TSD Early Childhood Program
February Newsletter
A Note From Our Administrator...
Greetings, Early Childhood Families!
As we move further into the second semester, I wanted to thank you for your patience and cooperation as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working to keep everyone updated with the information they need.
Early Childhood families can expect the following communication when school cohort closures occur:
● TSD will send out notifications to staff and families directly impacted by a full or partial cohort closure. No school-wide emails will be sent out when a cohort closure occurs.
● Families impacted by a quarantine closure will receive notification from their school. Communication may be sent anytime during the day or evening.
● All families can find an up to date list of which cohorts are closed on our COVID-19 Dashboard HERE.
To be clear, the siblings, parents/guardians or other household members of people who are home from cohort closure do not need to stay home or be tested unless the person in quarantine develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19. Parents should closely monitor all their children and themselves for symptoms.
Those with questions about the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment (LCDHE) process may contact Katie O'Donnell, Larimer County Department of Health and Environment community relations and public information supervisor, at 970-646-1756 or kodonnell@larimer.org.
Thank you for your cooperation and continued support of Early Childhood as we work together to keep our staff and students safe.
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 that is 3 or 4, send them our way! For further information visit our Thompson Integrated Early Childhood web page or contact us at 970-613-5052. For directions on how to apply, please click on this link.
Our next Family PIE meeting will be held on Monday, February 8, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually. Please call us if you have any questions.
Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up! Look for information from your child’s teacher to schedule your conference in late February. As in the fall, these conferences will be held on-line/virtually. We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you your child’s progress.
Happy February!
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
February brings with it cold weather and lots of time inside. Days when little ones cannot go outside can be disappointing and frustrating for our little ones. Why not take advantage of the inside time to work on skills by making Valentines for friends and loved ones. Have your child practice cutting out hearts, writing their name and creating a cherished memory with you. Take the opportunity to visit the post office and talk to them about how our mail system works. Loveland has a special mailbox for Valentines that will receive a unique stamp from the city of Love.
You might also practice drawing and cutting hearts of different shapes and sizes to decorate your home. Talk about how they are the same and different. Sort them by color and size. You might have your child string them on a piece of yarn and create a pattern, pointing out how patterns repeat. Practice counting hearts making sure to say one number for each item counted. Reinforce the concept of quantifying…the last number said is the number of items.
Take advantage of these cold winter days to make some memories with your little ones!
“Celebrate the small things that happen, like seeing someone help another person or noticing a flower blooming or an interesting stone....When we take the time to celebrate the little moments of everyday life, we are nourishing our children...and ourselves."
Mr. Fred Rogers
Amy Gerhard
Education Coordinator
970-613-5078
Social Emotional Learning
February is a month we celebrate love. How can we demonstrate love to our preschoolers? Let’s think about love as an action, something we do, in addition to something we feel.
Physically we can offer hugs, cuddles, gentle/safe wrestling, gentle back rubs at bedtime. We can verbally state “I love you”. Specific praise such as “thank you for helping me put away the folded towels” lets our kids know we value them. Asking kids to help around the house shows them that we need them and want to spend time with them; “will you help me put up this shower curtain?” One of the most important ways to demonstrate love is to play! Get out a board game, put together a puzzle, color together, build with legos, play dress-up, have a dance party! Spending time together is the ultimate show of love.
“Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.” – David Wilkerson
Susan Bartlett, Mary Bowman, Kirsten Coldiron, Emily Vanderwall and Karyn O’Connell
Early Childhood Behavior Support Team
Are you seeing regression in your child’s behavior? You might find this article interesting:
Health & Safety
National Children's Dental Health Month (NCDHM) is observed every February. The American Dental Association (ADA) first observed Children's Dental Health Day on Feb. 8, 1949, and now, it is celebrated all month!
Did You Know?
• A child is at risk for tooth decay as soon as the first tooth starts coming in.
• Tooth decay can be prevented when good oral health habits start early.
