Important Dates and Upcoming Events
- Teacher Appreciation week is May 4-8. Please watch for details about how you can participate in celebrating your child’s teacher and crew leaders.
- Kindergarten Author’s Night is Tuesday, May 5th from 6-7pm. Light refreshments will be served following all presentations
- Scholastic Book Fair is May 4-8 from 6:30-9am and 4-6pm. Only Checks and Credit Cards accepted for payment.
- Center will be CLOSED for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25th. We wish everyone a safe holiday!
Campus News
Tuition Payment Changes:
Our check payment policy is changing, effective June 1, 2015. Your check payments are due on MONDAY of each week, and a late fee will be assessed by noon on Tuesday if your payment has not been received. If you’d like to sign up for our automatic payment program, please see the administrator.
Summer Camp:
Summer Camp planning is well under way. As details about scheduled events and exciting opportunities are made, we will share those with you. We expect to have our Calendar of Events ready to share the beginning of May. The deadline to register for Summer Camp is Friday, May 15th. If you’d like to register your child, please see the administrator for the necessary forms.
Tuition Due Dates:
Tuition is due on May 11 and 25. Please remember to turn your payment in no later than 6 PM on the Wednesday of that week. If your payment is not received by that time, your account will be charged a $25.00 late fee. For your convenience, we offer an automatic withdraw program. Please see the administrator for details. Please note important changes to our payment policy effective June 1, 2015.
From the Education Department
Developing Writing Skills in Young Children
– From Crayons to Concepts –
In the early preschool years, writing starts with practicing fine motor skills and progresses to include concepts such as vocabulary, sentence structure and inventive spelling. Our curriculum builds the foundation for writing beginning with our infants. Our teachers not only instruct students how to write, but they also help instill a love of writing and self-expression.
Below are activities we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about writing, as well as fun activities to try with your child at home.
INFANTS/TODDLERS
In the classroom: Our infants and toddlers practice picking up and placing objects into containers, building hand strength and coordination.
At-home activity: Give your child plastic cooking utensils, such as spoons and spatulas, along with a large bowl. Place appropriate finger foods in the bowl, and encourage your baby to pick up the utensils and use them to move the food around. Choose utensils with different sized handles so your baby learns how to grasp and hold objects in various ways.
BEGINNERS (Ages 2-3)
In the classroom: During imaginative play, teachers provide pens, markers and crayons to encourage students to practice writing. For instance, they pretend to own a restaurant and write food orders, and pretend to be doctors and take notes about the condition of their stuffed animals.
At-home activity: Incorporate writing activities during playtime. Bring sidewalk chalk outdoors and ask your child to write what they see. Don’t correct spelling or proper letter formations. Show enthusiasm in any efforts he makes, as this is how children learn that words are powerful and have meaning.
INTERMEDIATES (Ages 3-4)
In the classroom: Different writing tools and surfaces make writing more interesting for children. Our Intermediates use chalk on a chalkboard, form letters using modeling clay, and finger paint on canvas.
At-home activity: Three year olds enjoy mimicking adults in their daily activities. Allow your child to engage in a new writing activity with you, such as writing a grocery list or a thank you card. Explain to him what you are writing and the purpose it serves.
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 (Ages 4-5)
In the classroom: Teachers make writing fun for our older preschoolers by creating a classroom post office and asking the children to write and mail letters to each other. Through this activity, students practice communicating thoughts and ideas on paper, using proper grip, writing first and last names in correct case, and writing words independently by using inventive spelling. Inventive spelling encourages a love for writing and reinforces phonics. Traditional spelling is encouraged as students move into more formal writing in early elementary grades.
At-home activity: After a family outing, invite your child to write about his day in a journal. Encourage him to use uppercase and lowercase letters. If he asks for help writing more challenging words, have him attempt to spell them by sounding out the word and writing the letters that make that sound. Invite him to read his journal entry to you.
We provide many opportunities for our preschoolers to develop and practice their writing skills. By setting this foundation, they will be better prepared to communicate thoughts and ideas through writing in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education
May News
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
Campus News
Tuition Payment Changes:
Our check payment policy is changing, effective June 1, 2015. Your check payments are due on MONDAY of each week, and a late fee will be assessed by noon on Tuesday if your payment has not been received. If you’d like to sign up for our automatic payment program, please see the administrator.
Summer Camp:
Summer Camp planning is well under way. As details about scheduled events and exciting opportunities are made, we will share those with you. We expect to have our Calendar of Events ready to share the beginning of May. The deadline to register for Summer Camp is Friday, May 15th. If you’d like to register your child, please see the administrator for the necessary forms.
Tuition Due Dates:
Tuition is due on May 11 and 25. Please remember to turn your payment in no later than 6 PM on the Wednesday of that week. If your payment is not received by that time, your account will be charged a $25.00 late fee. For your convenience, we offer an automatic withdraw program. Please see the administrator for details. Please note important changes to our payment policy effective June 1, 2015.
From the Education Department
Developing Writing Skills in Young Children
– From Crayons to Concepts –
In the early preschool years, writing starts with practicing fine motor skills and progresses to include concepts such as vocabulary, sentence structure and inventive spelling. Our curriculum builds the foundation for writing beginning with our infants. Our teachers not only instruct students how to write, but they also help instill a love of writing and self-expression.
Below are activities we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about writing, as well as fun activities to try with your child at home.
INFANTS/TODDLERS
In the classroom: Our infants and toddlers practice picking up and placing objects into containers, building hand strength and coordination.
At-home activity: Give your child plastic cooking utensils, such as spoons and spatulas, along with a large bowl. Place appropriate finger foods in the bowl, and encourage your baby to pick up the utensils and use them to move the food around. Choose utensils with different sized handles so your baby learns how to grasp and hold objects in various ways.
BEGINNERS (Ages 2-3)
In the classroom: During imaginative play, teachers provide pens, markers and crayons to encourage students to practice writing. For instance, they pretend to own a restaurant and write food orders, and pretend to be doctors and take notes about the condition of their stuffed animals.
At-home activity: Incorporate writing activities during playtime. Bring sidewalk chalk outdoors and ask your child to write what they see. Don’t correct spelling or proper letter formations. Show enthusiasm in any efforts he makes, as this is how children learn that words are powerful and have meaning.
INTERMEDIATES (Ages 3-4)
In the classroom: Different writing tools and surfaces make writing more interesting for children. Our Intermediates use chalk on a chalkboard, form letters using modeling clay, and finger paint on canvas.
At-home activity: Three year olds enjoy mimicking adults in their daily activities. Allow your child to engage in a new writing activity with you, such as writing a grocery list or a thank you card. Explain to him what you are writing and the purpose it serves.
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 (Ages 4-5)
In the classroom: Teachers make writing fun for our older preschoolers by creating a classroom post office and asking the children to write and mail letters to each other. Through this activity, students practice communicating thoughts and ideas on paper, using proper grip, writing first and last names in correct case, and writing words independently by using inventive spelling. Inventive spelling encourages a love for writing and reinforces phonics. Traditional spelling is encouraged as students move into more formal writing in early elementary grades.
At-home activity: After a family outing, invite your child to write about his day in a journal. Encourage him to use uppercase and lowercase letters. If he asks for help writing more challenging words, have him attempt to spell them by sounding out the word and writing the letters that make that sound. Invite him to read his journal entry to you.
We provide many opportunities for our preschoolers to develop and practice their writing skills. By setting this foundation, they will be better prepared to communicate thoughts and ideas through writing in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education