Preschool Newsletter - January 2008

Dear Parents,

Many of you brought the staff delicious treats, gift cards and special holiday gifts. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated; a big Thank you from all of us.

I hope each of our school families had a warm and wonderful Christmas. May the New Year bring you new & happy adventures; with a preschooler in the house that is bound to happen.

A reminder that the preschool will be closed on Monday, January 21 in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday holiday.

The stomach flu is still going around. Please Remember to take your child's nap things home for washing every Friday, this will be helpful in keeping the spreading of the virus down. We are encouraging the children to wash hands often as well.

Recently I was informed by a Pediatric Office that even though a child has had a varicella immunization they can still get chicken pox. If your child has a reddish rash with bumps that look like little blisters please see your doctor, and do not bring them to school. Chicken pox is not dangerous to the child, yet it is contagious.

If you have questions for your child's teacher regarding how they are doing in the classroom please do not hesitate to speak with them, or let me know if you would like to set up a meeting.

Nurturing Young Children's Communication

All children need and deserve to be in an environment that nurtures their ability to communicate. Take advantage of of every opportunity to teach your child ways to communicate effectively. Talking and listening to children at their level is one of the simplest, yet most effective, practices you can use.

Imagine trying to communicate while craning your neck to look up at someone; and the person towering above you, looks down at you while he or she speaks. This happens to young children all too frequently. This kind of situation does not encourage meaningful conversation, which is the basis for speech and language development. Making an effort to be at another person's eye level is a sign of respect and consideration, as well as an indication that you really want to listen to what they have to say.

Communicating at eye-level is an important speech and language tool. Our role as teachers and parents is full of opportunities for children to express themselves and to be listened to as they develop the important skills needed to communicate.

Preschoolers love to talk and be listened to. Give them an audience and they will recite rhymes, tell stories, and sing songs. They are practicing words and word combinations and may surprise you by pronouncing some difficult words. Four and five year olds like to act out stories, they enjoy jokes and riddles. They understand multiple instructions and have expanded comprehension skills. You can enrich communication and narration skills by encouraging role-playing activites such as acting out stories or playing house, hospital, or school.

Children acquire language faster during the first five years of life than at any other time in their development.

Vocabulary Workout: Get in the habit of asking your child questions that have more than one right answer and that encourage more than a simple "yes" or "no."

e.g. If you were a bird, where would you fly? What do you think bears dream about when they hibernate?