Changing Tykes

Spring has sprung in Northern Virginia. The kids have been tiring themselves out while enjoying the nice weather. It is never more apparent when a spring cold snap arrives for parents to remember how important going outside to play really is. In between raindrops and frost this week, we’ve been riding bikes, swinging and playing in the school sandbox.

One opportunity to get outside to play is the upcoming Fun Run. This annual run by Annandale Cooperative Preschool will be held on Saturday, April 30. Register today!

I feel like meal time manners have their ups and downs at my dinner table. Oftentimes my preschooler is a gem while at the table – sitting up straight, using silverware, napkin in lap, etc. The other times, I feel as though a tiny Neanderthal has joined me. It is those times where absurd sentences spew from my mouth, such as “it is never ok to poke the dog with your fork” or “please stop finger painting on your brother with ketchup”.  I have found myself more often than not referring back to the Managing Meal Time post. There are fun little rhymes to help preschools remember their manners while eating. Below are a few excerpts, read the entire post to make your next family meal an enjoyable one.

Sit up straight, Sit up tall, No one wants to see you fall!

Just as the ships go out to sea, I push my spoon away from me. (When drinking soup using a soup spoon)

Lazy Mable, please get your elbows off the table.

Remember salt and pepper always travel together.

Guest post written by Joslyn Osten, ACPS parent of an amazing preschooler who is still learning table manners.

Gearing up to hit the road this holiday season? Maybe you are loading your smartphone or tablet with a few apps to keep your little one occupied. With thousands of “educational” apps to select from, how do you know which one to choose? At the Fred Rogers Center, Michael Robb outlines four characteristics, or pillars, to help parents evaluate if an app is indeed educational. Here is what you should look for in an app:

• Active participation. Children should be more than hands-on, they should be minds-on. Look for apps that require deep mental effort and not just quick reaction times or mindless swiping.
• Sustained engagement. Well-made educational apps keep users engaged with activities and immediate feedback that are related to learning goals, and do not distract with unnecessary animations, sounds, or games that do not add to children’s understanding of the content.

• Meaningful connections. Apps that relate to children’s interests or prior knowledge are particularly well-suited for learning. Be careful of apps that present knowledge in a vacuum. For example, getting children to learn about shapes by showing them flashcards of shapes may be less useful than an app that helps children recognize shapes in the world around them
• Social interaction. Apps that encourage conversation, cooperation, and even competition with other people can deepen learning. Apps can even provide characters who socially respond to children’s input, and that children feel connections to. Keep in mind though that no app is as responsive (or as loving) as a live human partner!

Read Robb’s entire article What Makes An App Educational on the Fred Rogers Center Blog.

It’s that time of year when kids take to the streets dressed up as ghost, goblins and perhaps an Elsa or two. Here are a few tips to keep in mind this Halloween to keep them safe.

1. Make sure the child can see clearly while in costume.
2. Have a flashlight, glow stick, or reflective sticker for your child, particularly if trick or treating at dusk or dark.
3. Trick or treat in a group, never alone. Coach your child to stay on the porch step rather than enter the home.
4. Look both ways before crossing the street and utilize the sidewalks where possible.
5. Examine the treats for choking hazards and tampering.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

With a few weeks of school under our belts, hopefully everyone is settling nicely into the preschool routine.  However, separation anxiety can crop up any time there is a change in routine.  In this “FROM THE TEACHERS” post, our amazing teachers give us some strategies to help ease separation, for both you and your child.

Now that school has started, you and your child are becoming familiar with all the new routines. To aid your child in their transition, please try and follow the same routine when you say goodbye. A good-bye routine builds structure and enables your child to quickly gain an understanding that although you are leaving, you will come back.

Your drop off routine may go something like this:

Hang up your bag,

Give a kiss/hug,

Tell them, specifically, when you will see them again: “I will see you after the Activity Room” or “I will see you after Story Time.”

Sometimes it is hard to leave your child because they are hanging on to your leg and crying. One of the hardest things we as parents have to do is walk away when our child is crying. Although it can be difficult, please smile and say in your most calm, reassuring voice: “I have to go now. You are going to have a great day at school with Mrs._______and your friends. I will see you after _________.” Then, it is your job to hand them over to the teacher and walk away.

