Preschoolers Moving Ahead!

The preschool teachers have been hard at work preparing progress reports, which will go home on Friday, February 3.  They are proud of the students' growth this year, as I am sure all of the parents will be.  Every student is progressing at his/her individual pace--hitting those developmental milestones that are so important during these early years while learning to love learning through play and experimentation. 

I encourage all parents to continue to read to your children and to engage them in conversation.  Those two activities are the most important for developing early literacy skills.  Enjoying books together is a wonderful and rewarding way to spend time with your preschoolers!

Parent Education Night

Clear your calendars for February 23!  We will host a certified High/Scope trainer at the preschool that evening at 6 p.m.  She will explain the research-based program we are fully implementing at the preschool to advance student learning based on principles of child development.  All your questions will be answered!
We look forward to seeing all preschool parents that evening!

Early Literacy

The most important preparation we can give to our youngest learners is the advancement of their oral language.  Activities during which preschoolers interact with peers and adults to experiment and to solve problems build communicative skills.  The opportunity to hear, examine, and manipulate reading and writing materials excites the interest in their use long before children can read and write.

Check into the National Association for the Education of Young Children to read the latest research about how preschoolers learn, and what we can learn to help them.

And always--read, read, read.

Blowing off the Winter Blues

Do your preschoolers seem a little more tired or cranky these days?  Research tells us that these gray, cold, drizzly winter days can be among the most depressing for all of us.  Time to shake things up and inject some fun into our time with the youngest learners.  Build a fort of the sofa cushions and "camp out."  Visit the library for some new books.  Download a new app for the phone or IPad--try Bubbles--as therapeutic as popping bubble wrap!  When we change up the routine and just have fun, the blues will go away.  Try it!

February Focus

Don't miss the upcoming evening for parents on February 7 at the preschool.  Karen Tovi-Jones will present a workshop on Child Development at 6 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to join us as we learn more about our students and their progress.  Child care will be provided! 

Preschool Presents its Successes

Preschool teachers report their latest innovations at the Somerville BOE meeting on January 10, 2012.  Look for new and exciting uses of technology--the preschoolers now use IPads to support their learning!  Working on strengthening the physical core of each student through thirty minutes daily of gross motor activity helps to increase small motor dexterity as well--leading the way to writing.  Interactive read alouds offer the district's youngest learners the opportunity to think critically, make predictions, increase their vocabularies, and--most of all--to find their voices as they express their interests, hopes, and the wonder that comes from interacting with literature.