Letter of the Week

This week is brought to you by the letter Kk.
 

Weekly Newsletter - December 1-5, 2014

This first full week of December was a busy one! Our letter of the week was Jj. Ms. Sheri has a Jj box and she gave us clues to help us guess the items in it. We read “My J Book” by Jane Belk Moncure & practiced the sign for the letter Jj.

Jack-in-the-boxes were popping as we practiced our Jj yoga pose! Jj is for jacket & that’s just what we’ve been wearing to school now that the weather is getting colder. One of our art projects this week was dressing up the letter Jj in a jacket. Take a peek at our wall of letters to see how they look.

The holidays are happening here at Creative Kids. We read Hanukkah Lights by Dian G. Smith & My Hanukkah Book of Numbers. We began working on our recycled menorah as a class project as well as painted our paper plate menorahs. We also decorated our triangle trees with garland, star confetti and ribbon. We stamped circles on smaller triangle trees and best of all, we painted with bubble wrap for our December door decoration.

Mr. Ben (Ms. Sheri’s husband) made us homemade green playdough & we used holiday cookie cutters to make different shapes. And of course, we played in the centers, as well as practiced our writing & cutting. It was another busy & fun week at preschool!

December Happenings

12/16 – Happy Chanukah!
12/18/14 – Cookies & Milk Holiday Party – 10:30
12/19/14 – Cookies & Milk Holiday Party – 10:30
12/19/14 – Last day of school before Holiday break.
12/19/14 – Polar Express P.J. Party – 6:30-9:30 p.m.
12/22 & 12/23 – Drop & Shop – 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
12/22/14-1/2/15 – Holiday vacation
12/25 – Merry Christmas!
12/26/14 – Happy Kwanzaa!
12/31/14 – Happy New Year’s Eve!
1/5/15 – Return to school

Looking Ahead

Letter Kk will be our letter of the week & K is for Kwanzaa so we will learn all about this holiday celebrated by African-Americans. We will continue decorating our classroom for the holidays as well as sing our favorite holiday songs.

Below is some information about Kwanzaa.

Via: DegreeSearch.org

The Seven Daily Principles of Kwanzaa

The seven candles (called Mishumaa Saba) placed in the Kinara represent the principles of the harvest (called Nguzo Saba). Each day of Kwanzaa is a celebration of the daily principle.

Umoja (oo-MO-jah)
Unity stresses the importance of togetherness for the family and the community, which is reflected in the African saying, “I am We,” or “I am because We are.”

Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah)
Self-Determination requires that common interests are defined and decisions that are in the best interest of our family and community are made.

Ujima (oo-GEE-mah)
Collective work and responsibility reminds the community of the obligation to the past, present and future, and that everyone plays a role in the community, society, and world.

Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah)
Cooperative economics emphasizes collective economic strength and encourages the community to meet common needs through mutual support.

Nia (NEE-yah)
Purpose encourages the community to look within themselves as individuals and as a group to set personal goals that are beneficial to the community.

Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah)
Creativity makes use of creative energies to build and maintain a strong and vibrant community.

Imani (ee-MAH-nee)
Faith focuses on honoring the best of the traditions, drawing upon the best in people, and helps people strive for a higher level of life for humankind while affirming self-worth and confidence in the ability to succeed and triumph in righteous struggle.

Monthly Letter - December 2014

December 2014

Dear Parents:

This winter month of December is filled with exciting things for the children to learn about and enjoy. The festivities of the holidays bring joy and warmth that envelop both your child’s home and school lives.

AT SCHOOL:

We will continue our celebration of “My Home and Family” this month. Of course, we will also be celebrating all of the December holidays which include Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. We will talk about how different people celebrate these joyous holidays as well as participate in many fun art, cooking and learning projects. In addition, we will begin planning our holiday party.

AT HOME:

Music and singing are wonderful ways to communicate our feelings, and we often have many feelings this time of year! When singing festive holiday songs, encourage traditional songs as well as new ones!

