You can also log on to our website each day after 8 a.m. and go to the FACEBOOK updates page.  You will be able to findout what is beings served that day for lunch!

 

 

Johanna will be on vacation during teacher appreciation week and the week after.  If you and your child would like to make her a card please bring it in to her by May 7.

 

 

 

 KIDS KAMP - Please bring in your empty cereal boxes, toilet paper tubes, and other recycleable items for the class to use in art projects.  Items can be put in the KIDS KAMP classroom.

 

KIDS KAMP Summer and Fall enrollment - If you are interested in summer or fall enrollment for our school age program, please contact Sandy or Paul as soon as possible.  Space is limited in both programs and we are filling up.

 

  

 

 

 

WILD WEST CARNIVAL 2010

We have made some changes in our annual Carnival and Auction.  Please look in your mail box (the sign in and out boxes) for a flier explaining all of the changes and how you can help.

 

LET'S STAY KIDS FOREVER!
Peter Pan sings,  "No! I won't grow up. I will never even try! I will stay a kid forever. If someone tries to make us, we'll run away and hide."   Peter boasts about avoiding the responsibilities and complexities of adulthood. He surmises that staying a kid forever frees one from a lot of unnecessary complications. He wants to be problem-free. But, Peter's life as a kid was certainly not problem-free. Every day, Captain Hook's unfriendliness and shenanigans complicated Peter's life. 
                                  
ARE YOUNG CHILDREN REALLY CAREFREE?   THINK AGAIN!
Most of us parents would like our children to have carefree days, similar to Peter Pan's vision. We would hope that problems could be solved simply and that everyone would have a cooperative spirit. But, does that happen in the real world where young children are trying to figure out how relationships work? Sometimes, it truly is a jungle out there! Children may encounter pouting, threats, anger, jealousy, unfriendliness, mean words, hitting, name calling, unfairness, unhealthy competition, or revenge (maybe not quite as sinister as Captain Hook!).
 
Think about this situation from the child's perspective. Friendship is not as easy as it looks. Wading through negative behaviors and trying to make a positive, meaningful connection with another child can be very demanding!  The children need assistance and coaching from adults!

EARLY FRIENDSHIP CONNECTIONS
Infants - Friendship can be as simple as a game of peek-a-boo or a soft bite on the cheek or a smile.
Toddlers-Friendship is beginning when a 15 month-old becomes fascinated with another toddler's hair, gently touches it, and suddenly PULLS HARD! (It was just friendship fascination!)
Older Toddlers-Friendship starts when two 2 year-olds are playing side-by-side with several trucks. Suddenly one grabs a truck from the other child's hand; both struggle, and a squabble ensues over the truck. (Now what?)
Ages 3-4-Children happily play "house" when an argument erupts as to which child will be the "dog." A powerful phrase emerges as the conflict continues: "If you don't let me be the dog, you're not my friend any more!" (A brief pause.) Then a power-laden threat: "And, you can't come to my birthday party!" (Threat intended!)
Pre-K-Scattered around are small huddles of playmates; when another child attempts to join the playing, one group of children blatantly shouts: "We're not playing with you!" Later one might hear: "If you do this for me, I'll be your friend." (Can one refuse a deal?)
These message blares out:  Friendship is complicated from the tiniest child to the most sophisticated adult!

EXPERT ADVICE
In her article, "Social Skills Children Need to Make and Keep Friends," Parent education expert Karen Stephens from Illinois State University lists some behaviors children can learn for developing and maintaining a friendship. Such a list can be very useful to parents who are helping children learn about relationships:
Stephens points out, "Human's social relationships are much more complex than the above list. Children's friendships are full of ups and downs, and every child must learn how to navigate them with poise and a positive attitude."
 
Early friendships require support and coaching from adults to be successful; the adult provides guidance to the child of what is safe, fair, and positive. In the latter preschool years, however, children can be given support to problem-solve their own conflicts.  In daily play, children learn fairness, sharing, taking turns, following the rules, negotiating compromising, and cooperating.
 
Just like Peter Pan, there still may be a "down" day in a friendship connection. It may involve a lot of sadness and complication. Maybe then, we should all take a lesson from Maria who coached the children in the "Sound of Music:"
                        When the dog bites
                        When the bee stings
                        When I'm feeling sad
                        I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel sooo bad!

