FEC Hornet Heroes
February 11th, 2016
Hello FEC Families!!
Prek parents:
Kindergarten Orientation is coming up in March!! An informational flier is below. We will have tables set up for other parents to sign up for screenings. FEC parents do NOT need to sign up. Your child will be screened the week of March 14th - 22nd. Teachers will go over these screenings with you at parent teacher conferences, which will be held in preschool classrooms on Wednesday, March 23rd and Thursday, March 24th. More information will be sent home the first week of March.
Our guest reader this week is Mrs. Hall. Check out her story with your child - Love you Forever. Mrs. Hall is a Title 1 Preschool teacher at FEC!
Remember there is NO SCHOOL Friday, February 12th and Monday, February 15th. Have a great long weekend!!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Meyerhoff
Things to Remember...
February 12th: PD Day (No School)
February 15th: President's Day (No school)
March 10th: Kindergarten Orientation at the high school
March 25th - April 1st: Spring Break (no school)
April 11th - 15th: Kindergarten screening (all FEC students will be screened at school and do not need to make an appointment)
May 19th: Last day of school (dismiss 2 hours early)
June 1st - June 28th: Summer School
Conscious Discipline Corner
People create power struggles when they feel powerless. With young children, power struggles often occur after giving the child a command or when the child is tired, hungry or otherwise stressed. Knowledge of child development, connection and active calming will help you to lessen power struggles.
Child development: Before age six, children process information 12 times slower than adults. We must slow down our speech and give only one or two commands at a time. If we speak at a normal pace and say, “Finish your snack, get your crayons and go color in the TV room.” The child may only process bits of information, hearing “crayons color the TV.”
Young children cannot conjugate the word “don’t.” When we say, “Don’t touch the lamp,” they hear, “Touch the lamp!” They look at you with a smile and touch the lamp. We think, “You wicked child, you deliberately defied me,” and enter power struggle territory. Instead of using “don’t,” pivot and tell the child what to do. “Don’t touch the lamp,” becomes, “Hold my hand (offer your hand) so you can learn how to touch delicate things softly.” “Don’t run,” becomes, “Walk slowly like this.”
Children under age seven also lack mature inner speech. Adults use inner speech to rehearse choices and outcomes before we act. Instead of inner speech, children encode information in pictures. So, we can use pictures to guide children’s behavior and avoid power struggles. Use your body as a picture by modeling what you want, use your words to help paint pictures of what you want, and put up actual pictures that show what to do. Instead of, “Walk in the house,” say, “Walk carefully with each foot going like this through the house.” Not only do you get better compliance (fewer power struggles), you also build language and literacy.
Finally, the brain is a pattern-seeking device. The more consistent your routines, the easier it is for the brain to pick up the pattern. If there is a consistent routine, the brain picks up the pattern, the child feels safe, and his neurological resources can be used for learning and exploration rather than for protection, and power struggles lessen.
Connection: Research indicates that the motivation to behave comes from being in relationships. Research also indicates that five minutes a day of focused play with children ages five and under reduces power struggles by 50%. Ten minutes of my I Love You Rituals per day will improve a child’s motivation and willingness, and decrease power struggles. If you don’t use I Love You Rituals, be certain to make time daily for specific, focused bonding activity you can share.
Active Calming: Finally, the absolute key for staying in control of yourself and helping to avoid power struggles is active calming. In Conscious Discipline, I call it “being a S.T.A.R.,” which stands for Smile, Take a deep breath, And Relax. Three deep breaths will turn the stress response off in the body. Once you are able to regulate your inner state through deep breathing, you obtain access to the highest centers of your brain. While you are taking these deep breaths, affirm to yourself, “I’m safe. I feel calm. I can handle this.” These words are chosen based on research: They unhook you from the survival center of your brain and plug you into the rational part of your brain. Now you can respond calmly in the face of a power struggle, and access your inner wisdom to come up with solutions rather than entering into the fray. Practice active calming in your life and teach it to your children. Demonstrate being a S.T.A.R. when you’re having a difficult time, and help your child learn to do the same!
Resource from ConsciousDiscipline.com (Dr. Becky Bailey)
About FEC
Email: jmeyerhoff@fulton58.org
Website: http://www.fulton58.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Fulton%20Education%20Center
Location: 1805 Wood Street, Fulton, MO, United States
Phone: (573) 590-8050
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FEC-Hornet-Heroes-1490229047902285/timeline/?ref=hl
Twitter: @jenmeyerhoff