From the Principal’s Office
As the summer winds down and we approach the beginning of another school year, we would like to thank each and every parent for allowing us the privilege of serving you and your child! We have had a wonderful summer of fun here at Chesterbrook Academy, and Shari, Nikki and I have enjoyed watching the faces of excited children coming through our door each morning.
We are looking forward with great expectations to the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year! Promotion Day is Monday, August 26, 2019. The majority of children will be moving into new classrooms with new teachers. In the next few weeks, we will be sending out promotion notices which will give you the name(s) of your child’s new teacher(s) for the fall. If your tuition rate changes, we will indicate that as well. Otherwise, your rate will remain the same. Remember, Summer Camp Activity fees will only be charged through August 23rd.
We would like to welcome all new children and parents into our Chesterbrook Academy family! We hope to be an integral part of your child’s educational career for many years to come. We would also like to bid a fond farewell to our graduating Pre-K children who are leaving us for Kindergarten. We take pride in knowing that the children who leave us are well prepared to excel and flourish!
Lynette Stoker, Principal
Shari Hale, Asst. Principal
Nikki Crowell, 2nd Asst.
Calendar of Events
August
August 8, 2019 Special Guest: Fish the Magish “Explore Your Universe”
August 10, 2019 Open House 10am-1pm Prospective Parents and Students WELCOME!
August 13, 2019 Special Guest: The Professor Whizzpop Show
August 20, 2019 Special Guest: Buckle Bear
August 23, 2019 Last Day of Summer Camp
August 26, 2019 Promotion Day
August 26, 2019 First Day of Public School
For Parents and Teachers
YIKES Biting
By Kristina Ketcham, Infant Toddler Specialist, Region 15
One of the biggest challenges for a toddler teacher is biting. Biting among toddlers is a common and developmentally appropriate part of a toddler’s world. The first step in helping a toddler with biting is to understand why they are doing it. Toddlers bite for different reasons and you need to figure out what the reasons are before you can get them to stop biting.
Listed below are some common causes of biting in toddlers:
- Lack of language skills
- Being tired, hungry or sick
- Being angry and/or frustrated
- Needing attention
- Symptom of teething
- Learning about cause and effect
- Being under a lot of stress or strain
- Environment either too stimulating or not stimulating enough
- Space that is too crowded
- Inappropriate expectations
Toddlers are biting for some reason that we as the teachers and parents need to figure out. Biting could be the way they express themselves due to their limited language skills. You want to help by giving toddlers simple words or sign language to use in communicating. Teachers should have interactions that are responsive to each child and to his/her needs. Teachers must play with the children and show interest in or appreciation of what they do. This helps children learn to use communication for their needs. By interacting with the children you are providing proper supervision and observation, which could lead to the understanding of what behavior precedes biting then appropriately intervene. You would be able to help children with anger or frustrations and give them extra attention when they might need it.
An important thing to remember is never wait until biting becomes a serious problem before discussing it with the child’s family. You need to work together to solve the challenging behavior. Parents should be educated to understand why biting happens and how to deal with the problem appropriately. Being open and honest with the family is very important when establishing a close relationship and effectively dealing with this challenging situation.
Biting is a common problem in toddler classrooms. It is an ongoing learning process for the teacher, child, and family. All children are different and bite for various reasons. It is our job as the adult to constantly try and figure out how to eliminate this behavior in each child. This is a challenging job for adults. It is perfectly understandable for a teacher to ask for help. Remember to lean on other professionals in the field, such as co-workers, therapists, specialists, and directors, when you feel you need help.
Our Pre-K programs prepare your child for kindergarten
The upcoming 2019-20 academic year will be critical in preparing your preschool child to be an emerging learner ready for elementary school. In Pre-K, your child will gain the final skills to be prepared for kindergarten. Our Pre-K program includes foundational literacy and math skill that will prepare your child to meet and exceed Kindergarten academic standards. Our Pre-K program uses our Links to Learning curriculum. This integrated series of programs engages young learners with activities that are fun, challenging, and meaningful. With regular updates of your child’s progress and classroom activities, we keep parents involved every step of the way.
Language and Literacy:
Your child will build confidence with letter-sound relationships and will begin sounding out blends and recognizing sight words. While reading stories, your child will be asked to use critical thinking skills to make predictions.
Mathematics:
Through small group, whole group, and individual instruction, your child will explore addition and subtraction, complex sequencing, patterns, graphs, and geometry. Your child will be encouraged to explain how her or she solves a problem.
