“Simon Says” The Official Newsletter of the Robert E. Simon, Jr. Children’s Center, Inc. April 2021 ______12005 Sunrise Valley Drive Suite 30, Reston, VA 20191 Volume 32, No. 4 Established 1990 simoncenter.org 703-834-5880_

Director: What a year it has been! In April 2020, things looked very different than they will this month. Last year we had withdrawals and this year we have start dates . In fact this month, we will have over 80 students enrolled. By leaps & bounds, the Simon Center is growing with your children! We still have a few spaces left to fill though. Please spread the word with friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Currently we have several openings for infants and a few remaining spaces in our Pre-K. We will offer summer camp for our current Kindergarten students who might like to stay just a bit longer with us this summer, too. Then for the fall, due to the success of our private Kindergarten this year, we will be enrolling for the 2nd RESCC private Kindergarten class for the 2021-22 school year. Yes, spring has just “sprung”, but I am excited to already be looking towards summer and fall! - Leila

Did you know… ?

We have an official Parent Group Facebook page. Please join us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9022695849810695/

Assistant Director: As April approaches, I always reflect on one of my fondest childhood memories… playing in the rain, stomping in puddles, and making a mess with mud! Springtime rain showers create a lot of mud puddles to splash in and every kid deserves a good pair of boots! When we see mud puddles, we usually avoid them. When children see mud puddles, they like to “dive” right in! Rain puddles have an almost magnetic attraction for children. They love to jump in them, roll through them on their bikes, float things in them, and much more! Did you know that children use their natural environment to create play experiences and need very little direction from adults? We just need to give them the opportunities to explore and this freedom will encourage them to bring their imaginations to life! Believe it or not, puddles can provide endless fun and exploration. Think of each jump in the puddle as a chance for your child to grow… a chance for their legs to get stronger… an opportunity for their brains to learn coordination and cause & effect… a chance for their bodies to learn to fight off all of the germs in their own backyards! Try to look past the mess for a few minutes and think of the potential for their bodies to thrive!! I encourage you to put on your raincoat and head outside with your children this spring. There is always something new to learn when we play in nature. Jumping into mud puddles might not get your children into competitive sports.  However, the joy they will find in doing so is a perfect demonstration of how they can “break the rules”, have fun, and play!! - Madhushree

Board of Directors: Happy Spring, Simon Center families! At least for me, this has felt like the longest winter ever. These beginning signs of spring have been so welcome. With Daylight Savings Time here as well, our family can get outside after dinner and run off any energy they didn't run off at school that day! You may have noticed that the Center is busier these days as we are welcoming new families, as well as welcoming back some old ones, to our classrooms. Please continue to spread the word about our Center, especially our private Kindergarten class for next year. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask the staff or Board, and we'll be happy to discuss and share details about our private Kindergarten program. Besides word-of-mouth outreach, please consider leaving a review on Google or Yelp for the Simon Center. You can also update a previous review on these sites, in case you've thought of something else great to say about us since your last review! Enjoy the warmer weather! - Matt (Board President and Dad to Campbell, the Bear)

Did you know that if you shop on Amazon the Simon Center can receive a portion of the sale? Look up Amazon Smiles and designate the Simon Center as your non-profit organization. We also have our very own wish list on Amazon, too. It’s that easy!

