Center Closed
July 5th through July 9th
Parent Activities:
Infants Peek A Boo Bear-7/20, 9:30am
Toddler’s Summer Art-7/28, 9:00am
Two’s Stuffed Animal Picnic-7/22, 3:30pm
Preschool 1 Stuffed Animal Picnic-7/22, 3:30pm
Preschool 2 Make A Dinosaur-7/27, 9:30am
Preschool 3 Special Splash Day-7/21, 9:30am
WE ARE MOVING!
Larenz J. Infants-Toddlers
Natalie C. Toddlers-Twos
Memphis D. Toddlers-Twos
Omar S. Twos-Preschool 1
Kinsee H. Twos-Preschool 2
Colter W. Preschool 1-Preschool 3
Welcome to CKLC
Benjamin W. Infants
Olive C. Infants
Sophia O. Infants
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Ashlynn P. July 3rd
Kirsten H. July 5th
Joshua O. July 6th
Ashton C. July 8th
Zachary C. July 8th
Ms. Gloria July 12th
Danielle F. July 14th
Ms. Aleisha July 18th
Larenz J. July 27th
Natalie C. July 25th
Memphis D. July 25th
Sienna D. July 29th
Dear Parents,
As many of you know, we have been searching far and wide to find some outstanding teachers to add to our already fantastic Clever Kids staff. The search is over at last and we are so thrilled to welcome Tiffany Northrup and Teresa Bell to our team. Tiffany comes to us with several years experience as a Lead Teacher for toddlers and two year olds and her Child Development Associate Certificate. Teresa has also been working with young children for several years, most recently as a First Grade Teacher. She has a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education/Elementary Education. I know they are both looking forward to teaching your children and getting to know your families.
I have some very exciting news to share with you. First, our center has been added to a prestigious registry of Eco-Friendly Childcare Facilities-we are 1 of only 3 in the State of Utah. We are so pleased to be included among the businesses in Utah that are working to make a difference. Even more exciting, our center has been chosen by the Child Care Professional Development Institute to be featured in their upcoming marketing campaign due to the achievements of some of our staff member on the Utah Career Ladder. Tonya Spaulding, Heather Bills, Gloria Martinez, Malinda Houtz and Mallory Pelch will all be featured and we couldn’t be more proud.
The children have really been enjoying our Splash Wednesday events. It truly is just like a beach party complete with water play, sandcastle building and sunbathers. If you have the opportunity, please stop by and join in the fun. We have some fabulous parent-activities for July and hope that you will be able to participate.
I appreciate the input several of you have given us on our menu’s and as a result, we are making some changes and additions that I think you’ll find desirable. We will be changing from white to wheat bread products throughout the center. In addition, we are adding a component to our snack menus so that they will be more substantial. The new menu’s will be posted this month and I encourage you to take a look.
I have made a few changes to office procedures and I hope you will find they make things a little easier for you. Cash payments can be accepted at the office, and can also now be accepted by Ms. Malinda, Ms. Tonya and Ms. Amanda. If you need to make a payment at a time when I am away from the office, please feel free to see one of these teachers. Also, if you need to have security clearance called in for an emergency or alternative pickup person, these same teachers can assist. One note on security clearance…in most cases, the security staff need several hours to get someone on the list for clearance.
Thanks to each of you for your support. Have a wonderful month.
Warmly, Debbie Freitas
In classrooms around the center:
Our Nature Ride was very calming and gave our Infants an early learning experience in nature. We described for them what they were seeing, hearing and feeling. They enjoyed the trees swaying in the wind, the grass under their feet (at the end of our ride) and the sounds all around them. Thank you parents for joining us on our Nature Ride.
The Toddlers had such fun creating paper aquariums with their parents. They painted paper plates blue and then stuck fish and sea life stickers on the blue plates. We covered them with plastic for the kids so each had their own aquarium. Our parent enjoyed painting and helping their children with the stickers. Many of the children also enjoyed tasting the (non-toxic) paint. We all learned that fish live in the water and fish our are friends. Thank you parents for attending.
We are so glad our parent were able to attend our Snow Cone making event which was a hit with the kids. They loved taking turns putting ice into the machine and watching the ice get shaved into tiny pieces. Each child then chose their own flavoring. The kids used their observation skills math skills during this project (watching the machine work and matching flavors with their friends who chose the same flavor). We all sat in the classroom, ate our cones and talked with our friends and parents.
In Preschool 1 our parents and their children had a wonderful time making a kite together. Each child decorated their kite using markers and stickers. Our parent helped out in the kite assembly and in writing their child’s name on the kite. We didn’t have enough wind to fly our kites that day, but we know the children will enjoy doing that with their parents! Thanks to everyone for attending; the kids just loved every minute of it.
