Prekindergarten News

February 13, 2007

1:00-2:30 only at Congress Facility 353 Congress Ave.

Focus on: Process Art

Come Prepared to Mess Around

Future dates: 3/13, 4/17

5/8, and 6/5

RSVP or Questions:

Rochester City School District

February 2007 Volume II Issue 6

Department of Early Childhood Phone: 585 262-8140 131 W. Broad St. Fax: 585 262-8273 Rochester, NY 14614 www.rcsdk12.org/PreK

Superintendent’s Conference Day,

Workshop Listings Register by March 1

Director’s Report: Shirley Jung Rochester received the written report of the New York State Technical Assistance Review. Rochester was complimented on its collaboration with the community, its assessment program, its instructional pro-gram and its professional development. There are no areas of concern with compli-ance of TPK or UPK statutes or regula-tions. Thank you to the principals, program administrators, teachers and children who were available to meet with them and to show off Rochester's best. On another note, Kindergarten registra-tion is right around the corner. We expect to be able to support families at their child's Prekindergarten site. Four documents are needed: the child's birth certificate (or other form of government identification), immuni-zation record, proof of address, and proof of adult identity. Please encourage fami-lies to participate in the school selection process even if they think they plan to go outside the district or to a private school. The School Selection process was de-signed to have parents have a choice about where their child would attend school. Don't miss this opportunity.

Family Partnerships: Merrilyn Parks Parents are very serious about their child’s academic success. They value the use of flash cards as a reliable tool in their children’s learning. Many conversations with parents about the unfriendly pressure and no fun experience flash cards create seldom convinces parents to give up the flash cards. My solution: have parents make their own flash cards. They do not have to use the whole alphabet but the words for each letter must have some per-sonal meaning for the child. One parent used the first letter of each family member and explained on the card the relationship of this family member to the child. Parents can use events e.g.. birthday party, or family trip etc. to select letters that would represent aspects of the event. Using this type of card gives parents and child a chance to talk about the letter and what it represents. Give parents alphabet stencils, markers and card stock and let them cre-ate. If possible offer to laminate the fin-ished cards for the parents. The cards will teach you more about the child and his/her family and also make a good bulletin board display.

Celebrating Our Success in Rochester Prekindergarten

Leasa Herman, UPK teacher at the Volunteers of America (VOA) Child Care Center, shared some of her stu-dent’s proud achievements:

• Madeline learning to write her name • Using picture cues to begin to read on their own • Cooperative work on the jungle puzzle • A budding architect proud of the house she built

Save the Date! Wednesday, April 18

5:00—9:00 pm

Continuity Conference “Literacy Through the

Eyes of a Child”

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Joanne Larson

Look for Details and Registration form on the

RAEYC website: www.raeyc.org

Page 2 Prekindergarten News

Practical Discipline Strategies for the Difficult Young Child (Preschool—Second Grade) A seminar by Gene Bedley for the Bureau of Education & Research (BER)

Science is Stirring up Smiles at Family Learning Center We were inspired by your article about science, and wanted to share some fun experiences we've had re-cently in our classroom. Emily Stover, a senior at SUNY Geneseo, joined us this fall at the Family Learn-ing Center. She has been an exciting addition to our room adding energy and inspiration. We find ourselves talking daily about all the reasons "why" we establish environments, routines, and experiences for chil-dren. Your article was a direct rein-forcement for many of the activities she has engaged in while being with us. Although I'm sure many of you have had these experiences, there is nothing like a photo to be reminded of "why"! Children in the house area making oobleck (cornstarch and water) with an array of cooking pans and tools,

stirring, squeezing, pouring, whisking, smearing, catching, and more. (day 2 she had them add food coloring) Cooking in the house area with beads and macaroni, learning which ones roll off the plate faster, stay in the playdough longer, and sound the best when we put them in the empty coffee can and shake. "Pumpkin Jack" deteriorating in the

science area, based on a wonderful book written by Will Hubbell titled Pumpkin Jack. He is now outside our classroom window and we say "hi" to him every day we go outside. We are hoping to have pumpkins in the front of our building in the spring. The chil-dren love the book. And just the other day she invited children to the house area for a food project. Each child peeled one

clementine orange, separated it into sections, took one end and dipped it in melted chocolate and coconut, then placed sections on wax paper to dry. Within a half hour the chocolate was hard and the children and parents had a GREAT tasting snack. Continue to unleash the scientific spirit and have a wonderful New Year! - submitted by Sandy Hess, Family Learning Center

Inspired by the information and techniques I learned from Gene Bed-ley in last month’s workshop entitled “Practical Strategies for the Difficult Young Child”, we decided to include more sensory items in our daily rou-tine as well as in our “calming area”. Each day’s learning centers include at least one – usually more – of the fol-lowing: sand, water, “goop” (starch and glue mixture), shaving cream, “Oobleck” (cornstarch and water), play dough, textured finger paint or other tactile medium. In our “calming area”, we put together an assortment of squishy, squeezy, bumpy or bristly balls, a couple of extra-soft stuffed toys and a “Heavy Freddy”.

“Freddy” is a stuffed monkey mod-eled after one demonstrated by Gene in the workshop. I went to Goodwill and chose a stuffed animal with a lot of belly room, took out the stuffing and inserted a five pound bag of rice. I replaced as much stuffing as I could and closed him up again. The chil-dren in the class seem to enjoy the weight and heft of him as they cuddle their way back to a relaxed state. - submitted by Sue Morgan, St. Paul’s Child Care Center

Teachers—Please keep your contributions coming.

