First Day of School ~ Easing the Transition

“But Mommy, I’m ‘ascared’ to go to school.  I won’t know anybody there!”

“Daddy, I don’t know where to go potty at school!”

It’s that time of year, where the worries of your children and your own as a parent are at the forefront of our thoughts. It's a time of excitement for all and anxiety for some, as  you prepare to entrust your little ones to our BELA  Learning Team and we prepare to welcome your most precious little people! 

As Lisa Medoff reminds us in her article First Day of School, “separation anxiety is a very common problem for preschool children, especially during the first few weeks of school. You may also see some separation anxiety in children after an illness, a vacation, or even a long weekend, where they have become accustomed to being at home for a long period of time.”

Transitions of any type can be difficult with children this age, as their self regulation skills continue to mature. As  Dr. Stuart Shanker says in his book Self-Reg – How to Help your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle & Successfully Engage in Life, “Children… find it very hard to articulate what they’re feeling.  It is through their actions – or lack of action – that they show us.  Once we learn how to read their signals, there are effective steps we can take to help them manage their arousal.

As families and BELA staff work together to decrease the fear, or anxiety, children may be feeling as the beginning of an exciting year of learning is approaching, there are a number of strategies that we may utilize in order to provide support for your child, and to help you feel better prepared for this all important transition into the exciting world of early learning.  You are your child’s first, and most important teachers, and we are happy to collaborate with you to choose strategies that may support  your child.   From our previous experiences, we have selected some strategies you may find helpful in the weeks ahead. 

Transition stories:  We have posted on our website two transition stories, one for children who will be new to BELA and a second one for children who are returning to school after the break.  You are welcome to  add your child’s name to the story,  and the names of your child's classroom staff, once you have attended orientation and know  who your child’s teachers will be The story may be shared on the computer, or  by printing a copy for her/him to read with you and possibly revisit on their own.  These transition stories include pictures of the school  and we, and our families, have found that they go a long way towards helping children and parents feel more comfortable with this transition.

Comfort items: -  a favorite toy, blankie, family picture, or other item you know will increase your child’s comfort level, are welcome to join us at BELA.  Please talk to your child’s classroom staff in advance, so that they know the child has the item and it won’t be misplaced, or if it is in the child’s backpack, can be taken out if needed.  Usually these items ‘visit the classroom” with the child, for a few days of school, and then we begin the process of placing on a shelf ,or in a pocket (where blankie or puppy can watch them have fun). 

Pretty soon, the item will be placed in the child’s locker (just incase they need it) and before you know it, your child may decide that their comfort item can be left at home, to help take care of everything at home until they return.

We have also included an article by Lucy Schaeffer, “Goodbye Without Tears” in our Parent Orientation packages, which provides excellent strategies for ways to support your child during this transition time.

Every child is an individual, and will  make easier transitions to school each day when they feel comfortable in their learning environment.  Please feel welcome to share ideas  or strategies that may have helped in the past and might make this big step easier for your child and for you!

~ JR 
Jody Rutherford
Director of Education & Programming 

Why all the talk about Buckets??!

If your child attended  BELA or you follow our school you have probably heard us talk about buckets, bucket filling and the dreaded bucket dipping!!But what do we really mean when we talk about teaching our students to be bucket fillers? And why is it a focus at BELA?


Our program is based on 4 "Building Blocks". One of these is Character Development. We focus on the development of a strong sense of identity, self esteem and sense of belonging. These provide the foundation for children to become active and responsible citizens in their community. Children begin to develop their identity and citizenship through active inquiry into their social, physical and cultural environments. We are committed to giving our students experiences that allow them to discover how they are connected to other people and their community. We encourage them to express interest, sensitivity and responsibility in their interactions with others!

We use the Bucketfiller concept with our students to make Character Development even more accessible to them; allowing for age appropriate explanations, examples and activities. Our children learn that we all carry an invisible bucket, containing our feelings. When people have a full bucket they feel happy and positive. When someone says or does something that makes another person feel badly, their bucket can be emptied. At BELA we both teach and model the bucketfiller lifestyle and it is directly tied to our focus on character development.

Through our daily interactions, stories, songs, free and directed play; we find  opportunities to enhance each child's character development. We work to take things even further by allowing for  active inquiry into their social environment. Our annual food drive for the Brooks Food Bank is one example where we have the opportunity to discuss and model the virtues of caring, responsibility and respect. Its an opportunity to give our students the chance to fill some buckets, both figuratively and literally! They understand that sometimes other families need our support and they feel good about helping. Its a win-win!

This year we have been fortunate to have another great opportunity for our students to be actively involved in the community through our visits to the Newbrook Lodge. Our students have been spending  time with the seniors who reside at the Lodge, sharing some songs, crafts and enjoying some visiting time!