Our class had a wet and wild time at our Splash Day parent activity. We had 6 fun activities spread throughout the playground that the kids and parents alike enjoyed. We had an ocean animal activity table, a bubble station, a sand castle building area, a painting with your feet activity and the sprinkler was on to run through and get cooled off. We also had a story book station set up for relaxing and cooling off. Everyone had a wonderful time! The kids were so happy to spend time playing outside with their parents; thanks for coming!
The children in PS3 had a blast making discovery bottles. They mixed anything they wanted including water, shaving cream, oil, hair gel, dish soap and food coloring in a plastic bottle & then added sand, rocks, beads, cotton balls and plastic creatures into the bottle. The kids learned that some things sink, some float and oil and water don’t mix. A few learned (the hard way) that putting shaving cream in a bottle isn’t easy! Thanks to everyone for attending!
Ready for Kindergarten?
Five teachers tell you what preschoolers really need for next year.
By Ellen H. Parlapiano, Scholastic Parent Child Magazine
If your child’s preschool years are coming to an end, your thoughts are probably turning toward kindergarten. But is your child ready to move on to the “big” school? What skills do kindergarten teachers expect their new students to have? To help answer those questions (and ease your mind), we’ve asked highly regarded kindergarten teachers from around the country to share their insights on helping your child gain the right mix of kindergarten-readiness skills.
The skill sets they are looking for might surprise you. Because of the national focus on improving education and meeting standards, you might think that it’s most important for children to enter kindergarten knowing their ABCs, numbers, shapes, and colors so they can keep up with the curriculum. While teachers would love children to come in with some letter and number recognition, they don’t want you to drill your kids on academic skills. There are equally - if not more - important readiness skills that set the stage for your child’s learning. Raising an eager learner is the goal, and it can be achieved easily through play and day-to-day activities.
What follows are the top readiness skills that kindergarten teachers look for.
Enthusiasm Toward Learning
“I look for those qualities that prime children to be successful in school,” says Kim Hughes. Does the child approach learning enthusiastically? Is she eager to explore and discover? Does she ask questions, take initiative, and persist when tasks are difficult? “Parents can set aside a little time each day to investigate the world with their preschooler and answer those endless questions,” says Sandra Waite-Stupiansky. As you drive or walk along in the park, point out your child’s surroundings - the different trees or the various birds at the feeder. Demonstrate how things work. “You’ll help your child develop beginning science skills - the ability to form a hypothesis, test it out, and come up with new questions and theories,” Waite-Stupiansky explains. “The more kids notice, the more curious they’ll become. And we’ll be building on that curiosity in kindergarten.”
Solid Oral-Language Skills
“Children need wide background knowledge about their world and the words to go with it,” says Lisa Mosier. “I want to know where they’ve been and what they can talk about.” You can help build language skills by taking your child to many new places and giving him words and descriptions for what he is seeing. At the zoo, explain, “There’s a tiger. See how he has stripes and looks different from the lion?” Mosier says these experiences have a huge impact on literacy. “If you’re reading a book about zoo animals and it says ‘Look at the tiger,’ and you can’t tell the difference between a lion and a tiger, then you won’t have the background knowledge to help you tackle the word. When children come to words that they don’t know, they won’t be able to make a good guess because it isn’t in their vocabulary.”
Research shows that one of the best predictors of later reading success is a well-developed oral vocabulary in kindergarten. “PreK kids are learning vocabulary at the rate of five to six words a day,” says Waite-Stupiansky. “It’s just amazing how they will retain words if you use them several times in context and conversation.” Most important, always keep the focus on fun. “Relax, and enjoy your children,” Mosier says. “Read, play, and go places. And talk the whole time you’re doing it!”
The Ability to Listen
Children’s literature is a rich resource for expanding language. “We expect parents to be reading to kids every day,” says Jayne C. Isaacs. “I can tell which children have been glued to the TV or computer for hours at a time. When we read them a story and ask them to tell us in their own words what they liked or remembered, they’re unable to do so.” Besides fostering vocabulary and comprehension, reading develops the attention skills necessary in a kindergarten classroom. “Listening is a key part of school behavior,” Isaacs notes. Students must be able to concentrate on what the teacher is saying, listen carefully for directions, and tune in to the sounds in letters and words.
