December

❗❗Friendly Reminder❗❗ If you haven't already, click on the Facebook icon to the right 👉 to follow us on Facebook. If you are willing to share a picture of your child engaged in active learning at home, please do. We'd love to highlight "at-home" learning in December.

Your child's 4K teacher sends home weekly newsletters, which are a wonderful way to strengthen the connection between home and school. Each newsletter shares exciting updates about what is happening in the classroom.

One effective way to support your child's learning at home is by discussing what they are learning at school. For instance, if they are focusing on making "choices," ask them to explain what making choices means to them. Encourage them to practice making choices at home! Similarly, if they are learning the letter Pp, you can make the /Pp/ sound and challenge them to ask you how to "spell" /Pp/. This approach shifts from simply asking, "What does P say?"

We understand that most students enter preschool already familiar with letter sounds, often picking them up during infancy. Think back to the first "sounds" they made—around 2 months, many start producing the /Bb/ (ba-ba) and /Dd/ (da-da) sounds. As they learn to combine sounds to form words, they demonstrate their understanding of these "sounds."

In school, we are building on their existing knowledge of sounds and teaching them how to "spell" or identify the letter symbols that correspond to each sound.

Tucker Turtle should be very familiar to your child. At school, we often read Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think and practice the Tucker Turtle Technique when we are upset. Click Here for an at-home video version. The story is only about 3 minutes long. After the video, several strategies are shared.

After watching the video, challenge your child to tell you the problem-solving steps:

Step 1 - Identify your feelings

Step 2 - Stop

Step 3 - Take 3 deep breaths

Step 4 - Think of a solution and try it

Note: Sometimes you have to try a few things before you figure out a solution.

These adjustments improve clarity and flow. Great job!

This month, we will focus on Empathy in the classroom. We will discuss "understanding other people's feelings" and how this can help us grow strong relationships. For a glimpse into our classroom, click on the Empathy video link. 🎵🎤

Do you have concerns about your child's development? If so, please refer to the Child Find brochure attached below. Child Find is a continuous public awareness, screening, and evaluation process designated to locate, identify, and refer all young children with disabilities and their families who may need early intervention programs or special education.

I wish you well until next time. Please don't hesitate to contact me, Sherrie Stanczyk, Early Learning Principal, with any questions or concerns at sstanczy@pointschools.net or via phone at 715-343-6628.