february / march 2014 shorenorth news€¦ · good about our new schedule and i have a feeling...
TRANSCRIPT
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
A WORD FROM TEACHER JAN
Jan teaches the Toddlers, Movers and Groovers classes! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact her at [email protected].
Dear Families of Shorenorth, Let’s say “Cheers!” again (with a swig of milk!) to the wonderful Pajama Jam that was put on by a third of our hard working board! I had the same feeling about a half hour into it as I did at last year’s carnival, “We have to do this again next year!” I get that feeling when I look around at our families and all are smiling, laughing, eating, dancing! and playing together. Belongingness is one of the most crucial needs for humans after survival and I think we are thriving! Dr. Martin Luther King, one of my all time heroes, said,
We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.
More fun recently experienced was our fabulous Grandparent Week tradition. The handprint craft was really sweet. Again, it was a joy to be able to thank them for raising such exemplary kids! They also said how proud they were of you too. We also look forward as we enter In House Registration time. The schedules and age ranges will change slightly. Again, the two criteria that drove the INCREDIBLY hard working committee was #1 Retention of as many members as possible and #2, Continuity from year to year with our schedule. We soon will begin the process of hiring a new PreK 4-5 yr old teacher. If the college would let me, I’d probably do it all, I’ve never shared well ;), but they won’t, so I have to. I feel good about our new schedule and I have a feeling you’ll be excited too!
A WORD FROM TEACHER JESSICA
Jessica teaches the Baby N Me, Explorers and Scooters classes! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact her at [email protected].
Happy New Year, Shorenorth! And what a year we have coming up with our Carnival, our Parents Connect Speaker, and yes, a revamped fall schedule/classes. I have confidence that Shorenorth will use every opportunity to make the best of who we are, what we can do together, and how we move forward as a community. Shorenorth has a special spirit, strength, and grit, which is comprised of each of YOU. As you know, I will not be part of the school next year officially, but Shorenorth will always be part of my community, my history, and who I am. Here’s a quote on change:
Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights. ~Pauline R. Kezer
I know Shorenorth will keep stretching, growing, and reaching new heights, as we all will, and we shall watch, support, and cheer each other on!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Carnival Information ........................4
New Entryway Revealed ..................5
Big Changes at Shorenorth ..............5
NAEYC Conference Updates……...5-6
Calendar ............................................8
PAC Update .......................................9
Community Classifieds.....................10
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
“Love Cup” Parent Ed article
Photo Collage
Accessing Amazon Prime
Art Corner
February / March 2014
Shorenorth News
NEWSLETTER EDITORS
Alison Buss, mom to Chelsea
(Mover)
Erica Graeff, mom to Keira
(alumna), Alexa (Mover) &
Damian (Explorer)
Have something you would like
to see in the newsletter? Have
a great picture or quote from a
child in class? Maybe your lit-
tle one had a big milestone?
Let us know about it by email-
ing:
Shorenorth.
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
Shorenorth Happenings!
Gingerbread houses, Downtown Carousel, Nutcracker, PJ Jam, new entryway, Grandparents Week!
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Entryway before and... After!
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
3
UPCOMING EVENT!
Preparations are underway for our second Spring
Carnival and Silent Auction. Our rockstar
procurement team has been hard at work. So far,
we have about 35 donations! As we did last year,
there will be a Shorenorth-only online auction that
will begin around April 28, when we return from
Spring Break. You may mark your donated items to
be offered only in this auction.
If you have any questions about your Carnival job, feel free to contact your team leader or me. As a reminder, our members’ Carnival obligations
include: Raffle ticket sales, Carnival job, Carnival
setup, and participate in creating your classes’
themed basket for auction.
Also, please block off the night of Friday April 11 for
setup, and plenty of time on Saturday April 12 to
attend the Carnival and do your job and/or help
clean up.
One of my favorite things about working on the
Carnival is getting to know more of our members. I
love that this is an event that we all work towards
together, and my goal is to make the work as
enjoyable as possible. If you have any suggestions
about ways to improve the process, please email
me!
