Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. With Your Preschooler
January is a great time to reflect on the important work of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although we explore diversity and inclusion all year, we have many activities planned this month to celebrate his life specifically. We’ll be reading books, making arts and crafts, discussing the importance of acceptance and belonging, and much more.
Continue the fun at home by participating in some of our ideas below.
1. Perform an Act of Service
Honor the work of Martin Luther King Jr. by spreading kindness and compassion. Some ideas include donating winter accessories to your local homeless shelter, baking cookies for a neighbor, or making cards for loved ones needing a smile.
2. Read About His Accomplishments
Books are a great way to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the theme of equality in a way your child can understand. Age-appropriate titles include, “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Jean Marzollo, “The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Johnny Ray Moore, and “I am Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Brand Meltzer. After reading, ask your child to discuss their own hopes and dreams.
3. Host a Birthday Party
Children love and can relate to birthday parties, so host one to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.! Ask your child to help you bake a birthday cake, talk about kindness, sing songs, make decorations, and watch snippets of the “I Have a Dream Speech.”
4. Help Your Child Understand and Respect Differences
Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that everyone, no matter skin color, should be treated equally. Reinforce this message at home by reading some of our favorite stories: “Whoever You Are” by Mem Fox, “The Colors of Us” by Karen Katz, and “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold.
January 2022
A Note From Our Principal
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed a healthy and happy holiday season. We can’t wait to spend 2022 with you and your children. I would like to thank all of you for your generosity over the holidays. The staff, and I truly appreciate all the gifts and notes we received! These thoughts of appreciation mean so much to us. As always, thank you for choosing our school for your children.
Darice Johnson
Winter Weather
The winter season is here. Please be sure to dress your child accordingly, including hats and mittens. Also, be sure that your child has extra clothes available in their cubby for the winter weather (this is a great time to check sizes too).
Our Parent Portal – Alma
Looking for account statements for taxes or FSA? Do you have a different email address or phone number that needs to be updated? Need to add or remove an emergency contact? You can do this at any time in Alma. If you need help logging in or accessing the system, please let us know.
Important Dates
January 17: Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. School closed
January 31 – End of Month Folders go home
Registration
We are taking applications for the remainder of our 2021/2022 school year. You are welcomed to email me for more information at my email below.
Current families can begin 2022/2023 priority registration in early January. More information to come.
For our new inquiries you can click here and join us for our Bingo Challenge and get to know a little more about our curriculum. Please email us darice.johnson@merryhillschool.com for enrollment information.
Click here for the Bingo Challenge: BINGO CHALLENGE
Referrals
For parent references please click the link below:
https://www.greatschools.org/california/milpitas
Spread the word and save on tuition!
Do you have a friend or family member who is looking for additional enrichment and learning for their preschooler during the day? We have a referral program, contact us for more details!
Holidays -School Closed
January 17th, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
Professional Development Day Closures-School Closed
No professional development days in January 2022
Family Reports to Parents
February 17th 2022
Links to Learning Curriculum
January Themes
Snack Menu
Our “Wellness” curriculum component is using the following website at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/ to ensure the nutrition of our students. Please look for our snack menu please let us know if you have any suggestions for our snack menu or would like recipes for home use.
Lunch Caterer
Until further notice we will not have a lunch caterer.
_________________________________
Celebrations
Celebrations help our students meet our learning component in “Community and Environment”. If you would like to share a family tradition with our students, please let us know. Embracing diversity is a social skill that will help our students in the long run when traveling or building friendships.
_______________________________________________________________________
Family/Teachers Conferences
We will see you in November for our next parent teacher conferences.
Part of the conference will highlight an important subject which parenting styles. We highly recommend that parents be on the same parenting style recommended. In this website, parents can take a quiz to find out their parenting style. The website also make recommendations to parenting workshops if needed. This is a great resource.
In our last parent/teacher conference we discuss the CDC developmental milestones for children. I have included the link again because it has some great resources.
Please let us know if you need a parent/teacher conference if you have any concerns throughout the year.
Merryhill’s Facebook Page
Our students are continuously posted on our Facebook page! Please share with your friends and family.
https://www.facebook.com/merryhillschool
https://www.facebook.com/MerryhillSchoolMilpitas/
From Our Education Department
Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. With Your Preschooler
January is a great time to reflect on the important work of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although we explore diversity and inclusion all year, we have many activities planned this month to celebrate his life specifically. We’ll be reading books, making arts and crafts, discussing the importance of acceptance and belonging, and much more.
Continue the fun at home by participating in some of our ideas below.
1. Perform an Act of Service
Honor the work of Martin Luther King Jr. by spreading kindness and compassion. Some ideas include donating winter accessories to your local homeless shelter, baking cookies for a neighbor, or making cards for loved ones needing a smile.
2. Read About His Accomplishments
Books are a great way to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the theme of equality in a way your child can understand. Age-appropriate titles include, “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Jean Marzollo, “The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Johnny Ray Moore, and “I am Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Brand Meltzer. After reading, ask your child to discuss their own hopes and dreams.
3. Host a Birthday Party
Children love and can relate to birthday parties, so host one to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.! Ask your child to help you bake a birthday cake, talk about kindness, sing songs, make decorations, and watch snippets of the “I Have a Dream Speech.”
4. Help Your Child Understand and Respect Differences
Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that everyone, no matter skin color, should be treated equally. Reinforce this message at home by reading some of our favorite stories: “Whoever You Are” by Mem Fox, “The Colors of Us” by Karen Katz, and “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold.
Nut-free School
We have a nut-free policy at our school. Please keep all nut items at home. We have children with severe allergies.
Medication and Sunscreen Policy Reminder
Just a friendly reminder that our medication policy states that we can only administer medicine that has been prescribed by a doctor. We cannot administer over the counter medication without a doctor’s note with explicit instructions on how to administer it.
Regarding sunscreen, if you would like your child’s teacher to apply sunscreen throughout the summer months, please complete the “Sunscreen Authorization Form” located in the front office. We ask that you bring your child in their own sunscreen and apply a coat of sunscreen before they come to school. All sunscreen will be applied after nap unless noted differently by a parent.