What makes a good school?

5 Things to Look for When Choosing a School for your child:

1. Staff is key!  Look for attentive and caring teachers.  You should see lots of smiles and warm, patient interactions.  Ask about the longevity of teachers as consistency provides a secure base for children.

2. Is the facility safe?   Are outlets covered, is there a procedure for security at drop off and pick up times, is the playground fenced, are the teachers backgrounds checked and are teachers’ first aid and CPR certified?

3. Is the school clean?  You may see toys around the room and that is a good sign so children have many opportunities for learning in different environments and with different materials.  What you want to look for are the floors clean, is there a procedure in play for toys that have been in children’s mouths, is the facility cleaned on a regular basis?

4. Ask about the curriculum.  Are lesson plans posted, do teachers assess children, are there a good supply of materials available to children.  Look for hands on activities as opposed to only paper and pencil activities.  Children learn best through real life experiences.

5. Trust your instinct!  You should hear happy sounds, respectful communications, and warm interactions regardless of the room you visit!  

You can email staff@kangarookidschildcare.com for a complete checklist of what to look for when visiting a school. 

Principles for Effective Guidance and Discipline

1. Discipline is not punishment, but an opportunity to help children behave appropriately.
2. Discipline includes preventing problems and helping child succeed.
3. Discipline helps children learn self-control and how to get along with others.
4. It is appropriate and necessary for children to be curious, experiment and test the limits.
5. The environment and routine should prevent crowding of children and other frustration or situations that lead to discipline concerns.
6. All children, at all times, including their most challenging moments, deserve respect.
7. Labeling children negatively affects everyone, especially the child.
8. Role-modeling appropriate behavior is more effective than telling children how to behave.
9. Before intervening, give children an opportunity to work out their struggles themselves, when possible.
10. Limit the use of the word, “No.”
11. Having a consistent adult response is the norm to redirecting behavior.
12. Praise good behavior and efforts or attempts at trying to behave appropriately. 

5 Things to Look for When Choosing a School for your Child

1. Staff is key!  Look for attentive and caring teachers.  You should see lots of smiles and warm, patient interactions.  Ask about the longevity of teachers as consistency provides a secure base for children.

2. Is the facility safe?   Are outlets appropriately covered, is there a procedure for security at drop off and pick up times, is the playground fenced, are the teachers backgrounds checked, and are teacher’s first aid and CPR certified?

3. Is the school clean?  You may see toys around the room and that is a good sign that children have many opportunities for learning in different environments and with different materials.  What you want to look for: are the floors clean, is there a system in place for toys that have been in children’s mouths, is the facility cleaned on a regular basis?

4. Ask about the curriculum.  Are lesson plans posted, do teachers assess children, are there a good supply of materials available to children?

5. Trust your instinct!  You should hear happy sounds, respectful communications, and warm interactions regardless of the room you visit! 

You can email staff@kangarookidschildcare.com for a complete checklist of what to look for when visiting a school.  

Children Thrive on Structure

Many times as parents or teachers we want to give our children a great deal of freedom in decision making. Although freedom of choice can have benefits, it is important to remember, "Children thrive on structure," according to school psychologist Laura Marchese, at a workshop at Kangaroo Kids Child Care and Learning Center. Structure makes children feel more secure. It lets them know what to expect. If your child is having a difficult time getting ready in the morning, try creating a sequence chart with photos of him or her doing each expected behavior. This will be both fun and a learning experience. And, if you stick to it consistently, over time your morning routine should improve!

When it comes to choice, children can be overwhelmed by too many choices. As the parent or the teacher, you must make decisions based on what is best for the child and then give our child choices. For example, if you want your child to eat healthy foods, instead of saying, "What do you want to eat for dinner?” give two healthy choices, "Would you like carrots or peas with your dinner?" Instead of giving your child the opportunity to make any choice for what he or she would like to do on Saturday, you can offer two choices.