The donation team is working hard to bring quality items from your favorite local businesses to our upcoming silent auction. But we need your help! We would like to challenge each family to bring in an additional item/service to the auction. There are many ways to do this: Know a small local business who you love and who loves you? Bring in a donation form and see if they would consider making a donation. (The list of businesses we've already contacted can be found posted on the front of the auction cabinet in Room C at school). Do you own a business and could make a donation of your skill and/or time? Are you crafty or know a crafter? Handmade items such as knit hats, jewelry, funky Christmas sweaters, beer, woodwork etc. etc. are always hot items!
Are you skilled in other ways? Can you host a pretzel making party? Weed someone's yard for 2 hours?
This year we are asking each class to put together a themed basket for the auction. You will be receiving more info about this from your PC. Some ideas to get your wheels turning... art basket, family game night basket, I love books basket, camping basket…
Donation forms are available online and at school. Please contact me if you have any questions!!
Saturday April 12, 2014
8-10am Set Up 10am-2pm Carnival 2-4pm Clean Up
A Word From our Donation Team
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. ~George Bernard Shaw
KEEPING OUR MEMBERS HEALTHY
Achoo! ‘Tis the season for colds and sicknesses, please remember to
refer to our sick policy (link below) and let your PC and director
know if your family is fighting a highly contagious illness so that we
can act appropriately for all our members. As always, please wash
adults and children’s hands upon entering our preschool.
Link to Parent Handbook
http://www.shorenorth.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/15-Parent-
Handbook-2013-14.pdf
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Our Baby N Me Class Needs Babies!
Spread the word that our Tuesday (1:30-3pm) Baby N Me class has plenty of openings. On-site child care is available for siblings. For a successful referral, you will receive a free t-shirt!
Mandatory All-School Clean Up
In preparation for Open House, all members will help clean up our well-loved preschool on Friday February 28th. Please choose either 9-11am or 6-8pm. Mark your calendars!
Like us on Facebook at
“Shorenorth Preschool Fan Page”
Follow us on Twitter at @shorenorthtweet
Shorenorth T-Shirts!
Purchase a Shorenorth t-shirt for yourself and your child! Take one out of the long drawers under the counter by the entrance. Put $10 in the tuition box.
Fundraising Dollars at Work!
Erin Wilson, Shannon Spurgeon and ringleader Lena Garcia formed our Entryway Committee in the Fall and have been working hard to make their vision come to life. During winter break, the south wall near the mats was extended. New lockers were installed that now boast cubbies for items of all sizes. Lena reports that the team has so far put in about 20 man-hours and have met their budget of $2,000. Soon tube mailboxes will be installed on the wall above the lockers. Thanks for your hard work Entryway Team!
MARKETING NEW ENTRYWAY!
Lena with lead designer Elizabeth
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
JESSICA’S NAEYC SHARING
ART CORNER
By Jen Hannah, Art Coordinator
Heart Symmetry Painting Supplies: paper in various colors and sizes, tempera paint, brushes, stamps, fin-gers, etc. Optional: hole punch, ribbon or yarn, stapler, scotch tape to reinforce holes Cut out hearts in various sizes and/or colors. Paint on one side of the heart, then fold it over and press to transfer color to the other side. Un-fold and bask in the wonder that is symmetry. There are so many things to do with your hearts when they are dry! Punch holes on either side of small hearts and string them together on a long piece of yarn to make a Valentine garland (such great practice for those little fin-gers!). Staple two larger hearts together, leaving an opening at the top, then add ribbon handles to make a lovely purse. You could even write love notes to each other and hide them for a sweet surprise. The sky's the limit! Enjoy!
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CHANGES FOR 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR
My NAEYC experience began with an author/illustrator panel consisting of such great folks as Chris Raschka, Denise Fleming, Dan Yaccarino, Tom Lichtenheld who all had a turn to share their creative process. What an inspirational start to the conference. I attended a presentation by some Japanese educators on the "Mimamoru Approach", which includes such practices as "non-interventional involvement" among others, and which encourages children to solve problems by themselves. If you remember Nancy Blakey last year and her term "benign neglect", you get the general idea here. With time, encouragement, and a tolerance for some risk and hazard, children can become quite capable problem solvers.
