Why Is Preschool Important?

Preschool is Important!

The preschool experience prepares children for a lifetime of learning. In preschool children are introduced to concepts in a fun relaxed environment. Children see that learning is exciting and they want to learn more.

Preschool children develop social skills needed to get along with others and become independent. Sharing, taking turns, problem solving, and language development are part of the daily routine.

Preschool gives children a jump-start to kindergarten. They develop pre-reading skills, pre-math skills, science and social studies skills. Children develop an understanding of listening and following directions as a group. These behaviors are important for kindergarten readiness.

Preschool is a time to play! Play is essential for all children's healthy growth and development. Play:

                    Enables children to make
                    sense of their world.

                    Develops social and cultural
                     understandings.

                    Allows children to express
                     their thoughts and feelings.

                    Fosters flexible and
                     divergent thinking.

                    Provides opportunities to
                     meet and solve real problems.

                    Develops language and 
                     literacy skills and concepts.

You May Have Noticed Things Changing

We are doing some cleaning up and reorganizing of the school and classrooms.  Please ask what we are up too.  Mrs. Judy will be happy to show you around.

We are putting out a call for Volunteers and New Board Members.  Please let Judy or Jen Albrink know of your interest.  We can use some help in the office and in organizations.

Thanks to Jason Kesterson you will shortly see a new center for computers.  Jason has purchased and will install the new computers that will have preschool friendly opportunities for children to learn how to use the computer. The computer use will be monitored by both the teachers and via a computer in the front office.  

He is also installing two computers in the teachers room for the teachers to develop lesson plans and use the 2 new preschool curriculums donated by David Smith and Erin Noojibail.

The USBORNE Book fair also raised over $300 in new books for KLC.  Come see our new library center.

How to Potty Train and More

(click here for more info) How to Potty Train a Toddler?

You have decided it is time to get your toddler out of diapers and so you are trying to figure out how you are going to potty train your child. If this is your story, then you are definitely in the right part of our web site!

I often get calls and emails from parents who are having potty training problems - they have been potty training their toddler for days, weeks or months and they just want to get do the end of this journey. They just want to get this potty training milestone out of the way!

One of the first questions I ask is how are you potty training - or more specifically, whatmethod are using to potty your child?

I usually get a slight pause and then I got all sorts of answers. Amy Blanchard's Potty Training Troubles is an example of the types of calls and email I get.

So, after counseling many parents over the phone and via email, I decided it was time to write down the "how to potty train" formula!

Follow these three steps and you will have your toddler potty trained in no time.

1. Make sure your child is ready to be potty trained

2. Make sure that YOU the parent are ready as well.

3. Get all the potty training "tools" or "equipment" that you will need to accomplish this job.

Notice, I did not say 3 simple steps - because they are not simple - but if you take the advice to heart and follow through on the details laid out in each step, especially step number 2, you should have a lot of success with potty training.

If after reading the article, you have not found the answers you were look for, try the following areas for additional help, advice and information on the various aspects of potty training.

Potty Training Problems
If you have already started potty training and are having problems with resistance,regression or bed wetting, then this is the section for you.

Potty Training Message Board & Community
Want to know what other parents are doing? How do other parents go about potty training? When did they start potty training their toddler?

This area of the web site not only gives you the opportunity to interact with other parents like yourself, it gives a place to have some fun! Enter our contest to win prizes, participate in our potty training polls or meet and chat with our potty training experts!

Code: A-How-to-Potty-Train-Toddler

http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Development/Separation-Anxiety-Age-by-Age/2

Separation Anxiety Age-by-Age

How to ease separation anxiety at every stage

By Suzanne Schlosberg, Parenting

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When Only One Parent Will Do

Why babies can show a preference for one parent - Parenting.com

Separation Anxiety in the Extreme

How to know if your child's behavior is too extreme and a list of books that can ease painful goodbyes - Parenting.com

Clever Solutions for Bad Habits

Moms' ingenious ways to handle picky eaters, paci junkies, potty slackers, and more - Parenting.com

Introducing Tots to New People

ways to prevent emotional breakdowns - Parenting.com

Until they were 11 months old, my twin boys were so nonchalant whenever I'd leave the room that they seemed like a couple of teenagers. As I'd head off to work, the boys would glance my way, then resume chewing on their barnyard animals or playing with their babysitter. They seemed to be thinking, "Eh, catch you later, Mom -- whatever." I figured: Phew! We dodged all the separation-anxiety drama that had stressed out so many of my friends. (Hey, maybe we'd get lucky and bypass the terrible twos, too!)

