Loving February

By Florence B.

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Who can resist loving February when we get to celebrate Valentine’s Day! We also have a parent meeting where we can choose between TWO speakers covering sleep (oh, bliss!) and couple/family relationships (who can’t love that?!), class photos (these are the BEST!), mid-winter break, teddy bear picnics, and saving the best for last: REGISTRATION for 2018-2019 (*throws confetti*)! It’s a short month, so we’ve got to pack in as much fun as we can!

OK, so let’s start off with what our awesome curriculum team has in store for us, eh? For themes, you’ll see friendship, Valentine’s Day, Post Office, and Bears! Get ready for the dramatic play area to take on a new look for some Post Office fun! Know all those junk mail and catalogs that go straight to recycling? Bring them in to the BFCP Post Office where they’ll be put to good use! Those stickers and old envelopes you probably won’t ever use? The BFCP Post Office wants them!

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You’ll also notice some fun animal books by Sandra Boynton, our February Author of the month! Her short and simple stories are fun and perfect reading material for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers! If you haven’t had a chance to check out her books, Blue Hat, Green Hat (a turkey just can’t get dressed right, oops!), Are You A Cow (trying to figure out if the reader is an animal), and Opposites (works with singing, which is weird, but I somehow can’t read the book out loud without forming a tune) are favorites in our house and extra silly for young toddlers (and babies and older siblings and parents) to love! You can check out her website here.

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But what you’ll REALLY notice? Valentine’s Day! Woohoo! We’ve got lots of hearts, hearts for those hearts, and more hearts to collage and put on those hearts with a side of hearts and a splash of pink (no really, the water in the sensory table is tinged pink!)! For the older three classes, don’t forget to make your Valentine’s bag in the art room so you can get some Valentine’s Day mail from your friends! All this lovely, loving love leads us to our Valentine’s Day parties, complete with Valentine’s card exchanges (and don’t worry, you can dress up and not worry about any messy projects on party day)! The older 2 classes will celebrate on Valentine’s Day, the toddler and 2/3 class will celebrate the day after on the 15th, and finally the parent/baby class will party on Feb 16th!

Backing up a bit, a week before the party, everyone will get a chance to dress up for class photos! These are so much fun to have as a little keepsake to look back on! The class photo is $9 and worth it to have. Even if you’re not planning on buying any photos (individual or class), your kiddo is still DEFINITELY wanted to sit with the rest of the class for the class photo, so let them know ahead to SMILE (or POUT like my kiddos if that’s your kiddo’s picture thing!)! By the way, if you’re in one of the older 3 classes and don’t feel like brushing your hair that day or finding a shirt that doesn’t have a stain on it, don’t worry; only the kiddos and teacher will be in the class photo! For the toddler class parents, get ready to smile since you WILL be in the class photo, too (and don’t forget to match your socks since missing socks only happen on laundry day and days when you’re going to be immortalized not wearing shoes)! Unfortunately, the Parent and Baby Class won’t be doing a class photo, but our littlest friends can still stop by during the Thursday classes to get an individual photo done (so toddler and 2/3s classes, don’t forget to say hi to our smiling visitors)! The teachers aren’t planning any messy activities during picture day, so have fun dressing your best (although you’ll probably want to bring a change of clothes for outside time!!).

ALSO that week on Feb 7th, the 3/4s and Pre-K class are each having a Teddy Bear Picnic at Teacher Kathy’s home! What a fun excursion for our kiddos and their favorite teddy bears (or other stuffy, no toy discrimination here!).  

*Phew* let’s step out of class and switch over to some night time parent education! Thursday the 15th is our February parent meeting! There will be two speakers for you to choose from: Julie Kennedy will cover sleep (Gentle Sleep Coach) and Joan Niehaus will cover couple/family relationships! Julie’s website can be found here: if you’re curious what a Gentle Sleep Coach does. From her website, she writes that “The GSC approach is a gentler alternative for families who emotionally or philosophically resist letting their babies cry it out.” But let’s face it, when you’re checking out her website, you’re probably desperately searching for the secret to getting some sleep. Who knows…you may find it for your family! By the way, here’s a fun fact I just discovered last week, did you know that all our quarterly evening parent ed talks are held jointly with our sister co-op, Inglemoor Cooperative Preschool?! So, if you’re sure you’ve met everyone in BFCP and see a face you don’t recognize, don’t feel shy—make sure to say hi! Lastly, this meeting will be held at Inglewood Presbyterian Church from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM; see you there!

