Birthday Monday and Fire Fighter Boots

Dear Families,

      On Monday, October 20, we will be celebrating a birthday.  Although the activities of the morning will be different from recent Mondays (no painting, no early morning puppet show), the children's joy of sharing the ginger muffins the birthday girl and I will be preparing should more than compensate for the shift in rhythm that comes with festivals and special celebrations.

At the beginning of last Wednesday morning, one parent set up a child's boots and rain pants much like a fire fighter's:  the rain pants were already placed over the boots (pants on the outside) and bunched down toward the ground.  The child merrily took off slippers, slipped feet into the boots and pulled up the rain pants.  It was satisfying for the child and helped the mood during the potentially difficult transition from inside to outside.  I want to express my thanks to that family for sharing this idea with us.  I encourage other families to try this technique as well.  This may not work in a situation where cubbies are so close to one another (the kindergartens of next year, perhaps), but we are blessed with pretty ample cubby space for the Butterfly nursery.

I would also like feedback from parents about what kind of gloves or mittens have worked well with their young children in this climate.  My experience in Baltimore was that mittens or gloves that were easier to put on tended to be ineffective against rainy cold.  Most of the waterproof gloves or mittens for young children tended to be a challenge to put on and keep on.  If you have a brand or idea that works for your family, please share it with me so I can pass along the information.  I do have some thoughts of buying, say, 16 pairs of simple cloth mittens (the kind that look tiny but stretch out to cover the hands) in all the same color (so that unnecessary jealousy does not arise) that teachers can carry along during outside time.  Children could then alternate between wearing mittens; when hands get soaked in the rain, children could take off mittens for a while and then put on an dry pair.  I wanted to see if there were other helpful ideas before I make that move.

Thank you for your help and support of all the children in the class and me,

William Dolde