bright horizons at dublin

7035 Dublin Blvd. Dublin, CA. 94568 | P: 925-479-9573 | [email protected] | Mon-Fri, 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

From the Director

Bright Horizons at Dublin October 2014

Important Dates October 9: Curriculum Night 4-6 (see pg. 6 for

details)

October 21: Read for the Record- Pajama

Day & All School Circle @ 5 p.m.

October 29: Family Matters Webinar Series

(see pg. 5 for details)

October 31: Imagination Day Parade @ 3:30

November 2: Daylight Savings ends

November 13: International Family Potluck

@ 4:30

November 27 & 28: Center Closed in

observance of Thanksgiving

Here at Bright Horizons at Dublin, we strive

to support children and families by sharing

meaningful learning experiences that can lead

to extensions of learning at home. Through

our various avenues of communication, which

include: daily highlights, weekly curriculum

plans, the monthly newsletter and

documentation boards, we strive to give

families a snapshot of the learning that occurs

throughout day. Curriculum Night is another

opportunity for us to display the various

learning opportunities that your child will

encounter. On October 9th, 4-6 p.m., we

invite your family to join us as we walk you

through a typical day. You will experience

circle time or Morning Meeting and have

hands on learning experiences in the

classroom’s enrichment areas. You will see

how World at Their Fingertips blends

enrichments, children’s interests, and

developmentally appropriate practices into a

harmonious child directed and hands on

approach. This is also a wonderful opportunity

for you to ask questions and discuss learning

objectives for your child with teachers. We

look forward to seeing you all there!

Reasons to Celebrate

Connect with Bright Horizons

Happy birthday to you,

happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday dear Rolan, Aiden,

Makoa and Ms. Gina.

Happy birthday to you!


Classroom Highlights

Infants

This past month we welcomed the Sadden & Gunan family to the Infant classroom. The

Infants have been busy developing their individual skills and interests. They have shown

interests in Art Smart, Math Counts, and parallel play. While outside, they gravitate

toward sand box to further develop their abilities to scoop, dump and use shovels.

Inside the classroom, the children smile as their fingers are covered in paint! This

month they participated in creating a group canvas as well as individual ones. The

sensory bin has been filled with lentils, rice and water. These items have allowed for

our mobile infants to pull up and develop strong leg muscles. The Movement

Matters room has become a place full of eager infants exploring the Velcro blocks, the

climbing structure and soft landing pad. The mobile infants enjoy crawling and walking

to experience these things on their own while the non-mobile infants are experiencing

tummy time more frequently. We look forward to watching everyone grow into the

next developmental phase.

Young Preschool

During the month of September, the Young Preschoolers explored a Projection

on colors through various sensory oriented activities. They were able to get messy

while learning the primary colors and how to mix the colors to create secondary

colors. Some of their favorite activities were rainbow bubbles, color mixing yogurt,

and finger painting. With their new knowledge of colors, the Young Preschoolers

have become quick to identify what color various objects are that they find and use

throughout the day. Their interest in colors and the recent drizzly day have segued

into a Projection on rainbows. The Young Preschoolers have been keeping an eye

on the sky for every day!

Toddlers

Our Toddlers experimented with the concepts of “happy” and “sad”. The children created

an Art Smart game which involved acting out emotions. They demonstrated feelings of

happiness, sadness, excitement and surprise. The toddlers followed this game by reading

the book, The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. The book supported the children as they

continued to act out and identify many other emotions by name. The toddlers also

participated in an Art Smart role play puppet show, which helped illustrate what to do

when friends are feeling sad or mad. After the puppet show, the toddlers would often give

an empathetic hug if another child had tears, or would give another child space if they

seemed upset.


Preschool

The Preschool class began a wood-working and construction Projection. For

Science Rocks, play dough and tools were used to explore the substance. They

poked, hammered, and measured the play dough. Ms. Christie’s father, Mr. Johnson,

was a visiting expert for the class. He came in to show the children what a

construction worker does. Mr. Johnson demonstrated how to build a birdhouse. For

Art Smart, the preschoolers painted the birdhouse. For Math Counts, they used

tape measures and rulers to measure items around the classroom. For Language

Works, the preschoolers began working on tracing their names. Ms. Christie created

dry erase name cards for every child. These name cards will always available in the

writing center.

Kindergarten Prep

This month K-prep focused on a Cooking Projection. As a part of Language

Works, the children looked at cookbooks and became familiar with words

associated to cooking, for example, recipe, measure, mix and bake. The

Kindergarten-Prep was given several opportunities to cook individually and as a

group. The children worked individually to follow a step by step picture recipe

and make ants on a log. Next, they worked as a group to make gluten free play

dough. The children used their Math Counts skills to follow a recipe in

sequential order, measure and count. The play dough was then used to practice

forming letters of the alphabet. Towards the end of the month, the children

have moved from the Projection of cooking to an interest in construction.

Trumpet Behavioral Health

The Trumpet class continued their zoo animal Projection during the month of

September. They children explored Our World as they attended the zoo where

the children were able to observe and interact with the animals. Upon return to

the center, they extended their learning by participating in activities that

incorporated the variety animals they had the opportunity to see, such as, lions,

hyenas and giraffes. Through Art Smart, the children created a pond which

included fish and other water dwelling creatures. Through Science Rocks, they

made play dough from scratch which then was used to form cages to house their

own classroom zoo animals. Finally, the children made their own safari binoculars

out of recycled toilet paper tubes to observe the animals they had displayed. As

their animal discoveries come to a close, the class is beginning a new Projection on

transportation. The children will be learning about all of the different types of

transportation used every day, including street signs and road etiquette. They are

eagerly awaiting the opportunity to create a road that will circle throughout the

entire classroom.


READY for SCHOOL News

READY for SCHOOL Parent News: Inclusion Interactions

Early childhood is the time when children develop lifelong values and dispositions that affect how they

view the world, how they relate to others and ultimately how they act. The core of each child’s

self-esteem and identity stems from the interactions between the child and important adults in the

child’s life. Children who have a secure sense of identity, (which includes gender, size, race, ethnicity,

language, religion, culture, family composition, abilities, etc.), are more likely to develop skills to be

inclusive of others.

Just as prejudice and stereotyping are learned behaviors, tolerance and inclusion are learned behaviors

as well. Telling children to “be kind,” and “play with everyone” or punishing a child for hurting a friend,

have little lasting effect on the development of their attitudes. Observing adults being kind and including

other people is much more effective. Children learn by modeling the adults in their world. Children are

strong perceivers, and they take in all the subtleties of the adults’ behaviors.

Our behaviors and beliefs have a tremendous impact on how children feel about themselves, view the

world, and how they regard differences. As parents, we need to continuously be self-reflective and think

about both the direct and subtle messages that we give children. We convey messages by our words,

jokes, seemingly innocent comments, tone, body language, facial expressions, and physical actions.

Parents are key in instilling the values of respect, acceptance, and inclusion in their children. Children

who feel good about themselves tend to have open hearts and minds; they are less likely to judge

people by their accents, clothing, skin colors, sexual preference, age or physical appearance. Acute

awareness of the messages that we give children is key. Think about the powerful effect it has on any

child when we give him or her the message, “You are recognized, you are valued and I’m really glad

you’re my child.”


Bright Horizons News

Curriculum Night 2014: “A Day in the Life”

Join us for a special event and “experience a day in the life” of your

child at Curriculum Night 2014.

Parents of children in all age groups are welcome to attend and

orientate themselves to their child’s upcoming year with Bright

Horizons. Familiarize yourself with your child’s classroom and daily

schedule, experience how the various pieces of The World at Their

Fingertips® curriculum are brought to life each day, and meet with

your child’s teachers to ask questions and discuss learning

objectives for the upcoming year throughout the event.

Share in the experience and invite your friends and family to attend

Curriculum Night with you and your family. You can learn more

about Curriculum Night by asking your Center Director or child’s

teacher.

SAVE THE DATE: October installment of the Family Matters Webinar Series!

SAVE THE DATE Wednesday, October 29, 2:00 pm EST

Featuring AARP Health Experts, Bright Horizons Family Solutions® is bringing you the next installment of the Family Matters Webinar Series on the the basics of Medicare for caregivers Join us in this hour long webinar to discover what you need to know about Medicare policies in an quick and easy to understand format. Keep checking www.brighthorizons.com/webinar for the latest registration information as it becomes

available!


Experience a day in the life of your child at

Thursday, October 9, 2014

4:00 – 6:00pm

Dinner will be served

Parents in all age groups are invited to join us for an orientation

into your child’s year at Bright Horizons

During Curriculum Night, you will:

� Learn about your child’s daily classroom schedule and activities

� See how the various pieces of our The World at Their Fingertips®

curriculum are brought to life throughout the day

� Meet with your child’s teachers to ask questions and discuss learning objectives for the upcoming year

� Learn more about how and why we host family conferences and schedule a personal parent conference with your child’s teacher

Bright Horizons at Dublin 7035 Dublin Boulevard

Dublin, CA 94568 (925) 479-9573

[email protected] www.brighthorizons.com/dublin

bright horizons at dublin

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