Music Spotlight

Dear parents,

Thank you for a wonderful year of music making with your children.  They are delightful!

Melinda Oriani

Music School of Delaware

Cherubs & Angels

The children are really engaged at this point in the year with finger plays, singing, instruments, and participating in the activities.  We enjoyed songs and a musical story about bees.  Music and focused listening with ocean sounds and creatures were a highlight in May.  They have now learned how to do circle dances, and love ‘riding the merry-go-round.’

Doves & Butterflies

In April, the twos focused on animal babies with songs & activities about chicks.  We sang about the things we can now do in “I Can Do So Many Things All By Myself.”  In May, we developed our counting skills with a song about 10 fish in the sea.  We moved to a story about whimsical whales and played “Seashell” on the resonator bars.

Lions & Lambs

The threes explored insects… both those that make sounds, like bees, and those that are silent, like the caterpillar & butterfly.  We enjoyed several musical stories that allowed us to move like these creatures. In May, we explored instruments from Central America (like the guiro & maracas), and an ocean drum as we learned about the seashore.

Stars

The stars enjoyed singing with ‘John the Rabbit’ who helped us learn about what he likes to eat. The children explored many instruments and musical stories this spring.  We also listened to bird and insect sounds and sang with our ladybug and frog finger puppets  Our favorite song from Earth Day was “This Land is Your Land’.  In May, the children got to listen to and try a violin during their instrumental demo with Lionel Thomas from the Music School of Delaware.

By Miss Melinda

Nursery Focus

Challenges with self-control: we can all say we have experienced some of these scenarios with our little ones, and let's be honest even with ourselves. It's not always easy to change the way we talk when approaching certain behaviors but consistency and being intentional is key! Here are 3 simple ways we use in our classrooms to help our children learn self-control...and let's not kid ourselves…these 3 strategies can even be used for us as adults.

1. Change the Situation: This is a simple way to help children avoid being in situations that are going to be challenging for their self-control. For example, we can teach them to find a good spot for them to sit, play with friends that are kind, and remove distractions when needed.

2. Change Their Thinking: We can teach children how to problem solve, look at situations from a different angle, or prepare them for challenging situations ahead of time.

3. Change Their Response: As adults, we can teach children coping strategies and different ways to respond to situations that are challenging.

   
   Learning self-control is not exclusively for a certain age. Let's be kind to ourselves so that way we can be effective in teaching our children. We are their models for these skills, and children learn from watching how adults around them handle challenges and difficult situations.

   The full article includes links to helpful videos and more information about teaching your child these strategies. To read the full article, click here.

Primary Focus

"Smooth Sailing: Navigating Transitions with Your Child"

Transitions throughout the day can be challenging for children, especially those who thrive on routine and predictability. Whether it's moving from playtime to mealtime or getting ready for bed, helping your child transition smoothly can make a big difference in their day-to-day experience. Here are some tips to make transitions easier for both you and your child:

1. Creating Routines: Establishing consistent routines can provide a sense of stability and security for children. Try to keep daily activities like waking up, mealtimes, playtime, and bedtime consistent. When children know what to expect, transitions become more manageable.

   Previewing Countdown: Before transitioning to a new activity, give your child a heads-up. Let them know in advance that a change is coming. For example, you could say, "In five minutes, it will be time to clean up and get ready for dinner." This gives them time to mentally prepare for the transition.

   Engage in the Process with Them: Instead of simply telling your child what to do during transitions, involve them in the process. For example, if it's time to clean up toys, make it a game by racing to see who can pick up the most toys the fastest. By making transitions fun and interactive, you can help your child feel more motivated and empowered.

   Use Visual Clues or Songs: Visual cues and songs can be powerful tools to signal transitions. You can create a visual schedule using pictures or drawings to help your child understand the sequence of activities throughout the day. Additionally, incorporating songs or rhymes for specific transitions, like a cleanup song or a bedtime lullaby, can provide a clear signal that it's time to transition to the next activity.

By implementing these strategies, you can help your child navigate transitions more smoothly and reduce stress and frustration for both of you. Remember, every child is unique, so feel free to experiment with different techniques to find what works best for your family. With patience, consistency, and a little creativity, you can turn transitions into opportunities for growth and bonding with your child.

