In-House Newsletter
January 2017
Education Specialist
All Young Preschool, Preschool, Pre-K Academy and Private Kindergarten classrooms should be using Zoo-Phonics® in their classrooms. The Zoo-Phonics® spot on the lesson plans should have a descriptive activity to match the letters for the month.
If you are struggling with activities, you can use the Zoo-Phonics® Preschool Adventures in Learning book or the Zoo-Phonics® Activity Worksheet book. Zoo-Phonics® worksheets should only be incorporated into the Pre-K Academy and Private Kindergarten classrooms 1-2 times per week; classrooms should not be spending over 10 minutes on each worksheet and should not be used as the primary method of teaching.
The principle of Zoo-Phonics® maximizes understanding, memory, utilization and transference to all areas of the reading, spelling and writing process in a playful and concrete manner. The Zoo-Phonics® Multisensory Language Arts Program is a kinesthetic, multi-modal approach to learning all aspects of language arts. Zoo-Phonics® is a curriculum-based reading and spelling program which teaches children the fundamentals of the English language. Zoo-phonics® uses animals drawn in the shapes of the letters for ease in memory. A related body movement is given for each letter. This concrete approach cements the sounds to the shapes of the letters. Zoo-phonics® also provides a springboard for all other academia such as math, art, music, cooking/nutrition, social studies, science, physical education and sensory/drama. Every aspect of the program has been field-tested and found to be effective. Educational research repeatedly supports the focus of phonics in early reading programs, as well as the educational benefits of pictorial mnemonics and kinesthetic approaches to learning that are unique to Zoo-phonics®.
- Students gain a firm foundation of the letter sounds and shapes and soon learn uppercase letters and letter names, and how to apply them to text.
- It is fully kinesthetic and multi-sensorial—children use their eyes, ears, mouths and bodies to learn.
- It teaches those important high frequency words, phonetically and easily.
- It easily teaches other more challenging graphemes/phonemes needed in early reading and writing (blends, digraphs, long vowels, diphthongs, the schwa sound, r - controlled vowels, silent letters, and soft sounds), still keeping learning playful!
You can get more Zoo-phonics® information at Google Drive > Shared With Me > Enrichment Programs > Zoo-phonics. There is also a training on the Education Training Portal under the Enrichment Programs tab.
Rainbow Representaive
Each month we will continue to provide ideas as well as general tips for connection with the staff and families at the center. We would also love to hear from you and see the hard work our teachers put in! Please send ideas and pictures of completed activities to education@rainbowccc.com
Staff Connection Idea: "Nobody can do everything. but everyone can do something!" Create a board in your staff lounge or staff bathroom where the teachers can post one thing they can do to make the center great! It can be as simple as making sure the floors are vacuumed, helping another teacher in her room, helping a new parent out on their first day, etc. It is a new year and a new start, lets make it a great one!
Family Connection Idea: It would be a fun idea to have a warming station set up in the lobby or great room of the center! Get a small table and have paper travel cups with lids available to the parents so they could make a cup of hot chocolate before heading out into the cold on their way to work. You could even have a little snack to offer with the hot chocolate. If you have a Keurig at your center, have some K-cups and cream and sugar available as well.
Health, Safety and Licensing Coordinator
It is extremely important that we are making sure that the sidewalks and front entrance to the building are clear of the snow as well as salted to prevent ice, resulting in a slip and fall incident. Be sure to have a bucket of salt available to shake onto the sidewalks to ensure everyone's safety!
With everyone coming in with snow covered boots and shoes, that front door rug can only catch so much. We need to make an effort to try and keep the front lobby floors dry and it is also a good idea to place a yellow "Wet Floor" sign up as a warning to all families and visitors.
We typically do not just get a dusting of snow during the winter season! When it snows, it really snows and it just piles up. The snow piles up outside of the doors to the playground which can cause a huge safety issue. If we cannot open exit doors it becomes a fire safety issue and poses a threat if an evacuation is necessary. Teachers need to make sure that they are able to completely open their exit doors and that the area around the door is free of snow and ice.
Now that we have made sure the sidewalks, and doorways are clear of snow, there is one more place we need to clear off and that is the PLAYGROUND! Children are required to go outside twice a day (weather permitting). We should be clearing the play structures off and making sure they are safe for the children. Supervision is important at all times especially when the children are climbing and their boots are wet and the play structure is slippery. It is our job to keep the children in our care safe at all times!