Social-Emotional:
Your child is continuing to mature, and is becoming aware of actions and consequences. Teachers use songs, puppets, games, books, and brain-building activities to teach and reinforce social and emotional skills needed to be a prepared citizen of the world.
Science and Social Studies:
Teachers introduce symbols and people connected to certain holidays and traditions and begin the study of maps and globes. Your child will also discuss the role of animals, plants, and insects in our world, with an emphasis on observation and experimentation.
Reminders!
All payments are due on Friday preceding each week. A $25.00 late payment fee is assessed after
12 noon Monday, no exceptions!
To avoid a late fee, make your payment online through the Parent Portal, pay over the phone with credit/debit card, or consider signing up for Electronic Funds Transfer as a back-up. With EFT, if for some reason you forget to make a payment before 12 noon Monday (i.e. your child was out sick, you went out-of-town, etc..) your payment would be made electronically late Monday evening and you would not be charged a late fee.
Kindergarteners in Catawba County “stagger-start” into public school. Only 1/3 of the kindergarteners will report to school on Monday, August 26th, another 1/3 will report on Tuesday, August 27th, and the final 1/3 will report on Wednesday, August 28th. All kindergarteners will be in school Thursday, August 29th. You should be receiving a postcard in the mail sometime in the week before school begins informing you of your child’s teacher’s name and his/her actual start date.
If your child needs care on those days before they begin school full-time, please make arrangements with us in advance and we will work with you to accommodate your child at our drop-in rate of $55 per day on those stagger-start days, provided that we have available space.
From the Education Department
August, 2019
|
Topics: Creative Expression
Painting is an entertaining activity that encourages hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, creativity and self-expression. It also helps children gain a sense of achievement and pride as they create their own works of art. Below are some fun activities your child can do with paint at home. Infants & Toddlers[.....]
Read More »
Learning by Immersion
Imagine the disaster if we taught children to speak in the same way that we teach them to read and write!
First, we would teach individual letters and sounds, making babies practice them ad nauseum, with boring repetition and frequent quizzes. Then, we would teach simple words from a a list that had been determined to be a part of every child’s vocabulary, no matter their circumstances or experiences.
We would then carefully select songs and stories that included only the vocabulary we knew the children would recognize, no matter how meaningless or boring. As mistakes were made, we would have the child practice the mistakes, no moving on to the next level until the child had mastered the step before.
Fairly soon, kids would fall silent, discouraged by the difficulty of the task.
Instead, thankfully, we delight in babies experimenting with sounds, responding to them with language they can hear and imitate. Our talk gives them a model of rich language experiences, supplying them with vocabulary to link with their sensory explorations.
They pounce on new words, discovered in good children’s literature with its richness of words and images. They use crayons and markers to scribble, eagerly interpreting for us what the marks mean. They happily create cards and messages, reveling in their understanding that print is just another way of communicating.
Language and literacy learning is a great example of what it means to learn by immersion, without specific lessons or planned pedagogy. Language learning is then a social process, with children learning how language is used by observing and interacting with others—listening, speaking, singing, reading, and writing as they move through daily life.
Surrounded by people speaking and using language, they absorb the mechanics and understandings they will need to become fluent communicators.
How important the environment is in providing the essentials for language learning was clearly demonstrated by a landmark study by two researchers — Hart & Risley (1995 and 2003).
With intensive studies in the homes of 42 families from various socioeconomic backgrounds, they assessed the ways in which the daily exchanges between parents and children shape language and vocabulary development.
Their findings were unprecedented, with amazing differences between the actual numbers of words spoken, as well as the kind of messages. Before age four, the differences in parent-child interaction produced huge variations in children’s knowledge, as well as skills and experiences.
Children from high-income families were exposed to thirty million more words than children from low-income homes, and follow-up studies showed that this discrepancy had lasting effects on children’s later performance.
Researchers found that 86-98 percent of the words used by each child by age three came from their parent’s vocabularies; in addition, the average number of words used, the length of their conversations, and their speech patterns were all nearly identical to those of their parents.
Obviously, therefore, how parents interact with their children is of huge consequence, since the language and communication development impacts the way children process information many years in the future.
Time to put down the cell phone and start some real talking!
©Growing Child 2014. Please feel free to forward this article to a friend or make copies and distribute to your parents.
