News & Events
Fall Enrichment classes ongoing. Information about winter session classes available in December to start in January.
ChildsPlace will be closed for Thanksgiving November 27th and 28th.
Raindrops Transitional Toddler Room
We are happy to welcome all of the Families and Raindrop friends to our program. We are looking forward to working with all of you and sharing our “family” here.
My name is Machelle Hutchins and I am the Lead Teacher in the Raindrops Room. I have been a teacher at ChildsPlace for many years and feel much excitement about returning to ChildsPlace and our program as I start my 14th year here! I earned my Early Childhood Education teaching certificate from NHCTC in Stratham. While living in Illinois, I was awarded my Child Development Associate Certificate. I feel fortunate that I was able to return to ChildsPlace after moving away. I feel that ChildsPlace is a great place for me to help nurture and stimulate our older toddlers. I am very excited about our bright, big room and look forward to all we will learn together.
Hi! My name is Lori and this begins my second year working at ChildsPlace. I am very excited to be working in the Raindrops Room this year. I have a Bachelor Degree in liberal Studies with a concentration in Education, from Emanuel College. I am currently working on my Master Degree through Franklin Pierce College. I am very eager to bring new ideas to the classroom to make learning and growing an enjoyable experience for your child.
As we begin the new school year, it is very exciting to see the many looks on the children’s faces as they discover and learn through sensory, literacy, creative arts, dramatic play, large motor activities, block play, and a variety of manipulative toys. It is our goal to provide a wide variety of learning and play centers for the children of the Raindrops Room. There may even be times when we plan a project that involves “family time” at home. Yes, HOMEWORK! Don’t worry, it may be as simple as a shape hunt at your house, bringing in a colored object for our Color Day or even decorating a family feather for a holiday turkey. It is a fun way for you as a parent to share in your young child’s Raindrops Room experience. Your child will beam with pride as they share what they did with you.
The children can look forward to water table play as they wash babies, use funnels to pour colored water, float boats, and squeeze soapy sponges. Dry sensory activities will include sifting flour, sorting colored and assorted shaped pasta, pouring and measuring cracked corn, and digging for hidden objects. There will be opportunities to pound, roll, cut, and squeeze playdough, clay, and putty made with glue. We will provide a library of theme related books about every 2 weeks. It is nice to have a quiet place to sit and read a book or two. Some of the dramatic play centers will include Painters, Pizza Shop, Carpenters, and Grocery Store. We have bins filled with dress-up clothes, which the children enjoy wearing.
We could go on and on about all of the fun we will have but we will keep some of it as a surprise! We’ll start our new year with the themes of MY SCHOOL FRIENDS AND ME and FALL, A SEASON OF CHANGE for the months of August and September.
We are always available to each of you for concerns, joys, questions, and sharing.
We are really looking forward to the year with you and your child.
Sincerely,
MACHELLE AND LORI
CIRCLE TIME
Circle time is a joyful time for toddlers. The children develop language, memory and social skills while exploring new concepts. Story time is enjoyed while friends sit together listening to stories that focus on the theme being highlighted. Flannel board time is a favorite - especially when it is the child’s turn to put the flannel piece on the storyboard! Songs and fingerplays are shared while children join in to sing along and follow the teacher’s fingerplays and actions. Participation is encouraged during circle time and repetition of its components helps children foster language and memory skills.
ACTIVITY TIME
Weekly themes are reinforced through hands on projects during activity time each day. Each project is designed to broaden the children’s base of experience with the understanding of the weekly theme. New concepts and activities are introduced with an emphasis on the development of listening skills, fine and gross motor skills, creativity, eye-hand coordination and social skills. Science, nature, math, reading, social studies and multicultural concepts are incorporated into our activities. Teachers and children gather in small groups where they explore and create with a variety of materials. Children are encouraged to let their self expression and creativity shine! Bulletin boards around the classroom display unique colorful activities that the children have created. Children are excited and proud to show family and friends their masterpieces on the walls each week! Be it painting, cutting, gluing, coloring, building, cooking or designing - you can be assured that activity time is always new, exciting and educational!
DAILY SCHEDULE
| 7:30 - 8:30 - Learning Centers/table Toys 8:30 – 8:50 - Breakfast Time 9:00 - 9:20 - Circle Time 9:20-9:40 - Gym Time 9:40-10:45 - Activity Time/Learning Centers 10:45-11:15 - Playground Time 11:15-11:30 - Clean Up/Story Time 11:30-11:50 - Lunch 11:50 - 12:00 - Story Time / Morning Goodbyes 12:00-12:15 - Book Time / Quiet Thoughts 12:30 - 2:30 - Rest Time / Quiet Activities 2:30 - 3:15 - Snack Time 3:15-3:45 - Playground Time 3:45-4:10 - Art Activity/Learning Centers 4:10-4:30 - Gym Time 4:30 - 5:30 - Story Time/Table Time/Afternoon Goodbyes |
CURRICULUM
September: MY SCHOOL FRIENDS AND ME
Paper plate faces, body tracing, My Letter, buddy painting, ooblick, chalk drawings…
FALL---A SEASON OF CHANGE
Leaf glitter, apple trees, applesauce, apple printing, leaf prints…
BOOKS: I Like Me, We are all Alike, We are all Different, Clifford’s First Day of School, Fall Leaves Fall, The Kissing Hand, Ten Red Apples, School Bus, If You Take a Mouse to School
SONGS: “This is the Way We Walk to School” “The Apple Tree”, “Two Little Apples”, “I Like to Toss the Leaves” “The Wheels on the Bus”, Leaves are Falling Down”, “I Am Special”, “Wiggle Workout”….
