Rochester is part of a pilot of an early care and education rating system that in-cludes urban, suburban and rural areas. During early March childcare centers and schools will be notified of the status of their applications to participate in the program. During informational sessions in January supervisors of prekindergarten programs in schools and community-based organiza-tions were encouraged to participate in the pilot program in Rochester. The participa-tion of schools and community-based or-ganizations providing UPK should provide a representative sample of our UPK program in Rochester. UPK programs that participate in the pilot program will be assessed using the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R), and through a review of documentation of family engagement, qualifications and experience and leader-ship and management. Currently all Roch-ester City School District UPK programs are evaluated using the ECERS-R through an independent evaluation process. Pro-

grams that have in operation for five years with accreditation from the National Asso-ciation for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) may apply through a streamlined process to receive Five Stars (maximum rating) upon submission of a brief applica-tion and documentation of accreditation. Our UPK programs are well positioned for participation in the pilot program since the same documentation is required by the Early Childhood department for participa-tion in the UPK program. It will an be exciting experience for pro-grams blazing the trail to pilot the QUALITY starsNY program rating system in Roches-ter. The developers of the rating system indicate that supports for quality improve-ment will be provided to programs that want to access these supports through profes-sional development and technical assis-tance. This pilot and pilots of similar pro-gram rating systems currently being imple-mented in New York and other states are the forerunners of state-wide rating sys-tems being developed nationally.

Please send your photos and articles

for our monthly Prekindergarten

Newsletter: jeanne.herrick@rcsdk12.org

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Check our website:

www.rcsdk12.org/prek

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Look for Professional Development

offerings on avatar:

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QUALITYstarsNY Field Test in Rochester UPK submitted by Dr. Robin Hooper

March, 2010 Volume V, Issue 7

Prekindergarten News Rochester City School District

“You have a

lifetime to work,

but children are

only young once.”

- Polish proverb

The children in a Caring & Sharing UPK classroom participated in a bag science ex-periment making ice cream. They were amazed at how the salt in the ice allowed the milk to be transformed into soft ice cream. The recipe was sent home for families to enjoy.

Celebrating our Success: Shaking it Up submitted by Sakiyna Wilson, Caring and Sharing Child Care Center

Page 2 Prekindergarten News

Music Center submitted by M’Lou Speranza, RCSD Music Building Blocks Teacher

In all UPK classrooms, a set of high quality music instru-ments such as xylophones, hand drums, guiros and rhythm sticks allow children many opportunities to practice steady beat and create their own music. Keeping them on a la-beled shelving unit will help children with sorting and organ-izational skills. The Music Center at Caring and Sharing on Webster Avenue is very inviting to children. Classroom instruments should be used at least twice a week at circle time throughout the year to reach those “musical learners” and to reinforce appropriate use. A de-velopmentally appropriate approach is to invite young chil-dren to make and explore sound rather than to stifle it. Us-

ing phrases such as: “Can you shake the jingle bells softly near your ear while I pass them out to all our friends?” will work much better than phrases like, “DON’T touch those instruments until I say so!” Having visual cues handy, such as the red/green “Stop” and “Go” music signs and the In-strument Song Cards will help children self-correct when they are playing the instruments. At Carlson Metro YMCA, Tracy Engle keeps her transi-tion songs and chants handy on the wall where she does large group. At any moment when she needs to, she can begin a song to help children get their wiggles out and re-focus. Tracy keeps her thematic song cards in a narrow bin that allows children easy access to them during choice time.