Page 3 Rochester Prekindergarten

Superintendent’s Day—March 23, 2007

The Early Childhood Department will be providing pro-fessional development in the morning at the Congress Facility, 353 Congress Ave. (formerly #37 school). All UPK Staff are expected to participate in professional de-velopment on this day. Staff from our Community-Based partner agencies and RPPP will choose from these work-shops. Other RCSD staff will be participating in their own building’s offerings in the afternoon. With their principal’s permission, they may choose to do these workshops in the morning instead of working in their classroom.

Schedule of Day 8:30—9:00 Registration

9:00—9:30 Keynote Address 9:45—11:30 Workshop Choice

Certificate for 2 1/2 hours of training

Keynote Address: Children’s Film Festival- Speakers: Connie Valk and others from the Children's Film Fest Committee. We, as early childhood educators, know that young children are affected by the inappropriate enter-tainment they view. In our classrooms we often see chil-dren imitate the violence and the sexual behaviors they view on TV or DVDs. Teachers report that an ever in-creasing number of children have challenging behav-iors. They know that many of these behaviors stem from what the children are watching. What are the facts about the affect of media violence? Is there anything we can do about it? We will explore some possibilities together.

Workshops (indicate choices on registration form) • Bringing Films to the Pre-K Class Presenters: Sandy Auriemma, RPPP teacher and EEPD mentor; Jeanne Loysen, retired early childhood teacher from School for the Deaf and EEPD mentor. There is an abundance of entertainment out there for children. Much of it is inappropriate. In this workshop, teachers will view some entertaining, but appropriate entertainment that they can bring into their classrooms from sources as the high Falls Film Festival. In addition, teachers will have a make-and take opportunity for a follow-up activity -- mak-ing a "TV" with child-designed story scrolls. • The Bear’s Program to Teach Young Children Personal Safety presented by Esther Hammer, MSW, SSWS. The delightful little bear teaches safe ways of touching and how to say “NO!” with concrete and positive learning experiences that are sensitive to positive learn-ing experiences that are sensitive to child and parent. Materials provided, including bear puppet, anatomical dolls, notebook with lessons, and parent material (English, Spanish). • Bullying: Taking it by the Horns Presented by Mary Louise Musler, Executive Director 292-BABY, MCC. If you see your classroom as a microcosm of society, you

surely are seeing bullying behavior. Join this participatory workshop to learn more about bullying: its causes, how to prevent it, and ways to engage children in activities that promote tolerance. • ECERS—Let’s Talk—Presented by Joi DiGennaro, Director, Friendship Children’s Center. Teachers will have the opportunity to work together to discuss ways to implement new ideas for more success on the measure. • Outlook Email, Presented by Mitchel Hansinger, RCSD. Learn how to read, write, delete, reply and for-ward email. Add signatures and folders. Create distribu-tion lists. Each participant will have hands-on experience with individual computers. • Power of Guidance: Book Discussion facilitated by Maxine Smith, ABC Head Start and Shirley Jung, RCSD. Many of you have received this book written by Dan Gar-trell, our summer keynote presenter. This session will provide a forum for discussing Dan Gartrell’s ideas on the teaching of social-emotional skills in early childhood classrooms. • RMSC Science Co-Explorers Workshop: Topic: Zoology - Animal Explorations Everywhere Presented by Science Co-Explorers Workshop Facilita-tors: Holly Ragusa, Teresa Stango-Listrani, Deb Willsea. This Science Co-Explorers workshop provides hands-on experiences with animal activities that can be done easily inside or outside the classroom. We will explore how to use animals as a vehicle to heighten children’s curiosity, questions, language and motivation to learn. This work-shop will include live animals as well as animal observa-tion and investigating tools, animal games and animal stories. Creating inquiry-based learning environments that nurture children’s curiosity and learning will be mod-eled and discussed. • Strategies for Increasing Positive Behavior: What Really Works presented by Linda Sullivan, MS.ED, RECDC Inclusion Specialist. The focus will be on under-standing why negative behavior occurs and how to teach positive alternative behaviors. Participants will learn practical classroom strategies that will result in a win/win situation for staff and students. • What about Me? Preschoolers and Grief presented by Catherine Spoto, Founder and Chair, RCSD Grief Re-source Network and English Teacher. This interactive workshop will consider the losses young children experi-ence and explore how grief is manifested within a devel-opmental context. We will identify ways that we can sup-port children in the classroom and assist families in pro-viding support in the home.

Please complete the registration form on the back of the newsletter and return to the Early Childhood Depart-ment by March 1. These workshops will be filled as reg-istrations are received so get them in early for best selec-tion. Confirmations will not be sent. You will receive your workshop assignment when you sign in on March 23. Carpool if possible as parking is limited.

Department of Early Childhood 131 W. Broad St. Rochester, NY 14614 Phone: 585-262-8140 Fax: 585-262-8273

Rochester City School District

*Call for Articles/Pictures w/Captions* Please send newsletter contributions by the 2nd Friday each month Email: jeanne.herrick@rcsdk12.org

Rochester Prekindergarten A Smart Way to Start!

Please register me for Superintendent’s Day, March 23, 2007, 8:30—11:30.

Name: ________________________________ Position: _______________________________

Agency/School: _________________________________ Telephone: ____________________

I’ve indicated my workshop preference with a 1, 2 and 3. ____ Bringing Films to the Pre-K Class

____ The Bear’s Program to Teach Young Children Personal Safety

____ Bullying: Taking it by the Horns

____ ECERS—Let’s Talk

____ Outlook Email

____ Power of Guidance

____ RMSC Science Co-Explorers Workshop—Topic: Zoology

____ Strategies for Challenging Behavior

____ What About Me? Preschoolers and Grief

Please fax this registration: 262-8273 or mail to RCSD, Dept. of Early Childhood (see above) by March 1. Note that these workshops will be filled in the order registrations are received.