Early Childhood Newsletter - October 18th, 2021

Oct 18

Written By PCS

Hello PCS Families!

It was so nice to see the families that came out in the rain to visit with some of our board members last week! It is always great to hear feedback on how the school year is going for families. We welcome any questions that you may have as we move through the year.

As we are continuing to move through the month of October our focus remains on not only academics, but supporting our students' social and emotional development. We had talked all summer about how to best support your children and family as we return to school. We felt prepared and had all of our strategies lined up so that we could run a somewhat typical school day while keeping everyone safe. We planned out ways to help children that may have never been in a school building despite the fact that they were entering 1st grade or Kindergarten. We discussed ways to support their fragile social and emotional development during such an isolating time in our society.

One of the main ways that we are doing this is by first looking at each individual child's strengths. We look to all of the places where they are thriving and then use these to help support and build in more strengths. In the Pre-Kindergarten program we use a strengths based approach called the DECA. This stands for Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. In Kindergarten and 1st grade we will begin to use the DESSA (The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment) this year. These two tools will guide what we are doing in classrooms and equally as important, things that you can do at home to strengthen the social and emotional development of your child.

At these younger ages the first thing is to help the child identify their feelings. It is important for children to be able to name their feelings and know that these feelings are normal and accepted. It is only after this identifying that they can be open to looking at solutions and developing problem solving skills.

Here are some things you can do at home to support this stage of development;

BOOKS: The Feelings Book By Todd Parr

The Mad Family Gets Their Mads Out By Lynne Namka

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids By Carol McCloud

My Mouth is a Volcano! By Julia Cook

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage To Be Who You Are By Maria Dismondy

Hello, Universe By Erin Entrada Kelly

GAMES: Family game nights are one way to teach children SEL while enjoying time together away from screens. Games teach many important social and emotional skills including cooperation, teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

VIDEOS: Exploring Feelings — Adventures in Learning (PBS Parents)

Why Do We Feel Emotional? (Little Kids. Big Questions.

Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?

Upcoming Dates: