ECE Connection
January 21, 2022
What's Inside
- Supervisor's Message
- Site News
- ECE Team Shares
- Health and Wellness
Dear Early Childhood Families and Friends,
Shortly after the initial closure in March 2020, the Early Childhood team created a Google website with resources to help facilitate at-home learning. Over the course of the 20-21 school year the site continued to grow. This secondary Early Childhood website can be found through the HPS website by visiting http://www.hobokenschools.org/schools/early_childhood/about_us or by scrolling to the bottom of every weekly ECE Connection. There's a button that will take you directly to this website.
I share this information again as a reminder of what you will find on this site. You'll be able to access past editions of the ECE Connection, find our contact information, and access the ECE Covid-19 Hub. But I really wanted to draw your attention to the PIRT/ MT page specifically.
The Preschool Intervention and Referral Team (PIRT) and Master Teachers (MT) instructional coaches for our PK teaching staff. In their roles, they coach, model, and provide strategies for our classroom teachers. Additionally, they provide Parent Workshops.
Due to COVID restrictions we were unable to host in-person Parent Workshops last year so the teams got creative and held webinars followed by a live Q&A session for parents. These webinars range in topics from Mindfulness and Self Care, an overview of the Tools of the Mind Classroom, Supporting Pretend Play, and more!
There is one webinar in particular, Establishing Rules and Routines, that goes hand in hand with the PIRT news presented below. For your convenience I have provided the link to access the webinar: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a3eFzZCIi4hILDgS7E4pRE0hYIJdES2c/view
Be sure to take a look at this webinar and the others. If you have any questions regarding the content in any webinar click on the link at the bottom of the webinar page or click the button below.
Sincerely,
Lauren Eakin
Supervisor of Early Childhood Education
Site News
Brandt- HOPES
Calabro- MSELC
St. Francis- MSELC
When reading the book, we learned that Martin Luther King Jr. throughout his life wanted to change the injustices of the world and he did just that. We also learned how he organized marches and said speeches to achieve changes in the world. To end the lesson, we participated in an equality activity where we compared a brown egg and a white egg. Together, we learned how it does not matter what the color of our skin is, black or white, in the inside we are all the same.
Rue- HOPES
Wallace- MSELC
770 Jackson- MSELC
ECE Team News
A Message from the PIRT
Creating Home Rules
Why Are Rules Important?
Rules help children know the expectation and what is coming up next! It is normal for children to break rules and test limits. Consistently following through with consequences when rules are broken help your child have a clear understanding about the importance of rules.
Children sometimes break rules because they simply forget.
Not all broken rules occur because kids are testing the limits. But, our responses should be the same no matter what the reason for breaking the rule.
They help children understand what behaviors are okay and not okay.
Rules help to prevent challenging or unwanted behaviors because ground
rules have been set.Rules provide consistency.
Following rules at home can help children learn to follow rules in other places.
Recommendations For Creating Home Rules
Establish consistent HOME rules that address the issues that are occurring in your house. E.g. If a child struggles with keeping their hands to themselves, then this should become a rule. “Hands on our own bodies”
First, reflect on what is important to you and your family.
Think about how the rules you have chosen benefit your family and child.
The entire family should be involved in creating and committing to the rules.
Rules should be realistic and appropriate for your child’s age and development.
The rules should be:
No more than 5.
Too many rules may be confusing and difficult for a child to remember.
Be specific.
Avoid vague rules, such as “be good.” “Be good” includes many different things and could be hard for a child to understand.
Simply and positively stated.
Rules need to be clear about what the expected behavior should be.
Refrain from using words such as “stop”, “no”, or “don’t”
“We keep our hands and feet on our own bodies.”
Include visuals.
Visuals help to reinforce the expectation.
Visuals should be posted adjacent to each rule.
Home Rules Example
Things to keep in mind about home rules...
For rules to work well, everyone needs to know, understand, and follow the rules.
All adults should be on the same page about the expectations and encourage the rules. This helps to provide a consistent message and avoid contradictory feedback.
Introduce and discuss why the rules are important.
Stick to the routine. They help children learn that they can trust others to take care of them and meet their needs. They become free to relax and explore their world.
Children often need reminders.
Children love attention! When you see your child following the rules, let your child know you see them making good choices by providing positive descriptive praise.
Be specific about what you are observing them do and reference the specific rule they are following. This helps to reinforce positive behaviors.
Ex. “Great job using your listening ears! It makes me feel SO happy that you were listening to me while I was reading the story”.
Fun books to spark discussions about rules…
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Mo Willems
Maurice the Unbeastly Amy Dixon , Karl James Mountford
Officer Buckle and Gloria Peggy Rathmann
What if Everybody Did That? Ellen Javernick
Health and Wellness
ECE COVID Hub
Communication
Want even more resources?!
Wee Passport
We are proud to announce the return of Wee Passport. This program is intended to be a fun, free, and welcoming experience for families with toddlers from ages 1 to 3. The goal is to acquaint your family with our district and staff. Wee Passport Programs will be held at the High School Football Stadium. All Wee Passport events were designed to be interactive mom/dad/caregiver and tot sessions. We hope that you and your child find the information and experience fun and exciting.
If you live in town and know of any family that may be interested, please find all of the pertinent information below:
- Ages: 1 - 3 years old
- Location: 1000 Jefferson St, Hoboken, NJ 07030 *Weather Permitting*
- Course Capacity: - 15 Seats per event date, first come first serve basis
- Location: 1000 Jefferson St, Hoboken, NJ 07030 *Weather Permitting*
- Time: 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Remaining Sessions:
February Events to be held at Calabro site (524 Park Avenue)
2/2 - Disney Sing Along
2/23- Yoga Mindfulness & Me
March
3/9 - Fairy Tale Theater
3/23 - Sign & Sing
April
4/6 - Gym Time!
4/27 - Art & Craft Creation
May
5/11 - Music Makers
June
6/8 - Yoga Mindfulness & Me
Hoboken Public Schools Early Childhood Department
Email: leakin@hoboken.k12.nj.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/hpspreschool/home
Location: 158 4th Street, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Phone: 201-356-3695
Twitter: @Hoboken_ECE