Parent Corner

50 Things to do before you turn 12 years old! Great ideas for summertime or any time activities!

https://activeforlife.com/50-things-to-do-before-youre-12/?utm_source=Newsletter+English&utm_campaign=4200598c2b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_06_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4200598c2b-608383272

CDC Milestone Tracker App

Is your child on track with other children their age? Are you concerned about a developmental milestone not being reached? Use this tracker to learn what to expect at each stage of development. There are resources if you have concerns. The CDC has developed an app for your phone to help you determine any needs. 

CDC child milestones APP available using the provided link. 

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones-app.html?utm_source=Care+Courses&utm_campaign=0c98031255-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_04_06_02_46&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ddf71ea385-0c98031255-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

What are the 7 skills that separate successful students from those who struggle?

There are 7 skills that psychologists have determined are necessary for a student to be successful in school and life and the good news is you can teach them! In this article, you will read about each skill and how to teach your child to exhibit these skills. Often we think that learning the academics of school or the rote skills are most important and the earlier they're mastered, the better. That is a short sighted view.  Having the skills that empower us and motivate us to learn, interact, respond, and communicate effectively are not learned from a book or something that can be memorized. These 7 skills provide a student with the tools to continue learning, to self advocate, and to stay motivated. Please read and consider how you can help your child develop these skills this summer and beyond.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/16/these-skills-separate-successful-kids-from-those-who-struggle-says-psychologist-parenting-expert.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Intl&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0LlqFGfwdeLfXbfPXsmSzXY5kaHPxw7i9B7QGFZlYiCDtI9IcexpN_kCY#Echobox=1652690932

Play is the work of a child

In the link below there is an article that explains the importance of play in the early childhood classroom. It helps build executive function, fosters a love of exploring and learning, teaches children a 'can do' attitude, and makes their first experiences with school a positive one! Please take a moment to read it. The website has a lot of other great information on early childhood education and play as well. 

https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play

Young Children in the Digital Age, is a great article about the importance of limiting screen time in young children as they are developing basic knowledge and skills.  Please take a look!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I9svZY8W2DuTPy5Hv3LYq6RMocTJWs5T/view?usp=sharing

Curriculum 

Phonemic Awareness!!

What is it and why is it important?

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds and spoken language.  Much research has been done and has shown that a strong phonemic awareness is the foundation for later reading success! This understanding encompasses three ideas:

1. Words are made up of sounds.

2.  The ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds is called phonemic awareness.

3.  Phonemic awareness along with letter recognition is the best indicator of future reading success.

There is a sequential order of abilities that children need to acquire. They are:

1. Awareness of spoken words

2. Many words have similar or matching sounds (rhymes)

3. Many words begin with the same sound.

4.  Words have syllables.

5. Words have onsets (sound of a word that comes before the first vowel)

6. Words have rimes (the first vowel in a word and all the sounds that follow)

7. The sounds in a word appear in a specific location (beginning, middle, or end)

8. Words have individual sounds (consonants and vowels have one or more different sounds) 

9. The sounds of a word can be separated (divided into its component phonemes, there are 3 sounds in the word mouse /m/,/ow/, /s/)

10. The sounds of a word can be manipulated (change or eliminate  the first, middle, or last sounds of a word )

We will experience many opportunities to strengthen our phonemic awareness this year! This also means that we won't have a lot of worksheets which are geared toward phonics which deals with written language or sound-spelling relationships. We will study letters individually each week but also incorporate rhymes, alliteration, chants, songs, and combinations of letter sounds. While we'll focus on the letter Bb one week, we'll be reviewing previous letters and noticing other letters as we write our morning message, read, play word games, etc. 

