TSD Early Childhood Program
March Newsletter
A Note From Our Administrator...
Dear Early Childhood Parents/Guardians,
I hope that the month of February treated you and your family well! Thank you for your continued help in keeping everyone safe - your reminders about wearing a mask, hand-washing, and monitoring for symptoms have been tremendously helpful in keeping everyone healthy and our centers open!
We're heading into the time of year where we receive a lot of snow. If the district decides to cancel school or initiate a late start because of inclement weather or other dangerous conditions, the announcement will be carried on radio stations KCOL 600 AM, KTRR TRI-102.5 FM, 1610 AM, KUNC 91.5 FM, KGRE 1450 AM (Spanish), KFKA 1310 AM, KBNO 1280 AM (Spanish) and on Denver television stations. Media sources will be contacted for both school closings and late starts.In the event of a delayed start:
Early Childhood Morning Early Childhood classes will be canceled district-wide
Afternoon Early Childhood classes will remain with the normal start and end times
Full Day classes will start 2 hours later than the original start time
The announcement will also be made via the district website (www.thompsonschools.org), Facebook account (“Thompson School District”), Twitter account (@ThompsonR2J) and school closure line (970-613-6788). A copy of the announcement will be posted on the district's mobile app, which you can download by visiting the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (depending on your smart phone) and searching for "Thompson School District R2-J."
A phone call, e-mail and text message will be sent to all families. To verify or modify your telephone number and e-mail address that is on file, please log in to your Parent Portal account or contact your school for assistance. School staff can also assist you in setting up text notifications. Messages sent by the district respect the privacy settings that you select on your account. Messages will not be sent to telephone numbers or e-mail addresses that have been opted out of receiving communication.
For more information on the district’s school closings and late starts procedure, please see the following Web page: www.thompsonschools.org/Page/5778
Head Start Self-Assessment. We have wrapped up our annual self-assessment and will be sharing our results with the Policy Council and the Board of Education in the next two weeks. This is an annual opportunity for us to review our goals from last year and look at areas of our program for improvement. More importantly, it is an opportunity for us to plan what we'll be doing to address these areas.
Early Childhood for 2021-2022. We are currently accepting applications for our Early Childhood Programs for the 2021-2022 school year. If you have a child that will be 3 or 4 years old by October 1, 2021, they may be eligible for FREE preschool. If you know someone who has a child(ren) ready for preschool, send them our way! For further information visit our Thompson Integrated Early Childhood web page or call 613-5052 or 613-5761.
Spring Break. Mark your calendars! Spring Break is coming up, March 15 – 19, 2021. School will not be in session during this time. We hope you enjoy this time with your child!
Have a terrific March!
Sincerely,
Lamb Caro
Early Childhood Administrator
We Read!
We Move!
"Movement is the starting point for wiring the brain for learning." ~ Gill Connell
We Learn through Play!
"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning." - Diane Ackerman
Stansberry Early Childhood
Education Corner
Can you believe it is March already?!? This month brings with it some crazy weather in Colorado. I never understood when people would say…“It is Colorado, just wait 10 minutes. The weather will change!” How very true that is! Please send your children with coats and hats this month, just in case.
I hope that you are able to take some time to enjoy the beautiful weather this month with your preschooler. You can take a “listening walk” and practice listening to what is around you. Ask questions like, “Do you hear that bird?” “What is that far away sound?” “What else do you hear?” Preschoolers are filled with wonder and curiosity. Take advantage of this and make the most of you precious time with them!
We are also accepting applications for next year! If you have friends or family that might be interested in preschool, tell them about us!
Amy Gerhard
Education Coordinator
Social Emotional Learning
Children learn best through play...social skills, academic skills and executive functioning skills. Executive functioning skills are things like organizing and planning how you will approach a task, being able to pay attention and focus on a task, and regulating your emotions. Children learn to explore new situations and to stay calm and keep trying when things don’t work out the way they would like them to. Imaginary play is a way for children to be creative and pretend to do things they see adults do. It gives them an opportunity to practice all sorts of situations like being a teacher or a police officer. This builds a sense of control and confidence and also compassion and caring. Play is amazing! We encourage you to watch your child play and join in - while allowing them to lead the play. This is incredibly rewarding for a child. Here is a link to an article for parents with more information about the importance of play.
10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Play
Health & Safety
March is National Nutrition Month!
This is a great time to focus attention on the importance of healthy food choices any developing sound eating habits! Here are 10 tips to a great plate (Go to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov for more information)
1 balance calories – Find our how many calories YOU need daily - www.ChooseMyPlate.gov can help you find your calorie level.
2 enjoy your food, but eat less – Take your time to eat and enjoy your food while paying attention to hunger and fullness cues.
3 avoid oversize portions – Use a smaller plate and share when eating out.
4 foods to eat more often – Eat more nutrient rich vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low fat milk and dairy products.
5 make half of your plate fruits and vegetables – Red, orange, and dark green vegetables are a great addition to your meal.
6 switch to fat-free of low-fat (1%) milk – There are fewer calories and saturated fat, but the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients.
7 make half of your grains whole grains – Substitute whole-grain products for a refined product ie. brown rice instead of white rice.
8 foods to eat less often - Cut back on high solid fats, added sugars and salt.
9 compare sodium in foods – Read the Nutrition Facts label to choose lower sodium versions of foods.
10 drink water instead of sugary drinks – Soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks are a major source of added sugar and calories in American diets.
For more information about MyPlate or Nutritional questions, please call our EC Health Office. We have many great reference materials and resources for Families!
Christiana Shorten – Early Childhood Health Coordinator (970)613-5063
Family Engagement
Our partnership with Early Childhood families is vital to the success of our program. We would like to invite all families to complete our annual Family Survey, which is available online on the Thompson School District website. We want to hear from you about your experience with our preschool program. To access the survey, click the link below:
Click on "Parent Survey" in purple at the top of the page. The survey is in English and Spanish and should take about 10 minutes to complete. Time is running out...the survey will close on Friday, March 5th. We appreciate your feedback about our program.
If you missed applying for a free one-year membership to Ft. Collins Museum of Discovery and the Gardens on Spring Creek, here is the link:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6009102/Memberships-for-Families-of-Thompson-ECE
Spanish:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6151651/Membres-a-para-familias-de-Thompson-ECE
Once you complete the application, you can activate your membership by visiting the museum or the gardens.
Julie Lindsay
Family & Community Partnership Coordinator
English Language Development
Happy Almost Spring!
Did you know that there are cognitive benefits to knowing two or more languages? Here are just a few:
Children who are learning two or more languages will switch between the two. This means their brains are very active and flexible.
Bilingual children are able to make friends in two languages. This helps with their social skills and helps them learn about other cultures and communities.
Dual language learners can benefit from knowing two languages academically. Because they switch between languages they develop more flexible approaches to thinking through problems (Diaz, 1985).
How can you promote bilingualism and all its benefits with your child? You can play games with them. Try games where they have to sort items by a certain attribute: like color, shape or size. Ask them questions about the game.
Have a great break and enjoy some time outside! Please call or email if you have any questions about the English Language Development program in TSD.
-Julie Sullivan, ELD teacher
julie.sullivan@thompsonschools.org
(970) 613-6885
Reference: Diaz, R. (1985). The intellectual power of bilingualism. Southwest Hispanic Research Institute. Second language learning by young children. University of New Mexico.