Pre-K Focus

In many ways today, all of us, including our children, live in a world where instant gratification is the norm (access to streaming video content, gaming apps, etc., right on our phones and iPads). Preschool children are egocentric and their ability to wait is very much developing. One of the primary goals of our PreK program is to encourage our students to self-regulate. Patience is an important life skill that helps children regulate their big emotions and handle challenging situations. Self-regulation can counteract impulsivity and inclination to make poor behavior choices. Patience improves our physical, emotional, and social health.

Every day in the PreK classroom we provide opportunities to practice waiting. For example, students need to raise a quiet hand to share at circle time or wait their turn with an activity or toy. We support this skill by noticing and giving praise, for example, “Thanks for waiting so calmly for your turn to talk” or “You waited patiently while I was helping another friend.” If you are interested in learning more about strategies and the value of practicing patience, please read the attached article.

Patience Is Learned: Here's How to Teach Your Kids to Wait

Beginner Focus

To many parents, their toddlers’ bedtime can be the hardest part of the day. In an article titled, “A Child’s Need for Sleep,” which can be found in the Harvard Medicine Magazine, Elizabeth Gehrman states that sleep is essential to learning, memory formation, emotional regulation, and physical and mental development. Essentially, growth is taking place during your children’s sleep phase. There are many things you can do to make this more pleasurable for both you and your little one. Sleep should be a relaxing and soothing time for both of you. Here are some tips on ways to prepare for bedtime and make the quality of sleep your child receives much more efficient. Pediatricians recommend limiting all screen time at least an hour before desired bedtime. Keeping consistent routines teaches your child what is expected of them each day. Reading, white noise machines and even soft textured blankets all can be a positive aid in helping your child fall asleep and stay asleep.

 The following article shares even more helpful tips to make bedtime an enjoyable time for everyone at home.

 Read more here:  https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a7687/establishing-good-sleep-habits-18-to-24-months

By the Beginner Teachers: Ms. Alexander, Ms. Cerrato, Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Okoro

Curriculum Corner

The month of December was filled with lots of exploration, magic and curiosity for our friends in Beginners. We introduced ice and snow themes and snow animals. We read many books about these themes, with our favorite being "Penry's Great Adventure." 

Towards the end of the month, we shifted our focus more towards holidays around the world and Christmas. We made many wonderful Christmas crafts and gifts for our loved ones. We learned popular songs around the world and really tried to grasp the concept of what Christmas is about- being together, celebrating one another and about Jesus being born. 

Since we only have 16 school days in December, the Nursery classes have been focusing on spreading Christmas cheer through making ornaments and crafts, singing Christmas songs like “Jingle Bells” . We learned about the true meaning of Christmas, as we watched the Stars perform in the Christmas pageant.

This month in the Lions class we learned about winter weather, and the holidays Hanukkah and Christmas. We made and lit a Lego menorah which we 'lit' each afternoon and read books about Hannukah.  In addition to hearing the story of Christmas in chapel and the Stars' pageant we talked about how we celebrate in our homes. In addition to our regular math, literacy, and science activities we were busy elfs making presents for our families.

This month the Lambs class focused on artic animals, ice and snow, and what to wear during the winter time. We performed melting ice experiments and created several art projects making our own artic animals. We identified sounds and objects that start with the letters I, P, and T.  We also discussed the different holidays in the month of December. For Saint Nicholas day we left behind little candy canes for the children to find and for Christmas we decorated our classroom Christmas tree together!

The Stars have been so busy since returning from Thanksgiving Break.  They rehearsed and performed the Christmas Pageant on December 14 for their families and the whole school. We are so proud of all their hard work! The Christmas Cookie Café opened and the Stars are working cooperatively serving cookies and hot cocoa, while learning about spending and counting money. We displayed the world map for the Stars to see where they live and which countries we are exploring in our holidays around the world theme. They are learning how to say “Merry Christmas” in Swedish, French, Spanish and Italian. They have also learned that Santa Claus is referred to as Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Tomte, or Babbo Natale in other countries. The Stars especially enjoyed sampling cookies from around the world and playing the Dreidel game. In addition, they have been busily making beautiful Christmas presents for their families.

Nursery Focus

Ah the "terrible two's" ...Between the ages of 24-36 months can be a very challenging time for parents and educators alike. But it is also a very important opportunity to model and teach self regulating those "big" emotions. The attached article emphasizes how important it is to validate the child's feelings but also how crucial it is to be consistent in letting them know that there are appropriate and inappropriate ways of expressing them. Our job as educators is to guide them towards choosing more appropriate ways of expressing all of the emotions that they navigate in their little toddler world.

Read more here