A daycare newsletter template that fits on one page

A daycare newsletter gets read when it fits on one page: the week's theme, what you did, what's coming, the reminders a family must act on, and the dates. Peabody Teach's free newsletter maker prints exactly that, in two columns with the theme's drawing, and pulls the theme and the song's words in so you only type a line or two. No sign-in, no ads, and Peabody is free through the end of 2026.

Most of us have written the long newsletter. It took an hour on Sunday, and on Friday half of them were still in the cubbies. The short one is the one that gets read at the door, so the maker is built to keep it short.

The seven blocks

The sheet has seven blocks. Each one has an on/off switch, so a week with nothing to remind anyone about simply has no reminders block.

Two blocks come from the theme and are never typed. The other five hold up to 400 characters each, which is a short paragraph at most. That limit is on purpose.

The hints in the empty boxes show the size we mean: "We counted apple seeds and made paper-plate apples." for what we did, "Please send a spare set of clothes in a labeled bag." for reminders.

What the theme block says, for apples week

Pick the apples theme and the theme block fills itself in. It opens with the theme's line: "One week on apples for twos to fours: what grows on a tree, what is inside, and how many seeds we find." Then the letter (A is for apple), the week's books (Meg and the Seed, Jen and the Jam, A Bun for Fran and Johnny Appleseed), and two things to ask at home: how many seeds were in our apple, and what color apples can be.

The books are Peabody's own stories. The ones a child can follow along with can be read on Peabody's free stories, no sign-in, so a family can open Meg and the Seed at home the same night.

Turn on the song block and the words of the week's song print too. For apples week that is "Oranges and Lemons". Every song in the themes is a public-domain rhyme from Peabody's lists, so the words may go home on paper. The songs post explains why that matters.

What to leave out

A newsletter gets pinned up by the door and forwarded to grandparents. Write it for that.

• Children's full names, and photos of children. First names in a thank-you line, or none.
• Anything about one child. That is a conversation at pickup, not a newsletter.
• Long policy paragraphs. Point to your handbook instead.

The maker helps with the first one. As you type, it looks for a child's name, a full program name, an address or a phone number, and puts a "check before you print" note under that block. It never stops you printing. Sometimes the program's name belongs on the sheet, and you are the one who knows.

Where your words go

Nowhere. The text you type is kept in your browser, the last eight weeks of it, so you can open last week's sheet and reuse the reminders. Nothing typed is sent to us.

The maker also makes a share link, for opening the same sheet on another device. That link carries only the theme and which blocks are switched on. No typed words travel in it, ever, so you can send it to a co-teacher without worrying about what's inside.

What it doesn't do

It is one page and it stays one page. It uses the theme's drawing in place of a photo, so it prints clearly in black and white on the office printer. If you want a photo on the sheet, Teach has a general classroom newsletter maker that takes one; this one is for the weekly note to families.

It does not email anyone, and it keeps no list of families. You print it, hang it, and send a picture of it to the families who use your messaging app if you like.

Try this on Sunday night

1. Plan the week in the theme planner first. When you have a plan for the week, the newsletter maker picks up its theme.
2. Open the newsletter maker, check the week and the theme.
3. Write one sentence in "What we did", the thing a child might mention at dinner.
4. Write next week's theme in "What's coming", and anything to send in.
5. Put only must-do items in "Reminders". If nothing needs doing, switch the block off.
6. Add closures and special days to "Dates".
7. Read any "check before you print" notes, then print one page.

Hang it by the sign-in sheet on Monday morning. If you print a daily sign-in sheet anyway, the two live side by side and families see both at drop-off.

A week of paper, in one place

The newsletter sits beside five other sheets on the preschool and daycare hub: the plan for the wall, the family note for the door, the sign-in sheet, the daily report slip, and name tags and cubby labels. They share the week's theme, so the newsletter, the family note and the slips all say the same thing about the same week.

The family note and the newsletter overlap on purpose. The family note comes with the planner and covers the theme, the song and the books. The newsletter adds your own words: what happened, what's next, what to bring. Use one or both. Many rooms hang the family note on Monday and send the newsletter on Friday.

For more on what makes a newsletter get read, the guide A newsletter families actually read has the four-block version and the list of what to leave out. If your families ask what the week's theme means at home, the for families page is written for them.

Three things providers ask

Can I save it and use it again next week?

Yes. The last eight weeks are kept in the browser you made them in. Open the maker, pick last week, change the dates and the theme, and print. Clearing your browser's data clears them too.

Can I change the blocks' titles or add my own block?

Not yet. The seven blocks are fixed, but each one can be switched off, and the five typed blocks take whatever you write in them, up to 400 characters each.

Is it really free?

Yes. The newsletter maker, the planner and the other sheets need no sign-in and show no ads, and Peabody is free through the end of 2026.