December 19, 2022
Dear PAWS Families,
My heart is filled with gratitude for the outpouring of care and generosity displayed by the PAWS community as so many of you rallied to extend a Helping Hand this holiday season! You are spreading light and joy to those who will truly appreciate your thoughtfulness. I believe that your kindness and generosity will go a long way in making this holiday season brighter and the cold days warmer for many children at PAWS!
There is still time to send in the items you signed up to donate. We will be distributing the gifts on Thursday and Friday. We are still accepting donations of wrapping paper, tissue paper and gift bags, bow, ribbon, tape, and scissors to send home with the gifts, so parents can wrap their own child’s gifts and know what their child is receiving. Thank you to all of you who were able to sign-up to support the Helping Hands Project at PAWS this year! Last minute Helping Hands gifts and donations may be shipped to:
PAWS CARES TEAM, PAWS Preschool, 63 Hastings Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
We appreciate your support of our greater PAWS family!
Spirit Days – Color Days – Wear Something Yellow Thursday/Friday, December 22 and 23 At this time of the year, many celebrations include candles and lights, so we are wearing something with yellow this month as our Spirit Day color. Please check with your child’s teacher to know which day your child’s class will be celebrating the many shades, hues, and tones of yellow!
Thank you!
Thank you to the Nguyen Family for the donation of refreshing seltzer! It is helping staff to stay well hydrated during this cold and dry time of the year.
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Project Updates
Thank you to the parents who have let us know about books that slipped through the selection process and are less than ideal. Over 3,000 donated books were sorted by Wellesley High School student volunteers and a couple of adult volunteers. The books were selected using the 7 Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials criteria. If you find a book that has content that you wonder about or question, please pull the book out and send it into school and let me know which book bag number the book came from. We will replace the book with a better choice.
To help us with the 1,000BBK book bags:
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Please leave your child’s name tag on the book bag. We are noticing more and more bags coming back to us without the metal ring and laminated name tag attached to the blue handle of the bag. Please leave your child’s laminated name tag attached to the bag to help us be able to swap out the bag quickly and easily.
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Please leave the tag with the list of books on it attached to the book bag as well
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Please return the canvas bag with the books as soon as you are done reading all 10 books. You may request a new bag once a week or more frequently if your child is reading more frequently with you!
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Please keep your child’s “game board” at home and color in the number of the book bag you read each time.
The Importance of Play:
At PAWS we believe that children learn best through play and recently, several articles about play have come across my desk. I thought I would share THIS one about the pandemic and play from Imagination Playground and THIS article about the importance of play for adults. I hope you will enjoy learning more about the different types of play and perhaps think about new ways to engage your child in play!
NOTE: Sharing these articles is not an endorsement of the products or services on the websites (although we do have Imagination Playground Blocks at PAWS).
I hope you can create the time and the opportunity to PLAY with your preschooler often! Stay warm and have fun!
Best,
‘Becca Z.
Important Dates:
Monday and Tuesday, December 19&20 – last minute Helping Hands gifts due at PAWS
Thursday/Friday, December 22 and 23 – YELLOW DAY – Spirit Day Color Day
Dec 26 – Jan 2, 2023 – December Break – No School
Monday, January 2, 2022 – Tuition Due
Tuesday, January 3 – School Reopens