I learned tips on working with boys from Daniel Hodgins. He says females have wider peripheral vision because of more receptor rods and cones at the back of the eyeball. Females have a wider arc of visual input. So, for males, we can try to make sure the details are visible, that we break the whole down into more manageable parts, that we understand they sometimes might have "tunnel vision". In addition, I attended a presentation on storytelling and puppetry, as well as a fabulous one on preschool environments. I appreciate being able to attend NAEYC and learn SO much!! Teacher Jessica
Exciting changes are happening at Shorenorth!
Teacher Jessica has accepted a position at Shoreline Coop preschool as the co-director and teacher. She will not be teaching at Shorenorth next year. We are beginning the hiring process for a new teacher. Teacher Jan she will teach Baby n Me through Movers and will not be teaching Groovers next school year.
Shorenorth will not be offering the Scooters class.
There is a new schedule, age bracket changes, and enrollment info for next school year:
http://www.shorenorth.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2014-15-In-House-Registration-p1.pdf
In-house registration will begin on February 10. You must be a member in good standing with all payments up-to-date.
We encourage you to discuss any questions with your PC, instructor, or our registrar Erin, [email protected].
Thank you all for your patience and understanding during this time of transition and exciting time of change for Shorenorth!
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
This year the National Association for the Education of Young Children was held in Washington, DC. Jessica, Patty Cheng, the Director and Co-Teacher of Shoreline Co-op and I attended. May I just say that the richness in attending this fabulous conference with two other bright, passionate about early childhood women is like a three fold experience. I have my learnings from the classes I attend and then also get to hear in depth, sometimes with handouts, all of theirs as well. It is an exciting, invigorating, brain stimulating, so also, tiring 4 days! I am very thankful to be able to go and be supported by our school.
Here is a list of titles of classes I attended: **this year I added website addresses in case you are especially interested in the topic.
Problem Child or Quirky Kid? Strategies for facing challenging behaviors in the inclusive classroom and beyond. (From ConsciousDiscipline.com -Becky Bailey)
Ramps and Pathways http://ecrp.illinois.edu/beyond/seed/zan.html this website has some amazing videos!
Mimamoru- Japanese Conflict Resolution (Mimamoru means=non-interventional involvement –on the adult’s part) An incredible presentation which I can’t get the videos shown yet, but here is a transcript/script of the whole class: http://teacherdialogueblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/naeyc-2013-how-do-you-intervene-in-conflict-situations-with-young-children-the-amazing-japanese-mimamoru-approach/
The Australian Early Childhood Experience –fascinating! This country rewrote their national core curriculum two years ago to a Play Based Pedagogy.
This is after studying many research pieces such as this: *you can skim through this article to look at the amazing graphs on how countries spend their $.
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2009/11/05%20spending%20children%20isaacs/2_comparative_perspective_isaacs.pdf
Boys: Changing the classroom, Not the Child - Daniel Hodgins. Here is a website w/many of his wise and funny writings that help me remember the important things to do with young children. http://www.joyfulnoisedaycare.com/hodgins.html
Bluegrass and Bellydance with Babies- Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld. Mimi is a 72 yr old author, teacher and consultant. We sang and danced and talked about the true meaning of teaching children. Her latest book is called, “Teaching in the Key of Life” contrary to….well, what key some teachers teach in.
Counting on Play: A preschool-aged mathematics foundation in a play-based curriculum. A Bing Nursery School teacher from Stanford shared this one.
Obama Initiative - At least WA is one of 14 states that uses it’s money for educational systems building.
Talking to Parents About Tough Issues. Very valuable for bringing up sensitive issues such as being the first deliverer of identifying special needs or learning challenges.
Block Building a teacher’s role: Taking the lessons form the first 100 years forward. Stanford University Lab School: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/bingschool/programs.html ! They have a summer institute for visiting teachers. I always wanted to go to Stanford. J
Child Advocacy –Policy and Standards http://nationsreportcard.gov/
You can see the extensive variety from Education philosophy, guidance, politics…NAEYC Conference again was truly a salad bar for me full of delicious, fresh learnings!
Thank you,
Teacher Jan
JAN’S NAEYC SHARING
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
A good life begins
with a . . .
We know being a
young parent isn’t
easy.
We can help.