“The more animated you are as you read, the better you’ll focus your child’s attention on what she’s hearing,” says Armando Argandona. Use different voices for the characters. Promote critical thinking by asking questions like, “Why do you think that happened?” and “How would you feel if that happened to you?” and “What do you think will happen next?” Engage kids by inviting them to clap or stomp when they hear a rhyming word, and letting them finish sentences in familiar stories. Books with rhyme and repetitive refrains (like those by Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss) help kids predict what’s coming and detect consonant sounds at the beginning and end of words, which fosters phonemic awareness-the ability to hear and break down the subtle sounds in words. Your child won’t be able to read the word “cat” until she understands that it actually has three sounds: “cuh,” “ah,” and “tuh.”
The Desire to Be Independent
Encouraging self-help skills is an important step to preparing your child for kindergarten. “It’s amazing how many kids come to kindergarten not knowing how to hang up a jacket,” says Argandona. It might be quicker for you to do it, but “independence is critical for helping your child adjust to school,” he emphasizes. Teachers expect children to:
- Get coats on and off and hang them up
- Follow simple two-step instructions such as “take off your boots and put on your sneakers”
- Go to the bathroom and wash their hands
- Blow their nose and cover their mouth when they cough
- Fasten and unfasten simple buttons and snaps
- Eat neatly and pour into a cup
- Open up a juice box and get the straw in.
“Some children are so dependent on their parents that they expect the teacher to do these things for them,” says Hughes. “But when you have 20-plus kids in the room, it’s hard to worry about wiping noses!” However, she notes that tying shoes is a developmental skill that often doesn’t come until the first grade. If kids can’t yet tie their shoes, Hughes suggests sending them in slip-ons or sneakers with Velcro fasteners.
The Ability to Play Well with Others
Your child will need your assistance refining essential social skills such as sharing, compromising, turn-taking, and problem-solving. “Children are naturally egocentric at this age, and we don’t expect them to be able to share everything,” says Waite-Stupiansky. “But by the time they reach kindergarten, they should be able to express their feelings in words and begin to understand that two people can use the same thing at the same time.”
If you and your child are building with blocks and he reaches for one you’re using, Hughes suggests you first encourage your child to ask, “May I have the block?” Then model sharing by saying something like, “I’m glad to share my block with you.” When you notice your child sharing with others, celebrate it by saying, “I’m so proud of you. It’s really hard to share your favorite doll, but you were able to do it. Good for you!”
On play dates and park outings, stay within earshot so you can help kids problem-solve when conflict occurs, Hughes recommends. If your son gets in a power struggle over a toy and can’t seem to work it out, step in and say, “It looks like we’re having a problem here. What can we do about it?” Encourage him to come up with possible solutions, offering your own suggestions, if necessary. “Help kids understand the feelings of others,” says Hughes. “I want them to know when a friend is sad by looking at her face and seeing that her mouth is frowning or her eyes are crying.” This nurtures compassion and empathy, values that are prized by kindergarten teachers.
Strong Fine-Motor Skills
Your child’s hands must be strong enough to master coloring, cutting, pasting, and holding a pencil - fine-motor tasks that kids use every day in kindergarten. “By week one, we’re already writing a letter of the alphabet,” says Argandona. “If kids can’t hold the pencil correctly, they will fall behind.”
To hold the pencil the right way, kids need to develop the small muscles in their palms and fingers. Hughes suggests giving your child a pipe cleaner and some Cheerios (or similar, colorful cereal) to make bracelets. “It requires you to pinch with your fingers,” she explains, the same motion needed for grasping a pencil. Or ask your preschooler to mist your houseplants with a spray bottle, an activity that boosts both writing and scissor skills. Scribbling in clay with fingers is a fun alternative to doing it on paper and especially helpful for kids who are resistant to writing and drawing. (A child can practice cutting the clay into small strips too.) “Offer writing utensils in a variety of sizes and shapes,” advises Hughes. “Some people think that fat pencils are easier to hold, but that’s not always true. For a child with weak hands, a smaller, shorter pencil might be easier to manage.”
Basic Letter and Number Recognition
Kindergarten teachers believe that it is their responsibility to teach kids letter sounds and how to write, but they do hope incoming students can recognize most letters by sight. They also hope children can count to 10, identify numbers 1 to 5, and know some shapes and colors.
But teachers don’t want you to quiz your child or use workbooks, flashcards, or phonics kits. “So much learning can happen without quizzing or sitting down with a pencil,” says Isaacs. The lessons unfold naturally as you and your child sort Legos by color or shape. Your daughter practices counting as she doles out pretend cookies for the dolls in her tea party. Your son builds letter recognition while scrambling alphabet magnets on the fridge.
“Every outing is a spontaneous opportunity to learn,” Isaacs adds. Play guessing games like, “I spy with my little eye something with the number 3.”