Help End Bedtime Blues

For many parents"Bedtime"and the routines that go with it can be a time of frustration and annoyance instead of the warm, fuzzy, and loving connections they want it to be.  Asking for more water, additional trips to the bathroom, pleadings for another story or the ever insistent claim, "But I'm not tired" can leave a parent exasperated and at wits end about how to end the bedtime blues.

Slowdown Time.  Lower the energy level within the family.

Since children's brains don't shut down as quickly as adults, make sure to reduce the activity level of the entire family.  No loud music, stimulating TV or other technology.  Now is not the time for chores or beginning a project.   Start this process anywhere from 30-45 minutes before you want them in their rooms.  Establishing a pattern of downtime is an indication the day is winding down and helps to signal the child's brain to make that transition.  Adjust this time to what works best for your family.

excerpt from Janada Clark, MA Parent Educator

An Imperfect Christmas....Holiday greetings

What was your best Christmas as a kid?

Was it the one where there was a lot of stress about a perfect meal elegantly served-on time-to a perfectly dressed family?

Or was it the one where the dog pulled the turkey off the stove and dragged it away through the dog door?  There was no perfect meal that day.  Everyone rolled with the punches.  They rolled up their sleeves and worked together in the kitchen to salvage a makeshift meal.

The beauty of that memory is not in perfection and organization, but in remembering the joy of being together and doing things together.   It was the laughter.  It was one of those days when the choices were to laugh or to cry, so you all laughed it off and enjoyed one another.  It brought you all together in a different way.  

Holidays are times for enjoying one another.  We are not suggesting that you purposely feed the turkey to the pets, but we strongly suggest that an imperfect day with little stress will create better memories of loving relationships.

Moral of the story?  I hope you spend most of your time enjoying your family and friends and not sweating all the details.  I wish you a joy-filled holiday season, good health and fun times with your loved ones!

excerpt from Janada Clark, MA

Important Tax Information

December 2012

December 2012


Dear Pee Wee Parents,                                                                 
 
  I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  We have been having a fun time here celebrating the holiday and we are looking forward to the Christmas season.
 
You may have noticed our new signs out front to help slow drivers down in our parking lot.  We ask that you be conscious of this when driving here and make sure that you are NOT parking on the curb when dropping off or picking up your child. 
 
I am asking that all accounts be paid in full by Friday December 21st for the year.  I will be sending home notices this next week on how much is due for December.  This will allow us to do your year end totals without a balance due.  All payments are due the first day of your child’s attendance each week.  We accept payments in cash, check or credit card, we can also set up automatic weekly payments.   
 
We will be open Monday December 24th for normal schedule. We will be closed Christmas Day and the week following through New Years Day.  We will open back up on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013.  The only paid holidays during this week are Christmas Day and New Years Day.  
 
The winter weather is upon us.  Our facility will remain open throughout severe weather as long as we have power.  When the schools are closed due to snow or ice we will be open to take children for full day care. Please be careful in the parking lot during icy and severe weather conditions, watch your step and watch for other drivers.

Just a quick reminder that it is very important that we have correct contact information for you.  Please make sure to update our information with any new work numbers or cell phone numbers.  It is also very important that we have at least 3 contact numbers in case of emergency. If your primary phone number is your cell phone and you have forgotten it or don't have service please call us to let us know how to get a hold of you that day.  When your child is sick or in need of immediate assistance please make sure that someone will be available to come quickly.  
 
Please remember to check your child’s class website for updates and for the weekly pictures.  We update the pictures throughout the week and it is a great way to keep up on what your child is doing in their class. Please share this site with your child as well, which should initiate some great conversations about what they are doing and who their friends are. The picture pages are password protected.  Please let me know if you need the password.  You can access the pictures by going to Peeweepreschool.com and clicking on parent connection at the top of the page.  
 
We have added a website for Pee Wee Plus.  This is where you can find information about our school age program. The web address is www.peeweeplus.com .  We hope this new way of connecting with your child is enriching your experience here at Pee Wee.
 
I look forward to serving all our families in 2013.  Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
 
Happy Holidays!
 
Kim Taylor
Director
Pee Wee Preschool

A Christmas Memory

Here is an easy and fun way to record your child's growth through a holiday ornament!  Enjoy

November 2012

Dear Pee Wee Parents,

A big thank you for all who participated in our fundraisers last month. The profits we made helped to fund our Fall Conference with PACE (Professional Association of Childhood Educators) in Oakland.  This conference taught us the latest and greatest techniques in early childhood education and it supports us as professionals in this field.  We were able to get some pictures of our staff during the conference which are on the class websites. We all had a great time in the workshops and came back with fun new ways to approach the work we do.  We really appreciate your support to our school!

I expect the cookie dough to be arriving before the Thanksgiving holiday.  As soon as it is shipped I will have a delivery date and I will let you know. We will need the cookie dough picked up the day of delivery as we do not have enough storage for it on site.  It comes frozen and is good for a few hours so you should have enough time to pick it up and get it delivered to everyone.  

Pee Wee will be closed November 22^nd and 23^rd for Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving.  These are paid holidays as noted in your contract.  We will also be closed Christmas Day and the week following through New Years Day.  We will open back up on Wednesday January 2^nd, 2013.  The only paid holidays during this week are Christmas Day and New Years Day. 

Thank you for the parents and families that were here to help during our Halloween carnival and  for all the donations.  The children had a lot of fun and I think the adults who helped did too.  Again, please see your child’s class webpage for pictures of our fun Halloween event!

