Exploration from this week…
It was such a short week! Ms. Wilson and I had so many ideas for the activities for the Bambini children but we could not get to do them all in one day! We ‘cooked’ home made playdough together on Tuesday morning. We followed a written recipe to measure, scoop, pour and mix all the ingredients! Playdough making is actually not only fun for children, but also fosters so many areas of children’s development, including early literacy, language, mathematical thinking and social emotional development. Since playdough making and molding is very much a hands-on activity, it stimulates all the senses and helps develop children’s fine motor skills. If you are interested in reading further information about playdough and learning, visit the NAECY website. Next week we will make playdough again! This time we will add different types of tools to mold, and make imprints and shapes to inspire their creativity.
Our new schedule seemed to be working better for our young children. Since we had only one day to try it out, we are looking forward to seeing how children adopt and adjust to it. None of the children have yet asked us why we did not have ‘Morning Meeting’ first in the morning! :)
Being a toddler is not easy!
Many of your children have gone through separation anxiety this month. Separation anxiety is a part of normal developmental stage throughout early childhood. Especially during toddlerhood, children live in a dilemma between strong biological needs- attachment and independence. They want to explore the world independently, but at the same time, they need you! To top it all, they want to express themselves and communicate with you verbally, but their fast developing language and social emotional skills do not allow them to do so yet! If we think how a toddler’s life can be in this way, it is not an easy task to be two years old!
Both Ms. Wilson and I are here for them to support their emotional and developmental needs. In order to ease their separation we are trying to be a ‘secure base’ for your children at school when you are not there. Our first goal is to make your children feel comfortable and safe. Please let us know if you have any further questions or suggestions to help your child transition from home to school.
A few months ago I attended a seminar “Kiss’n Go? Handling Separation Anxiety for Preschool and Beyond” at Erikson Institute. Here are some of the suggestions from the speaker, Margret Nickels, Ph.D.
It was such a short week! Ms. Wilson and I had so many ideas for the activities for the Bambini children but we could not get to do them all in one day! We ‘cooked’ home made playdough together on Tuesday morning. We followed a written recipe to measure, scoop, pour and mix all the ingredients! Playdough making is actually not only fun for children, but also fosters so many areas of children’s development, including early literacy, language, mathematical thinking and social emotional development. Since playdough making and molding is very much a hands-on activity, it stimulates all the senses and helps develop children’s fine motor skills. If you are interested in reading further information about playdough and learning, visit the NAECY website. Next week we will make playdough again! This time we will add different types of tools to mold, and make imprints and shapes to inspire their creativity.
Our new schedule seemed to be working better for our young children. Since we had only one day to try it out, we are looking forward to seeing how children adopt and adjust to it. None of the children have yet asked us why we did not have ‘Morning Meeting’ first in the morning! :)
Being a toddler is not easy!
Many of your children have gone through separation anxiety this month. Separation anxiety is a part of normal developmental stage throughout early childhood. Especially during toddlerhood, children live in a dilemma between strong biological needs- attachment and independence. They want to explore the world independently, but at the same time, they need you! To top it all, they want to express themselves and communicate with you verbally, but their fast developing language and social emotional skills do not allow them to do so yet! If we think how a toddler’s life can be in this way, it is not an easy task to be two years old!
Both Ms. Wilson and I are here for them to support their emotional and developmental needs. In order to ease their separation we are trying to be a ‘secure base’ for your children at school when you are not there. Our first goal is to make your children feel comfortable and safe. Please let us know if you have any further questions or suggestions to help your child transition from home to school.
A few months ago I attended a seminar “Kiss’n Go? Handling Separation Anxiety for Preschool and Beyond” at Erikson Institute. Here are some of the suggestions from the speaker, Margret Nickels, Ph.D.
- Be predictable and trustworthy
- Prepare your child for separations or changes- but don’t overdo it!
- Develop good bye routines and greeting routines (predictability and trust)
- Both parents need to be on board
- Never sneak out!
- Proactive separation early on by encouraging your child to play by themselves for manageable periods of time
- Arrange play dates and alternate homes
- Visit school beforehand with your child if possible
- Tell or remind child of teachers’ names
- Tell child what to expect
- Read books about going to school
- Acknowledge feelings, provide facts
- Avoid rushing in the morning, focus on child’s needs
- Bring ‘comfy’ object or picture of family
- Be on the earlier or later side, depending on your child’s needs
- Great teacher warmly and by name
- Introduce child to teacher before letting child play (Bridging:parents can be a bridge)
- If child is reluctant to let you go, say good bye with teacher present so teacher can engage child