Simply by drinking water, Americans can benefit from fluoride's cavity protection whether they are at home, work or school. Trendy drinks are causing a generation of young people to experience decay and loss of tooth enamel unprecedented in modern times.
Overconsumption of sugar-laden, acidic drinks, such as boxed juice, sport drinks and soft drinks, is reversing more than 50 years of public health gains realized through preventive measures like fluoridated water and dental sealants.
From their early years into young adulthood, children are drinking increasing quantities of these sugary, acidic drinks from morning until night. They consume fruit juice at breakfast, soda at lunch and sport drinks or flavored sweet tea or coffee after school.
Drinks Cause Dental Erosion and Decay
Constant drinking attacks the body’s natural ability to cleanse the mouth. The acid in the drinks causes dental erosion. These drinks soften the protective enamel which dissolves then exposes the second layer of tooth. The sugar in the drinks feeds bacteria in the mouth which causes decay. Bacteria have a much easier time eating through soft enamel.
Young people should enjoy the best dental health that modern prevention can offer. Unfortunately this group also has the most to lose in terms of a lifetime dental problems.
Christiana Shorten
Health Coordinator
Family Engagement
VITA FREE Income Tax Preparation
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is available to families or seniors with low income. IRS-certified Tax Preparers can help with income tax preparation at no charge.
Free Tax Preparation Sites:
Aims Community College - 104 E. 4th Street (303) 454-3761 - By appointment only:
go.oncehub.com/aims_loveland
Bring social security card for everyone on tax return, photo ID for taxpayer and spouse, 1095-A if purchased health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado, and all tax documents
If filing jointly, spouse must be present to sign tax return
House of Neighborly Service - 1511 E. 11th Street (drive through and drop off) - By appointment only - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040f45a4a722a7fe3-life1
After you sign up with your email address, you will receive a confirmation email with forms attached
At your appointment time, follow signs at the south entry driveway, masks and required and you must remain in your vehicle
Be sure to ask about the Earned Income Tax Credit. This is a tax credit for working families based on filing status, income level, number of qualifying children and citizenship. For more information, go to: https://getaheadcolorado.org/
Questions? Call (970) 599-1794, visit the website: vitaloveland.org or email: contact@vitaloveland.org
Julie Lindsay - Family & Community Partnership Coordinator
(970) 613-5053
English Language Development
Happy February!
Raising a multilingual learner is not without its challenges. For many years parents were told that switching languages at home could be harmful in the long run for their child’s education.
Recent research has shown that not to be true. Helping your child learn and practice the language you are most comfortable with can build confidence in your early learner. Here is a great website that can give you tools to support your multilingual learner- https://speakyourlanguage.org/families-2/
Also, here is a toolkit for you and your family to support your multilingual child in all levels of their education journey- https://speakyourlanguage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SPEAK-FAMILIES-TOOLKIT-FINAL.pdf
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or comments. Have a great February!
Julie Sullivan, ELD teacher
julie.sullivan@thompsonschools.org
(970) 613-6885
Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) Advisory Council Meeting
Monday, Feb 8, 2021, 12:00 PM
Online
Families Partnering in Education (Family PIE) Meeting for Head Start Families
Monday, Feb 8, 2021, 05:00 PM
Online
NO SCHOOL - All EC Classrooms Friday February 12th and Monday February 15th
NO SCHOOL Half-Day Classrooms - Thursday, February 25th
NO SCHOOL - All EC Classrooms Friday, February 26th
Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences - February 24th & 25th
Save the Date for our HUGS Caring Caravan
If your last name ends in A - L drive through the front drop-off lane anytime between 2pm - 6pm on Wednesday, February 24th
If your last name ends in M - Z drive through the front drop-off lane anytime between 2pm - 6pm on Thursday, February 25th
Your early childhood student(s) will receive special gifts from Hugs, the early childhood program mascot.
Be on the lookout for more information to come!