first  walk  of  the  new  school  year!  

[Notes  from  Shawna]  Hello  Folks!!  

I  hope  that  you  have  all  gotten  off  to  a  wonderful  start  to  our  new  school  year.  The  children  have  come  back  with  energy,  smiles  and  hugs!  We  have  been  planning  and  moving  things  around  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  children.    Please  let  us  know  if  you  have  any  questions  about  things  you  are  seeing.    

Please  be  sure  that  cubbies  are  STOCKED!  Children  get  pretty,  dirty  while  playing  and  with  the  heat,  water  is  being  used  daily.  Some  children  do  not  want  to  take  their  clothes  off,  so  extras  are  imperative.    

Please  remember  that  tuition  is  due  on  the  1st  of  the  month,  with  a  grace  period  until  the  10th.  If  you  pay  after  this  date  a  late  fee  will  apply.  

 

Also,  as  a  reminder,  there  will  be  an  open  house  on  Thursday  September  14th!  

 

 

September  Newsletter  [Cate  ELC]  

 

[MISS  SHYLA]  

Hello  Families!  My  classroom  (Ivy,  Desmond,  Henry  and  Willa)  is  learning  all  about  textures  this  week!  Our  indoor  classroom  has  texture  books  for  the  children  to  interact  with  and  picture  frames  that  frame  various  textures  such  as  soft  rugs,  rough  sandpaper  and  smooth  leather.  We’re  learning  words  like  “rough,”  “scratchy,”  “soft,”  “smooth”  and  wet.  Take  a  look  at  the  lesson  plan  posted  on  the  cork  board  by  the  front  door  to  see  the  various  sensory  activities  we  have  planned  and  which  types  of  textures  we  will  specifically  be  discussing  so  that  you  can  continue  the  learning  at  home!    

[MISS  GISELLE]  

Our  focus  for  the  next  couple  weeks  will  be  emotions!  Navigating  through  social  situations  can  be  tricky  at  two  years  old,  so  focusing  on  how  we  feel  can  be  helpful.  We  will  be  discussing  what  emotions  we  feel,  and  what  we  can  do  with  those  emotions.  As  a  class,  and  throughout  the  day,  we  will  also  be  observing  our  friends’  emotions,  and  discussing  how  we  can  help  our  friends  when  they  feel  sad,  angry,  etc.    

This  unit  will  be  so  fun;  already,  our  class  is  full  of  love  and  kindness.  Any  favorite  books  on  emotions  would  be  appreciated,  as  well  as  discussions  at  home  about  emotions.    

[Miss  Katya]    

Hello  parents!  I’m  excited  to  join  the  Cate  ELC  family  and  looking  forward  to  what  the  school  year  has  to  offer.  Within  the  first  couple  of  weeks  I  feel  like  I  am  a  part  of  the  ELC  family  already,  so  thank  you!    

These  past  few  weeks  I  have  been  observing  my  friends  interest  in  our  outside  classroom.  I  can’t  wait  to  incorporate  their  current  curiosities  in  our  lesson  plans.  

 

 

[Story  of  the  Month]  

Henry  Flannery  was  starting  to  show  a  lot  of  interest  in  using  the  potty  after  seeing  

a  few  of  his  friends  begin  the  potty  training  process.  He  asked  his  teacher  if  he  could  try  to  sit  on  the  potty  too,  which  

she  happily  agreed  to!  

After  he  came  out,  Mahana  smiled  and  asked,  “Henry,  did  you  try  to  go  pee  on  the  potty?”  Henry  said,  “Yeah  I  did!”  

Mahana  responded  by  giving  a  thumbs  up  and  saying,  “Good  job  Henry  I’m  so  proud  

of  you!”    

 

The Development of Empathy (by Christina Vlinder) By letting children work out most conflicts on their own, while adults provide narration and keep things safe, we show that we trust that children will develop empathy without being “taught.” In my toddler class, there is a child, Shanice, who has always been driven to interact with her peers. She loves giving the other children hugs, taking their clothes on and off, touching their heads and faces, talking to them, and taking toys from them. Here are three examples of Shanice interacting with her peers. I wonder if you see the same thing in these play vignettes as I do? Shanice pulled a toy away from Maria. Maria frowned and picked up another toy. Shanice pulled that toy away too. Maria began to cry, and Shanice grinned widely. “Maria sad. Maria crying,” she said to me.“ Yes. Maria is sad. She wants the toy,” I responded. A few moments later, Maria stopped crying and watched Shanice with a serious expression on her face. “Maria sad, Maria crying,” Shanice repeated. She stopped crying. Is she sad? I’m not sure.” I moved to get a better look at Maria’s face, and Shanice looked at Maria more closely too. After a few minutes of further back and forth, Shanice went over to her mother and continued her conversation about whether or not Maria was sad and why. A little while later, Natsu fell and bumped his head. I was near Shanice at the time, and we had another conversation about emotions.“ Nat sad,” Shanice said, again with a smile. “Yes, Natsu is sad. He fell. It hurt.” “Hurt,” Shanice said. “Hug.” “Natsu is getting a hug from his Auntie. I think he is starting to feel better.” We watched Natsu together as he calmed with his aunt. Shanice went behind the curtain to look out the window. Adrian, was sitting in his father’s lap nearby. He called out, “Where is she!” Hearing this cue, Shanice popped out from behind the curtain. “There she is!” Adrian said triumphantly, and they both laughed. They repeated this interaction many times, making everyone–both adults and children– laugh. It’s a lot harder for adults to watch the first play scene than the other two, but I believe they are all part of the same process: developing empathy. Empathy is a very complicated skill. It requires: -firsthand knowledge of the somatic sensations of emotions, which babies develop starting at birth -the ability to recognize and repeat vocabulary about emotion, which happens in early toddlerhood -theory of mind (knowing that someone else can think or know something different from you), which doesn’t fully develop until the preschool years -the ability to pull together this knowledge to predict an emotional response, or to read an emotional response, and then act on it in a way we adults can see. This process doesn’t happen consistently until children are in preschool, although we will see many signs of it before then. As children get more experienced with conflict resolution and empathy, we will see more reciprocal interactions like the peek-a-boo game and fewer games that upset the other child. In the meantime, our job is simply to remain calm, narrate, and keep the children safe.  

[Miss  Alicia  and  Miss  Crystal]  Miss  Crystal  and  Alicia  have  become  a  fluid  team  caring  for  your  precious  babies.  They  have  been  dedicated  to  implementing  the  RIE  principles  of  respectful  care  and  have  thoroughly  enjoyed  every  day  spent  with  your  little  ones.  Alreadya  month  into  the  school  year  and  so  much  development  has  occurred.  So  far,  we  have  witnessed  them  practice  their  fine  and  gross  motor  skills  by  grasping,  rolling  over,  standing  and  climbing!  The  bonds  created  in  this  short  time  are  genuine,  loving  and  most  of  all  fun!