
Dates of Closures in 2010:
May 31 - July 5 through 9 - September 6 -
October 11 - November 11, 25 & 26
December 24
Special Events
Preschool West - March 15th 7:45am-9am - Parent Breakfast
Preschool East - March 19th 4pm-5pm - Step into Spring Party
Preschool North - March 24th - Walk in Breakfast
Happy Birthday
Caelo - Toddler 1 - March 10th
Maya - Preschool East - March 10th
Cooper - Preschool North - March 10th
Ms. Nicole - Preschool 1 - March 10th
Zach - Infant 2 - March 13th
Jack - Preschool North - March 20th
Aiden - Preschool 1 - March 24th
Kayla - Toddler 2 - March 27th
Chase - Preschool West - March 31st
A Message from the Director
This is the time of the year when parents of school agers start thinking of summer programs. I want to officially notify you that we will be unable to offer a summer program for the year of 2010. There just isn’t space available in this big building of ours! I also know that this means some of our parents who have children heading off to kindergarten might decide to leave us at the beginning of the summer and get everybody into one drop-off and pick-up! Please keep in mind that we will need to have at least two weeks’ written notice about your child’s last day at Clever Kids. (But don’t make us say “goodbye” too soon!)
During the month of April, our program celebrates the Week of the Young Child. This year it will be recognized from April 12 through 16. Special events will be announced in the April newsletter, but I did want you to have plenty of notice about a date with an early closing time for the center. The entire center will close at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. This does not affect the infant and toddler rooms at all, but the preschoolers will need to be out of the building by 5:00 p.m. The center is closing early to begin a special event for our staff members to specifically acknowledge them during the Week of the Young Child.
I would also like to ask for your help in developing a curriculum theme around “recycling.” I am interested in any ideas you have that would be of interest to young children, contacts you have made through your work or personal efforts in recycling, or resources you can recommend. As a program, we try to instill the idea of recycling throughout the center. We focus on using the backsides of paper for drawing, to taking a walk with children to the recycling bin in the parking lot. We also recycle batteries and encourage all of you to bring them here instead of tossing them in your trash can at home. We know that the children we have now will be the recyclers of the future, so we want to train them with that concept early!
In Classrooms Around the Center…
Young children’s natural curiosity about math arises in their every day work and play. Math is more than numbers and rote counting. Young children investigate size, quantity, categorization, patterns, space, speed and sequence. Learning does not happen on its own. Clever Kids teachers systematically introduce mathematical experiences into children’s daily lives and curriculum. Learning early math concepts can be put into five areas that require specific materials and teacher interactions.
Classification - grouping things according to common traits
In small groups children sort animals by color, glass pumpkins by size and leaves by shape. In the dramatic play area children put all the utensils in one container and dishes in the other. Fruits and vegetables have separate containers, too. It all comes very naturally in their daily routine, especially at clean up time. At snack time when “gorp” is served, you see children sorting raisins, chocolate chips and cheerios. They readily compare the amounts of each and comment on their favorite ingredient.
Seriation - grouping objects based on differences (smallest to largest) or a repeating sequence or pattern
The classic stories ” The Three Bears” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” picture graduated quantities in the most child friendly way. The stories get re-played by the children in dramatic play where the different size bowls are set for each character, or outside where a different pitch or loudness of voice indicates a different goat. The variation in sizes take shape at the play-dough table as different beds, bowl or chairs are made. Nesting cups, measuring spoons and lacing beads are just a few of the materials used by the teachers. Colorful fruit loops and yarn always invite children to experiment with pattern and quantity. In art, collage is often where the patterns can be spotted.
Numbers - number recognition, one-to-one correspondence or quantity
Children love to count! They want to count everything around them! On the way to school they count red or blue cars, stop signs they pass or cars in line at the local Starbucks. They help to set up the lunch table making sure the plate, cup and spoon are set in front of every chair. They pass the musical instruments at music time, one instrument for every child. Materials that fit together like pegs and peg boards, nuts and bolts, markers with lids, egg cartons and plastic eggs are offered to solidify the one-to-one correspondence. Numerals are introduced and children match the quantity with the corresponding number. Teachers encourage number writing as often as possible.
Space - spatial exploration
Preschoolers run, climb and move around the classroom with confidence. They write in two dimensions and build in three dimensions. Children fill and empty containers with sand and water using all kinds of scoops and transforming the shape of the materials. The water tables in our classrooms are one of the most popular centers next to blocks (another place for exploration of space and problem solving.) Legos® and Tinkertoys®, boxes and lids, bottles and cups are just a few materials that fit together and come apart.
Children’s awareness of space can be noticed on the playground as they walk around the tire swing in motion in a predictable pattern.
Time - time concept
Preschoolers deal with time in concrete ways before they understand clocks and calendars. “It’s time for lunch” is associated with food, not the time of day.
To help children learn about the passage of time, we use starting and stopping signals in the forms of music, dimmed lights or counting. Timers are sometimes set by the computers to measure the length of time each child works there, or for the “beat the clock” game for clean up. The study of living things indoors and outdoors and taking photos of them, help children describe and reflect on changes over time.
Toddlers and Challenging Behavior:
Why They Do It
The year between age 2 and age 3 is an exciting one. Toddlers are realizing that they are separate individuals from their parents and caregivers. This means that they are driven to assert themselves, to communicate their likes and dislikes, and to act independently (as much as they can!). Toddlers are also developing the language skills that help them express their ideas, wants, and needs. At the same time, toddlers do not understand logic and still have a hard time with waiting and self-control. In a nutshell: Two-year-olds want what they want when they want it! This is why you may be hearing things like “no” and “me do it” and “no diaper change!” more than ever before.
Learning to Handle Strong Feelings
As a parent, your job is to help your young toddler navigate the tide of strong emotions she is experiencing this year. This is no small task, since the emotional lives of 2-year-olds are complex. This year they are beginning to experience feelings like pride, shame, guilt, and embarrassment for the first time.
Older toddlers are a lot like teenagers. Their feelings may swing wildly from moment to moment. They may be joyful when getting a popsicle and then despair when it drips on their hands. So toddlers really need your loving guidance to figure out how to cope with their emotions.
Your child is struggling with this when:
- He has a meltdown when you can’t understand his words
- She says no when she means yes (you are offering her a favorite treat)
- He gets so angry that he might throw a toy
- She cannot settle for a substitute-if the purple pajamas are in the wash, she is inconsolable (even though you have offered the pink ones, the polka dot ones, the ones with the cupcake patch on the front, etc.)
- He acts out when frustrated-will give up or get angry when he can’t figure out how to make the jack-in-the-box work
Your child is learning to manage strong feelings when he:
- Uses words or actions to get your attention or ask for help
- Talks to himself in a reassuring way when he is frustrated or frightened. For example, he mightsay to himself, Daddy will come back, after you drop him off at child care. Or, I can build this again after his block tower collapses
- Re-enacts a stressful event, like a doctor’s visit
- Uses words like I’m mad rather than throwing or hitting
- Tells you the rules or shows that she feels badly about breaking the rules. For example, your child might say no to herself as she does something off-limits, like opening the fridge. Or he might tell you at the park, don’t walk in front of the swings.
From zerotothree.org