On Wednesday nights at the church, about 35 parents from NQACC, FFMC and the greater community are enjoying the Love and Logic Parenting Class. We are being stretched and even entertained by the scenarios and the techniques that are challenging us to expect our kids to be respectful and responsible. I can assure you we will offer this class again at some point because it is being so well-received. For now, here's a quick review. I would encourage you to purchase the book and even poke around on YouTube to watch some of the quick video presentations.
From www.loveandlogic.com:
Many parents want their kids to be well prepared for life, and they know this means kids will make mistakes and must be held accountable for those mistakes. But these parents often fail to hold the kids accountable for poor decisions because they are afraid the kids will see their parents as being mean. The result is they often excuse bad behavior, finding it easier to hold others, including themselves, accountable for their children's irresponsibility.
Jim Fay teaches us that we should "lock in our empathy, love, and understanding" prior to telling kids what the consequences of their actions will be. The parenting course Becoming a Love and Logic Parent teaches parents how to hold their kids accountable in this special way. This Love and Logic method causes the child to see their parent as the "good guy" and the child's poor decision as the "bad guy." When done on a regular basis, kids develop an internal voice that says, "I wonder how much pain I'm going to cause for myself with my next decision?" Kids who develop this internal voice become more capable of standing up to peer pressure.
What more could a parent want? Isn't that a great gift to give your child? Parent child relationships are enhanced, family life becomes less strained, and we have time to enjoy our kids instead of either feeling used by them or being transformed from parent to policeman.
The Love and Logic technique in action sounds like this:
Dad: "Oh, no. You left your bike unlocked and it was stolen. What a bummer. I bet you feel awful. Well, I understand how easy it is to make a mistake like that." (Notice that the parent is not leading with anger, intimidation, or threats.) Dad then adds, "And you'll have another bike as soon as you can earn enough money to pay for it. I paid for the first one. You can pay for the additional ones."
Love and Logic parents know that no child is going to accept this without an argument, but Love and Logic parents can handle arguments. Jim Fay advises "just go brain dead." This means that parents don't try to argue or match wits with the child. They simply repeat, as many times as necessary, "I love you too much to argue." No matter what argument the child uses, the parent responds "I love you too much to argue." Parents who learn how to use these techniques completely change, for the better, their relationships with kids and take control of the home in loving ways.

This month, I recieved a booklet from The National Institute for Literacy.  The booklet is titled, "Early Beginnings, Early Literacy Knowledge and Instruction".  I enjoyed reading the booklet and thought I would share some of the information with you.  Here are some of the early literacy skills that the National Early Literacy Panel found to be the most important for later developing in literacy.

 

*Knowledge of the names of printed letters

*Knowing the sounds associated with printed letters

*Being able to manipulate the sounds of spoken language - breaking words apart into smaller sounds or adding or deleting sound units.

*Being able to name a sequence of letters, numbers, objects or colors

*Being able to write one's own name or even isolated letters

*Being able to remember the content of spoken language for a short time

*Understanding that print is read and written from left to right, top to bottom.

*Being able to decode or read common signs (McDonalds, Coke etc)

*A vocabulary to talk about interesting topics - like dinosaurs, weather, insects

*and more....

 

It is exciting to me to look around our center and see how the teachers and families are working on building these skills in our children.  Teachers and parents that spend time reading with children, helps children to understand that print is read and written from left to right, top to bottom.

 

Through many of the activities in our center, like circle time, story time, calendar, and the play in blocks, art, kitchen/home living - children are developing these skills.  For example in art centers - children can express, re-create and integrate learning experiences into their drawings, paintings and more.

 

Children further develop their early literacy skills through listening to adults in conversation with each other and conversations that children share with adults and their peers.  Giving multi-step instructions verbally help children to learn and develop their understanding and usage of language.

 

Some things you can do at home...

Read stories to your child, while you are reading stop and ask questions about pictures on the page.  Allow your child to "predict" what is going to happen on the next page.  Even if it is a story they have read before - "predicitng" what comes next will allow your child to develop greater understanding of language.