Although we do not like focusing on what not to do, separation it can be tricky. Saying goodbye and then coming back in the room because you hear crying sends your child a mixed message. They might get the message that school isn’t safe or that their teacher can’t be trusted to calm them down. On the other hand, sneaking out doesn’t give your child closure. Please also refrain from comparing them to other children or putting ideas into their heads: “Marie never cries when her mom leaves” or “Don’t make a scene.”

In our experience, most children will calm down after a few minutes. Some children can be redirected with a toy, an activity, or a book. Others might need their lovey (a blanket, stuffed animal, etc.) to calm them down. Some might just need to be alone for a few minutes to calm down and realize they are okay. You are always welcome to call Mrs. Sloane or Mrs. Essig to see if they’ve calmed down or to ask how their day is going.

Remember, all of us (teachers & staff) are mothers and have been teaching for a long time. We promise to give TLC to all the children, especially the ones who are crying. Another benefit of being at ACPS is you get to stay every now and then and co-op!

Changes in routine can cause some children to behave differently. On co-oping days your child might act differently or have a hard time. This is not unusual. It is also extremely important to communicate with us when your child has had a tough morning or if something is different at home, e.g., woke up early, no nap the day before, Dad’s away, Grandma is visiting, etc. Often children regress after winter break or if you’ve traveled. Little things to us are BIG things to children and affect them in different ways. If you feel that drop-off is still difficult for your child after a few weeks, please email/call the teacher so that we may work through it together.

What about when you school aide? Your drop off routine may not vary much. However, you might prepare your child by explaining that you will be helping Mrs. Essig & Mrs. Sloane with some things around the school such as opening the playground, taking out the trash, and vacuuming. Let them know they will probably see you during the day and that you may be able to say hi and give a kiss/hug, but that you have a job to do. Explain that you might have time to eat snack with your child and their friends, but that you will have to get back to work after snack. Always remember to tell them that you will see them after their last activity of the day.

If you remember anything about separation, remember this: Tell them what you are going to do and follow through. Be honest with your children. This carries over into many aspects of their day and lives.

Welcome ACPS 2015/2016 Families!!  We are very excited to be in full swing of the new school year and hope that everyone is enjoying the first full week. Thank you to all the teachers and staff for all their hard work over the summer, keeping the school running, and setting up awesome rooms that have our kids excited and engaged every day.

We especially want to welcome 3 new teachers this year to the ACPS family!  Amanda Setty is teaching the T,Th,F 3’s class, Melissa Kuhn with the Th,F 2’s and Louise Touber in the Activity Room. We are very excited for our new staff members and are confident they will love our school as much as we do. We are very grateful to have 4 returning teachers as well who are full of new ideas for 2015! Amy Quigley is teaching the M-F 4’s, Sue Ann Craig with the M-Th 4’s, Meg Morrison M,W,F 3’s and Joey Vap with M,T,W 2’s.

The first few weeks can be very overwhelming for both new and returning families with paperwork and coop responsibilities.  Please direct any questions, concerns or comments to your room parents, any board member, or your Buddy Family. We are all here to help you and welcome your questions.

Board meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm at the preschool. Our next meeting is on Monday, October 12, 2015.  Please come join us!

Welcome back. Let’s make it a Great year!

In this “FROM THE TEACHERS” post, we’ll discuss how to help your child develop their communication skills, as well as how to open a dialog with your child as they begin to communicate with you.

We’ve all learned in our lives how important it is to communicate effectively with one another. And as adults, we’ve all had lots of practice. It is important to realize that learning to communicate effectively is something that developed over time for all of us and that we can help build the foundation for good communication skills in our children. Even before a child’s vocabulary fully develops, parents can model good communication techniques for young children.

One half of learning to communicate effectively is learning to listen effectively. By being a good listener, you can make it easier for your child to communicate with you. Being a good listener shows you care and respect your child. Your child will feel understood, and you will help your child learn ways to deal with feelings and problems. A child who feels they are being listened to and heard will be less likely to become frustrated and resort to using methods other than words to try to make someone hear them. By listening, you also show your child how to be a good listener. Being a good listener helps children learn to solve problems together and work out conflicts that arise.

Using Active and Reflective listening at early ages can help build the foundation for open and effective communication later in their lives.

With Active listening, the parent takes the time to listen to the child and refrains from giving back his own message to the child. Instead, the parent tries to say what he feels the child meant. For example, beginning your reply with, “It sounds like…” or “You’re saying…” For example, “It sounds like you want to play with the toy that your friend has.” This approach helps the child feel free to talk without being judged. It also shows that you heard your child, even if you aren’t agreeing with them.