We have a few openings left in our Pre-K classes.  Please share our website Peeweepreschool.com with any friends you have in need of preschool. We are offering a $50 tuition credit to anyone who recommends a new family to our program.  After the new family is enrolled in our program for a month we will credit your account $50.  This is a way we can say thank you for your advertising.

Please remember to check your child’s class website for updates and for the weekly pictures.  We update the pictures through out the week and it is a great way to keep up on what your child is doing in their class. Please share this site with your child as well, which should initiate some great conversations about what they are doing and who their friends are. The picture pages are password protected.  Please let me know if you need the password.  You can access the pictures by going to Peeweepreschool.com and clicking on parent connection at the top of the page.  

As daylight savings comes to an end please be aware that this can have an effect on your child.  Children have an internal time clock and when it does not match real time they may become a little anxious.  It wont last long as they will soon settle in to the new schedule.  A little extra TLC can go a long way during this transition week.

If you have any questions please feel free to call me or stop by the office.  I am here for you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Kim

Getting Your Family Interested in Reading

Reading with your children is very important to their development.  The following article has simple ways to create reading opportunities while bonding with family!

Getting Your Family Interested in Reading

Study finds that children are missing out on playtime outside

The following report done by CBS highlights a growing problem in our society. Children are not getting the time outside that they need for good physical development. Gross motor skills help children's brains make connections that are important for their total development.

CBS REPORTS CHILDREN DON'T GET ENOUGH OUTSIDE TIME

What are they learning?

Ever see something your child does at school and wonder what in the world they could be learning from that? Katie O'Neil put together the following article that gives great examples for the skills simple activities provide!

What is your child learning during these fun projects?

Oobleck

1. Small Motor Skills
2. Large Motor Skills
3. Description Vocabulary
4. Colors-Mixing Primary to Make Secondary
5. Sensory Experience
6. Textures – Oobleck changes from one texture to another
7. Autonomy

Fence Painting

1. Large Motor Skills
2. Creativity
3. Colors and Mixing
4. Spacial Relations
5. Sharing Space with Others
6. Autonomy

Necklaces

1. Sequencing
2. Small/Fine Motor Skills
3. Developing Small Muscles Needed for Writing
4. Hand-Eye Coordination
5. Cooperation – Sharing Items
6. Vocabulary
7. Concentration
8. Autonomy

Blocks and Geo Boards

1. Patterns and Sequencing
2. Shapes
3. Size Relation
4. Large Motor Skills
5. Small Motor Skills
6. Categorizing Skills
7. Step-by-Step Operations
8. Natural Consequence – When the tower is knocked down
9. Autonomy

Inside a Toddler’s Brain

A funny illustration of what every parent of a toddler experiences! Enjoy your day!

Inside a Toddler’s Brain

Potty Training? Yes we can help!

Somehow through the years PeeWee has acquired the reputation of requiring potty training before enrollment. This never has been true and never will be! Most children at the age of two are barely interested in potty training and when pushed into it will create a mental block that can be very hard to overcome! If you are wondering where your child is at with their potty training compared to their peers please speak to their teacher for more information. We want to help with this milestone as much as possible!

The following link gives parents some clear guidelines for signs to look for when considering potty training.

Potty training readiness

Parent Survey

Please take a moment and fill out our parent survey. This will help us see where we are excelling and where we need to make improvements! Thank you for your time!

Please click the link below

Click here to take survey

Family Time

A child's family is the most important influence on how they see themselves and the world around them. Making time together as a family each day is critical to the stability a child needs. One great way to make time together each day is to ensure the family dinner.

During dinner please ask your child how their day went, this is a great time to encourage language and communication skills. It also gives your child a time when they can show off what they have learned to you without being asked. Be sure to share good things about your day with your child too. Let them know what you do while you are away from them, this makes them feel important in your life. Give your child a chance to share their thoughts and feelings with you, ask about their wants, needs and fears. You might be surprised what a young child is picking up on, and what they are concerned with.

The following article goes over the importance and long standing effects having family dinners can have on a child's life.

http://www.keyvive.com/featured-stories/bring-back-the-family-dinner-how-family-dinners-make-healthy-families/

Investing In Our Children

Many are asking the question "Why should we invest in Early Childhood Education?" Timothy J Bartik writes a blog called investinginkids.net. Timothy answered this question in the following article.

How will investing in kids pay off in the short-run?

Posted on January 16, 2012

I’m continuing to do a series of posts that provide brief answers to questions I’ve received about early childhood programs.

Today’s question: “How will investing in kids pay off in the short-run? The major benefits of investing in early childhood programs would appear to occur 20 or 30 years in the future, when former participants in these programs have joined the labor force and entered their prime earnings years.”

Short-run benefits of early childhood programs include cost savings due to a reduced need for remedial programs in K-12, such as special education.

Another important short-run benefit is that high-quality early childhood programs are increasingly important in attracting parents with valuable skills to a state.

We already know that parents care about school test scores in choosing a location. We know that from evidence from the housing market on what increases housing prices. Of two otherwise identical houses, the one zoned to an elementary school with the higher test scores will sell for more.

Even if parents don’t know about the availability and quality of early childhood programs, higher quality early childhood programs will attract parents and drive up property values by raising elementary school test scores.

If one takes the known effects of preschool on school test scores, and the known effects of school test scores on property values, each dollar of annual spending on preschool will raise property values by $13. That increase in property values represents parents voting with their feet.

A state that can attract parents will experience both increased property values and a better quality labor supply in the short-run.

How will investing in kids pay off in the short-run? | investinginkids

For further information on this topic please visit Timothy's Blog!

How does a state’s investment in early childhood programs pay off for the state? | investinginkids