Laura also recommended positive, specific praise as the most useful behavior management tool you can use. Catch children doing it right! Many times we address inappropriate behavior instead of complimenting good behavior. If your child is wiggling around at an inappropriate time, instead of saying, "Stop wiggling.” try to wait for the moment he or she stops, and instead say, "I love how nicely you are sitting." If there is a sibling or classmate involved, give the child behaving appropriately over the top, enthusiastic, positive, specific praise, “Joey, I love the way you are sitting!” In the majority of cases, the child behaving inappropriately will correct his or her behavior to gain the positive praise. Make sure that as soon as the child behaving inappropriately begins to behave appropriately, you reward him with enthusiastic, positive, specific praise.

According to Laura, if you create a culture of positive, specific praise, and you do it consistently, you should see change overtime.

25 Tips To Encourage Literacy In Young Children

1. Babble back to your infants
2. Encourage conversation
3. Teach site words – McDonalds, Lucky Charms, Barney
4. Speak another language
5. Encourage drawing and inventive spelling
6. Script what children say about their drawings – write their story, make it into a book
7. Fall in love with language, rhymes, songs and role model reading
8. Label your child’s environment
9. Make shopping lists with your child
10. Cook and read recipes together
11. Look for letters on the Menu when you go out to eat
12. Cut pictures out of magazines that begin with a letter you are studying.
13. Make an alphabet book
14. Read a book and then ask children questions to test their comprehension
15. Glue letters from an alphabet cereal on a piece of paper.
16. Put alphabet cereal on a plate and help child make their name out of the cereal.
17. Keep magnetic letters on the refrigerator
18. Make up silly songs starting with the letter you are studying.
19. Talk to your child
20. Sing with your child
21. Read to your child everyday
22. Limit television watching and watch appropriate shows
23. Visit libraries and bookstores
24. Select a quality child care
25. Read to children and ask them to predict what will happen next.

Kangaroo Kids Celebrates 100 Days of School!

Kangaroo Kids Prekindergarten under the direction of award winning teacher Misse Turner celebrated 100 days of learning with a very special day! Children in her Prekindergarten class came to school in PJ’s and very original hair do’s! Each family created a poster filled with 100 random objects. Director Kathy Feigley said, “ It was the most creative years ever, as each family filled the posters with an array of materials including 100 marshmallow, 100 sea creatures, and 100 flowers to name a few. One of the strengths of Kangaroo Kids is the partnership with parents and they certainly outdid themselves with this project. “

Misse Turner and assistant teacher Debbie Cooper read books on the 100th day of school, created edible necklaces with 100 fruit loops and searched for 100 stars. Prekindergarten children

certainly enjoyed the day and in the process had an outstanding math lesson!

Kindergarten teacher, Katie Mileto, “Teacher of the Year,” for 2010 celebrated with her class by creating 100 day of school hats and glasses. The children also had an opportunity to explore

and array of math projects including number searches, graphing, and 100 day number challenges.
Upcoming events at Kangaroo Kids will be “Read Across America,” Donuts for Dad, and March tours for September enrollment and summer camp.

For more information about Kangaroo Kids Childcare and Learning Center please call 908-231-7800 or visit our website www.kangarookidschildcare.com or like Kangaroo Kids Child Care on facebook!

Child Nutrition and Shopping Tips for Busy Moms

Web Md helps busy Moms with these shopping tips:

Moms today are busy, whether they work in or outside the home (or both). But that doesn't mean that they don't care about feeding their families in the healthiest way possible.
The simplest tip to help your family get more of the nutrients they need -- and fewer nutrients that contribute to disease and weight gain -- is to serve more whole foods and less processed food. Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal. Serve your children healthy, lean protein at most meals.

Because it all starts with what goes into the shopping cart, here are some simple "healthy eating" shopping strategies for busy moms.

What Food to Put in Your Shopping Cart

Here's a list of nutrients that are important for child nutrition and may be deficient in the daily diets of some American children.