Healthy Start offers:
-Friendly, supportive
staff or trained
parent mentors who
will visit you in your
own home
-Child
development
information
-Access to free baby
necessities
-and much more
All Services are
Free, Voluntary &
Confidential
To enroll you must
be:
-Age 22 or younger
& meet other
criteria
For information:
(425) 844-9669 x 102
healthystart@frien
dsofyouth.org
USING YOUR SCC STUDENT BENEFITS
Signing up for Amazon Student allows you to get Amazon Prime
for half price
If you do not already have your SCC email account info, follow steps 1-4
below.
If you do have your SCC email account set up, you can start at Step 3.
Step 1: Get SCC student ID number
Visit http://wts.shoreline.edu/
Click the link “Display/Look up My Student ID (SID)”
You will need your last name, birthdate in format mm/dd/year and last
4 numbers of your social security number
The webpage will return your Student ID number
By default, your PIN Number is your birth date, until you change
it. Your PIN must be six numeric characters in length without
spaces or dashes; for example, 123456.
Step 2: Get SCC email username and password
Return to http://wts.shoreline.edu/
Click on the link “Student EMail & SCC Account”
Click on “Look up Shoreline username and password”
Enter your Student ID and PIN (from steps 1-5)
The webpage will display your SCC username and email address. You
can set a password here.
Step 3: Sign up for Amazon Student using your SCC credentials
Now you have a valid SCC account to use when you set up your Amazon
student account!
Follow the link below to join Amazon Student. One benefit is half-price
Amazon Prime for 4 years! By following this link, Shorenorth
should get credit for the referral!
Amazon will send a link to your SCC email account – click the link to
verify student status.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info?
ie=UTF8&refcust=XREHEBD7KJ6JS6MU7EO5QMCWBQ&ref_ty
pe=generic
Step 4: Receive an email on your SCC account from Amazon to verify your
student status
Return to http://wts.shoreline.edu/
Click “Student EMail & SCC Account”
Click the link alongside the words “Login to e-mail” and input your
SCC username and password. Find the email from Amazon and
click the link to verify your student status. Now you can sign up
for Amazon Prime for half price!
7
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” - Peggy O’Mara
FEBRUARY
Nurse psychotherapist Joan L. Niehaus was our parent-ed speaker on January 15. She discussed our need to find balanced self-care for ourselves in order to be good partners and parents. According to Joan, finding a balance is an investment into our relationships. She says that humans (including children) have 3 innate needs: 1. stimulation 2. acknowledgment/recognition 3. certainty/structure/continuity If you are missing any of these needs, you may be feeling empty. Your job is to identify your needs, set priorities, negotiate, and in some cases, we do need to delay gratification. Joan demonstrated how we can feel empty throughout the day by letting our love cup get lower and lower without finding ways to fill it. She said that if we let our cup get too low, we develop scarcity and our children can sense this scarcity which causes their behaviors to escalate to compete for what's available. Joan also discussed feeling anger and that the function of anger is distance. If we are feeling low, we can turn to anger to distance ourselves from what is making us feel low. This is true for how we interact with our children as well as our partners. Joan discussed our relationships with our partners. She asked what we could do for 5 minutes a day to make our partner's day better. She also mentioned that research has shown that happily married people give each other 5 positive verbal expression to 1 negative verbal expression a day.
The last part of her talk was about overindulgence. Joan discussed how as parents we can rescue our children in an over functioning way. She said that overindulgence is giving children too much, too soon, and for too long. We need to consider that what we are giving and doing for our children is appropriate for their age/stage and that what we are doing is meeting their needs, not the adults needs. She talked about the "okay... okay" way of getting our children to do things and this leads to confusion and frustration for both parent and child because the parent isn't being direct about what he/she wants the child to do. Lastly, Joan warned again doing the nuclear option and instead giving children choices and consequences that parents are able to follow through on. She gave out a packet of helpful information to refer to when needing some help with filling your cup and understanding overindulgence. She also recommended the following books on these topics: - Growing Up Again by Jean Illsley Clarke and Connie Dawson - How Much is Enough by Jean Illsley Clarke, Connie Dawson, and David Bredehoft - Measure of Our Success by Marian Wright Edelman
WHAT’S COMING UP!