REMINDER:

Our last day of school will be December 19th. School will reopen on January 5th of the New Year.

We look forward to sharing the joys and wonders of this holiday season together.

Have a joyful December!

Sheri, Miranda, Fabi & Bethany

Happy December!

We're off to a good start to the week and the month!

Today we introduced our new month of December. We will engage in lots of fun and exciting activities surrounding the holidays this month! Before changing over the calendar, we counted the number of sunny, cloudy, rainy and snowy days in November. Take a look below to see what we discovered:

We're getting ready to redecorate our door for the winter months ahead. During art we painted with bubble wrap, that's right, bubble wrap. It was messy and our hands were full of paint but it sure was fun! We used the colors blue, white and purple. Ms. Sheri also added some decoupage and silver and blue glitter to make the background sparkly. This is what it looks like so far:

This week is brought to you by the letter Jj:

The StoryBots always make us laugh!  We also read My J Book by Jane Belk Moncure. The author's name even begins with the letter Jj! Our J yoga pose is the "Jack-in-the-box." Ask me to show it to you.

During centers we played with the sand table and our new December sensory bin filled with beans and red and green pom poms.

We also got our pictures back from picture day. They all came out beautiful. Thank you, Miss Courtney!

Today was a fun-filled day! Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Letter of the Week - Ii

This week is brought to you by the letter Ii.

Letter of the Week - Hh

This week was brought to you by the letter Hh.

Black Friday Drop and Shop

Black Friday Drop & Shop

It’s that time of year!

The holidays are just around the corner. 

Are you planning to hit those 

Black Friday sales bright & early?

Creative Kids Learning Center 

will entertain the kids while you begin your holiday shopping!

We will be open on 11/28/14

from 8:30-3:30. 

Drop off the kids (ages 2-5) 

before you shop!

They will keep busy with open play, crafts, holiday movies, snacks & more 

in our warm, safe & nurturing environment. 

Pack a lunch if they’re staying all day 

& we’ll take care of the rest.

$5.00 per hour or

$25 for the day

*Sibling discount available*

Advanced registration

& payment required

Space is limited so be sure to register early!

Letter of the Week - Gg

This week is brought to you by the letter Gg!

Letter of the Week - Ff

This week is brought to you by the letter Ff:

Letter of the Week - E

This week is brought to you by the letter Ee.

 

Week of October 14-17, 2014

This Week

We learned about the five senses this week. We read Barney’s Five Senses by Margie Larsen and Mary Ann Dudko and See, Hear, Touch, Taste, Smell by Melvin Berger. Ask me what I use my eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hands for. During art we painted to make a five senses mobile. 

Our letter of the week is “D.”  This is the letter “D” in sign language:

We named many pictures that begin with the letter “D” (ask me about them), read My D Book by Jane Belk Moncure, sang “Dee Doodley Doo” while Dancing & watching the video (http://youtu.be/h7E-tnTiW_Y) and of course we also walked the letter “D.”  Our “D” yoga poses this week were the Dinosaur, Dog, Dolphin, and Do Nothing Pose. And we made a Duck out of an uppercase D!

We celebrated Ben’s 2nd birthday on Thursday. Ben’s mommy brought in Dunkin Donut munchkins. Dunkin Donuts begins with the letter D! They were Delicious! Thank you. 

A great big thank you also to Allison’s family! They donated an easel to our classroom & we are so excited to have another one to use! By the way, Easel begins with the letter E, which will be our new letter of the week next week!

During table top time we used play dough to make letters; practiced our pre-writing & writing skills by painting dots with Q-tips & also tracing lines & letters; put puzzles together and completed our third row of stickers on our 100 Days of School chart.  We have been in school for 30 days already! Time sure flies when we’re having fun. And we are having lots of fun! 

Looking Ahead

Our new letter of the week will be “E.”

We will continue decorating for Halloween! We will be having a Halloween party in class on Thursday and Friday, October 30 & 31 so everyone can participate! Parents are invited. Stay tuned for details. 

