Red Light, Green Light

"Red light! Stop, stop, stop! Green light! Go, go, go!" Big Bird Buddies now consists of many race car drivers; all concerned with traffic lights. The children are running in a large circle around the playground, pushing lawn mowers, shopping carts, and baby strollers.
As they reach the corner by Big Bird Buddies door, they encounter an interesting traffic light... Ms. Jolene. As they get close to Ms. Jolene she tells them the color of the traffic signal. They then decide whether they should stop or continue running.
Many of the children spend their entire outside time running circles and paying close attention to the traffic signals. They do not even realize they are improving fitness, stamina, listening skills, and coordination. They are too busy having fun!
The next time you are at a light with your child encourage them to recognize the color and appropriate action.

Parent Discussion Topic: Separation Anxiety

Question from a parent: "How do you deal with Separation Anxiety when you drop your child off at ABC Academy in the mornings? What things have helped alleviate your child's anxiety? How do you feel emotionally and how do you think that has helped your child overcome the anxiety?"

Answer: (Reply to this post with answers to this question.)

Welcome to a New School Year!

It's fall and another school year is in full swing at ABC Academy! W've seen some children go off to Kindergarten or return to school and we've happily welcomed new children into our classrooms! It's hard to believe how fast our children have grown up. I always get a bit nostalgic at the beginning of a school year, especially when I see the children advancing from one class to another. My own son is moving up at the end of the month and I know many of you have experienced this change recently too. I think it's a nice time to take a minute and reflect on how far our children have come!

Now to change gears.

Looking ahead, we have a lot of things to be excited about this year! Here are just a few of those things.

-A Renewed excitement and commitment to this blog. You will probably notice some little changes in our little corner of cyberspace. We will be adding new types of posts, such as the new parent discussion topics published on some Saturdays. Those will be a topic starter where you as parents can give tips and tricks, advice, and personal experience stories to answer other parents' questions. We are also setting up a way to download newsletters and calendars directly to your computer. **If you have any suggestions about how we can make this blog more resourceful for you, please let us know what they are!**

-A New parent advisory committee. Parents from around the building have volunteered time to help plan events and activities that will be happening around the center. They will also act as advocates for the rest of the parents in the center by helping improve communications and your experiences at our center. If you would like to be a part of the committee, you are welcome to join by talking to Kim. The parent advisory committee has already had their first meeting and Kim will make the minutes from that meeting available to any other parent who is interested.

-More family activities and connections. We are planning to have family events almost every month during this school year. Sometimes the event will be an at-school event and sometimes it will be an evening or weekend event. Some highlighted events include a Friday evening tailgate party in October, Decorate a family gingerbread house at pick-up time in December, and a Friday Movie/pajama night in January. Watch for more information about these events in your child's cubby.

Remember that Tuesday, September 22 is our Curriculum night. It starts at 6:00 and will last about an hour. Kids, bring your parents to show them how much fun you have at school!

A Special Week

Our final full week of the summer found us exploring and learning about Japan. We are fortunate to have two families from Japan in our classroom. They were able to provide us with stories, pictures, and games native to their culture. It enabled us to experience Japan on a slightly more personal basis.

We were able to see pictures of Yuri and her sister in Kimonos. A Kimono is a traditional Japanese dress that girls wear on a special event, such as the New Year. We also looked at a picture of Kenshin on Children’s Day, May 5th, in Japan. They provided us with a picture of the beautiful Himeji Castle and of Kinkakuji (Golden Temple), which is one of the most famous temples in Japan, and of the highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji.

We were able to play an origami sumo wrestling game, made by Kenshin’s mother. The students really enjoyed tapping the corner of the game to make the paper wrestlers move, trying to make their opponent fall from the board first. We were able to see many examples of origami, such as a cat, a dog, a frog, and a heart.

This week was a true learning experience as we were able to incorporate real pictures, real games, real stories, and real people into our education! We would like to give a special thank you to both Kenshin and Yuri’s family.

Educational Activity for Home

If you are looking for an interesting activity to do at home with your child to enhance their education then try: Flyswatter Painting. Yes, flyswatter painting. The children in Big Bird Buddies thoroughly enjoyed this unique activity composed of a simple household object and some paint.

Brief Description:
Pour different color paints on separate paper plates. This will provide your child with optimal choices. Supply your child with a piece of paper and a flyswatter. The flyswatter becomes the paintbrush and the artwork relies on their imagination.
-Some suggestions you might make to encourage thinking include:
* Ask questions about the colors your child chooses to use.
* Help your child recognize how the colors change as they overlap or mix. Are they making a new color? Are they getting darker? Are they getting lighter? To strengthen the chance of color changes supply only primary colors and either black or white for your child to paint with.
* Encourage your child to find multiple ways to use the flyswatter as a painting device (ex. Swatting paint on the paper, pushing paint around the paper, pressing it to make a definite flyswatter shape: like a stamp).
* Explore whether or not the pattern is effected if the flyswatter is used more quickly. More slowly?

Key Developmental Indicators that correspond with this activity:
Communication and Language: Listening and Responding
Creative Representation: Exploring Building and Art Materials
Social Relations: Playing with Others
Movement: Moving Parts of the Body, Moving with Objects
Time: Experiencing Fast and Slow

Enjoy,

Ms. Jolene

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese proverb