CHALK TALK: preparing your child for kindergarten, part 6 - enthusiasm for learning

The final piece of our kindergarten preparation puzzle is fostering your preschooler’s enthusiasm for learning. Providing unconditional support and encouragement helps a child develop a love of learning. Playing an active role in your child’s education reinforces the value that academic knowledge is worth pursuing. Show them that learning is a great adventure!

Your child looks to you for clues about the world. Because you are your child’s first and most influential teacher, you can encourage your child’s advancement in the classroom by positively reinforcing the information and skills your student is learning in school. Whether reading a book before bed or trying a new recipe together, taking the time to develop skills and build your child’s knowledge will help encourage a curiosity and hunger for learning.

Boost your child’s confidence by letting him or her know that it’s okay to ask questions. Helping your preschooler to feel confident in the classroom tremendously aides the learning process because the child already feels accomplished and able. Determine what kind of learner your child is - auditory, visual, or kinesthetic - and use that knowledge to aid your child’s academic progression while doing activities and projects at home. Visit Different Learning Styles in Education and past Fairmont blog post HOW TO: discover your child's learning style for more learning style information and activities!

Taking an active role in your child’s education and encouraging him or her from the sidelines will help foster academic growth and fuel a desire to learn and accomplish more!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools

Image by MarchIntoKindergarten.Com

CHALKTALK practicing academic skills during the summer

During brief intervals of summer fun and rest, it is wise to devote some time for your child to practice their academic skills. The benefit will be apparent when they return in the fall refreshed and rested without losing a beat when it comes to reading, math, and writing. Here are some helpful tips to keep your children sharp in the educational essentials. Please note, adding some fun to these activities helps motivate initiative!

Reading:
Children should be encouraged to set time during the week for reading their favorite books. For young children, not yet able to read on their own, parents are encouraged to read aloud to their children every night before bedtime.  

Math:
For retaining and refining math skills, children should be offered opportunities to practice their grade-appropriate math facts. Effective tools to help exercise these valuable skills include flash cards, computer-based games, apps, and practicing math facts out loud.

Writing:
Summer is a great time for children to practice their writing skills. They can dabble in creative writing styles such as poetry and short stories. They can also keep a summer journal to record their adventures during vacation. Children also make excellent scribes or reporters for documenting activities while traveling and visiting relatives. 

Practicing these academic skills will help children pass the time productively while traveling.

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools
Image by PBS 

FRIDAY FOLDER: july 10

During week five of the never-ending adventures of Fairmont Summer Programs, campers had a blast under water, examined shark teeth, and had fun with our wonderful camp counselors!

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools

CHALK TALK: preparing your child for kindergarten, part 5 - playing well with others

As your child becomes more social with other children, it’s important to help him or her learn to engage positively with peers. Providing the child with the right tools to handle different social situations will help reinforce values related to playing well with others. Here are some tips for this important life lesson:

• Play-dates - Whether it’s a parents-of-preschoolers group or signing your child up for a sports or dance class, there are plenty of opportunities in your community to help children socialize. The more opportunities for children to play together, the faster they will develop the necessary social skills needed in the classroom.
• Golden Rule - Teaching children to treat others as they want to be treated is an important step towards explaining the abstract concept of respect. Remember, your child doesn’t have to like everyone, but he or she does need to show respect to everyone.
• Team Activities - Involving your child in team activities will help foster his or her ability to work collectively with others. Including your child in household chores and projects, establishing a weekly game night, or enrolling him or her in a sports activity, allows your child to engage with others to accomplish a specific task, which helps them learn the value of connecting with others.
• “I Need a Break” - Let your child know that it’s okay to say “I need a break” and to walk away from frustrating or hurtful situations. What to Do When Your Child Won’t Play Well with Others states that “[w]hen kids are frustrated and feeling like they want to lash out at others around them, this simple sentence can be a way for them to back out of the situation and signal to the adults around them that they need a little time alone.”
• Kind Words - Encourage proper manners and the use of “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” and “Sorry” when your child is interacting with others. These simple practices in etiquette will take your child far as he or she begins to make friends.

How to Help Your Child Make Friends notes that leading by example and inviting your friends over for activities is a good way to demonstrate social skills and the importance of friendship to your children. Visit Fairmont’s Early Childhood Education Pinterest board to find more great resources for preparing your preschooler for kindergarten!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools

Image by Aprendoyeduco.Com 

FAIRMONT FIVE introducing young children to the wonders of nature

Summer break offers excellent opportunities to be outdoors, whether it’s visiting the beach, mountains, deserts, or even your backyard. Breathing fresh air, getting exercise, satisfying curiosity, and feeling a warm breeze on your face are a few of the many joys of exploring the wonders of nature.

