October 2022 Newsletter
A Note From Our Principal
Fall is in full swing! Our students are having a blast exploring colored leaves and feeling the crisp air outdoors as they participate in fun, seasonal activities. Mark your calendars! Our Fall Festival/Open House event is on Saturday, October 22, 10am – 1pm and we hope to see all of you there with your children. We’ll have games, refreshments, and fun fall activities.
We look forward to another month full of learning, fun, and play!
Sincerely,
Heather Dear, Kathleen Spross, & Victoria Nagle
Join us for our Virtual Potty-Training Workshop on October 6 at 12PM PDT / 3PM EST
Are you ready to take that next step? Do you need ideas or support to make your child’s potty training a success? Learn tips and techniques to ensure a successful, positive experience. Sign-up at https://conta.cc/3QFr2uI.
Halloween Events
Our classrooms will be celebrating Halloween by doing crafts, playing outdoor games with their classmates, and celebrating in costume on October 31! We will send more information via Links 2 Home soon.
Important Dates
October 3 – Wear Pink
October 5 – National Do Something Nice Day
October 6 – Mad-Hatter Day – Wear your favorite hat
October 10 – Wear Green
October 12 – National Farmers Day – Dress like a farmer
October 17 – National Sports Day – Wear your favorite sport/team
October 22 – Open House 10am – 1pm
October 26 – National Pumpkin Day – Wear orange
October 31 – End of Month Folders go home
October 31 – Halloween Party
Social-Emotional Learning from Infancy through Pre-K
Social-emotional skills acquired in the preschool years pave the way for children to form lasting friendships, develop empathy, and understand different situations. Our teachers encourage social-emotional development, first and foremost, by creating a safe and supportive environment where every child feels good about coming to school.
Below are specific examples on how we facilitate this learning in each of our classrooms.
Infants (0-1 year)
Positive verbal, nonverbal, and physical interactions provide infants with a sense of safety, confidence, and self-worth. Our teachers design activities that allow infants to look to them for support and encouragement when exploring new materials. For example, if an infant is struggling to fit a shape into the shape sorter, our teachers assist and prompt the infant by saying, “Let us try and turn the piece this way” or “I don’t think that shape fits. Should we see if it fits in another spot?”
Toddlers (1-2 years)
In our toddler classroom, students take an active part in dressing themselves. For example, teachers may ask, “Can you pull your arm through the sleeve,” or “Please take your socks off for our sensory walk.” Teachers also expose toddlers to a variety of emotions in developmentally appropriate ways. They may show pictures of children making various facial expressions and encourage the toddlers to practice identifying the emotions and mimicking the expressions in a mirror.
Beginners (2-3 years)
Our Beginner teachers support sharing and taking turns by providing students with visual prompts and auditory cues. For example, if they notice a student has been waiting to play with maracas, they may say, “Sophie, what special words could you use to have a turn with the maracas?” To make children feel safe and welcome when entering the classroom, teachers include the individual student’s name in the greeting and demonstrate gratitude when they return the greeting. Sometimes they may even greet students with a high-five, fist bump, or happy dance.
Intermediates (3-4 years)
Intermediate teachers encourage students to generate some of their own rules and routines, even silly ones! This promotes ownership over their own behaviors and allows students to feel respected within the classroom community. Teachers also provide students with words to describe why they feel a particular way if they can’t express it themselves. They may say, “I think you’re angry because your face is red and you yelled. I would be angry too if someone took my toy.” They then guide students through brief exercises to help self-calm and reduce stress, such as taking slow, deep breaths.
Pre-K (4-5 years)
Teachers in our Pre-K classroom inspire students to plan and engage in challenging tasks by modeling correct methods, techniques, and goals. Examples of this include using blocks to create a ramp for cars or assisting in searching for letters in a sensory bin to spell sight words. Our teachers always praise students for their effort with specific feedback. During centers, students direct their learning with supervision from their teachers, which creates opportunities to initiate and solve their own problems.