LETTERS : A,B,C - SHAPE: Circle - COLOR: Red
OCTOBER: OLD MCDONALD’S FARM and HARVEST TIME
Pigs, roosters, cows, ducks, horses, scarecrows, pumpkins, corn….
HALLOWEEN
Ghosts, “Monster Mash” masks, mummies, spiders, bats…
BOOKS: Big Red Barn, I Went Walking, Farmer Duck, Big Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Halloween Day, Skeleton’s Hiccups
SONGS: “In the Farmyard”, “Scarecrow Song”, “Down on Grandpa’s Farm” “Five Little Pumpkins”, “Ghosts and Goblins”, “5 Little Bats”
LETTERS: D,E,F - SHAPE: Triangle - COLOR: Orange
NOVEMBER: FAMILY, HOME AND THANKSGIVING
Family crowns, family trees, “What’s in my house?, turkey,headdress, making cornbread, Friends Feast…
BOOKS: A Feast for 10, Loving, Brown is a Beautiful Color, Over the River and Through the Woods, A Turkey for Thanksgiving, One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims
SONGS: “Five Little Turkeys”, “A Funny Bird”, “Ha, Ha Turkey in the Straw”, “The Family”, “Some Families”, “If You’re Thankful and You Know It”
LETTERS: G,H,I - SHAPE: RECTANGLE - COLOR: Brown
DECEMBER: HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD
Wreaths, trees, menorahs, gelt jars, Kwanzaa placemats,poinsettias, wooden shoes for St. Nicholas Day…
BOOKS: Santa’s Noisy Night, My First Kwanzaa Book, Hanukkah Lights, The Night Before Christmas, That’s Not Santa
SONGS: “Feliz Navidad”, “12 Days of Christmas”, “The Dreidel Song”, “Jingle, Jingle, Jingle”, Jingle Bells”, “Kwanzaa’s Here”….
LETTERS: J,K,L - SHAPE: Star - COLOR: Green
JANUARY: TRANSPORTATION
Trains, boats, air transportation, cars, trucks…
WINTER WONDERLAND
Snowmen, snowflakes, winter wear…
BOOKS: The Little Engine That Could, River Parade, Sail Away, Airplanes, Snow on Snow, on Snow, The Snowy Day, Thomas’ Snowsuit, The Mitten
SONGS: “Down By the Station”, “Have You Seen the Snowman?”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Traffic Light”, “We Are Flying”, “Snowflake”
LETTERS: M,N,O - SHAPE: Square - COLOR: White
FEBRUARY: THE PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD
Police officers, firefighters, postal workers, construction workers, chefs/bakers, doctors, dentists, painters…
VALENTINE’S DAY
Hearts, cupid, valentine mailboxes…
BOOKS: Bam, Bam, Bam, Curious George Visits the Fire Station, Valentine’s
Day, The Jolly Little Postman, The Crocodile and the Dentist, Career Day
SONGS: “I Love You”, “The Postman Brings a Valentine”, “5 Little Firefighters”, “The Fix-It Song”, “Toothbrush Cha-Cha”
LETTERS: P,Q,,R - SHAPE: Heart - COLOR: Pink
MARCH: ANIMALS
Jungle/zoo animals, pets, woodland animals….
WINDY WEATHER AND ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Windsocks, kites, leprechauns, shamrocks
BOOKS: Little Gorilla, Owl Moon, Cookies Week, Curious George Flies a
Kite, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Clever Tom and the Leprechaun, The Wind Blew
SONGS: “Elephants in a Spider Web”, “Gray Squirrel”, “Flying High”, “Pet Care Chorus”, “5 Little Bears”, “Bingo’s Doghouse”
LETTERS: S,T,U - SHAPE: Diamond - COLOR: Yellow
APRIL: SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!!!!
Robins, daffodils, birds, nests, eggs, rabbits, rain, rainbows
THE WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD
Teddy Bear Picnic, Pajama Day, Character Day…
BOOKS: My Spring Robin, When Will it be Spring?, A Rainbow of My Own, Home for a Bunny, The Robin’s Eggs, Are You My Mother?, Thundercake
SONGS: “Sing a Song Of Springtime”, “Rain on My Umbrella”, “The Colors of the Rainbow”, “I Hear Thunder”, “5 Little Robins”, “Spring, Spring, Spring”
LETTERS: V,W, X - SHAPE: Oval - COLOR: Blue
MAY: HEALTH AND FITNESS and OUR FIVE SENSES
Sports and games, healthy foods, sensory circles, sour to sweet
BOOKS: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Franklin’ Helmet, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Hazel’s Amazing Mother, Clap Your Hands, Our Five Senses
SONGS: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, “Health Song”, “Wash ‘n Go”, “Who Forgot the Sugar in the Lemonade?”
LETTERS: Y,Z - SHAPE:OCTOGON - COLOR: Purple
JUNE: CREEPY, CRAWLY FLYING THINGS
Ladybugs, ants, grasshoppers, bees, worm and worm pie, caterpillars, butterflies, dragonflies…
BOOKS: I Need a Hug, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs, The Ant Bully, My Daddy, and Eric Carle books
SONGS: “Ladybug with Spots on You”, “Fireflies at Night”, “I Wish I Were”,
“In My Little Garden”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “How do Bugs Move?”, “The Bug Song”
LETTERS: Z - SHAPE: Review - COLOR: Review
All Programs
Raindrops Transitional Todler-Preschool
Special Offerings:
- ~ Sports Courts
- ~ Program Studio
- ~ 2 Gymnasiums
- ~ Oversized Classrooms
- ~ 2 Playgrounds
- ~ Enrichment Classes
- ~ In-House Field Trips
- ~ Art Studio