip
PARENT ASSOCIATION
Theres still time to get involved!
Volunteering Is a great way to connect with
parents and teachers. There are several fun
NCRC events still to come this year and we
would love to have your help! Please contact:
Laura Desai: lauradesai@gmail.com
Debbie Foster: bernstein.deborah@gmail.com
A spiral is a snuggling shape coiled tight, warm and safe, it waits for a chance to expand.
A spiral is a growing shape it unwraps itself one soft curl at a time.
It is a strong shape A spiral reaches out exploring the world.
It is graceful and strong it is bold and beautiful forever expanding Joyce Sidman, Swirl by Swirl
This fall the Explorer classs interest in snails involved getting up close to group of snails they hosted in the classroom. They spent time learning about the different parts of a snail with one particular detail sparking a whole new
dimension in their learning a spiral. They first observed this shape on the snails shell and explored sorting shells
during their weekly Loose Parts investigation into groups with and without spirals.
This detail from the snail study suddenly began to appear all around, especially as the Explorers read Tomi
Ungerers captivating book, Snail, Where Are You? A child watching a millipede noted to a teacher, He is making a spiral! as the insect coiled up along the
side of a bug catcher. Another child discovered a spiral in a chrysanthemum growing on the playground. A spiral was spotted in the design of a metal planter in the classroom. One by one, the spirals appeared and it was a joy to see this wonder inspire a love of learning in the children. In response to the Spiral
Detective assignmentfind as many spirals as you can at homemany parents wrote expressing not only how much their child enjoyed this activity, but
also the joy many parents took in sharing this experience of school-to-home learning. It made for a week of rich conversations and delightful discoveries at
school and at home!
Connections, partnerships, and knowing what others needthis is the NCRC experience. From the Bunnies learning to recognize emotions to the Explorers
discovering the secret lives of living things, we are pondering how we are all connected.
Our students depend on their teachers and their parents for learning facts and developing social language to communicate their wants and needs, to express their thoughts and ideas, and to relate knowledge they have all learned. Navigating social and emotional needs is complex, but with everyones input
and support, our classes are successful.
Author Joyce Sidmans eloquent text about spirals in nature could easily describe the journey of NCRC students. This is a time to celebrate and nurture
each childs unfolding of social-emotional development, independence, motor skills, and cognitive skills. We envision the school year as a spiral that
offers a warm safe place with opportunities to connect with one another, nurture relationships, expand self-esteem, nurture creative thinking, and build a
love of learning that will last forever.
By the Explorer Team
Lisa, Julie, Patrick, and Kate
By Michael Korns
This year the NCRC Advancement Team and the Annual Fund Committee set a new goal of
100% Parent Participation in 100 Days, ending on December 31, 2015. Previously, the Annual
Fund was solicited throughout the entire academic year; however, the decision was made this
year to wrap up the Annual Fund early to give the school more clarity on its finances for the
upcoming year and allow us to spend the rest of the year thanking you for your gift, and
demonstrating how were putting it to work.
We are very happy to report that we reached 94% parent participation. We are all very proud
of the wonderful NCRC community, and appreciate your support in raising these much needed
funds.
As you may know, the $300,000 Annual Fund is included in the annual NCRC operating budget,
and is the single most important source of revenue aside from tuition (which accounts for
about 80% of NCRCs costs). These funds help support the SOS Team and music, library and
motor programs; provide competitive salaries and professional development for our wonderful faculty and staff; purchase much needed classroom supplies; and maintain the schools
buildings and playground equipment.
As third year parents at NCRC, Katherine and I are continually grateful that we found such a
wonderful environment for our boys, and for our family as a whole. The greatest testament to
what a magical place NCRC is for young children is watching our boys bound up the stairs each
morning, eager to see their teachers and friends, smiling from ear to ear.