Dedicated Preschool Teachers and Staff: 2018 Perfect Attendance & Anniversaries

WE ARE SO PROUD!

Each year we take time to celebrate our amazing teachers and staff. The Young Learners is made up of passionate, knowledgeable and hardworking professionals. People you just want to be around! We like to honor those that have been with us for many years as well as those that have made it to work every single day. Wow!

Here are the 2018 perfect attendance recipients. Showing up each and every day for our little learners. Such an amazing testimony to their love for their students. Join us in congratulating them!

In 2018, the staff members below either celebrated their three, five or ten year anniversaries with us. Join us in congratulating them on their dedication to The Young Learners and our little learners!

We are 100 Days Brighter!

Friday, January 25th marked the 100th Day of School! We love this day. It’s a time to celebrate how far our little learners have come through play, learning and social skills. 100 Days Brighter. 100 Days Smarter!

100 Days of School is HERE.

It’s time to celebrate and CHEER.

But before we look too far AHEAD.

Let’s think of all we’ve learned INSTEAD.

Reading, Writing and Science, TOO.

Social Studies, Math and Classroom RULES.

We learned how great a friend can BE.

With kindness, trust and HONESTY.

We visually showed the little ones what 100 looks like. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine or to estimate the number 100. The students had a lot of fun exploring different stations focused on the number 100. We played games, created artwork and interacted with items that added up to 100.

Our students can even count to 100 by 10’s (check our Facebook page for the video) - such smart little ones! 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 … 100!

Ask your little learners about this special day and their favorite 100 activity. Share with us below!

One of the highlights each year is the visit from Zero the Hero - always a crowd favorite! He’s a true number super hero. Does he look familiar to anyone? :)

Do these little ones looked a little aged to you? Oh, so fun to see them dressed as if they were suddenly 100 years old! Do you see your little learner?

This year, at TWYLA, we set up a wall to encourage our students and their families to write down why they love our teachers, staff and attending TWYLA. We were humbled by the sweet words they wrote!

Preschool and Kindergarten Handwriting: Getting it Right the First Time

[Written by: Debbie Kaschik / Owner / Educator for over 30 years]

One of the biggest challenges as a teacher is to re-teach handwriting. The reason I say re-teach is because typically a child picks up handwriting habits that might be hard to break. It’s not always about the perfect form, let’s face it, as adults we have trouble reading some of our friend’s and family’s handwriting. At this age, it’s about weight lifting for the fingers! Build those fine motor skills and handwriting becomes much easier. How do you do that?

If you are making a mess, you are working on fine motor skills!

• Playdough! Great for fine motor!

• Using scissors. There are one million and one scissors on the market. Buy one you like and start cutting. Save those old magazines and cut, cut, cut!

  • The pick-up of the cuts are fine motor practice too!

  • Side note – EVERY child cuts something other than what you want them to at some point…. their hair, their friend’s hair or their clothing. (just fyi)

• Button, zip and snap! (as they practice dressing themselves)

• Painting, finger and brush.

• Puzzles

• Puppet shows

• The list goes on! Check with Siri or “Hello Google” for many more ideas!

• Set aside a time for fine motor. Because you are having fun with your child, they won’t even know they are “working out” for the sake of fine motor.

Helpful Links:

https://www.hwtears.com/hwt

http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/help-your-child-build-fine-motor-skills

M E S S Y Monday: Celebrating Summer at TWYLA

"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." -Mr. Rogers

Each Monday, during the summer, our little TWYLAs enjoy Messy Monday - an opportunity to learn through messy and fun play. Our kiddos love it!

We kicked off our Messy Mondays with Rorschach t-shirts. How great did these turn out? Next, our little ones explored play through mud - so messy, so fun!

Follow along on our Facebook page this summer to discover all of the M E S S Y fun we have planned!

Shining a Light on Autism Services & Programs

Throughout the month of April, The Young Learners will be supporting World Autism Awareness Day. Coming together with thousands of organizations, all over the world, to Light It Up Blue! On April 2nd, each of their three facilities decked the halls in blue with lights, decor, handprints and puzzle pieces. Staff, parents and students wore blue to show support. In addition everything was BLUE - blue food, blue milk, blue sand play, blue toys and lots of puzzles.

A true celebration of acceptance and awareness for Autistic children and their families!

Services

The Learning Lane  program serves learners with Autism ranging in ages from 12 months to 7 years old. While the groups are arranged in a developmental sequence, we are responsive to the needs of the individual children that enter into services. It’s our pleasure to offer the following services to our children and their families. 

• Diagnostics - diagnostic evaluations are offered for those with suspected or known Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses to confirm or rule out an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis or to update other assessment information.
• Inclusion - inclusionary opportunities for group interaction within a traditional preschool setting are available to children that meet the necessary criteria. Children are supported by ABA trained staff mixed with daily one on one assistance.
• Shadowing - to facilitate the transition from our intensive Clinical setting to a more typical classroom environment
• Social Skills - provides direct instruction in functional social skills through a comprehensive module system in a “safe” environment, providing children the opportunity to develop the skills needed for success in the social arena.

To learn more about our Diagnostic Evaluation, please click here!

Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

This question is one of the most asked question we get as a preschool. Our first job is to follow the Texas Essential Knowledge of Skills (TEKS) for guidelines. This will provide you with a comprehensive list of all the skills that are expected of your child when entering Kindergarten.

Don’t panic if your child does not know EVERY single item on the skills list! Don’t start drilling and tutoring! Your child is just 5. Childhood is all too often rushed or passed by because of worry that ‘my child will not do well or know enough’. Rushing and drilling will not improve the situation, it will only hinder it or worse, your child might develop a dislike for school and learning before he/she even starts. It’s a lot like potty training, your child will progress when he/she is ready, you can’t force it.

The answer, make it fun!! Make learning so much fun, your child will not know they are learning! Make it messy, that’s even better! Google, Pinterest, Lakeshore Learning and other teacher supply stores, there are so many resources available!

The next question is always the social/emotional question. Is my child ready socially and emotionally? This is the million-dollar question! Again, something and the main thing that can’t be rushed. When we are deciding where to place kiddos in our program, we look at the whole child and also consider what it might be like to be 17 or 18 graduating from high school and headed to college. Some people laugh at that consideration while it is so far away, but it’s worth a look! The tagline we hear a lot is “When in doubt, hold them out”. That’s not a bad tagline, but ultimately you have to decide what is best for your child. We are lucky to live in an area with excellent schools, teachers, and administrators. If you have any doubts, schedule an appointment with your school’s counselor. Take in samples of your child’s work and discuss what is best for your child.

A good place to start is to focus on letters and numbers. Practice alphabet letters out of order. A child singing the alphabet perfectly may not “know” the letters. Ask your child the letter names (upper and lower case) and the sound the letter makes. Count objects, not just rote counting. Your child needs to be able to write his/her name correctly. Uppercase letter at the beginning then lower case letters. (example: Debbie) These are just a few items to start with. Take a look at the skills list and see where your child is. Most districts have a Kindergarten open house. If that event has passed, ask the Kindergarten team or front office at your school for information from those meetings. Some programs will be outlined and you will know what to expect.

Good Luck and remember, enjoy your child at every stage. Don’t rush to the next stage to then rush to the next stage and the cycle begins. Slow down, let your child develop naturally and successfully.