Through this experience we are able to discuss aging, family, health and  emotions, as well as our impact as a member of the community on all our friends! We have the opportunity to extend this learning into our play as well.  It's the perfect time for our parents and staff to model behavior  for our students, all the while discussing the virtues of  kindness, respect, caring and empathy.

While we know the value of this experience for our students, it is also important to acknowledge the value for the seniors. 43% of older adults experience social isolation which is correlated with loneliness and depression which impacts both physical and mental health. "Socially isolated seniors are less able to participate and contribute to their communities. Yet seniors benefit from volunteering and participating in their communities due to a sense of satisfaction and efficacy, and communities benefit from the services and social capital seniors are providing. A decrease in contributions by seniors is a significant loss to organizations, communities and society at large." (National Seniors Council; Report on the Isolation of Seniors)   Our seniors are such an asset to the community and hold a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with younger generations.

We hope that by continuing  this partnership with the Newbrook Lodge, we will be able bring them experiences that will build  self efficacy and bring a sense of accomplishment. While we continue to work on this relationship we will  look to current research and best practices regarding children and seniors to guide our activities and time with them. In the meantime, just  by looking at the smiles of both our students and our new friends I think its safe to say we all have some overflowing buckets!!

Character Development will continue to be central to our program at BELA. We are always looking for new ways to have our students actively engaged in the community; and now that you know what all the "bucket talk" is about, you can support us in the work that we do at school, at home and in our communities!
~ CP 

Calm, Alert & Ready to Learn – How to help our children self-regulate

Calm, Alert & Ready to Learn – How to help our children self - regulate

Who hasn’t at some time or another been mortified when their child has a complete melt down in a public place?  Personally, I can recall a time when one of our daughters (who shall remain nameless) would tantrum every time I picked her up from the sitter and made a quick stop at the grocery store, or pharmacy, on my way home.  It was embarrassing, people would gather, and because I was a teacher, I felt like people wondered how I could control my students at school, when I couldn’t even control my own child! I should have known that most people weren't judging me, teacher or otherwise as almost every parent has been there but it's hard in the moment when you feel all eyes are on you!

It wasn’t until I calmed down and gave it some thought, that I realized, I was expecting her, (at her worst time of day, when she was tired, hungry and eager to get home to her sisters and her toys), to behave in a calm, rationale manner.  Not fair, Mommy!!!  As adults, it is our job to determine how to help our children succeed, and in this case, it meant re-organizing myself to go directly home; returning to the grocery store, or pharmacy later, once everyone was calm and fed, or leaving these tasks until I could arrange for someone else to stay with the children or pick up what was needed.

Little did I know at the time, what I have described is a child (and her Mommy) struggling with self-regulation!!!  So what is this self-regulation?  Why is it important for children (and their parents to learn)?

Self- regulation is the ability to:

•       attain, maintain, and change one’s level of energy to match  the demands of a situation or task

•        monitor, evaluate, and modify one’s emotions

•        sustain and shift one’s attention when necessary and ignore distractions

•       Understand both the meaning of a variety of social interactions & how to engage them in a sustained way

•       Understand, connect with, and care about what others are thinking and feeling -  to empathize and act accordingly

 During the past 15 years, Dr. Stuart Shanker and his colleagues from York University  have been tracking the increasing incidents of behavioral disorders (ODD, hyperactivity, ADHD, etc).  This worrying trend, as well as the dramatic increase in anxiety disorders in children and youth (ages K-age 24), and a tendency for these diagnosis to occur at younger and younger ages, regardless of income level of the family or gender of the child, have led scientists to conclude that behavioral management techniques, that rely heavily on punishment and reward are relatively ineffective in reducing children’s problematic behaviors.  Dr. Shanker believes in many cases these types of strategies actually exacerbate the problem. 

Recent advances in developmental neuroscience are dramatically altering attitudes toward the possibility of maximizing the educational potential of every child.  Scientists now understand the better a child can self-regulate, the better they can rise to the challenge of mastering ever more complex skills and concepts.

There are 5 Domains of Self- Regulation, which are connected and affect each other:

•       Physical/Biological: managing levels of energy and tension in the body

•       Emotional: understanding, expressing, and managing feelings

•       Thinking: processing information from the senses, paying attention, reasoning, planning

•       Social: communicating and adjusting behaviour to match what is needed in social situations

•       Pro-social individuals engage in behaviours that are positive and helpful, promoting social acceptance, friendship & empathy.  Pro-social functioning is bound up in all the other areas of the 5 domain model, and is a higher level of self-regulation.

 A child who is ‘out of sync’ in one of these areas, may struggle with learning and relationships.  As parents, and educators, it is our job to recognize these struggles and teach children the skills that will help them to cope and ‘head off’ those behaviours we all come to dread!

That being said, there is a difference between misbehaviour and stressed/overwhelmed behaviour and we need to recognize the difference and handle it differently.