Under the caring guidance of parents, young children can gain an amazing perspective of the world around them, from engaging in a backyard safari to spending a week at a national park. We live on a beautiful planet, and it’s worth exploring!

Here are five simple steps for parents to expand their children’s appreciation for nature:

Ecosystem outside your back door— A patch of weeds, flower garden, a green belt, and community park yield an abundance of tiny discoveries for young explorers. Children can record their observations by drawing pictures. Here’s an opportunity to teach the importance of examining and appreciating plants and bugs only with their eyes and not with their hands.

Digging in the dirt – For a small child, a small hole in the back yard is a portal to an amazing journey where imagination and science intertwine. Pick out a spot where your child can use a kid-appropriate shovel and bucket to find worms, bugs, rocks, plant roots, and more. To enhance the experience, plant some plastic dinosaurs to recreate a paleontological dig!

Exploring with your ears – Encourage your child to sit quietly on a bench. After a few minutes, your little one will easily pick up bird songs and the sound of wind blowing through the trees. The child can pretend to be a creature silently hiding.  This will engage their imagination while experiencing the simplistic beauty of the natural world.  This activity definitely fosters the value of patience and reinforces the discipline of learning to sit quietly and listen attentively.

Nature scavenger hunt – This is a fun way for children to pay attention to their surroundings, as well as seasons of the year. While in the yard or on a short hike, children can pick-up leaves, seashells, and small rocks as a reminder of the places they explored. Each item can be linked to a story in pictures about the outdoor experience. (Please note public park rules in regards to collecting items.)

Let’s talk about it – Discuss the experience of being outdoors with your child. Parents can follow-up with questions and observations to determine the child’s favorite part of being outdoors and what they would like to do on their next adventure in nature.

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools
Image by Extension

FRIDAY FOLDER: july 3

Highlights of the Week:

 

 Campers enjoy Mrs. Baham's ice cream created from liquid nitrogen! 

Campers bounce off the walls during the Sky High Trampoline Park field trip!

Week four of summer camp has come to a close but our campers enjoyed an abundance of new activities this week! Between Quidditch matches, a visit to the trampoline park, and dressing up in red, white, and blue, campers stayed busy and engaged with peers and counselors! One of this week's highlights was the ice cream experiment conducted by Fairmont's Mrs. Kathy Baham! During the presentation, Mrs. Baham explained how liquid nitrogen aids in the making of ice cream! After concluding the experiment, campers sampled the delicious results!

Next week will bring more excitement as campers head to the Corona del Mar beach and dress up like their favorite animal!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools

CHALK TALK: preparing your child for kindergarten, part 4 - building oral language skills

Being an effective communicator is an important component to everyday life, which is why helping your child build oral language skills is vital to their development. Teaching little ones to effectively communicate verbally is an important step in growing up. Below are several benchmarks for children entering kindergarten:

1. Politely converse with peers and initiate conversation with adults
2. Show a steady increase in vocabulary
3. Use adjectives in conversation
4. Communicate specific needs, such as “I am hurt” or “I need to use the restroom”

Though there are many communication skills for children to learn, incorporating some of these activities will aid their progression:

• Read, Read, Read - Reading to your child is an excellent vocabulary building exercise. Encourage your child to ask questions about words that he or she does not understand. Be sure to take time to pause while reading to ask critical thinking questions such as “Do you think that character made the right choice?”
• Be the Example - Remember that when you communicate with others in front of your child, you are setting an example. When children observe adults following the rules of conversation (taking turns talking, speaking in calm tones, not interrupting), they will imitate.
• Incorporate New Words - Children are constantly absorbing new words and phrases. Use these new words in context during a regular conversation. This repetition, along with providing examples to show how the word is used in a sentence, will not only help your child commit the word and its definition to memory, but will also encourage your child to use new words when talking with others.
• Play “I Spy” - Playing “I Spy” with your child will help him or her develop spatial awareness and learn to describe location, color, and size. Encourage your child to add more details to the game by listing certain attributes such as “I spy something green on the floor near the table.”
• Talk About Feelings - When your child is upset, ask him or her to describe their feelings. Helping to identify specific emotions and learning to handle them is a very effective communication tool for children and adults alike.
• Tell Stories - Set aside some time to tell stories with your child. Begin by telling your own short, imaginative story, then encourage your child to do the same. Ask questions once the story ends, like “What color was the giant fish?,” or “What would have happened if this character did this instead?” Asking questions will help your child focus on recalling specific elements of the story and providing more clarification.

As children progress through their education, the ability to clearly articulate ideas becomes more prevalent and follows them into adulthood. All children learn at their own pace, but be sure to encourage their learning and growth by taking some time each day to help foster these communication skills.

Visit the Fairmont Early Childhood Education Pinterest board for more great ideas for your young learner!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools

Image by Karate of Mansfield