Hi CCP Family,
We did it! All classes have now experienced their first day of preschool for 2018-19! There were a few tears, but nothing major and everyone ended their days successfully. Adults, you handled the "good-byes" very well - positive, short, and sweet! You have precious, lovely children and we feel very fortunate to have you as part of our school family. Each day will get easier!
NOTE: DUCKS and MWF LADYBUGS, please remember that the parking lots will NOT be available tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 7 due to resurfacing. Please park in the Park and Ride lot ($2) or in the central municipal lot and walk to the front door for drop-off and pick-up.
We are only missing a few forms. (We are required to collect new forms each year.) I have notified the families who may be missing one of the following: health form, emergency contact form, or a photo permission form. We MUST have current forms to keep everyone safe. Also, please make sure you have a weather-appropriate change of clothes at preschool. Thank you.
If you have a grandparent or nanny that you would like to receive preschool communications, please direct them to the blog pages - they can sign up for the email notifications at the bottom right of each blog page. This will ensure that they receive the emails. Please note that they need to do this for EACH email notification they want to receive. So if they want to receive notifications from Debbie and a teacher, they would need to sign up on Debbie's blog page AND the class blog page.
I hope each of you had the chance to meet our new lead pastor, Ben Williams. Pastor Ben is easily recognized because he wears a bowtie! He truly has a heart for children and I am so excited for you and your children to get to know him. Thanks to Pastor Ben and to our faithful friend, Ms. Jane, for helping us welcome everyone on the first days of preschool!
Thank you for coming to the Parent Orientation meeting. I hope you learned a lot about our school and especially about your child's class. As I mentioned, one thing that makes us unique is using Dr. Becky Bailey's Conscious Discipline as our method of building resilient classrooms and teaching children the skills of self-regulation. I will share more about this each week in my Thursday evening blog post.
Today, I want to share this info about music research. I thought it was important especially after Ms. Rebecca shared with us the importance of music at Parent Orientation. Our music classes will begin the week of Sept. 17, on Mondays and Thursdays. But, of course, all our CCP safekeepers use music in the classrooms everyday!
"Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas," asserts Laura Lewis Brown in her article, "The Benefits of Music Education."
Brown quotes Mary Luehrisen, Executive Director of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) on the benefits of music making as follows: "A music-rich experience for children of singing, listening and moving is really bringing a very serious benefit to children as they progress into more formal learning." Brown also quotes Kenneth Guilmartin, cofounder of an early childhood music development program for infants through kindergartners: "Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously. For instance, people use their ears and eyes, as well as large and small muscles...Music learning supports all learning."
Source: "The Benefits of Music Education," by Laura Lewis Brown, PBS Parents
Christ Church has their Sunday School Kick-Off for 2017-18 this Sunday, Sept. 9 at 9:45. The preschoolers attend Sunday school in the same rooms we use for preschool. Sunday school lasts an hour. Parents can attend the worship service during the same hour in the Sanctuary. If you don't have a home church, please come visit Christ Church! You can contact Ms Jane for more information - jreeb@christmethodist.org .
Mark your calendar: Preschool is closed on Friday, Sept 14 for teachers to attend the NCaeyc teacher conference where we will hear Dr. Becky Bailey in person! Also, the CCP Board will meet on Monday, Sept. 17 at 7:30pm.
I leave you with this quote from Amy Speidel (Loving Guidance Associate), "Our job is to be the mirror for children, reflecting their worth; what we reflect becomes what they believe about themselves."
Happy Grandparents' Day this Sunday! I WISH YOU WELL!
Debbie