Southgate Medallion

Here at the Agency we decided to end our summer (which always goes by far too quickly, I’m sure you’ll agree), with a Saturday Social in Capilano Park.

The Agency Team and our amazing Family Day Home Educators met up to enjoy drinks, food, and company together. We played some fun games and visited. It’s always a great experience for both the agency staff and the educators to get together, put names to faces that we may have not met in person before, exchange stories and generally just have a fun time.

My first special thanks go out to the Agency team who all worked hard to put this event together

My second special thanks go out to Amra who was an honorary consultant for the morning and helped us with the set up. Thanks so much for your help!

My third special thanks go out to our Educator Sophia, who revealed to us at the end of the gathering that not only was it her birthday, but it was also a milestone birthday too. Happy Birthday Sophia and thanks for spending some of your special day with us.

Our two lucky winners of the door prizes: Prabha and Saba.

It is wonderful to be a part of a collaborative team of people with a single goal of providing “Excellence in Childcare”.

Have a wonderful Fall.

Emma Dajavs

Coordinator

While many of us focus on the basics of letter and number recognition or reading skills, kindergarten readiness encompasses more than a few isolated skills. We need to look at the whole child and all the skills and strengths each child has developed. That’s what makes them unique. As an example, Sasha may love books and have exceptional reading abilities, but she struggles with shyness that prevents her from engaging with other children. Joshua might be very strong socially but still has difficulty holding and using a pencil correctly. Emma can do both these things, but she can be very silly and wiggly and gets distracted in group settings. Despite these differences, all of these children are ready for school.

Here are some tips to help you prepare children for Kindergarten:

• Help them to develop independence at home. Encourage your child to dress themselves, take their coat on and off and hang it up, use the bathroom without assistance and wash their hands without constant reminders, and put on their own shoes. Provide serving spoons so your child can serve themselves at the table and clear their own dishes. These skills will take their from the coatroom to the lunchroom and beyond.
• Focus on self-help skills. Your child should know how to wipe her face after lunch without prompting and blow their nose without assistance. But be sure they are also comfortable asking an adult for help when necessary.
• Teach responsibility. Start transferring small responsibilities over to your child, if you haven’t already. After a family trip to the pool, you might put your child in charge of emptying the backpack, refilling the water bottles, or hanging up his wet swimsuit. Even when it may be easier for you to complete these tasks, let him accept the responsibility.
• Develop and follow routines. Set up morning routines that will transfer into a school setting. Getting up around the same time every day, getting dressed, and having an early breakfast together is a great way to transition to school.
• Read aloud to your child. Get your child a library card, take her to the library to check out books, and be sure to read to your child every day. Read a variety of books, read the captions under pictures in the newspaper, even share the comics. Just read!
• Engage her in meaningful literacy activities. Encourage your child to help you with thank you cards, shopping lists, or notes. They may start with scribbles or pictures, move into scattered letters, and finally some recognizable words as they enter school. Appreciate their attempts and watch their skills develop with practice.
• Acknowledge his feelings. Avoid talking about school too much, or wait until the end of summer is near. Your child may express being nervous, not wanting to go or, alternately, feeling very excited to start school. Whatever they feel, take time to appreciate where they are.
• Rather than worry about whether your child is ready to read and write, think about his or her skills as a whole. What can they do well that will help them succeed? The quiet child who has reading abilities will find her way to the social butterfly that needs help writing his name. The silly, wiggly child will find a spot as the classroom helper. Rest assured, they will all navigate kindergarten together.
• https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/kindergarten-here-we-come

  
  

We wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to Hye Jin for inviting her fellow educators to visit her wonderful outdoor play space. Her dedication to promoting children's gross motor skills through engaging and diverse activities is truly commendable. Each element, from the carefully designed obstacle course to the interactive games that encourage running, jumping, and climbing, showcases your passion for nurturing children's physical development in an enjoyable and educational manner.

I have been working in the childcare field for 14 years, over these past years in have been worked with toddler, preschool and out of school aged children in daycare settings. I attended CDI college and graduated in 2014. I value social-emotional literacy in the yearly years and scaffolding the children in problem solving. During my time working daycare I have had the chance to work along side GRIT and ASaP to create inclusive environments for children and families. Another on of my core values is fostering relationships with families, educators, and children. I’ve been working close with the FLIGHT Early Learning Framework and implementing into my practice and educating others on pedological documentation and learning the language of the Framework.

September 4th: Labour Day

October 9th: Thanksgiving

-If you have children attending school this September, please communicate with your educator regarding the children’s schedule, transportation, and school information. Please complete the School information form provided by the educator and Permission for school-age child to walk To and/or From bus stop/school.

-As the weather is changing, please dress the children for the weather.