We were excited to kick off the month of November with our Creepy Crawl 5K and kids’ fun run fundraiser. As a small, private preschool, we rely on fundraising to meet our operating budget. The Andover community supported this event by donating money as t-shirt sponsors, volunteering time to organize and orchestrate the event, and by attending and running; we are grateful to you all!
In response to our recent interest in and study of nocturnal animals, Lt. Heidi Murphy, of New Hampshire Fish and Game, spent time with us recently, discussing the many forest animals native to our state. In helping us identify some of these animals, she showed us pelts, a skull, a cast of a footprint, and even models of scat. Heidi answered our questions, gave us new information to think about, and reminded us never to touch wild animals.
The preschoolers were thrilled by a visit from the “Good Halloween Witch of Tucker Mountain,” a character from one of our teacher-created class stories. She brought treats of oatmeal cookies – just like she does in the story! One of the children remarked “I didn’t think she was real!” This group of children has a strong interest in storytelling. We are exploring different ways of telling a story, and “true” and “not true” stories. Drawing, writing, creating written patterns and letter-like shapes are part of this exploration. Children have been writing and then reading their books to each other. We are looking forward to welcoming our families to our open house “Stories from the Classroom,” and to co- hosting storyteller Michael Caduto at the Bacheldar Library in East Andover on December 12 at 4:15. Michael will share Native American tales appropriate for children preschool age through third grade; we hope you’ll join us!
We have invited the grandparents of our preschoolers to join us for a sing-along, art activity, and snack on December 8. We can’t wait to welcome them to our school and give them a glimpse of a preschool day!
Haley Peters, an EAVP alum, and recent graduate of Marlboro College, had been volunteering at the preschool since the beginning of the school year. We are pleased to announce that Haley has officially come on board as an afternoon teacher; she brings enthusiasm, patience, and a love for art, music, and children to our program. We are so glad she is here!