Maryland Family Network (MFN) is the state’s coordinator of Strengthening Families Maryland, an effort to promote practices that ensure that children and families thrive and to build protective factors that help reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. MFN’s Strengthening Families work focuses on families raising children from birth to kindergarten. There are Strengthening Families initiatives in most states in the country and in other countries throughout the world. Researched and developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy over the last two decades, Strengthening Families is a research informed framework built on the five protective factors necessary to ensure the children grow up safe, healthy and happy. These factors are:

• Parental Resilience

• Social Connections

• Concrete Support in Times of Need

• Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development

• Social and Emotional Competence of Children

MFN provides training, capacity building, and other quality assurance services related to promoting the development of the protective factors in homes and early care and education settings. For more information about the Strengthening Families Approach, visit the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s website.

parent cafés

One of the ways MFN helps parents and other caregivers learn about the protective factors is through Parent Cafés. These are two-hour, structured get-togethers that engage parents and other adults in meaningful conversations about what matters most to families with young children and how to build protective factors at home and in early childhood settings. At Parent Cafés, those who care for young children share information and ideas that can help them to take care of themselves, develop strong relationships with children, and strengthen families. MFN provides Parent Café Facilitator training for representatives from organizations interested in offering Parent Cafés. For more information about Parent Cafés and Parent Café Facilitator training, contact Gail Guillard.

https://www.marylandfamilynetwork.org/for-parents/strengthening-families-maryland-parent-cafes

What to Expect of My Child

Cognitive Development

Most preschool and kindergarten children are in what Piaget described as the preoperational stage of

cognitive development. Letters and numerals typically mean little to the three­ to six­ year­ olds in this stage.

These children use concrete rather than abstract symbols to represent objects and ideas (Bodrova & Leong,

1996). Through pretending, children develop the ability mentally to represent the world (Bredekamp, 1987;

Stone, 1995). Reading requires a child to look at symbols or representations (i.e., letters and words) and

extract meaning from them. A play-­based curriculum offers children opportunities throughout the day to

develop the ability to think abstractly by experiencing real objects using their senses (Bredekamp, 1987;

Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 1993). Blocks can represent an airplane or a train. High heels can transform

a preschooler into a mother or princess. Blocks and high heels are three dimensional, tangible objects.

Sufficient practice using concrete objects as symbols is a necessary prerequisite to the use and

comprehension of print (Stone, 1995).

Mathematical understanding is more than recognition of numerals and amounts. Sorting, categorizing, putting

items in a series, and problem solving are all important math concepts (Raines & Canady, 1990). The teacher

may believe that Jamaica understands the concept of "four" if she circles four flowers on the worksheet. But

until Jamaica can transfer that learning to other situations, such as the number of places at the table for four

people, Jamaica does not truly understand what "four" means. Similarly, Jamaica may be able to print the

letters "R," "U," and "N" on a worksheet, but be unable to read the word "run" when she sees it in a book. The

mere accomplishment of the worksheet task does not signify the child's ability to read or comprehend.

Emotional Development

In any group of young children asked to do a paper­ pencil task, some will succeed and some will be less

successful. The successful children may truly comprehend the task or may simply have guessed correctly.

The less successful ones often learn to think of themselves as failures, and ultimately may give up on school

and on themselves (Katz & Chard, 1989). These children may react to the stress created by fear of giving the

wrong answers by acting out their frustrations and becoming behavior problems, or by withdrawing and

becoming reclusive (Charlesworth, 1996). Parents may report school phobic behaviors such as stomach

aches in the morning or refusal to get into the car to go to preschool. These children have learned, at an early

age, that school can be an emotionally painful place.

School should be a welcoming, peaceful place for children ­ an environment to which children come eager to

see what challenging, stimulating, and fun activities are in store. Children know they may not succeed at

everything they try, but also know they will be valued for who they are. Children's efforts should be rewarded,

so that they will persevere and they will see themselves as learners (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soderman,

1993).

Physical Development

Children are born with a need to move (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 1993). They wiggle, toddle, run, and

climb as naturally as they breathe. When we insist that children sit still and do what for them may be a

meaningless task, such as completing a workbook page, we force children into a situation incompatible with

their developmental needs and abilities. When children cannot or will not do such a task, we may label them

"immature" or "hyperactive." We may complain about their short attention span, or as in Jamaica's case,

criticize her efforts. On the other hand, if we allow children to choose their own task from among appropriate

offerings, we may see children as young as three and four years old spend 30 to 45 minutes completely

engrossed in building with unit blocks, painting at the easel, or listening to stories. When we plan

developmentally appropriate activities for children, they will attend to them, work hard, and learn (Bredekamp

& Rosegrant, 1992).