Buy Fiber-Filled Foods for Your Child

Fiber promotes digestive health, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, and assists in keeping blood sugar levels normal. Fiber may also help children maintain a healthy weight because it fills you up on fewer calories.
Fiber is found in plant foods, pure and simple. Follow these foods and you'll find all the fiber:
• Vegetables (fresh, frozen, and canned)
• Fruits (fresh, frozen, and canned)
• Beans (dried, canned)
• Edamame (fresh or frozen)
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole grain cereal (hot and cold)
• 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread products
• Whole grain blend pastas
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole wheat tortillas

Pick Up Potassium Power

Potassium is one of the minerals that children today tend not to get enough of, according to recent studies. Potassium works as an electrolyte in the body, helping maintain a healthy balance of water in the blood and body tissues. Potassium also assists in nervous system and muscle function.
Good sources of potassium in the produce section include:
• Artichoke
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Cantaloupe
• Leafy green vegetables (such as beet greens, Swiss chard, broccoli)
• Orange juice
• Prunes and prune juice
• Papaya
• Potatoes with skin
• Tomatoes
Other foods with a lot of potassium include:
• Beans and peas, including lima beans
• Fish, shellfish, and clams
• Low-fat and fat-free dairy
• Nuts (including almonds, brazil nuts, peanuts, soy nuts, and pistachios)

Look for Healthy Protein and Amino Acids

Healthy protein should be included in almost every meal your children eat. The amino acids within protein serve as the building blocks for our body’s cells, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine.
Good sources of protein are animal products and soybeans, which contain all nine amino acids that your body can't make on its own:
• Eggs
• Reduced-fat cheese
• Fish
• Lean meat
• Skinless poultry
• Low-fat milk
• Soybeans and soybean products
• Yogurt
Plant protein sources tend to be deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids. But if you eat the plant proteins on the same day, they complement each other to become complete proteins in your body.
• Beans
• Nuts and seeds
• Vegetables
• Whole grains

Be sure your children eat omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly important for infants and young children because they help neurological development and growth, according to the Institute of Medicine. Monounsaturated fats improve insulin sensitivity and help reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

These foods are excellent sources of omega-3s or monounsaturated fat:
• Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, anchovies
• Eggs with omega-3
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Olive oil
• Canola oil
• Ground flaxseed
• Products that use liquid olive oil or canola oil (certain margarines, salad dressings, bottled or prepared sauces, and baked goods, for example)

Shaving Cream Fun!

Here is a great way to work on literacy skills and shape recognition in the summer, while enhancing creativity, too.

Put a big squirt of shaving cream on your picnic table and let your young artist explore.

You can add to the sensory fun by making shapes with the shaving cream or the letters of your child's name.

Messy But Meaningful

If your child comes home from preschool looking picture perfect everyday, it is time to delve into the kinds of activities the class is doing during the day! Young children learn with all their senses and should have a variety of opportunities for exploration.

There will be times when children may get a little paint on their clothes or play dough under their fingernails, but in the process they are increasing their knowledge as well as developing their sense of creativity.

Children learn by mixing paints to create their individual artistic treasures, by splashing and playing in water to discover which objects sink or float, and by mixing the ingredients of their own special play dough to see how various substances integrate and how the combination changes the properties of the ingredients.

Next week’s theme at Kangaroo Kids Summer Camp is “Messy But Meaningful.” Log in all week to Kangaroo Kids Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kangaroo-Kids-Child-Care-and-Learning-Center/301126633639 to learn a little more about these wonderful projects, many of which you can do at home!

Whitehouse Mom's

Whitehouse Mom's – I enjoyed presenting the Parent Workshop entitled “Things To Do With Your Child,” for your organization.  You are a very energetic and creative group of Mom’s.  I love your newsletter!  Thanks for the opportunity to share the information!  Happy Parenting!