Nursery 1 Penguin class: In April, Owen will be the newest addition to our Penguin crew. Welcome! Sarah is becoming more verbal and always responds to us in her own language. She is also very musical, and moves her body to the beat while clapping her hands. Sarah has developed a love of reading and enjoys picture books and circle time. Norah is another "dancer" in our group and loves to bounce and rock to music. She is also very verbal and responds to us using some syllables and babbling sounds. Norah loves to play in and out of the playhouse. She is pulling herself up and then lets herself down from a stand, too. In addition to working on large motor, Norah also has very good eye-hand coordination. With the warmer weather, Maya has really been enjoying the stroller walks. She waves and claps all of the time. Maya is now scooting a lot, and trying to pull up to a sitting position during her floor time. She loves having her picture taken, and coos and makes other sounds of enjoyment. Maya has been doing experiments with objects in the room by shaking, banging, pushing, and dropping them. Harrison is more mobile now and has begun scooting all over the play area. He is searching for fallen toys, and is doing very well during meal times with solids. Harrison will play with his voice by repeating and trying out new sounds. He loves peek-a-boo, and when he sees his teachers reappear he holds out his arms to be held or picked up. Madeline uses her pacifier to help self-soothe for naps. She has a big appetite and takes her bottles well. Madeline enjoys clasping her hands together and kicking her feet. She is very interested in and aware of her surroundings, and will turn her head in the direction of different sounds. Madeline enjoys time admiring herself in the mirror and will also use her fingers to explore her face. Ava is adjusting well in her new "home away from home". She enjoys tummy times, drinks well from her bottles, and smiles in response to others and some fun activities. She is able to follow a rattle by moving her head in an arc from one side to the other. Ava is our new wiggly caterpillar on the changing table, and loves to fly her arms above her and kick her legs out below. For the coming month, we will continue with our stroller walks, weather-permitting. We will paint spring baskets with the babies' fingers. We will also do some "dip & dab" painting, and read books about caterpillars & spring flowers. Enjoy the lovely weather! - Celia, Arline, and Rosanete

Nursery 2 Monkey class: Spring has indeed sprung! The Monkeys are growing so fast and new/almost walkers are having lots of fun exploring the world around them. Spring is a wonderful time of the year for outside play, short walks, and/or buggy rides in our new stroller. It provides young children with just enough exercise to stretch their legs, get the heart pumping, and fill their lungs with fresh air, too. During March, we enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books, cleaning the classroom, and watching bubbles float and pop in the wind. The children made tissue paper shamrocks, painted kites & rainbows, made many foot prints (after reading The Foot Book), and watched yellow and blue paint mix to become green (after reading Little Blue and Little Yellow). During April, we will continue to talk about spring, celebrate NAEYC's "Week of the Young Child", and discuss Earth Day. The class will also learn about baby animals and the sounds they make. We will all "neigh", "baa", and "tweet" to welcome spring! - Agata and Alicia

Do you like the Simon Center? Please spread the word on Yelp and Google. You are our best advertisement!

Junior 1 & 2 Dolphin/Goldfish classes:

March has marched on and April is here! The Dolphins and Goldfish children had a great time during the month of March. They really enjoyed making butterflies and caterpillars while we learned about bugs and insects. We planted seeds when talking about plants and life cycles. The children also enjoyed looking at pictures different kinds of plants and flowers, and all of the different places they can grow. The themes for the month of April will be weather, the zoo, and community helpers. Our classes are getting bigger, too! At the beginning of the month, we will welcome some new students: Aaron on the 1st and Mina on the 5th. We will also welcome back our art teacher Ms. Tracy. Our first Creative Art class will be on MON 4/5. Happy April! - Shatara and Gladys

Junior 3 Panda class: It is time to welcome spring! During the month of March we learned about Dr. Seuss, Weather, Space, St Patrick's Day, and Frogs. We focused on the letters O, P, R; learned about patterns; and worked on our puzzle skills. The Pandas had a wonderful time exploring in the sensory bins with potting soil & toy insects, with water colored by green food color, and with whipped cream also colored by food colors. Everyone had a wonderful time making blue JELL-O. We also made milk shakes without a blender. The children used a milk jug that had milk and vanilla ice cream inside. We added green food coloring and each child took a turn shaking the jug… a true milk shake. The children had a blast! Also in March, Ian “graduated” and moved up to the Bear classroom. In April, Ms. Susan will be moving to the Bear classroom too. We will miss her! Also beginning on April 5th, we will have a Creative art class with our returning art specialist, Ms. Tracy, once a month. We will be learning about Animals in spring, Farm, Zoo, and Earth Day. We will focus on the letters S, T, U; more number activities; and making pizza, butter, and Rice Krispies treats, too. Yum! - Maria and Sameey