Creative Kids Center will also have a community Halloween party on Friday, October 24, 2014.  See our website for details at www.wercreativekids.com. Please register by 10/22 if you would like to attend and be sure to let your friends know too so they don't miss out on the fun!

New Program - JSprouts

Creative Kids Center is super excited to be hosting JSprouts - a Jewish cultural enrichment program sponsored by JWOW (Jewish Without Walls) for children ages 2-5.

Children will learn about Jewish customs, traditions and holidays while engaging in hands-on activities, songs and snacks. Come join the fun and meet some new Jewish friends and neighbors.

Program Dates:

• 10/31/14 - Shabbat
• 11/14/14 - Jewish Symbols
• 11/21/14 - Hanukkah (Cancelled)
• 12/12/14 - Hanukkah
• 1/9/15 - Intro to Hebrew
• 1/23/15 - Tu B'Shevat (Jewish New Year for Trees)
• Activity: Nature Scrapbook
• 2/6/15 - Mitzvot (Good Deeds)
• 2/27/15 - Purim
• 3/13/15 - Passover
• 3/27/15 - Passover
• 4/17/15 - Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day)
• 5/1/15 - Lag B'Omer (Jewish Festival)
• 5/15/15 - Shavuot (Celebrate the Torah)
• 6/5/15 - My Family Tree

Please visit http://www.jewishwithoutwalls.org/upcoming-events.html to register.

Letter of the Week - Dd

This week is brought to you by the letter Dd:

Weekly Newsletter

This Week

Not only is it the first full week of October but it’s also fire safety week. We watched a fire safety video and learned what to do in case of a fire (http://clifford.scholastic.com/issues/10_02_14). Most important is “Get out & stay out!”

During art we made red fire truck pictures. This activity helped us match simple shapes (circle, square and rectangle) as well as identify and label the shapes and colors. We also painted our hands red to make a “Five Little Firefighters” picture.  We sang, “Stop, Drop and Roll” and “The Wheels on the Fire Truck.” We read Curious George at the Fire Station and Clifford, the Firehouse Dog. Curious and Clifford both begin with the letter “C.” And speaking of the letter C…

Our letter of the week is “C.”  This is the letter “C” in sign language:

We named many pictures that begin with the letter “C” (ask me about them), read My C Book by Jane Belk Moncure, sang “I’m Crazy for C” while dancing & watching the video (http://youtu.be/GDnzj88O6aQ) and also walked the letter “C.” We ate oreo cookies for snack because we all know, “C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me!”

Our “C” yoga poses this week were the Candle, Cat, Chair, Cobra, and Cow.

Ask me which friend’s name begins with the letter “C.”

During table top time we played with play dough, put puzzles together, and built with Legos as well as some other blocks.  All of these activities help to strengthen our fine motor skills, allow us to use our imagination, and learn how to share with our friends. Some of us also practiced our pre-writing skills and some of us practiced writing our letters.

We also began a new year long project this week.  You might wonder why some of our work doesn’t come home. Well, that’s because at the end of this school year we’ll have a big surprise for you. You’ll need to be patient! But it will be worth it!

Looking Ahead

Remember: No school on Monday, October 13, 2014. Enjoy your Columbus Day!

Our new letter of the week will be “D.” Do dinosaurs dance during dinner?

We will begin decorating for Halloween! We will be having a Halloween party in class on Thursday and Friday, October 30th & 31st so everyone can participate! Parents are invited. Stay tuned for details.

Creative Kids Center will also have a community Halloween party on Friday, October 24, 2014. Check out the community calendar on the website for details!

Our friend, Ben is having a birthday on Sunday. We’ll celebrate in school next Thursday.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ben!

Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!

Crazy for C

Creative Kids is crazy for the letter C this week! Come sing along with us!

October Monthly Letter

October 2014

Dear Families:

October is here!  September has flown by in class.  It was such a busy month.  We all got to know each other while exploring our classroom environment.