Reflective listening also helps your child feel respected, but incorporates your feelings too. For example, “I feel…when you…because…” For example, “I feel happy when you ask for a turn when you want one because it shows me how well you share and how patient you are.” You can offer your child an alternative response if needed to help guide their behavior. This type of listening helps put the responsibility with the child, for instance, by telling your child it makes you happy when they play nicely with friends.

Children also have feelings that they may not know how to express. Listening for feelings requires both active and reflective listening. It shows you understand the meaning behind your child’s words. Both types of listening begin by showing that you are listening: stop your other activities and get down at your child’s eye level so that you look directly at him/her. After you hear what you child has said, think of words to describe what he is feeling. Try words like delighted, enjoy, appreciate, excited, proud, pleased, annoyed, confused, disappointed, frightened, scared, sorry, etc. By giving words to the feelings, overtime the children will learn to use those words when they need them.

Active and reflective listening can also be used when your child uses strong language, such as “I don’t like you!” and “I never get what I want!” By showing your child your heard them and reflecting back what your child is feeling and the suspected reason, you help your child understand his feelings and know that having feelings is okay. When you have told your child that he/she may not watch TV and he/she responds by throwing toys, show that you understand the feeling behind the action: “I can see that you are angry because I said no TV right now, but throwing toys is not allowed.” As always, encourage him/her to use words and help him/her find the words to use by modeling them. The more the words are modeled the easier it will be for the child to use them the next time. Overtime, this will create the foundation for effective communication as your child grows.

Another “FROM THE TEACHERS” segment on fun ways to enjoy the Spring!

After an arduous winter, Spring is finally here.  With Spring comes improving weather, so that we can go outside and stay outside!

There are tons of great activities you can do with your child or children to encourage an appreciation of the great outdoors and to help instill a love of the environment as we celebrate Earth Day this month.

Children learn best through experience, and the most rewarding fun comes from the space to play and experiment. Given a small shovel, a garden hose and a bucket a child can create a whole world of magical play and really connect with the earth. Can you remember how much fun it was making mud pies?

You can also help them connect in some deliberate ways; you can put a simple bird feeder outside of a window and allow your child to keep binoculars and a bird watching book near the window. You can even make a chart to check off birds that you see and listen for their songs.

You can plant a small garden box with your child. Lettuce is easy to grow and you can grow your own salad! You can learn about planting, watering and harvesting your own food. It would also be a good opportunity for children to see how important worms are to the earth as they turn the dirt for the garden.

The more children learn to love and appreciate all that we receive from the earth, the more likely they are to want to care for it and take care of it.

What about visiting our National Zoo on nice weather days?

There are a wealth of animals to see who are just stretching their legs after winter of no visitors.

The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination!

But, if you need some help, click here from advice from the National Zoo on Family Conservation Activities.

HAPPY SPRING!

Attendance at Annandale Cooperative Preschool comes with lots of benefits:  parents and other family members in the classrooms and roaming the halls, experienced degreed teachers and lots of learning through play.  While the kids do plenty of learning about science, math, reading and writing, the education does not stop there.  Citizenship and patriotism were the talk of the day, today, as several members of the United States Armed Forces visited the school!

All of the service members we met today are parents of students at ACPS.  We heard from a Navy Captain submariner, an Air Force Major Judge Advocate General, and an Air Force Captain Chaplain-in-Training.  The kids even had the honor of having a letter read to them that was written by a Marine Captain who is currently deployed in Afghanistan (and dad to one of our students)!  The children did a great job paying attention and asking poignant questions such as, “How does the submarine stay underwater without sinking?”  The presentation ended with all of the children singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag” while waiving handmade American flags.

In addition to learning about citizenship and patriotism, the kids get to participate through a collection drive for our servicemen and women.  This year, and in years past, teacher Sue Ann Craig coordinated the collection of unused, unopened dental items for Operation Gratitude.  According to their mission statement, Operation Gratitude “seeks to lift spirits and meet the evolving needs of our Active Duty and Veteran communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for all Americans to express their appreciation to members of our Military.”

The children are asked to collect and bring in unused toiletry items (such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss).  They also prepare cards for the servicemen and women.  Mrs. Craig arranges for these items to be picked up by representatives of Operation Gratitude.  The staff at ACPS uses this as an opportunity to teach citizenship and patriotism to the children, and also the importance of giving back to those who sacrifice for our freedoms.