 If you want to learn more about self-regulation and how you can best help your child, we are providing a presentation at BELA on January 27^th at 7:00-8:00 or on Wednesday, February 3, at 1:30-2:30.  Please call 501-0019 or email Jody at jody@brooksearlylearning.ca if you would like to attend.

~ Jody Rutherford

Director of Education & Programming

BELA

Family Learning Celebrations......Photo Blog

Twice a year we invite our families to join us at BELA in the evening for our Family Learning Celebration. This is a chance for our parents to spend some time learning from their child about life at BELA and experiencing  their daily routine . Our students are always so excited to have their parents attend! Your participation as a parent helps show your child that you value their education and are interested in their school. Parent involvement is directly linked to children's success in school. Thanks to all our BELA families for your participation.

It's the Journey, Not the Destination....A Post by Mrs. McClelland

You know that old saying, “It’s the journey, not the destination….”? That’s what keeps running through my mind as I remember a Fall day 11 years ago….

My son Ty who was just  three at the time comes running up to me  after school saying enthusiastically “Mommy, Mommy, look what I made!”

He lifts his circular paper plate creation still damp and dripping with white glue up for me to see. “Oh beautiful, Ty!” I say, while  trying to decipher what his preschools art project was that day. As I realize it’s a bear’s face made on the paper plate, I say, “Oh I love this fuzzy cuddly bear you made, I can’t wait to put it on your bulletin board in your room”. While we walk hand in hand to the car I’m thinking to myself, does the bulletin board have any room left? I’ll have to sneak an old craft down during nap-time again to make room for this new creation!

I’m sharing this story about my son, Ty’s bear craft to illustrate that a craft is much more than a just a craft.  It’s so much more than the cute little fuzzy bear face that every child made that morning at school.  

Children learn by doing. It’s a great way for us early childhood educators to tie in a concept or theme we’ve been working on by giving children hands on experiences.

The process of creating the craft for preschool children is far more important than the finished product. It’s the journey! Or in this case, it’s the process not the product!

With the process on my mind, I recently set up my own version of Ty’s bear craft during center time at BELA. Using this craft as an example, I can “paint a picture”, (sorry,  pun intended!)  of what I would encourage during the process of creating this bear and share with you what the children would be learning as they build their masterpiece!

From the pictures, you will see that I set out a variety of materials on the table during center time. The only explanation I gave the children was that the materials were there for them to make bears. You will see the difference in each child’s creation. In this case we are focused on the process and what the children are gaining from each experience they are having as they make the bear.

This approach differs from what is known as structured or ‘cookie cutter ‘ crafts. With structured crafts they might be provided with each piece of the bears face, with things chosen for them, pre-cut or pre-colored. There are times to use structured crafts as our approach when we are using them to facilitate the learning of a certain skill. For example if we are working on fine motor or hand strength we may choose a structured craft where they have to pick up small buttons using their pincer grasp repeatedly to glue to certain areas as they follow a predetermined craft design.

When we choose to focus on process crafts we are using a distinctly different approach, one that gives the student a different experience and allows them to  achieve different learning outcomes. They are experiencing the process so much more than when they are  being provided with all the exact same pre cut eyes, nose, mouth, fur and ears. This approach is  more likely to retain their attention, as they have to think about and decide what they will use for the different parts of the bear’s face.

Now that we have considered the differences between the educational purposes of cookie cutter crafts, and those crafts that are process focused, let's look at specific examples so you can understand what the educator would be encouraging (and how) and what the student would be gaining!

Sensory Exploration:Students are getting to feel the texture of the fuzzy bear fur, touching and manipulating the smooth plastic buttons. The children will inevitably experience the sticky glue feeling on their hands since we know preschoolers love to squeeze out white glue in epic proportions! All part of the process!

Imagination: 

We can pretend to roar like bears as we make our craft! All the while the children are deciding to use as little or as much fur as they want. They can decide what colors the bear’s fur will be. Who says bears need to be brown or black?  The biggest joy of crafting is getting to imagine and then create what was imagined.  Maybe a child is imagining a green bear or a rainbow one.  Maybe they are imagining their bear might have big eyes or small eyes or one of each. Or maybe even triangle or square eyes instead of round. We, as Early Childhood Educators, and parents can foster children’s vivid imaginations by providing a variety of materials and the freedom for children to be able to bring to life what is in their imaginations during craft time.

Fine Motor Skill Development: 
Preschoolers work on their pincer grasp to pick up the pieces of fur and buttons. They are building up the muscles of their hands by overly enthusiastically squeezing that bottle of glue! Then using eye hand coordination to precisely stick the buttons and fur onto the paper plate. 

