September

*LFP open 7:00-6:30

The PTC will be taking orders for pansies September 20th-October 4th. Flats will be delivered on October 24th at the Pumpkin Carnival.

If you don't need pansies for your yard, you can donate flats to the Prayer Planters of the church.

All Proceeds go to the PTC.

We want to thank you all for being so receptive to our new handwashing policy. Research shows that this is the best way to prevent the spread of germs, so our teachers are working hard to make sure that the children and adults who enter their classrooms are washing their hands regularly.

You may have noticed that our classrooms have a lot of bustle and noise, that children are doing things, talking, playing and exploring. Such a classroom differs from the old model where teachers did a lot of talking at the blackboard, while children sat and listened quietly at their desks.
Research and experience tells us that to be effective with young children, teaching practices need to be developmentally appropriate. What this means is that educators need to think about what children are like and create an environment that is in tune with children's characteristics.
Early childhood, after all, is a time of life quite different from adulthood, and even from the later years in school. Children up to 6 years old learn far better through direct interactive experiences than through just listening to someone explain things. They learn extraordinary amounts through play and exploration. The younger children are, the more what they learn needs to be relevant and interesting on the day they learn it, not just in the context of some future learning.
Based on such knowledge about what children of this age are like, we design our program to fit them. It works much better than trying to redesign the children!!
A developmentally appropriate program like ours is age-appropriate. But that is not all. To make the program a good place for every child, we gear our classroom environment and activities to our community and the families involved. We're eager to learn as much as possible about each child's family, background, past experience, and current circumstances. With this knowledge we work to create a program that fits the children and families we serve.
We are looking forward to a great year learning with and about each other.

Sincerely,

Donna

Our teachers and staff are working hard to complete classroom portfolios to prepare for accreditation. These books will document all the wonderful things that take place in your child's classroom. We are also submitting candidacy materials this month and will await our assessment visit sometime between January and March. For more information on accreditation, please go to: www.naeyc.org.

One of the many "make a difference" projects that our after-schoolers completed this summer was collecting money for Heifer International. Through lemonade and cookie sales in our hallway, the children raised enough money to buy 2 flocks of ducks, 1 flock of geese, 1 trio of rabbits, and a share of a goat. They worked really hard and it paid off!