October 2022 Newsletter
October 2022 Newsletter
A Note From Our Principal
Fall is in full swing! Our students are having a blast exploring colored leaves and feeling the crisp air outdoors as they participate in fun, seasonal activities. Mark your calendars! Our Fall Festival/Open House event is on Saturday, October 22, 10am – 1pm and we hope to see all of you there with your children. We’ll have games, refreshments, and fun fall activities.
We look forward to another month full of learning, fun, and play!
Sincerely,
Heather Dear, Kathleen Spross, & Victoria Nagle
Join us for our Virtual Potty-Training Workshop on October 6 at 12PM PDT / 3PM EST
Are you ready to take that next step? Do you need ideas or support to make your child’s potty training a success? Learn tips and techniques to ensure a successful, positive experience. Sign-up at https://conta.cc/3QFr2uI.
Halloween Events
Our classrooms will be celebrating Halloween by doing crafts, playing outdoor games with their classmates, and celebrating in costume on October 31! We will send more information via Links 2 Home soon.
Important Dates
October 3 – Wear Pink
October 5 – National Do Something Nice Day
October 6 – Mad-Hatter Day – Wear your favorite hat
October 10 – Wear Green
October 12 – National Farmers Day – Dress like a farmer
October 17 – National Sports Day – Wear your favorite sport/team
October 22 – Open House 10am – 1pm
October 26 – National Pumpkin Day – Wear orange
October 31 – End of Month Folders go home
October 31 – Halloween Party
Social-Emotional Learning from Infancy through Pre-K
Social-emotional skills acquired in the preschool years pave the way for children to form lasting friendships, develop empathy, and understand different situations. Our teachers encourage social-emotional development, first and foremost, by creating a safe and supportive environment where every child feels good about coming to school.
Below are specific examples on how we facilitate this learning in each of our classrooms.
Infants (0-1 year)
Positive verbal, nonverbal, and physical interactions provide infants with a sense of safety, confidence, and self-worth. Our teachers design activities that allow infants to look to them for support and encouragement when exploring new materials. For example, if an infant is struggling to fit a shape into the shape sorter, our teachers assist and prompt the infant by saying, “Let us try and turn the piece this way” or “I don’t think that shape fits. Should we see if it fits in another spot?”
Toddlers (1-2 years)
In our toddler classroom, students take an active part in dressing themselves. For example, teachers may ask, “Can you pull your arm through the sleeve,” or “Please take your socks off for our sensory walk.” Teachers also expose toddlers to a variety of emotions in developmentally appropriate ways. They may show pictures of children making various facial expressions and encourage the toddlers to practice identifying the emotions and mimicking the expressions in a mirror.
Beginners (2-3 years)
Our Beginner teachers support sharing and taking turns by providing students with visual prompts and auditory cues. For example, if they notice a student has been waiting to play with maracas, they may say, “Sophie, what special words could you use to have a turn with the maracas?” To make children feel safe and welcome when entering the classroom, teachers include the individual student’s name in the greeting and demonstrate gratitude when they return the greeting. Sometimes they may even greet students with a high-five, fist bump, or happy dance.
Intermediates (3-4 years)
Intermediate teachers encourage students to generate some of their own rules and routines, even silly ones! This promotes ownership over their own behaviors and allows students to feel respected within the classroom community. Teachers also provide students with words to describe why they feel a particular way if they can’t express it themselves. They may say, “I think you’re angry because your face is red and you yelled. I would be angry too if someone took my toy.” They then guide students through brief exercises to help self-calm and reduce stress, such as taking slow, deep breaths.
Pre-K (4-5 years)
Teachers in our Pre-K classroom inspire students to plan and engage in challenging tasks by modeling correct methods, techniques, and goals. Examples of this include using blocks to create a ramp for cars or assisting in searching for letters in a sensory bin to spell sight words. Our teachers always praise students for their effort with specific feedback. During centers, students direct their learning with supervision from their teachers, which creates opportunities to initiate and solve their own problems.