Grandma Says is a feature of Growing Child and we encourage you to send your comments to: GrandmaSays@GrowingChild.com
Articles that appear from Grandma Says are focused on general parenting practices and philosophy are not as age-specific as articles that appear in Growing Child.
Chesterbrook Academy August Monthly Newsletter
From the Principal’s Office
As the summer winds down and we approach the beginning of another school year, we would like to thank each and every parent for allowing us the privilege of serving you and your child! We have had a wonderful summer of fun here at Chesterbrook Academy, and Shari, Nikki and I have enjoyed watching the faces of excited children coming through our door each morning.
We are looking forward with great expectations to the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year! Promotion Day is Monday, August 26, 2019. The majority of children will be moving into new classrooms with new teachers. In the next few weeks, we will be sending out promotion notices which will give you the name(s) of your child’s new teacher(s) for the fall. If your tuition rate changes, we will indicate that as well. Otherwise, your rate will remain the same. Remember, Summer Camp Activity fees will only be charged through August 23rd.
We would like to welcome all new children and parents into our Chesterbrook Academy family! We hope to be an integral part of your child’s educational career for many years to come. We would also like to bid a fond farewell to our graduating Pre-K children who are leaving us for Kindergarten. We take pride in knowing that the children who leave us are well prepared to excel and flourish!
Lynette Stoker, Principal
Shari Hale, Asst. Principal
Nikki Crowell, 2nd Asst.
Calendar of Events
August
August 8, 2019 Special Guest: Fish the Magish “Explore Your Universe”
August 10, 2019 Open House 10am-1pm Prospective Parents and Students WELCOME!
August 13, 2019 Special Guest: The Professor Whizzpop Show
August 20, 2019 Special Guest: Buckle Bear
August 23, 2019 Last Day of Summer Camp
August 26, 2019 Promotion Day
August 26, 2019 First Day of Public School
For Parents and Teachers
YIKES Biting
By Kristina Ketcham, Infant Toddler Specialist, Region 15
One of the biggest challenges for a toddler teacher is biting. Biting among toddlers is a common and developmentally appropriate part of a toddler’s world. The first step in helping a toddler with biting is to understand why they are doing it. Toddlers bite for different reasons and you need to figure out what the reasons are before you can get them to stop biting.
Listed below are some common causes of biting in toddlers:
Toddlers are biting for some reason that we as the teachers and parents need to figure out. Biting could be the way they express themselves due to their limited language skills. You want to help by giving toddlers simple words or sign language to use in communicating. Teachers should have interactions that are responsive to each child and to his/her needs. Teachers must play with the children and show interest in or appreciation of what they do. This helps children learn to use communication for their needs. By interacting with the children you are providing proper supervision and observation, which could lead to the understanding of what behavior precedes biting then appropriately intervene. You would be able to help children with anger or frustrations and give them extra attention when they might need it.
An important thing to remember is never wait until biting becomes a serious problem before discussing it with the child’s family. You need to work together to solve the challenging behavior. Parents should be educated to understand why biting happens and how to deal with the problem appropriately. Being open and honest with the family is very important when establishing a close relationship and effectively dealing with this challenging situation.
Biting is a common problem in toddler classrooms. It is an ongoing learning process for the teacher, child, and family. All children are different and bite for various reasons. It is our job as the adult to constantly try and figure out how to eliminate this behavior in each child. This is a challenging job for adults. It is perfectly understandable for a teacher to ask for help. Remember to lean on other professionals in the field, such as co-workers, therapists, specialists, and directors, when you feel you need help.
Our Pre-K programs prepare your child for kindergarten
The upcoming 2019-20 academic year will be critical in preparing your preschool child to be an emerging learner ready for elementary school. In Pre-K, your child will gain the final skills to be prepared for kindergarten. Our Pre-K program includes foundational literacy and math skill that will prepare your child to meet and exceed Kindergarten academic standards. Our Pre-K program uses our Links to Learning curriculum. This integrated series of programs engages young learners with activities that are fun, challenging, and meaningful. With regular updates of your child’s progress and classroom activities, we keep parents involved every step of the way.
Language and Literacy:
Your child will build confidence with letter-sound relationships and will begin sounding out blends and recognizing sight words. While reading stories, your child will be asked to use critical thinking skills to make predictions.
Mathematics:
Through small group, whole group, and individual instruction, your child will explore addition and subtraction, complex sequencing, patterns, graphs, and geometry. Your child will be encouraged to explain how her or she solves a problem.