JANUARY PARENT ED SPEAKER: JOAN NIEHAUS
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MARCH
6th-Board Meeting 7-9p
10th-In-House Registration begins
11th-Parent Ed Speaker 6:30p
14th– Spring Financial Aid App. Due
17th—21st Mid-Winter Break (no classes)
20th– All School Playdate 9:30-11:30a
28th– All School Clean Up 9-11am OR 6-8p
3rd– Board Nominations begin
6th– Board Meeting 7-9p
8th– Shorenorth Open House, 10a—Noon
19th– PAC Speaker, SCC Campus 7-9p
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
The newsletter editors pulled
birthday information from the
roster of enrolled students at
the time we wrote this news-
letter.
If we missed your child please
send us an email and we will
make sure they are in the next
newsletter!
BIRTHDAYS!
9
Caiden Mover 2/1
Fyora Baby 2/16
Ari Scooter 2/18
Tove Groover 2/24
Cora Groover 3/4
Elijah Scooter 3/16
February & March Birthdays
Welcome brand new babies!
Congratulations to two Shorenorth families:
Toddler mom Anastasia and her family welcomed baby Joseph
and Mover mom Jen and her family welcomed baby Jameson.
UPCOMING EVENT!
PARENTS CONNECT 2014 Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 7 p.m. Shoreline Community College Campus Theater The Entitlement-Free Child: Raising a Confident and Responsible Child in a Me-Mine-Now World Owner of Family Time Coaching & Consulting and author of several parenting books, Karen Deerwester inspires and supports parents and professionals in all aspects of “living with children.” Her parenting advice is always grounded in the best research based developmental practices and a keen awareness of the strengths of each family. Karen has provided parenting advice to Parents Magazine, Parenting Magazine, and Real Simple. She has also appeared on MSNBC, NBC, and NPR. $5 per person (admission has been pre-paid for SCC Co-op Preschool families) For maps and driving directions, visit: www.shoreline.edu/collegemaps.html Special seating will be available for parents with infants under 6 months. No other children, please. Good news regarding parking! There will be a designated parking lot where we may park for free for this event. Should this lot fill up, you will need to pay to park in another lot. Further details will be communicated closer to the event.
Shorenorth Newsletter February-March 2014
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
A big THANK YOU
to everyone who
contributed to the
January New PJ
Drive for
Healthy Start!
Contact our Community
Outreach Liaison,
Andrea Petrusky at
for more information
SUPPORTING SHORENORTH
Our Board of Directors Have you ever wondered... What does Shorenorth's Board of Directors do? How does the school run? How can I use my talents / interests / passion to enrich our amazing preschool? Board nominations (yes, you can nominate yourself) for next school year begin on Monday March 3rd. Now's the time to start inquiring if you're interested. Every class has a sprinkling of Board members, send your questions our way. Support State Funding for Shorenorth If you have yet to write your legislators, ask for guidance from your PC or Susie LaClergue ([email protected]) – we’ve worked out a way to make this lobbying process a breeze. Then once you’ve sent your letter in, claim your chocolate! You’ll feel a rush not just of caffeine but of the pride of being an active member of your democracy.
To post items in
the Community
Classifieds section
of the next
Newsletter, please
send an email to
Shorenorth.comm
unications@gmail
.com
COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
Games and Shoe Boxes with Lids Needed for our Carnival Please contact Heather Cunningham [email protected] if you have shoe boxes to give or any of these games in good condition to sell: Kid's basketball hoop and basketball , Kid's hockey sticks and net, Kid's golf set, Kid's bowling set.
For Sale: Cream-colored Dutailier glider and ottoman. $50. Email Gretchen Ziobro: [email protected] Trade Up Toys for our Carnival Please bring in toys with more love to
give for the Carnival. Kids will trade in their event tickets for gently loved
toys. This was super popular last year, and we’re excited to get collecting
now. Contact Lia at [email protected]
Free Fischer Price rainforest-themed high chair
contact Andrea at. 206.261.0242 text or email
http://www.diapers.com/p/fisher-price-rainforest-healthy-care-high-chair-99556?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_D&utm_term=FS-522&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1338731204&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=FS-522&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw=%7Bkeyword%7D#