This month we will continue with our “All About Me” theme as well as anticipate the thrill of Halloween/Harvest.  We will be reading stories connected to the season and this month’s holiday.

We invite you to join in our fun and learning by appreciating and discussing the projects your child brings home.

Hope you have a “Boooo—tiful” month!


Sheri, Miranda, & Fabi

Weekly Newsletter

Last Week (Sept. 22-24)

Happy fall!

We said good-bye to summer & welcomed fall by reading “Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf,” making marbled leaves with shaving cream & paint & digging for shapes in our fall sensory bin.

 It’s “B” week!  We learned how to sign the letter “B,” named many pictures that begin with the letter “B” read My B Book by Jane Belk Moncure, sang “B is for my Body” & walked the letter “B.”  “B” week will continue into next week due to the short week.

And speaking of short weeks, Rosh Hashanah is the reason for our short week so we read Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah by Sylvia Krauss and learned a little bit about this holiday.

To help us with our letters, we’re learning yoga with The ABC’s of Yoga for Kids written by Teresa Anne Power. Each week we will learn a new yoga pose corresponding with our letter of the week.

This Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 3)

What a busy week! We had apples, honey & challah bread for snack to learn about some foods eaten during Rosh Hashanah. We dipped the apples in honey, which signifies having a sweet New Year.  Some of us liked it, some of us didn’t. But that’s okay; we all have different tastes, which is only one part of us that makes us unique.

Speaking of different, we read a flipbook called “I Am Special” & learned how people are all different.  We have different hair color, eye color & skin color. We like different foods & different toys. We also read Shades of People by Shelly Rotner, which showed us the different color skin people can have. 

You may have noticed a special newsletter coming home in our backpacks. We have a class subscription to “My Big World with Clifford” & will receive several themed newsletters this year.  One of the themes was friends & sharing. We watched a short video about friendship & talked about sharing.  Candice & Allison share blocks & Thomas shares crayons. If you would like to see the videos we watch in class you can go to http://clifford.scholastic.com/ & register for an account. Our class password is crayon. You can review all of the videos we’ll be watching as the school year progresses.   

Guess what? We have an easel in the class now! We painted self-portraits & painted lots of pictures on our new easel.  We said good-bye to September & hello to October. Did you know September had 22 sunny days, 6 cloudy days & 2 rainy days? We had the MOST sunny days & the LEAST rainy days. We also read Fall Leaves Change Color, Why Do Leaves Change Color? & I Am a Leaf to welcome October. And because it’s now October, we have a new Halloween sensory bin.

And one more thing…we are learning to write our letters using the Fundations program.  This program is used by Sachem School District. It is appropriate for our 4-5 year olds so our 2’s & 3’s aren’t expected to master this yet.

Looking Ahead

Happy October! Fall is in full swing & October has begun. We can’t wait to celebrate Halloween! Stay tuned as we keep you posted about our Halloween festivities in the next few weeks! 

National Fire Prevention Week is October 5-11. We will learn all about fire safety.

Our All About Me unit will continue as we keep exploring our five senses & learning about our feelings.

Our new letter of the week will be “C.” 

Learning to write our name is important & we will use the Fundations program to acquire this readiness skill.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Newsletter

September Activities

• Identifying body parts
• Recognizing our names in print
• Recognizing and identifying letters, numbers, shapes and colors
• Learning the months of the year, days of the week and four seasons
• Tracing our names
• Exploring apples
• Discovering our new season, fall

Last Week (September 8-12)

We began our “All About Me” unit last week which will last throughout October. We identified our body parts, read the book “All About You” and began making our “I Am Special” books. We sang, “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes.”

We also started with the letter “A” as our “Letter of the Week.” We learned how to make an “A” in sign language, named many pictures that begin with the letter “A” & sang the song, “Let’s Sing Hurray for “A.” These were just a few of the activities during our school days last week.

This Week (September 15-19)

Welcome, Sophia!