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Alrighty, get ready for the. BEST. Part. Of. This. Post: Registration for the 2018-2019 school year!!(pretend there are 2,018 and 1/2 exclamation marks here for effect)!! If you’re already a member of BFCP and are planning on returning next year, registration opened last Monday, Feb 5 so go, go, go! In-house registration will run until Feb 16, so don’t delay in reserving your kiddo’s spot for next year! If you’re someone who will be new to the BFCP family, then welcome and make sure to snag a spot early! Registration for you will begin on Feb 26, and we’re excited to have you join us! If you find yourself on the waitlist for a spot you want (that happened to us last year for the 2/3 class), don’t fret! There is still plenty of time before the new school year starts for a spot to open up (ta da! Like the one for us did last year!). You can find more info on the Registration & Tuition page HERE.

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So here’s some more details about registration if you’re looking for some more in-depth coverage (if not, then go ahead and skip to the next, next paragraph!). If you’re a current member and are wondering how on earth are you supposed to register for next year—well, step 1 is: Check your email! If you’re in a class now, I’m sure you remember turning in some paperwork to secure your kiddo’s spot. Go ahead and put away that pen you managed to scrounge up from a dark corner of a drawer that your child has not yet discovered; BFCP is now doing online registration system for the 2018/2019 year! That means you will be getting a direct link in an email that gets you to your personal “family portal” (no username or password required, but this personalized link will expire, so hurry!). This new system also means registering will be quicker and easier than last year since most information will already be there (although don’t forget to verify and make corrections as needed)! So, if you find an unexpected email from Jovial, don’t delete it if you’re planning on registering (plus now you know what to expect so it’s no longer unexpected, yay!)! But, if you already deleted it or if your SPAM blocker works REALLY, REALLY well, then hop on over to www.jovial.org/bfcp/family and enter your email to get an access link.

ALUMNI! Don’t worry, I know you feel like you’re in a gray area since I’m mentioning current BFCP family and new member registrations—but you actually register when current in-house members do! So, get your access link and get registered! In fact, for anyone curious about how  kiddos are guaranteed a spot during the in-house registration, there’s an actual priority list of: “1) continuing students; 2) those students repeating a class; 3) those students skipping a class; 4) siblings of current students; 5) children of alumni. Thereafter, advanced registration shall be open to the general public based on space availability.” There you go, curiosity satisfied.

Finally, after talking about all the fun stuff to expect in February, I’ve got one last important bit of info for you; Mid-Winter Break is from Feb 19th to 23rd so don’t show up to school that week! And don’t worry, if you actually do and remember just as you pull into the parking lot, there’s always the nearby Bothell Library to visit to find a good book to read or the Park at Bothell Landing to get those winter wiggles out!

Wow, there’s a whole bunch of important dates up there so here’s a summary:

Feb 5 - In-house registration for current BFCP families begins (ends Feb 16)
Feb 6 - 3/4 and Pre-K school photo day
Feb 8 - 2/3 and Toddler school photo day (Parent & Baby welcome to take individual photos)
Feb 14 - 3/4 and Pre-K Valentine’s Day parties
Feb 15 - Toddler and 2/3 Valentine’s Day parties
Feb 15 - Parent Meeting at Inglewood Presbyterian Church from 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Feb 16 - Parent & Baby Valentine’s Day party
Feb 19 - Mid-Winter Break begins (ends Feb 23)
Feb 26 - Registration for 2018/2019 school year opens up to the community

There you have it! If you have any comments, feel free to shout below or send an email to blog@bothellfamilycoop.org