Northwest AEA Preschool Newsletter
October 2023
Preschool Newsletter
October 2023
It's officially Fall!
Autumn has arrived and soon with it will come a beautiful display of vibrant colors and temperate weather. Life seems easier when we feel comfortable and have opportunities to view beautiful things through a lens of wonder.
How you show up affects the climate of your classroom, your building, and your life. Aim to be your BEST; it matters!
EnJOY~Brenda, Shelley & Denise
Administrators: Take Note
Preschool Administrator's Zoom
Mark your calendars for October 23rd from 1 to 2 for a Preschool Administrator's Zoom. You will need to register (https://bit.ly/450bGaH) in order to receive the Zoom link.
If there are questions or concerns you'd like addressed, please share them HERE.
GOLD: Spring Checkpoint required
As a reminder, there are three checkpoints in Teaching Strategies GOLD (TS GOLD) which provide summative assessments: Fall, Winter & Spring. It is recommended to complete all three, however it is required to complete the Spring checkpoint. One of the nice things about TS GOLD, in-between checkpoints it can also be used as a formative assessment to help identify learning gaps and areas of strength for students when data is entered on a consistent basis.
Learning Opportunities
Intentional Teacher!
It's filling up! "Playful Learning, Enhancing a Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder!" is open for registration! Not only will there be discussion on play, types of play, and educator roles during play; we will also look at how play prepares students for the future, i.e. helping them become Future Ready. Registration for the October session closes on October 9th at 3 p.m.!
Join us for one or both days for this chance to meet up with teachers and paras across our AEA, share a meal together (included in your fee), and play together. See the Intentional Teacher flyer to learn more!
Instructors: Denise McCarty, Shelley Conover, & Brenda Jenkins
Preschool Round Table
Do you want to know more about the Creative Curriculum Cloud? If you have it, do you want to find out some tips and tricks to make better use of it? If so, join us October 25th or November 3rd from 10 to 11 a.m. when Denise McCarty will share her knowledge and expertise.
IQPPS Course
Instructor: Brenda Jenkins
MTSS in Early Childhood Settings
Curious about what multi-tiered systems of support looks like in early childhood? Registration available now through October 18, this 1-Grad credit (45 hours) self-paced course is designed to help you better understand MTSS and gives you resources to use as you explore ways to make it useful for you and the students you work with. Participants will need access to the book Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Young Children by Judith Carta and Robin Miller Young. Click HERE or on the flyer to learn more.
Instructor: Brenda Jenkins
Observation & Assessment for Young Children
This 1-LR credit (15 hours) training is considered one of our preschool essentials for both teachers and classroom paras. The learning format combines five weekly Zoom sessions lasting 1 1/2 hours each with assignments in Canvas. Opportunities for interactions with classmates are embedded into the course. Click HERE or on the flyer to learn more.
The course begins in January. Early registration is appreciated!
Instructor: Brenda Jenkins
Developing Partnerships with Families, Schools & Communities course
We are offering a face-to-face training in Denison for the course Developing Partnerships with Families, Schools & Communities. Training dates are scheduled for 1/15/24, 2/5/24 & 3/18/24. While designed for teachers, this is also one of the three courses that meets the requirements for preschool para educators to receive their early childhood area of concentration. Click HERE or on the flyer for more information and to register. There are 24 total seats available.
Instructor: Shelley Conover
Centering on Centers 2024: Save the dates!
Register early! Friday is limited to 350 participants; Saturday is limited to 110.
Check out our Facebook page for updates.
MTSS Conference Dec. 13!
You are invited to attend and join other PK-12 staff at the annual Northwest AEA MTSS conference! We love to have early childhood representation. If you have an example of something you've implemented within an MTSS framework that had a positive impact on the students in your program, check out the MTSS Poster Invitation. We'd LOVE to showcase you 🙂 Note: Poster submissions are due Oct. 17th.
Free to Play Summit
October 21-23, 2023 the Free to Play Summit is featuring a virtual training titled, "The Power of Play Materials." Check out the link below for details.
Ideas & Support for Teachers
Book of the Month Club is starting back up!!
If you're interested & eligible, then you'll want to fill out the form below!
For Families
Preschool Spotlight
Lindsey Renken, Cherokee Preschool Teacher Uses Visuals and Room Arrangement to Guide Students
Oftentimes we wonder what other preschool classrooms look like and how teachers organize their materials. Upon a visit to Lindsey Renken's classroom in Cherokee, many things were strategically placed and quite "eye appealing".
Lindsey's "Classroom Helpers" were displayed nicely in her large group area. She also has the linear calendar posted rather rather than a traditional calendar. There is a lot of great research out there that supports a linear calendar over the traditional calendar for young learners. This is a great article supported by NAEYC. Preschool children are not ready to grasp the traditional concepts of the monthly calendar and names of the months or days of the week. Therefore, linear calendars provide a more concrete, visual representation of time. This is a great resource for teachers who are ready to make the change from a traditional calendar to a linear calendar.
The weather images are "actual" weather photos. In conversation about large group time, Lindsey shared that she likes to use "Pocket of Preschool" for her visuals. BONUS: These materials are FREE HERE. You will notice the "Daily Schedule" also uses real photos to help depict parts of the day. They can be found HERE although there is a small charge for these schedule cards. These cards are also editable.
The classroom "Art Wall" is ready to display students' artwork. Each student has a place for their art to be on display in the classroom.
Gentle reminders are displayed for the "care of books" when students visit the classroom library. A "Book Hospital" is used for any books needing some extra TLC. Center signs are placed in each area of the room highlighting what activities might be happening in those certain areas. The center signs are available on Dr. Jean's Blog HERE.
Thank you Lindsey for allowing us to highlight how your classroom is set up and organized.
ECSE Supports
DEC International Conference, Nov. 28-Dec. 1
Fun & Informational Links
Iowa PBS!
Angela Hiatt, the Iowa PBS Educational Outreach Coordinator shared lots of valuable and informative information with us recently regarding many things offered for early childhood educators and families of young children. Click HERE and check out her list!
Additional Info
Hot Topics
Brenda Jenkins
Brenda serves the districts in the West Region. You may contact Brenda by email: bjenkins@nwaea.org.
Shelley Conover
Denise McCarty
Northwest AEA Early Childhood Consultants
Brenda, Shelley & Denise
Website: https://www.nwaea.org/
Location: 5800 Discovery Blvd., Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 712.222.6122
It is the policy of Northwest Area Education Agency not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Jerome Schaefer, Equity Coordinator, 5800 Discovery Blvd., Sioux City, Iowa 51111, 712-222-6114. May 2023
Northwest Area Education Agency is committed to ensuring content accessibility for all individuals. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers related to Northwest AEA materials by calling 712-222-6122 or email us at bjenkins@nwaea.org.