This week we welcomed our new friend, Sophia to the Tues/Thurs class. We are so happy to have her join us at Creative Kids!

We continued our “All About Me” unit and completed our “I Am Special” books.  We also continued with the letter A and learned all about apples! Ms. Sheri cut apples and we explored the core and the seeds inside. Did you know when an apple is cut in half there is a star inside?

During art, we made apple print pictures by stamping apples in paint, then stamping on paper. We made “a is for apple” pictures too.

During snack time, we tasted red, green and yellow apples. Then we each picked which one we liked best and made a class chart. We counted how many of us liked each color. Guess which apple most of us liked the best? Ask me which one is my favorite!

Some of the books we read this week were “An Apple a Day” and “I Like Me.” We also sang some apple songs including, “Did You Ever See an Apple?” and "A-P-P-L-E."

We used play dough to make the letter “A” and also to make faces.  We played with our sensory bin filled with beans and magnetic letters. We searched for the letters of our name and placed them on the magnet board.

Looking Ahead

Next week is a short week because school is closed on Thursday and Friday due to Rosh Hashanah. Our letter of the week will be the letter “B” and we will talk about our new season, fall, which can also be called autumn!

Hope you have an adventure-filled weekend and we’ll see you on Monday!

New Programs

We've added new programs, birthday parties and much more fun in addition to our preschool program. Take a look below at our various activities and sign up today!

Creative Kids Play 4 Fun

Do you have numerous errands to run? Would you like to food shop child-free? Or would you just like to have your child entertained in a clean, safe and fun environment for a few hours?

Creative Kids Center is now offering a new Play 4 Fun open play program available Monday through Thursday and every other Friday afternoon.

A variety of activities will be offered on a daily basis in a relaxed play-group setting. These activities include free play, sensory exploration, ABC yoga, arts and crafts, board games, and more. The Play 4 Fun program is available to Creative Kids Center students as well as children from surrounding communities.

Children may be enrolled on a daily basis. Payment can be made daily or weekly, separate from monthly tuition. This is a first-come, first-serve program with limited space. One day advanced notice is preferred but we will consider last minute sign-ups on a day-by-day basis.

Hours for Enrolled Students:

• Monday - 12:30-3:30 - $25.00 per day 
• $10 per hour if you choose to not send your child for the entire session. 
• Additional hours available upon request.
• TWTh and every other Friday - 11:30-3:00 - $25.00 per day 
• $10 per hour if you choose to not send your child for the entire session. 
• Additional hours available upon request.

Hours for Non-Enrolled Students:

• Monday - 12:30-3:30 - $25.00 per day
• or $10 per hour if you choose to not send your child for the entire session. 
• Additional hours available upon request.
• TWTh and every other Friday - 12:00-3:00 - $25.00 per day 
• or $10.00 per hour if you choose to not send your child for the entire session.
• Additional hours available upon request.

2014-2015 Community Activity Calendar

Advanced registration required for drop-off programs.

Please call us at (631) 585-1097 for enrollment details.

• October 24: Children's Halloween Party
• 6:30-9:30
• Come in costume!
• Pizza, snacks, crafts and a holiday themed video is on the agenda! 
• November 28: Black Friday Bonanza
• 8:30-3:30
• Let us keep the kids busy while you begin your holiday shopping!
• November 28: Pizza & Pajamas
• 6:30-9:30 p.m. 
• Pizza, snacks, crafts and a Thanksgiving themed video.
• December 19: Pizza & Pajamas
• 6:30-9:30 p.m. 
• Let us entertain the kids tonight while you finish your holiday shopping!
• Pizza, snacks, crafts and a holiday themed video.
• December 22-23: Last Minute Holiday Shopping
• 8:30-3:30 
• We'll keep the kids busy while you squeeze in those last minutes of shopping!
• January 23: Frozen Fun
• 6:30-9:30
• Baby, it's cold outside! So warm up by joining us for pizza, snacks, and hot chocolate. We'll also craft and watch the movie Frozen!
• February 13: A Valentine's Play Date
• 6:30-9:30 
• Let us entertain the kids tonight while you enjoy a Valentine's date with your mate.
• Pizza, chocolate, crafts and holiday themed video.
• March 6: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss
• 6:30-9:30
• Celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday while eating pizza and a special snack, reading a Dr. Seuss book, making a craft and singing happy birthday to the infamous children's author.
• April 17: Spring into Spring
• 6:30-9:30
• Celebrate spring with stories, crafts, pizza and snacks.

