Saturday, September 29, 2012

Back to School Tips


The best environment for children is where parents & educators communicate & work in a collaborative partnership.  Schools should welcome parents as partners.  Parents should connect with schools and teachers by communicating early, volunteering to help, and saying thank you!

Here are some tips for a smooth start to the school year! 
  1.   Connect with teachers early!  Volunteer to help!
  2. Help your child set up systems.  Where and when do children do their homework, how should they set out materials and clothes for the next day?
  3. Stay involved!  Attend Back to School, go to the music and sport events, meet other parents

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Learning through Play


Did you know…  Play is one of the most important ways children learn?
In the popular Exchange book, Play: A Beginnings Workshop Book, Betty Jones, in her article "The Play's the Thing: Styles of Playfulness", notes the many ways children learn through play...

  • to make appropriate choices among many possibilities.
  • to use their imagination, to improvise, to think flexibly, and explore new options.
  • to be aware of their own real interests, without being distracted by other possibilities: to say "yes" and to say "no."
  • to solve problems, both with materials and with people.
  • to cooperate with other children in the creation of mutually satisfying projects.
  • to work through their feelings in creative, non-destructive ways.
  • to pay attention to a project until it's done.
  • to use something — a dramatic action, a word, a toy, a set of blocks, a collection of marks on paper — to represent something else — a real experience, a powerful feeling. Practice in these sorts of representation is essential in the process of becoming literate, which is another form of representation.
  • to see themselves as competent and interesting people, with useful skills and good ideas.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Encourage A Love Of Learning


5 Ways to Encourage a Love of Learning

  1. Read, read, read to your child for at least 15 minutes every day.  If your child is older take turns reading  — you read one page, he or she reads the next — or establish a family reading time when everyone reads their own book.

  1. Encourage your child to express his or her opinion, to talk about feelings, and how to make good choices. This will build his or her confidence to participate in school discussions and activities.


  1.  Help your child develop hobbies and interests, and ensure he or she has the tools needed to pursue their interests.

  1.  Provide your child with play opportunities that support different kinds of learning styles.  Listen and dance to music, sort the laundry to reinforce math skills, collect leaves and sort and classify them, paint pictures, make playdough!   

  1. Point out the new things you learn with enthusiasm. Discuss the different ways you find new information, showing your child that learning is both fun and challenging.