Hi All,
This coming week is full of really fun activities for your children to explore and experience. All the classes will offer an array of learning experiences.
Teachers put out specific age appropriate activities to help each child grow and develop at their own pace. Teachers may ask questions regarding an activity or they may actively model what they want a child to learn.
For example; What happens when we mix the yellow and red paint? A three and four year old will most likely be able to answer the question as they see the orange color appear. A two year old may need the teacher to supply the answer and experiment with the colors over and over. Using encouraging and exciting words will strengthen the child's learning experience. "Wow, you painted with yellow and red and made orange. That is amazing. Let me see if I can make orange. Do you want to mix the colors again and see what happens?" Even when a child does not understand a word you have used they will catch onto your excitement.
Our teachers will be changing their areas (rooms). Teacher Theresa and Teacher Sarah will be Outside, Teacher Lolly and Teacher Tammy will be in the Main Room, Teacher Karen and Teacher Daran will be Floaters and Teacher Mary will be in the Art Room. The teachers will rotate areas (rooms) every four weeks, giving them opportunities to observe your children through out the whole school.
Pre-k will be exploring life on a farm. What farm animals contribute to our lives and how to take care of them. The teachers will also be talking about safety with animals. The children will be making yummy corn bread and butter. They will continue to learn about leaves and the fall season. And coming soon we will have many new scarecrows to protect our garden. Keep a look out for these.
Talk with your children about where the food comes from when you are at the grocery store or while enjoying a meal together. Children always understand a concept better if you can reference it to something they have already experienced. Has your child been to the forest (camping)? A forest grows many, many trees and a farm can be as large as a forest but grows fruit and veggies for us to eat.
The MWF and TTH classes will continue their body theme, exploring X-rays on our new light table. Movement and music is a wonderful way for children to experiment with their bodies. "You can hop like a bunny, or, hop on one foot." Put on some music at home, start dancing and see what your child will do.
Here is a little parenting tip that I have found to be very successful, in both the school setting and at home: What do I want my child to do? Changing a negative statement into a positive statement.
Example: Instead of “Do not run” say, “Please walk” or “Use your walking feet,” or “Inside is for walking.”
This gives the child the information of what to do rather than what not to do. Children tend to be more cooperative with positive statements.
Example: If your child is whining and you tell your child to stop whining, a lot of the time your child just whines louder. The child is so caught up in whining he cannot think of another way to talk. Tell your child to “Use a talking voice so mommy can understand you” or “Daddy cannot understand you when you whine. I need you to use a talking voice.”
Children respond to positive directions much better than negative directions. You are telling them what to do rather than what not to do.
Clear and positive statements decrease the possibility of power struggles. You give positive attention to appropriate behavior rather than responding to the negative behavior.
If you would like to talk more about parenting skills or problem solve specific behaviors, please contact me.
We look forward to seeing all of you this coming week.
Director Karen and Teachers Lolly, Mary, Sarah, Tammy, Theresa and Daran