Creative Kids Birthday Parties

Creative Kids Center is your ultimate birthday party center for both little and big kids! Your wish is our command. Tell us what your child likes and we will offer an affordable, two-hour theme-based birthday party package to your liking!

For the younger age groups:

• Do you have a little diva? 
• Our Diva Party package will be a delight
• Does your princess like to play princess? 
• We'll turn her and her friends into princesses for a day!
• Does your little guy hunt for treasure?
• Our Pirate Party with scavenger hunt will keep him and friends on the hunt! 
• Who is your child's favorite character?
• We can create a birthday party featuring a favorite movie/TV/book character with all the trimmings!

Creative BD parties for children of all ages:

• Does your child have a favorite book?
• Let us build a book club party he/she will never forget!
• Is your child a creative crafter?
• Let us create a crafty party for you!
• Has your child shown an interest in scrapbooking?
• Kids scrapbook parties are our specialty! (This is also a wonderful Girl Scout activity.)

We'll take care of the mess so you can rest!

Let's get this party started!

Call us for more details at (631) 585-1097 

Meet the Creative Kids Family!

Our Classroom Helpers

Allie will be joining our Wed/Fri afternoon classes at Creative Kids. Allie is presently enrolled in the Early Childhood program at Suffolk County Community College. Following her two years at Suffolk, she plans to transfer to a four-year college to complete her degree in education. Allie has a great deal of experience working with young children. For the past two years, she has worked as a teacher assistant at TJE Dance Force teaching numerous dance classes.

Fabiana has joined our Wednesday morning class at Creative Kids. Fabi is also presently enrolled in the Early Childhood program at Suffolk County Community College. Following her two years at Suffolk, she plans to transfer to a four-year college to complete her degree in education.

Miranda has joined our Monday morning and Tues/Thurs morning and afternoon classes at Creative Kids. Miranda is also presently enrolled in the Early Childhood program at Suffolk County Community College. Following her two years at Suffolk, she plans to transfer to a four-year college to complete her degree in education. 

Miranda has experience aplenty working with young children. She's been babysitting for her younger sister and various neighbors since 12 years of age. She was previously employed for two years as a C.I.T. at Usdan Performing Arts Camp. During the 2013-2014 school year, Miranda student taught at TJE Dance Force as well as student taught with her former first grade teacher at Tamarac Elementary School to fulfill the requirements of her Child Development II class at Sachem East. She is now presently working as a teacher assistant in the evenings at TJE as well as joining our team.

Our Substitute Teachers

Kerry is a certified elementary school teacher with a Master's Degree in Special Education. Kerry and I were co-teachers in an integrated classroom at Just Kids beginning in 2001. I'm thrilled that Kerry is joining us at Creative Kids!

Tabitha is a certified elementary school teacher with a Master's Degree in Special Education. Tabitha was also a teacher at Just Kids for many years. I'm delighted to have Tabitha joining us at Creative Kids!

Not only are these ladies very good friends of mine but they are also some of the best teachers I've ever had the pleasure of working with. We have known each other for more than 13 years and between us our seven children have grown up together. There's no one I'd trust more than these wonderful ladies to care for my children and your children. I can promise you that your children will be in excellent hands as part of the Creative Kids family.

Friday Update!

Today we read, If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. Ask me what happens when you take a mouse to school! You'll never believe it!

Our First Week

Welcome to Creative Kids!

