Is It Too Early To Begin Planning For The New School Year?

Posted on June 25, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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I know that summer has just begun. Many of us are thinking of poolside parties and frozen pops and Fourth of July parades.

But if your child is starting school in August, or if there were problems adjusting to the classroom routine last year, it’s not too early to think about how you can insure a smooth transition from home to school. This holds true for older children as well as for those of preschool age.

What can parents do during the summer to prepare for the new school year?

1. Have an upbeat, matter-of-fact, positive attitude about school.

2. If your child has not been there yet, arrange for a visit before school starts.

3. Connect with parents of other children in the class and have play dates with your child’s classmates…children feel more at ease when they see friendly faces in the classroom.

4. If you don’t have a routine in place for bedtime and getting-ready-for-the-day-in-the-morning time, put them in place now. Make it a habit to discuss plans for the next day in the evening and lay out clothes and anything else needed the night before. When school starts, your child will be used to getting things ready and you won’t have that last minute rush in the morning to find the missing shoe or backpack. Regarding bedtime, please make sure you are allowing plenty of time for your child to get ready (brush teeth, wash, lay out clothes and necessary items, story-time, etc.) and still be getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I know that it is tempting to let young children stay up later, especially in the summer, but when school starts, it will be a difficult habit to break…and young children need more than 10 hours of sleep at night.

5. Make sure your child is eating a good breakfast in the morning…when school starts, this will be even more important. And what is a good breakfast? My younger son loved pizza for breakfast. Some children might prefer eggs and toast, cereal with fruit and milk, French toast and bacon or pancakes with fruit toppings. How about peanut butter and banana on whole wheat bread for a highly nutritious breakfast?

Do you have some super breakfast menus that your children love? Please share! We all need fresh ideas.

Many times, children who are fussy eaters become better eaters when you let them help out in the kitchen. If you are looking for some easy child-friendly recipes, Show Me How! has one hundred of them and teams each cooking activity with a picture book suggestion and an easy eco-friendly arts and crafts project. Head on over to my website to take advantage of the Jump Into Summer Special…50% off the cover price. The book makes a great gift for any parent, grandparent, expectant parent, babysitter, nanny, daycare provider, preschool teacher…and there is an additional discount if you buy two copies…only $20 per copy! You will be getting two copies for less than the cover price of one! And, if you order by June 30^th, we are including a bonus sheet of self-stick gold stars that can be used on goal charts and more!

Studies show that the quality time you spend with your young children now has a positive impact on their school performance in later years. This is a great opportunity to get a wonderful resource you can use on a daily basis, year after year. Show Me Howis an award-winning book endorsed by parents, teachers and national organizations such as the JDRF. To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today. This is a book that makes it easy and fun to be in your children’s lives today! It is the ONLY book you will need to buy to plan educational, self-esteem building activities for your preschoolers. Don’t put it off until tomorrow!

Reading with Mom Can Boost Kindergarten Readiness (nlm.nih.gov)
Computers in Preschool: Hurting or Helping? (education.com)
Reconciling our 3c’s with the German education system (americanauslander.wordpress.com)
Bullying in Preschool: What Parents Need to Know (education.com)

Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?

Posted on April 9, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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They say you can’t go back.

What do you think?

I remember walking into P.S. 199 as a student teacher. I had attended this elementary school as a ten-year old sixth grader…now I was 20 years old and a senior in college, pursuing my early childhood education degree. How small the double wooden entrance doors looked now! How tiny the seats in the classroom seemed!

It didn’t seem to be the same school that I had stored away in my memory banks.

Since January, I’ve been presenting the SHOW-ME-HOW Story-time Reading and Crafting Program to District 11 kindergartens and Pre-K’s. It is really great to be back in the classroom, interacting with students and teachers and parents.

But today’s kindergartens don’t seem to be the same as those stored away in my memory banks.

Why do I say that?

When I was teaching kindergarten (back in the 60’s and 70’s), the children learned through play and there was very little “formal” instruction. In today’s kindergartens, I see a lot of “formal” teaching of reading and writing…not just the ABC’s.
When I was teaching, kindergarten was a preparation for first grade. In today’s kindergartens, there seems to be an expectation that the children will be reading and writing by the time they enter first grade.
When I was teaching kindergarten, we understood that children mature in their own unique ways…while it is true that some 4½ year olds are quite capable of learning to read and write (I had several who came to kindergarten already reading and writing and speaking several languages), it is also true that many children have not yet developed the fine motor skills necessary for holding the pencil and mapping out the letters. With reading, we have the same situation…some children have the eye-brain coordination, but some need just a little more time to physically mature.
In my opinion, the only advantage to “pushing” these little ones to read and write is that, if there are problems such as visual impairment or learning disorders, they may be discovered at this earlier age and intervention can be arranged. However, the down side is that we are already labeling these young children…and often these labels stick, even if it was just a maturity issue that was the cause.
Almost every kindergarten teacher I have visited with has mentioned the lack of time to READ picture books to the children. Arts and crafts are also an area that is pushed to the back burner. Now, all of you know how passionate I am about reading to young children…and how much I believe in the importance of encouraging children to express themselves in arts and crafts activities. I realize that the curriculum and standards are mandated by the state…teachers don’t really have control over those things and are held accountable for the levels of learning their students achieve.
The almost frantic pace I observed in some of the kindergartens was even stressful for me…imagine how it must be for five-year olds! They change activities (and rooms) as if someone is surfing channels on the TV with a remote control. Perhaps they are used to it…having been exposed to the constant mini-bytes that are prevalent even on the educational TV channels. Again, I undertand that most of kindergarten teachers would probably prefer to go back to a “kinder, gentler” type of classroom. Don’t get me wrong…I do believe in routines and schedules for young children…I think they thrive when they know what the plan is…I just wish it was a less hectic plan. I know it used to be in the kindergartens stored in my memory banks.

