We have enjoyed a great year together!  Some of our students will be leaving PECEC to start Kindergarten in the Fall.

Starting kindergarten can be an anxious or an exciting experience for children. They enter an unfamiliar environment and spend time with strangers, but they also make new friends, meet new teachers, and learn new skills. Getting off to a good start is important! Please enjoy the following article for a few tips for starting Kindergarten, and have a great summer!

Click Here - Starting Kindergarten

A healthy childhood depends on play. Play is not a break from other daily learning activities; play is active learning at its peak. It is through play that kids construct knowledge of their physical, social, and emotional world.

But, increasingly, children’s invaluable “play time” is spent mindlessly swiping or passively staring at a screen. Time spent in this morphed concept of “play” is displacing time spent in active play.

Screen-Free Week, this year celebrated from April 29 – May 5, challenges participants to unplug and “rediscover the joys of life away from screens”. An hour once dedicated to TV can become an hour of creative play, reading, or enjoying nature. Screen-Free Week gives families an opportunity to explore other options, try out new activities, and reconsider their future media use.

Please read the following article to learn more about the importance of screen-free time.
You may find it helpful as warmer weather approaches and there are more opportunities for outdoor play.

Click Here: Screen-Free Week

The problem-solving approach to social conflict is a strategy Pemberton Early Childhood teachers use as a way to help children learn to resolve social conflicts. Conflict resolution strategies can also be used at home, to help children grow in their ability and confidence in resolving conflicts.

Please read the attached article.You can copy the link and paste it in your browser.

Click Here: Problem-Solving Approach to Social Conflict

Math for preschoolers is much more than rote counting.  It includes many concepts, including understanding and comparing quantities, exploring shapes and spatial relationships, comparing sizes, measuring, creating patterns, and interpreting data.

At your leisure, please take a look to review what we discussed, or to view it for the first time if you didn’t have a chance to join us.

We think you will find some fun and easy activities to do with your child to strengthen math skills!

Below is the link to our recent Parent Academy workshop on ways to reinforce math skills at home.

Click Here: Math for Preschoolers 

We would also like to share an article on ways to encourage your child’s math skills while running everyday errands.

We hope you’ll find it helpful.

https://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/mathactivities/

If you wish to review the workshop, or did not have a chance to attend in person, please follow the attached link to view this important information session at your convenience.

Click on the link, or copy and paste the link to your browser.

Click here: Supporting Challenging Behaviors at Home

Young children can learn to follow adult expectations. 

The following article, which was shared at the workshop,  includes some tips for helping your child learn and follow your requests.

Click on the link, or copy and paste the link to your browser to read.

Click here: Teaching Your Child to Cooperate with Requests

Making the Holidays Memorable and Meaningful.

Holidays can be busy and stressful. Children’s eyes and ears are filled with messages that say, “Buy me!” We all want the holidays to be fun. But we want holidays to mean more to our children than receiving lots of gifts.

https://illinoisearlylearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/holidays.pdf

Empowering Your Child was the first workshop offered in our Parent Academy.

If you did not have a chance to attend in person, please follow the attached link to view this important information at your convenience.

Click on the link, or copy and paste the link to your browser.

https://youtu.be/Zhldu61NV-w

For more information on this important topic, here is an article that you might also find helpful.

https://childmind.org/article/teaching-kids-boundaries-empathy/

Literacy begins at birth and builds on relationships and experiences that occur during infancy and early childhood. For example, introducing a child to books at an early age contributes to a later interest in reading.  PECEC offers several ways to help family members understand children’s growing awareness of written and spoken language.  Enjoy the following article about ways to encourage literacy every day!

https://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/languageandlit/

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/teaching_respect_to_preschoolers_can_help_build_character

http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/startingkinder.htm