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October News

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 event is on Saturday, October 22 and we hope to see all of you there with your children. We’ll have games, refreshments, and fun fall activities. During the day we will be also having an open house for any families that are interested in Chesterbrook Academy.

We look forward to another month full of learning, fun, and play!

Sincerely,

Heather Hyland

 

Click on the links for the October Newsletter 2022 and the October Food Menu 2022

 

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 

We will be doing a pumpkin decorating contest from October 17th-October 21st. Please bring in pumpkins that are carved or decorated on the 17th. The children will enjoy a Pumpkin Walk each day, cast their votes and get to show case their creations to their classmates. The winner will be announced on October 24th. The winner gets a free parents night out!

This year will also be hosting a Trunk OR Treat on October 28th. Parents, please help us make a festive and fun Trunk or Treat by participating in decorating a trunk.  This is a  fun and creative way for parents to get involved. We are asking parents who want to volunteer for this event to sign up at the front desk. It is a first come first serve sign up and there are 26 spots available. Volunteers should be prepared to set up their trunks at 2:30 by decorating in festive fall decor and be ready to hand out candy by 3:00.

 

Important Dates 

October 18th-21st – Parent Surveys

October 22nd – Fall Festival/Open House

October 28th – Trunk OR Treat

October 30th – End of Month Folders go home

 

New On Our Preschool Blog  

 

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.

 

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