Concentration and Focus: 
While children are working on their masterpieces, they are learning to concentrate and minimize the distractions around them while learning to master the use of crayons, placing objects and gluing . It takes a lot of concentration for little ones to complete a craft . This helps to build up their attention span.

Following Directions: 
Being able to understand and follow directions is a skill needed and used throughout life. Giving the children simple instructions, while giving a visual demonstration of the steps is imperative to a successful craft time.  

For example: I instruct children to color their plate first as I demonstrate coloring one; next I would show the children how to glue on the bear’s eyes, nose and mouth, lastly gluing on the fur. During the visual directions I would encourage the children to use whatever shape or size buttons they like or choose what color of fur they’d like their bear to have. This way, children are free to make their own creative choices but are given the basic instructions of what needs to be done.

Social Emotional: 
Children will feel a sense of accomplishment and a boost in their self-esteem from finishing their creation and will be proud of themselves that they’ve made their bear all by themselves. This extends to bonding with their parents as parents oooh, awe and praise their child’s masterpiece when they get to take it home that day.

Vocabulary: 
We can choose to target specific words to expand children’s vocabulary during craft time.  While making the bears some words I might focus on would be soft/hard,  big/little, the names and identifications of colors and shapes, roar, growl, the facial body parts; eyes, nose, ears, fur & head. The list of words we choose to focus on can be as big as children’s imaginations are.

Extended Learning: 

As Early Childhood Educators and parents we can extend and carry over our craft into another time of play.  Once the bears are dry, we can take our bears and hold onto them while acting out the actions to the song, “Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around.”  We can play with toy bears in our block centers and can end our day reading a book about bears.  

In the end it doesn’t matter if one child made a bear with just fur and no facial features, or that one child made a blue bear with one triangle eye and one square one. It matters that they had the freedom to use their imagination while creating and learning and most of all have fun doing it!

Do I still have the bear Ty made over a decade ago? I sure do! It made the cut for his memory box, but there were hundreds of crafts my boys created over the years that  didn't make the cut and ended up in the garbage.  
Were they a waste? No, because  I know they  had hundreds of meaningful experiences that enhanced their development by having the opportunity to explore, create and master important learning tools and skills through the process of creating their masterpieces. 
I know they enjoyed the journey and I enjoyed it with them!!

~KM

For more information regarding the importance of process vs. product see:

earlychildhoodnews.com

naeyc.org

theallianceforec.org

Welcome to our BELA Family....

As September draws to a close, we are settling in to our new school year, excited to welcome back our families whose children have previously attended BELA, and meet many new families and get to know their children!  

As we prepared, with our staff, for the opening of our fourth school year, we paused to examine recent data and research and reflect on the mission of the Brooks Community Enrichment Foundation.  “ The Brooks Early Learning Academy, founded by the Brooks Community Enrichment Foundation, is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of early learning, and to providing high quality, play-based, early learning programming accessible to all children in our community.”  

Current research regarding the importance of the early learning years, and the birth rates for Brooks & the County of Newell, indicated that our community was definitely in need of additional spaces for children to have high quality early learning opportunities.  Our Foundation was determined to provide these important learning opportunities for all children in our community, regardless of their learning needs or the socio-economic status of their families.  Since our initial year, Alberta  Education & Alberta Human Services partnered in a project, the EarlyChildhood Development (ECD) Mapping Initiative, to collect data across Alberta utilizing the Early Development Instrument (EDI) to gather information about children in Kindergarten.   The EDI developed by McMaster University, is utilized across Canada, Alberta, and Brooks & the County of Newell.

In Canada, the national norm for Canadian children indicates 25.40% of children are experiencing great difficulty in one or more of the 5 early learning developmental domains.

 The 5 year Alberta EDMap results (2009-2014) indicate that 28.9% of children are experiencing Great Difficulty in at least one of the 5 Developmental Domains.

In Brooks & Newell County (2010) the following data was collected: 32.7% of kindergarten children are experiencing difficulty in one or more developmental areas,  including 39.7% experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in Communication skills & General Knowledge; and 29.9% experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in Language & Thinking Skills

As we reviewed the mission of our Foundation and current data, and reflected on our programming, we established our goals for the up-coming year:

·      to provide programming for over 85 students at BELA
·      to increase the number of children enrolled, who are Early English Language Learners; and

·      to continue to provide programming that supports individual

learning needs, and recognizes developmental levels of all children

The BELA Learning Team is excited that we are beginning a new school year and are looking forward to sharing and supporting the learning growth and development of all of our children at BELA this year!   Our year will be filled with active, hands on learning activities, fresh air and daily exercise, science and numeracy activities, field-trips, and an environment which is rich in early literacy activities and support for the children’s character development.  Parents are the children’s first, and most important teachers, and we will celebrate with our families as the children evolve as early learners, who are excited to learn and have fun with their friends, and their teachers at BELA – Where We’re Learning & Loving It!

~JR