GUMC Preschool

By now most of the Christmas decorations and gifts may have been put away or dispersed, but the warm memories and the love of families and friends are ours to treasure forever. We pray God's Blessings for a Happy New Year and thank Him for sending His son Jesus who allows us to carry Christmas in our hearts all year long!

"Christmas is forever, not for just one day. For loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away." ~ Norman Wesley Brooks

Welcome back, GUMC Families! Below you will find specifics about the very busy month ahead to include information on registration. 2025 here we come!!

1-1 GUMC CLOSED. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

1-2 GUMC CLOSED. Teacher Work Day.

1-3 GUMC CLOSED. Teacher Professional Day.

1-6 Classes Resume

1-8 Music with Ms. Aimee

1-9 Music with Ms. Aimee

1-13 2025-26 Registration Forms go home for currently enrolled families.

1-14 After-school Discovery Clubs begin. Do You Want to Be a Math Gamer? #1/6

1-15 Music with Ms. Aimee, Discovery Clubs: Jump To It and Music Around the World #1/6

1-16 Music with Ms. Aimee, Discovery Club: How To Be A Superhero #1/6

1-20 GUMC CLOSED, HCPSS Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

1-21 Do You Want to Be a Math Gamer? #2/6, Community Registration Begins

1-22 Music with Ms. Aimee, Discovery Clubs: Jump To It and Music Around the World #2/6

1-23 Music with Ms. Aimee, Discovery Club: How To Be A Superhero #2/6

1-25 Young Families Winterpalooza 4-6pm

1/27 Parent Connection Meeting at 9:30am, upstairs in the Quilters' Area

1/28 Do You Want to Be a Math Gamer? #3/6

1-29 GUMC OPEN, HCPSS Closed, Kingdom Kids with Ms. Julie D. Discovery Clubs: Jump To It and Music Around the World #3/6

1-30 Kingdom Kids with Ms. Julie D. Discovery Club: How To Be A Superhero #3/6

Regisitration for currently enrolled families will take place from January 13th - 17th, 2025. If you pre-registered your child, you will receive a paper copy of the Registration & Financial Agreement Form to be completed and returned to your child's teacher. No payment is due at that time, but you will be invoiced for the Security Deposit and Registration/Activity Fee via Procare. Please note the January 17th deadline, as Waitlist and Community Registration will begin on Tuesday, January 21st.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY

In the event that Howard County Schools have a 2-hour delayed opening, GUMC will open at 10:15am. Classes will end at 1:15pm as usual and after-school Discovery Clubs will go on as usual. Please use extra caution in the parking lot and on sidewalks/steps in icy/snowy conditions.

In the event that Howard County Schools are closed, GUMC will also be closed.

If HCPSS close early, GUMC will close at 11:45am, and afters-school Discovery Clubs will be cancelled.

FLU GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS

'Tis the season for "widespread" activity of influenza according to the Maryland Department of Health. In order to keep the flu-bug from spreading, please keep your child home until he/she is 24-hours free from fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. Even then, we ask that you keep your child at home if he/she has a persistent cough, unusually runny nose or should you suspect that he/she might still be contagious to the other children and teachers in class. See the following link for additional information:

http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/3/cdc-flu-guide-for-parents.pdf

Hi everyone!

My name is Valerie Mandelkorn, and along with Meredith Goodwin (and the help of Julie DuTremble), we would like to introduce our new Young Families Group to our preschool community! This group is aimed at families with newborns through 1st grade, to support one another through this busy season of life and plan some fun events throughout the year! Our first event will be a Winterpalooza pizza party here at GUMC in Eyre Hall on Saturday January 25th from 4-6 pm. Come on out, have some pizza, bring a side or dessert to share if you’d like, and play some games with your little ones! Siblings are welcome. There will be a sign up genius sent out in the church newsletter and I've also included it below. If you have any questions, or if there are specific types of events that you’d like to see this year, please let either of us know, or Julie. We hope to see you there and we’re excited to meet more of our families with little ones!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4BABAD2DA3F4C52-54197863-gumc

Valerie (Bryce’s mom)-(240) 672-2090

Meredith (Grant and Diana’s mom)-(301) 873-6919

Are You Looking for a Child-Free Evening?
GUMC Youth have the solution—Parent’s Evening Out—a chance for parents/guardians to relax, connect, and recharge, all while supporting an amazing cause!

EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday February 1st
Time: 3 – 7 pm
Location: GUMC

Take a well-deserved break while we provide childcare for your little ones! The evening will not only give you time to unwind but also contribute to a meaningful purpose. Proceeds from this event will go directly to support our Youth Missions, helping our young members grow in faith and service.
To help us plan, please REGISTER your child(ren) by Friday, January 24th.

Thank you! See flyer above with important information and QR Code.

Children begin learning language from the moment they are born. As they develop and grow, their speech and language skills become increasingly more complex. They learn to understand and use language to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, and to communicate with others. During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are important to the development of literacy - reading and writing. This stage, known as emergent literacy, begins at birth and develops dramatically during the preschool years.

Children see and interact with print, such as books, magazines, and grocery lists in everyday life long before they even start elementary school. Parents can see their child's growing interest in print as they begin to recognize rhyming words, point out favorite brand logos and street signs (environmental print), and scribble with crayons. Children will progress from listening to stories and recognizing letters to forming letters and reading some words. Below is a link to an informative article on skills and abilities in emergent literacy: oral language, alphabetic code and print knowledge / concepts.