As we get ready to kick off our first school year at Creative Kids, we would like to welcome all of our new students and families! We are truly grateful that you have entrusted us with your precious little ones and look forward to a fun-filled and exciting school year!

September Activities

This month we will introduce many exciting topics, including the identification and recognition of body parts, letters, numbers, shapes and colors. In addition, we will learn to recognize our names in print.

Fall Fun

September brings us a new season with crisp, cool air, falling leaves and vibrant colors. Our students are introduced to this colorful season with enjoyable activities such as creating apple prints, tasting apples and graphing our favorites (red, yellow or green), discussing what we wear in the fall and making “Falling Leaves” pictures. These are just a few of the fun-filled fall activities that we have planned.

Our First Week

Our first week in school was fabulous! While we are a small group, we had huge amounts of fun!

During our first few days we adjusted to the classroom routine, made new friends and learned the classroom rules. Remember to ask your child about their day. This will encourage open communication between parents and children as well as help develop their language skills.

During circle time, we began by singing songs to shake out our “sillies” to help us attend to the activities. We introduced the calendar by learning songs about the days of the week and months of the year. We also discussed the daily weather. We sang “Mr. Sun” every day since we had beautiful sunny days all week!

During story time we read Barney and Baby Bop Go to School and Clifford’s First Day at School. These stories helped us adjust to being at school and away from our homes.

Look for our art projects hanging on the walls! We made “O’fishally a Preschooler” handprints, decorated the first letter of our names and made “Back to School” pictures by tracing our hands.

During center time, we played in the housekeeping and construction areas as well as built with blocks and strengthened our fine motor skills with play dough.  Using our fingers with play dough will actually help us develop our future writing skills.

These are just a few of the activities we participated in this week. Next week is sure to be even more fun. We will begin our “All About Me” unit by identifying our body parts and discussing our senses, talking about our feelings and measuring and charting our heights.

Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you on Monday!

Why Choose Us?

• Choosing the right preschool is not an easy task for parents, especially when it's the first time. We are here to help you every step of the way.
• Creative Kids Center teachers are professionals that have been working in the field of early childhood education for almost 20 years. 
• The Director/Owner, Sheri Zilinskas is a NYS permanently certified teacher in the areas of Special Education and Elementary Education as well as holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Miss Sheri has spent her entire career working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Additionally, she has been an adjunct lecturer at St. Joseph’s College in the Child Study Department for the past seven years. 
• All teachers are NYS certified and teacher assistants are either NYS certified or enrolled in a NYS accredited early childhood program.
• Creative Kids Center tuition rates are comparable with other area preschools.  Our registration fee is minimal and a full refund will be granted if your child is accepted into your school district’s UPK program.
• We are a small program, therefore providing your child with individualized attention and a curriculum tailored for his/her needs.
• Our staff regularly participates in professional development conferences, seminars, and workshops.
• Free speech screenings will be provided by Little Angels Center in the fall of each school year.
• We operate on the Sachem School District calendar. Your child will begin school on 9/2 and end the school year on 6/25. 
• You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Come join our family. We look forward to serving the community where we live, work, and play!

Meet and Greet

Our "Meet and Greet" for registered students and parents takes place this Thursday, August 28, 2014 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. We can't wait to see all of your little faces!

Summer Hours

Creative Kids Center will be open on Monday, 8/18/14 from 10:00-1:00. Please stop by for enrollment information.

Summer Hours

Creative Kids Center will be open on Monday, 8/11/14 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Tuesday, 8/12/14 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Please visit us for enrollment information. If these hours are inconvenient for you, please call or email us for a personal appointment.

IMPORTANT CHANGE OF DATE INFO!

Some very EXCITING news...our new floor is being installed on Monday by JPA Home Improvements.

Due to this exciting news, I'm sorry to say that I'll need to reschedule our open house.

So please join us on Thursday, 7/31/14, same time, same place!

12:00-3:00 p.m. & 6:30-8:30 p.m.

