Tame Your Tattletale

To fix the problem in your house, start by having a conversation with your child about the difference between tattling and telling. Explain that tattling is when you're trying to get someone in trouble, while telling is informing an adult when someone could get hurt or something might get broken.  Here are a few examples and how to handle them.

"Max won't give me a turn"
What he means "I need help solving a problem." If that's the case, call over both kids and problem-solve together, without taking sides or getting into the details of who did what first.

"Lucy is throwing snowballs."
What she means "I'm very proud of myself for following all my parents' rules."  A child who is constantly pointing out the bad behavior of other children at play dates or school may simply be seeking attention and praise for her own actions.  Help her express her feelings of frustration about the rule breaking.  Then focus her back on her own behavior by saying something like, "I'm sure her mom will talk to her about her behavior, and I'm pleased that you followed the rules."

"Jack said a bad word"
What he means "I want to get my brother in trouble."  You may want to call over the offender and take action immediately. Don't. That's exactly what the tattler wants yo to do, and it will just encourage his behavior.  Say, "I will worry about your brother.   That's not your job," and refuse to talk about it further.  This approach takes the power out of tattling.  If the conduct was particularly egregious, have a discussion with the troublemaker when the tattler is out of earshot.

"They won't play with me."
What she means "I don't know how to make friends."  This common complaint often means your kid isn't sure how to join a group of children who are already playing together.  Ask her, "What are the kids doing? How can you join the game?  Ask if you can play."

by Michelle Crouch, Parents Magazine

Bye-Bye Dinner Drama

With your busy schedule, sitting down to dinner as a family is hard enough-and having a picky eater can make it even harder.  Start a conversation about how good nutrition will give them an advantage intellectually and physically at school.  It might take a while, but the message will eventually hit home.

Mix It Up.  Mix the foods they love with new tastes.  For example, serve chicken nuggets with a new vegetable. Even if some of the green stuff gets ignored, you'll at least have the peace of mind knowing they've eaten the nuggets.

Appetizing Appearance.  The way food looks means a lot to kids.  To make the experience enjoyable, try cutting their food into fun shapes and designs and experiment with dips.

If your child is particularly adventurous with eating one day, keep the encouragement coming.  Tell them that you are proud that they've tried something new.
excerpt from Parenting Magazine

The Fight Against Cavities

Early tooth decay is now the most common childhood disease. Rates are rising because of what, and how often kids are eating.  They're consuming more processed carbohydrates like pretzels and crackers, as well as more sweets, juice and soda, than in the past.  The bacteria that feed on sugar erode the structure of teeth by depleting calcium.  Once an area without calcium becomes big enough, the surface of the tooth collapses and your child has a cavity.

Many parents are surprised to learn that kids need help brushing their teeth until at least age 6.  Young children simply don't have the manual dexterity to do the job well.  They tend to brush the same teeth in the front over and over again, but don't get to the back teeth or the inside surfaces.

If your child has reached the "I want to do it myself" stage, let him watch you brush and mimic you.  Finish the job after he takes his turn.  Instilling good dental-health habits now will serve your child well later, when you'll have less control over his/her diet.
excerpt by Jan Sheehan,  Parents Magazine

The Long-Term Advantages of Early Childhood Education

Brought to you by the Rasmussen College - School of Education, this infographic depicts the long-term advantages of early childhood education.

http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/early-childhood-education-advantages/

Using Enforceable Statements

Many children have an uncanny ability to get us pulled into trying to control what we really cannot.  Enforceable statements tell kids what we will do or allow...rather than trying to tell them what to do.  

When we set Love and Logic limits by saying what we will do or what we will allow:

We avoid looking like a fool when we can't get our kids to do what we say.

We share some control with our children.  As a result they are much less likely to resist in order to regain control.

We avoid getting sucked into trying to control something we really can't.

Examples of Enforceable Statements:

*I give treats to kids who protect their teeth by brushing.

*I'll listen as soon as your voice is as calm as mine.

*I'll do all the things I do for you around here when I'm feeling respected.

*I give allowance to those who finish their chores.

*I'll be happy to listen to you as soon as your father and I are finished talking.

excerpt from Jim Fay

January 2013

Dear Pee Wee Parents,

Happy New Year!  I hope you enjoyed your holidays with family and friends! Seeing the holidays through my children’s eyes makes it so much more enjoyable!  I have to say it’s a lot of fun to work with your children during the holidays too.  There is nothing as precious as the sparkle in a child’s eyes when they talk about Christmas! 

I want to thank the parents who took care of getting their balances all paid up before the end of the year.  I will have your year end totals for tax purposes available for you by Monday the 7^th.  We were given some important numbers for tax credit information for families.  If you have any questions about your taxes, please see our blog at peeweepreschool.blogspot.com for contact numbers. 

I want to repeat from last month the importance of making sure we have current contact numbers in case of an emergency.  If your child is sick or something comes up with them we need to be able to reach you or a close contact at all times.  If your job changes or you have a new cell phone or even if you leave your phone at home for a day this is important information we MUST have.  Please stop by the office and make sure the numbers we have are current.  You may also print our the Emergency and ID form from our website and fill it out to update your file. 

It is highly important if you are having someone new pick up your child that you let us know.  Many of you are very good about this.  In order to keep every child safe and avoid any scenes that may confuse your child we need to know who is picking them up and also make sure that person knows that they will need to have current picture ID on them in order to take your child from our facility. 

We have seen a few viruses already running their course in the children.  I want to remind you that our illness policy is that a child be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to school.  This means no fever, throwing up, diarrhea etc., for a full day before coming back to school.  The best way for a child to recover fully is to be able to rest.  Your child needs to be able to completely participate in our day to be able to return to school. 

As I mentioned we have added a new page to our website where you will find all our enrollment forms.  This is a place you can review enrollment policies, print out Emergency and ID forms or a Physician’s Report.  Also if you know someone who is looking for our services you can direct them to this site and they can get all the information they need to get started. 

Snow days are upon us! We will be open for business on days that we have snow and the school are closed.  Please be careful out on the roads!  We want everyone to be safe! 

If you have any questions please give me a call or send an email.  I have enjoyed the communication through email, I know this is often the only way some of us have time to communicate anymore. 

Have a wonderful January!

Sincerely,

Kim Taylor

Director