But then one morning, reality struck big-time. As I opened the door to leave, Ian, the small, scrappy one, began rolling around the floor, wailing as if stricken by food poisoning. Toby, his chubby, gentle brother, clung to my leg, bawling so hard he could barely breathe. I was heartbroken, and totally flummoxed. I had no clue why it was happening or what approach would be easiest on the boys.

"Separation anxiety can happen almost overnight, which makes it shocking to parents," says Sara Abbot, associate director of the Family Resource Counseling Center in Los Angeles. What's more, it's often not just a one-time, babyhood phase for many kids. The tears and fears related to being apart from Mom or Dad can resurface in the toddler and preschool years, posing new challenges for parents and warranting different 
solutions. As disheartening as that may sound, it can be very helpful to remember that separation anxiety is completely normal, even healthy. "From the earliest years of life, we should want children to encounter ordinary adversity because it's practice for building resilience," says Aaron Cooper, Ph.D., coauthor of I Just Want My Kids to Be Happy! Why You Shouldn't Say It.... Fortunately, there's plenty you can do to minimize your child's angst, as well as your own, along the way.

the first strike: babyhood

Though the timing can vary from child to child, separation anxiety typically first hits around 8 months, when babies suddenly grasp that their parents exist apart from them, says Abbot. "Literally, it's like, boom! They understand you can leave." They don't, however, understand that you're coming back. This anxiety may last several weeks, or even a few months, until your child realizes that you're not, in fact, abandoning him for life -- you're just going to the bathroom. 

how to get through it:

start early  By 6 months, introduce your baby to other regular caregivers, such as relatives or a babysitter. "Your child needs practice being away from you, hopefully well before preschool," says Alex Barzvi, Ph.D., clinical director of the New York University Child Study Center's Institute for Anxiety and Mood Disorders. "You want someone else to hold and talk to your kid a little differently." These experiences may minimize her anxiety later on when you're not around.

keep your goodbye short  A quick "Bye, James, see you this afternoon!" is ideal. "Prolonging the departure gives your child the idea that there's something to be afraid of," Barzvi says. But here's the really tough part: Try not to let the sobbing lure you back. Reappearing after you've left only gives your child incentive to cry harder and longer next time. 

match your body language to your words  "Your child can sense your confidence as you walk out the door," Cooper says. Flash a smile, give a cheerful wave. You'll be faking it, of course, but she won't know that yet. She'll just know that you feel good about who she's with -- and she can, too.

avoid sneaking off  Parents often dash out the door when the child isn't looking, hoping -- understandably! -- that this will preempt a meltdown. "But that's tricking your child, and it can break your child's trust in you," Barzvi says. Instead, first ask your caregiver to redirect your child's attention right after you leave with a favorite toy, a game of peekaboo, or some new music (whatever), then say your quick goodbye. 

Click here for more

Raising a Bookworm

Infants get more out of storytime than you think

By Elizabeth Regalia, Parenting

 

 

 Surprise: Babies and books are a great mix. Sure, your child may not be able to leaf through Goodnight Moon on her own yet -- or even pat the bunny without drooling on him a little -- but an infant gets a lot out of storytime, says Kathleen Martin, Ph.D., associate professor of education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Just by holding up a simple picture book for her to see as she sits on your lap, you show what books are for and how you use them -- that you read from left to right and top to bottom, and turn the pages," she says.

And listening to you helps your baby become familiar with the flow and basic rules of language. In fact, experts say that kids who are read to regularly have an easier time learning to read later on.

Try to read together for a few minutes every day so your baby comes to expect and look forward to storytime as she grows. Books with big illustrations are easy on little eyes, and touch-and-feel ones are fun, too: Just run her hands over the textures if she can't do it by herself. (Don't be discouraged if she's more interested in chewing on the pages than touching them, though: Part of the way babies learn about objects is by putting them in their mouths.)

"The most important thing is to communicate that reading is a satisfying and rewarding experience," says Martin. "Learning to read won't be easy, but you can start teaching your baby that it's worth it."

Poisson Rouge: Great Internet Site For Preschoolers

Free on-line games and activities for pre-school children.

Click here to go to Poisson Rouge

The activities include an alphabet games with very nice animations (one in French and one in English), a coloring game where you learn color mixing, a game to learn numbers 1-9, puzzles, toys (including a pretty caleidoscope), and a piano to learn music.