Hello Pre-4 Families,
What a busy October we have had! We have been teaching many important skills this month, but developing social emotional skills are a priority in our classroom. Studies show there is a strong correlation between social skills, emotional skills, and a child’s ability to learn. Some researchers even believe that cognitive development and achievement accounts for just 50 percent of success in school, with social and emotional development accounting for the other 50 percent (Resilient Educator).
Melissa and I have been doing a variety of things to foster these skills. Our classroom mantra is- Slow Down, Stop and Think! Repeating this aloud gives us the opportunity to stop impulsive behavior and allows us to think about our next step. At this time, we can slow our body and mind and decide if we can change our “red” choice to a “green” or safe choice. Learning to calm our body when we are mad or upset is another important skill. We have created a Problem-Solving Toolbox that the children can open to search for a solution. The children can practice breathing techniques to calm down, they can get a sand timer to help them wait for their turn, or they can get a teacher to help them. These are just a few of the things we are doing to help promote positive social emotional well-being in the classroom. Furthermore, the CDFC is beginning a school-wide implementation of the Pyramid Model. The Pyramid Model promotes healthy social and emotional development by teaching emotional literacy, positive problem-solving and friendship skills. This reinforces the importance of teaching social skills to our children.
The children have been showing an interest in learning letters and letter sounds. We have been teaching them the forty-two letter sounds by singing jingles and learning letter actions. Ask your child to teach you the jingles and actions for s, a, t, i, p, n, c/k. They also have been practicing printing their name in the name each week. We are showing them the proper way to hold a pencil using the tripod grip. They are really starting to show improvement in writing their first name. This is an important skill in the preparation for kindergarten.
Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled for November 1st and 16th. Please sign-up on the easel outside the classroom door. We look forward to talking with you and sharing your child’s progress here at school. Thank you to those families that attended Family Night. It was fun and messy painting on the sidewalk, and it was exciting to introduce the CDFC’s center wide expectations:
We take care of ourselves-We take care of others-We take care of our things
