Student artwork on display

During the week of April 14-20 THE WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD

Visit YOGURT GROVE downtown Winter Haven to see student artwork. If you point out your art project on the wall, you will receive 2 ounces of yogurt FREE.

Visit Chick Fil-A at The Landings Winter Haven to see student artwork.

Visit Publix Legoland to see student artwork.

Spring Program March 21 at 7:00 pm

Treasure Hunt

all students in 3s - VPK classes

7:00 pm

Come and discover the Real Treasure

All 3s-VPK students: please wear camo, tan, brown, dark green, grey pants/shirts/shoes
Be in classrooms by 6:30 pm to line up and get ready.

Vision / Hearing Screening

Coming February 8 beginning at 9:00 am.

The Polk County Health Dept will be at St. Johns Preschool to do Vision and Hearing Screenings.

You will receive a permission paper soon. Complete and return when you receive it.

Summer Camp coming this summer

Summer Camp 2013 is coming this summer. June 10-August 16.

Some of the exciting theme weeks planned are as follows:

zoo week
space week
jungle week
circus week
transportation-vacation week
beach week
I love America week (July 4th week)
camping week
VBS week
End of summer bash with a luau

We plan to have special guests visit during some of these theme weeks. Join us for fun-filled weeks this summer during a break from school.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences have been scheduled for the week of January 21, 2013. Conferences are OPTIONAL.

There is no VPK on Monday, January 21. All VPK conferences can be scheduled for that day. Conferences can be on-site at the school or on the phone.

Please see the sign up list on the VPK doors. If you want a phone conference, please include the phone number for the teacher to call you.

Conferences for the 3s students have been scheduled for Tuesday, January 22. Please sign up in the 3s classroom.

Conferences for the 4s students have been scheduled for Thursday, January 24. Please sign up in the 3s or 4s classroom as this is now a combination class 3s/4s.

Preschool food portions

Many Americans eat too much and their food portions are too big. It is important to start young children off with the right eating habits by eating the right portion sizes and the right foods.

Here are some guidelines and recommended portion amounts for young children:

Toddler Portion Sizes

While many older children choose oversized portions and overeat, toddlers often have the exact opposite problem. They may eat what parents think are small portions and may not even eat three meals a day.

One reason that parents often think that their toddler's diet isn't good enough is that they overestimate how much they should be eating at each meal.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a good guideline is that a toddler portion size should equal about a quarter of an adult portion size.

Examples of toddler size portions include:

• 1/4 to 1/2 slice of bread
• 1/4 cup of dry cereal
• one to two tablespoons of cooked vegetables
• 1/2 piece of fresh fruit
• 1/3 cup of yogurt
• 1/2 egg
• 1 tablespoon of smooth peanut butter (if no risk of food allergies) spread thinly on bread or a cracker
• 1 ounce of meat

If your toddler wants to eat more, you can always give seconds, like another tablespoon of vegetables or the other half of a piece of fruit. The only important nutritional limits are not to overdo it on milk and juice. Any more than 16 to 24 ounces of milk and four to six ounces of fruit juice will likely fill up your child so that he isn't hungry for real food.

Preschoolers and Younger School-age Portion Sizes

As your child gets older, his appetite will likely grow and he will eat more. Hopefully he will eat a variety of healthy foods from the five food groups and won't overdo the junk food.

How much food is too much at this age though?

A good guideline is that portion sizes for your preschooler or younger school age child, kids from the age of about four to eight years old, should be about a third of an adult portion size.

Examples of portion sizes for these kids include:

• 1/2 slice of bread
• 1/2 cup of dry cereal
• 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables
• 1/2 piece of fresh fruit
• 1/2 cup of yogurt
• 1/2 cup of low-fat milk
• 1 egg
• 1 ounce of meat