Language Development submitted by Karen Spawton, CPSE Chairperson As a licensed and certified speech language pathologist, I have spent the majority of my life focusing on the language development of individuals. Whether it was the eighteen month old deaf infant or the ninety nine year old stroke pa-tient, my therapy goals focused on increasing and im-proving their language and ultimately their overall commu-nication skills. Cognition and language abilities are so intertwined; I like to think of them as strands of a rope that twisted together form a strong bond - many fibers connecting to strengthen an individual’s overall development. Vygotsky, a famous Russian psychologist, was one of the first to establish the connection between language and cognitive development. He felt that an infant learned the meaning of signs through the interaction with his caregivers- by crying gurgling, coo-ing – could express what was wanted. Then the child be-gan to use these sounds to build his communication skills. Language then starts as a tool for a child to engage in so-cial interaction. It is hard to think without involving lan-guage. Language involves symbols which are sounds, gestures,

or written characters that represent objects, actions, events, and ideas. These symbols enable people to refer to them even when they are in another place or in another time. Language abilities are infinite since the symbols of language combined together produce an infinite number of messages. However, language has rules that govern how symbols are arranged and these are different for each spe-cific language. For example, a question is formed quite differently in Spanish than it is in English. For years there was a nature versus nurture debate over how language is acquired. But today, most researchers agree that both play an instrumental role in language acqui-sition. A famous linguist, Noam Chomsky, once argued that human brains have a language acquisition device which is born within us that allows us to develop language skills. He supported this argument by showing that the stages of lan-guage development occur at approximately the same age in most children around the world, that children follow simi-lar patterns learning language and generally acquire their language skills quickly and effortlessly. Continued on page 3

Music Center in Caring and Sharing UPK classroom

Song lists and song cards at the Metro YMCA

Volume IV, Issue 4 Page 3

Joie Charbonneau, UPK teacher at the Community Place of Greater Rochester, offered the children colored craft sticks, masking tape, and scissors and invited them to work with the materials as a choice at center time. Joie noticed them struggling with a plan for a design that excluded what they were used to using. After the first day, the children asked for construction paper, which they were given. In listening to children, Joie discovered that their creative genius blos-somed. Listening to the children often brings us in unexpected and exciting directions!

Process Art at the Community Place submitted by Sandy Hess and Jeanne Herrick

Here’s the table setup in the art area

To the left and above are two very different samples of children’s artistic expression.

To the right above, you will see Joie’s display of the array of children’s work.

Professional Development Opportunities Look for details on avatar:

https://rochesterny.courseinsite.com

Children of Promise—Understanding and support-ing children impacted by parental incarceration. Learn more about the challenges children face when they have an incarcerated parent, and how to better serve and support them. Presented by Connie Rodriguez. March 30, 2010, from 4:00—5:30 p.m.

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Spring Seminar—The New Developmentally Appro-priate Practice: Intentional Teaching that Leads to Improving Curriculum and Assessment. Presented by Gaye Gronlund April 14, 2010, from 5:30—8:30 p.m.

Language Development, continued from page 2. Your ability to understand language develops first and faster than your ability to speak. Receptive language involves not only your ability to follow directions, but also to understand vocabulary and grammar. Expressive skills, which actually involve your ability to put words together to form phrases, sen-tences, and questions really explodes at the preschool age. Expressive language skills continue well into the teenage years. Pragmatic language skills are how you use your lan-guage on a daily basis – do you know how to start and end a conversation, can you stay on the topic, do you know how to change a topic of the conversation appropriately? These skills are all essential to being a good communicator and learner. Good language skills are essential for success in school and in life. Provide a language rich environment for your child and you will stimulate both his language and cognitive skills.

Rochester City School District Department of Early Childhood 131 W. Broad St. Rochester, NY 14614

Phone: 585-262-8140 Fax: 585-262-8273 jeanne.herrick@rcsdk12.org www.rcsdk12.org/PreK

MOVEMENT TIDBIT from Moving Minds

submitted by Carol Bedenik-Carmel, PT and Andrea Gerhardt, OT, RCSD

Transition Cards Are Now Available

• The cards are located on the Early Childhood website. Just click onto prekindergarten, go to the Embedded Programs, and click on Mov-ing Minds. • Print the cards – one half shows a picture of the movement & the other has written instructions for the teacher.

• Fold the paper in half to make it into a card, then laminate, and attach all to a key ring. • More cards will be coming soon. • When in doubt as to what movement to have the children do, now you can just look at your cards for an idea. Choose a movement at the start of each week and have the children do it for the week. Remember repetition always helps!