Social-Emotional:
Your child is continuing to mature, and is becoming aware of actions and consequences. Teachers use songs, puppets, games, books, and brain-building activities to teach and reinforce social and emotional skills needed to be a prepared citizen of the world.
Science and Social Studies:
Teachers introduce symbols and people connected to certain holidays and traditions and begin the study of maps and globes. Your child will also discuss the role of animals, plants, and insects in our world, with an emphasis on observation and experimentation.
Reminders!
All payments are due on Friday preceding each week. A $25.00 late payment fee is assessed after
12 noon Monday, no exceptions!
To avoid a late fee, make your payment online through the Parent Portal, pay over the phone with credit/debit card, or consider signing up for Electronic Funds Transfer as a back-up. With EFT, if for some reason you forget to make a payment before 12 noon Monday (i.e. your child was out sick, you went out-of-town, etc..) your payment would be made electronically late Monday evening and you would not be charged a late fee.
Kindergarteners in Catawba County “stagger-start” into public school. Only 1/3 of the kindergarteners will report to school on Monday, August 26th, another 1/3 will report on Tuesday, August 27th, and the final 1/3 will report on Wednesday, August 28th. All kindergarteners will be in school Thursday, August 29th. You should be receiving a postcard in the mail sometime in the week before school begins informing you of your child’s teacher’s name and his/her actual start date.
If your child needs care on those days before they begin school full-time, please make arrangements with us in advance and we will work with you to accommodate your child at our drop-in rate of $55 per day on those stagger-start days, provided that we have available space.
From the Education Department
Help Your Child Develop Their Inner Picasso
Read More »
Learning by Immersion
Imagine the disaster if we taught children to speak in the same way that we teach them to read and write!
First, we would teach individual letters and sounds, making babies practice them ad nauseum, with boring repetition and frequent quizzes. Then, we would teach simple words from a a list that had been determined to be a part of every child’s vocabulary, no matter their circumstances or experiences.
We would then carefully select songs and stories that included only the vocabulary we knew the children would recognize, no matter how meaningless or boring. As mistakes were made, we would have the child practice the mistakes, no moving on to the next level until the child had mastered the step before.
Fairly soon, kids would fall silent, discouraged by the difficulty of the task.
Instead, thankfully, we delight in babies experimenting with sounds, responding to them with language they can hear and imitate. Our talk gives them a model of rich language experiences, supplying them with vocabulary to link with their sensory explorations.
They pounce on new words, discovered in good children’s literature with its richness of words and images. They use crayons and markers to scribble, eagerly interpreting for us what the marks mean. They happily create cards and messages, reveling in their understanding that print is just another way of communicating.
Language and literacy learning is a great example of what it means to learn by immersion, without specific lessons or planned pedagogy. Language learning is then a social process, with children learning how language is used by observing and interacting with others—listening, speaking, singing, reading, and writing as they move through daily life.
Surrounded by people speaking and using language, they absorb the mechanics and understandings they will need to become fluent communicators.
How important the environment is in providing the essentials for language learning was clearly demonstrated by a landmark study by two researchers — Hart & Risley (1995 and 2003).
With intensive studies in the homes of 42 families from various socioeconomic backgrounds, they assessed the ways in which the daily exchanges between parents and children shape language and vocabulary development.
Their findings were unprecedented, with amazing differences between the actual numbers of words spoken, as well as the kind of messages. Before age four, the differences in parent-child interaction produced huge variations in children’s knowledge, as well as skills and experiences.
Children from high-income families were exposed to thirty million more words than children from low-income homes, and follow-up studies showed that this discrepancy had lasting effects on children’s later performance.
Researchers found that 86-98 percent of the words used by each child by age three came from their parent’s vocabularies; in addition, the average number of words used, the length of their conversations, and their speech patterns were all nearly identical to those of their parents.
Obviously, therefore, how parents interact with their children is of huge consequence, since the language and communication development impacts the way children process information many years in the future.
Time to put down the cell phone and start some real talking!
©Growing Child 2014. Please feel free to forward this article to a friend or make copies and distribute to your parents.
Grandma Says is a feature of Growing Child and we encourage you to send your comments to: GrandmaSays@GrowingChild.com
Articles that appear from Grandma Says are focused on general parenting practices and philosophy are not as age-specific as articles that appear in Growing Child.