I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. But I much rather you see our preschool with a lovely new floor rather than plain old concrete.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Til Thursday...

Open House Reminder

REMINDER

Our first open house is scheduled for next Tuesday, July 29, 2014

from 12:00-3:00 p.m.

&

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Bring the kids for some creative fun with our staff

while you learn about our program.

The first registrants will receive

either one of these beautiful flower clips (girls) 

or backpack key chains (boys) designed by Royal Confetti

with their completed registration.

We look forward to seeing you!

Phone Service

Our phone service is now in working order! Please feel free to call us at (631) 585-1097. Hope to hear from you soon!

OPEN HOUSE

We will be having our first open house on Tuesday, 7/29/14. There will be two sessions. The afternoon session will be held from 12:00-3:00. The evening session will be held from 6:30-8:30.  Bring the kiddies with you to enjoy some creative fun with our staff while you learn about our preschool program. We look forward to meeting you!

The Importance of Play

Here at Creative Kids Center, we are strong advocates of PLAY! Children NEED to PLAY! This is how they learn. Young children need to be provided with a wide variety of opportunities to freely explore their environment and utilize their senses. 

Explore+Discover and Mommybites have teamed up to present a FREE teleclass: The Role of Play at School and Home: A Foundation for Lifelong Learning. If you would like to further understand the impact of play during your child's early years, feel free to sign up for this event at http://www.explorediscover.net/blast/announcement20140703c.html

More Painting Pictures

Sneak Peek - Before

Our work has just begun.  But it's going to be FABULOUS!

Registration is Now Open!

We are now enrolling for the 2014-2015 school year. 

Please contact us via phone or email 

for an enrollment application. 

We look forward to meeting you!

Allow Me to Introduce Myself!

My name is Miss Sheri and I've been happily married to Mr. Ben for more than 20 years. We have two beautiful daughters, ages 17 and 12 who are students in the Sachem School District.

For the past 18 years, I have worked in the education field with the majority of my career spent with early childhood students. My experiences vary from classroom teacher, early intervention provider (ages birth through 3), special education itinerant teacher (ages 3 through 5), home instruction tutor, and adjunct lecturer in the Child Study Department at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue. I hold a Master's Degree in Special Education and a Professional Diploma in School District Administration. My certifications include Special Education PreK-12, Elementary Education PreK-6, and Secondary English 7-12.

Opening my own preschool has been a lifelong dream. And now that "maybe someday" has arrived. My girls are older and much more independent. My oldest will be graduating high school shortly (GASP!) and has decided to major in Early Childhood Education. As a requirement for her high school Child Development II class, she presently student teaches two days a week with her former first grade teacher where she attended elementary school. Additionally, she is a competitive dancer at a local dance school and also student teaches a few dance classes. The owner/director recently invited her to work there after she graduates. That girl makes me one proud mom! 

My youngest is now completing her first year in middle school. WOW! That went fast! Two more years and she'll be in high school. Ever wish you could stop the clock? Time sure flies! She's also a dancer with quite the personality. Definitely my mini-me! And my other reason for being a proud mommy!

My vision for Creative Kids Learning Center is simple...a safe, nurturing, educational environment where children can play to learn. Their days with us will consist of structured and unstructured developmentally appropriate activities to enhance their unique talents and individual personalities. We will provide a stress-free, anxiety-free and pressure-free zone for exploration and enrichment. Messy hands and big smiles will greet parents at pick-up time. And they will look forward to coming back again tomorrow!

Parent communication will be an important aspect of our program. We realize that young children cannot always adequately express the events of their day. You will be kept well-informed via class newsletters, blog posts, and Facebook posts. Of course, your family's privacy is important to us and we will never post pictures of your children on social media sites without your written permission.

We look forward to supporting the community where we live, work, and play! I hope you will consider joining us on this journey and allow us to provide your most precious little people with an affordable, high quality early education experience.

Stay tuned for information about our first open house! We look forward to meeting you!