Before a child can hold a pencil and make an accurate mark on paper, he must have a great deal of small

motor control. He needs practice with various materials and objects that require grasping, holding, pinching,

and squeezing. He must have ample opportunity to make his own marks with objects such as paint brushes,

chalk, fat crayons, and felt­ tip markers. Only later, when he has achieved the necessary finger and hand

control, should he be asked to write words or numerals with a pencil. The timing of this accomplishment will

vary among children. Some four ­year­ olds and most five­ year ­olds are ready to write a few things, notably

their own names. But, we must remember that each child develops on his or her own schedule, and some

six ­year­ olds may be just starting this task. If they are encouraged, rather than criticized, they will continue to

learn and grow and feel confident.

Social Development

Teachers who require young children to perform passive tasks like worksheets may be heard exhorting them,

"Do your own work. Eyes on your own paper." There are few situations in the adult world in which we cannot

ask a friend or colleague for help with a task, or for their ideas about a problem. In fact, leaders in business

and industry say they need employees who can work in teams to solve problems. Yet we ask children to do

what are often impossible tasks, and insist that they suffer through them alone.

The foundations for our social relationships are laid in the early years (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soderman,

1993). This is the time when we discover the roles we may play, the rules for getting along in society, the

consequences for not following rules, and how to make friends. The only way to learn these concepts is to

engage actively with others. When we do not allow children enough time to accomplish fundamental social

tasks, we set the stage for social problems later on. Middle and high schools cope daily with antisocial

behaviors that in some cases reach the point of violence. If we expect adolescents to know how to work and

live with others, and solve problems peacefully, we would do well to begin the process when children are

young.

Developmentally Appropriate Activities

There are many active, and far more interesting, ways for children to begin understanding words and

numbers than via worksheets (Mason, 1986). A classroom with a developmentally appropriate curriculum is a

print­ rich environment. The walls are covered with signs naming objects, stories children have dictated, lists

of words they have generated, pictures they have painted and labeled, and charts of classroom jobs (such as

feeding the pet and passing out napkins for snack).

At the small motor activities table there may be sandpaper letters to feel and puzzles to complete. Creative

activities may include squirting shaving cream onto the table and having children make designs and write

their names. And always there are many books to explore, examine, wonder about, listen to, and love as they

are read aloud. In these ways, children learn that reading and writing are useful skills, not simply tedious

activities adults invent to make school boring. It takes a lot of experience with words and print for children to

understand why it is good to be able to read.

copied in part from:   Early Childhood News, Sue Grossman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of early childhood teacher education at Eastern. Michigan University

In the link below there is an article that explains the importance of play in the early childhood classroom. It helps build executive function, fosters a love of exploring and learning, teaches children a 'can do' attitude, and makes their first experiences with school a positive one! Please take a moment to read it. The website has a lot of other great information on early childhood education and play as well. 

https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play

Young Children in the Digital Age, is a great article about the importance of limiting screen time in young children as they are developing basic knowledge and skills.  Please take a look!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I9svZY8W2DuTPy5Hv3LYq6RMocTJWs5T/view?usp=sharing

Here's a great article that will reinforce what you are doing already at home and tells you why it's important!

https://deeprootsathome.com/kids-bored-entitled/ 

An article I came across online really caught my attention.  I'd like to share it with the understanding that it may not pertain to you but be a pat on the back that you're doing a good job. We live in an age of technology where it can be easy to think the more the better or it'll prepare them for their world in their life. However, as with anything, moderation and limits are key. There is so much more to preparing our youngest learners for their future, especially in the early years.  I hope you find it interesting, perhaps enlightening, but mostly I hope you think, "Yes, I'm doing it right!" Just click the link below the title to be directed to the article online. 

The silent tragedy affecting today’s children(and what to do with it)

https://yourot.com/parenting-club/2017/5/24/what-are-we-doing-to-our-children