What do you think? Do you have a child in kindergarten? Are you a kindergarten teacher? Do you agree that the kindergarten of today is the new first grade? And, do you think this is a postive or negative change?

THREE IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TODAY, APRIL 9th, is the LAST day you can purchase SHOW ME HOW! at 50% off the cover price on my website: http://www.positiveparentalparticipation.com. Parents, grandparents, teachers and daycare providers of preschoolers…please don’t delay…this unique resource is a shortcut to providing educational fun-filled self-esteem building acitivities for your children. MOTHER’S DAY is just around the corner…what a wonderful gift this would make, even for an expectant mom! And this is also the last day to enter to win the collection of craft supplies for your preschooler…purchase a book or fill out the contact form on my website or leave a comment on my blog about why you would like to win the prize.

TOMORROW: Sunday, April 10^th…I will be at the Covered Treasures Bookstore in Monument, CO from 2-3:30pm, talking about reading, crafting and cooking with young children and signing copies of my book. For more details, please go to www.coveredtreasures.com or call 719-481-2665. The Book Fair (from 12:30-4pm) is for the benefit of the Tri-Lakes Community Preschool Tuition Assistance Program. If you are local to Monument, Colorado Springs or Denver, please head on over to say hello and do your part to support early childhood education!

Tuesday, April 12^th…I will be hosting Max the Dog as he continues his 36 day book blog tour. For more details about the on-going contest and to see where he has been and where he is going, please visit: http://readwithmax.com/blogbooktour.html

Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian?

Posted on April 1, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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When I introduced the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program to District 11, I had no idea how popular it would be.

But I guess when you combine picture books and young children and craft activities, you are bound to get positive results!

Yesterday morning found me at Edison School…just three minutes from my house. It was easy to find because I’d been there before…not to read or craft, but to vote. 🙂

The kindergarten children in Ms. Gustafson’s class were eager to hear about Frederick, the little mouse whose family is preparing for the winter by collecting corn, straw, wheat and nuts. Although it looks like Frederick is sleeping most of the time, he tells his family that he is busy…gathering the sun’s rays, colors and words. When winter comes and the mice have eaten most of the food and are cold and hungry, Frederick offers up the supplies he brought and warms his family with his words about the sun’s golden rays and brightens the gray winter day by talking about the colors of the flowers in the spring.

I was so impressed with the children’s level of attention…smiling faces and raised hands greeted every question I asked as we discussed the difference between the supplies Frederick gathered and those his family brought. They understood that even though food and shelter were important, the beauty that Frederick supplied was necessary for life also.

After the story and discussion, the children moved to their tables where they worked on creating a colorful flower picture. Many of the children added their own touches…some drew Frederick and his family…one boy raised the edges of the construction paper flowers so that they had depth, just like real flowers do.

I was touched when one student wanted to give me his picture to take home with me…what an honor! However, the teacher was going to hang all of the pictures on the wall outside the classroom, so I thanked him and told him that I would be able to enjoy seeing it again the next time I visited Edison School.

As the children put the finishing touches on their pictures, I thanked them for having me, said goodbye and walked down the hall to the other kindergarten where 15 smiling children waited to greet me and hear all about Frederick.

Based on my book for parents of preschoolers, the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program helps encourage young children in school to become readers and lovers of books. If you’d like to have this unique resource available to you and your child, please visit my website where you can purchase a copy at 50% off the cover price. For just $22.50, you will have 100 story summaries, 100 simple craft projects and 100 easy healthful cooking activities right at your fingertips! And you can enter to win a selection of craft supplies for your preschooler.

I’m looking forward to April 12^th when this blog will be a stop on the book blog tour of Max the Dog Who Works. He is also in the People Telly Awards competition and the following is a message from him about a youtube video he made:

This competition and the People Telly Awards are chosen specifically by online voters. We are seeking your help to share and gain as many votes as possible to show support for Leader Dogs for the Blind. To vote, please visit the Link provided below and rate it using the ever famous thumbs up system. Videos that earn the most thumbs up win!

The more people you share this link with, the greater the chance of earning recognition for Leader Dogs.

Visit: http://www.youtube.com/tellyawards?x=TNRiC8lMBoU to cast your vote

Hugs and Licks:Max!

Leader Dogs for the Blind…a very worthwhile organization…please give your support by watching the video and voting for Max!