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Senior 1 Bear class: The months seem to be going by so fast, and it is hard to believe it is now April. The Bears have had so much learning and growth over the past month in our room. We welcomed 2 new Bears in March, Ian and Joshua G. In April we will have another 2 new friends join our class, Henry M., a new/returning Simon Center student, and Ms. Susan, our newest B teacher. Welcome! The month of April will bring lots of exciting new learning opportunities which will help the children gain knowledge and learn about new concepts. Here are some of the topics we will be discussing during this coming month. We will discuss water and how it keeps us alive, as well as keeping our world thriving. We will also discuss stories & fairy tales, and even get to make cool crowns. Another interesting topic for discussion will be about day vs. night, and last, but not least, healthy eating habits. This last theme will have our group making a friendship fruit salad to enjoy. We hope you are appreciating spring as much as we all are in the Bear class. - Judy and Susan

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 1 April Fool’s Day and Pajama Day April 5 Creative art “special activity” with Ms. Tracy resumes April 12 – 16 NAEYC’s “Week of the Young Child” April 14 Happy 17th Anniversary Ms. Judy!! and our April fundraiser with Original Works online “Gallery” opens April 22 Earth Day April 23 Original Works fundraiser online orders deadline

Senior 2 Giraffe class: The month of March marched too fast! Spring’s approach was swift! Our class went along with the changes, but with the purpose of achieving our objective: to continue developing our social, emotional, cognitive, gross/fine motor, and self-help skills. With these goals in mind and learning through play, we explored the topics of transportation, food & health, the season of spring, and gardens. Our Art projects and most of our everyday activities were based on the topics we were discussing each week. More interesting topics are in store for us this coming month of April. Our themes will include: Different groups of animals, like pets; animals on the farm, in the forest, and also at the Zoo. We are also going to read books and discuss: TAKING CARE OF MOTHER EARTH. We’ll continue appreciating and enjoying spring weather. We hope you do, too. HAPPY SPRINGTIME!!! - Pompeii

Senior 3 Star class: The Stars have been quite busy this past month with lots of learning and of course our special, unannounced guest. We started out the month of March learning about dinosaurs. One “super cool” fact was dinosaurs can be omnivores, herbivores, or carnivores. Also the class was interested to learn what happened to them and why dinosaurs do not exist any longer. Later, we focused on the solar system. We learned about gravity, that there are 8 planets, how the rings around Saturn were made out of dust and rocks, and one “fun fact” surprised us all… The sun is actually a star! The children learned much more but these were the most impressionable facts. Finally, we had a visit from the Leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day. It was such an AWESOME surprise. That naughty Leprechaun made such a mess in our room, he…  put Froot Loops on some children’s cots  left green foot-prints all over the place  made the inside of our toilets green  put our lunch plates and cups onto the floor And so much more crazy stuff! Most of the children really enjoyed the mess he left behind, and talked about his visit for days. Next month we will focus our learning on spring, planting, and insects. Happy spring! - Adriana and Maria

APRIL BIRTHDAYS:

Nina Mina Poppy Teddy Melissa

School Age Kindergarten class: We enjoyed welcoming spring in the month of March. Sunshine and nice weather had us outside… a lot! In March for reading and language studies we focused on nouns, adjectives, and verbs. We added more sight words to our word wall. We also went over the different parts that make up a sentence. Then the students made their first book about spring. The books turned out amazing! Every Monday we write in our journals and share with the class what everyone did over the weekend. Instead of getting adult help, they now sound out each letter in every word! For math, we introduced tallies and how to use them when counting and graphing. Everyone caught on to this very quickly! We also are reviewing addition and subtraction. Some of the children wanted to learn to multiply. This led to a short introduction to multiplication, as well. In April, we will focus on spring themes. We will be going over new sight words, forming math sentences, and discuss the parts to a story. We are looking forward to the sunny days ahead of us! Keep up the great work! - Mrs. Jessica Swink and Mrs. Cathy Struhar

“Henry has made tremendous progress in math and reading as a result of the hard work he puts in with his classmates at RESCC. They enjoy one another, the coursework, and the fun activities that are done each week. We were very fortunate to have this as an option and will miss RESCC next year!” –Henry’s dad, RESCC private Kindergarten class of 2020-21