August 2011 newsletter

-March/April 2011

April Newsletter {click to open Read-Only Word Document}

-January 2011-

Benson Hill Newsletter January 2011 - {click to open PDF file}

-November/December 2010 -

Hello BHCP Families:

Playground Progress: It has been so exciting watching all the changes take place outside on the playground. It is really turning in to a “playscape”. For a playground to be considered a “playscape” the space should be as natural as possible. Using native plants, rolling hills, and lots of trees, playscapes represent a natural place such as a forest. They are designed with the intent of bringing children and people back to nature. Playscapes offer a wide range of open-ended play options that allow children to be creative and use their imagination. There are a few special people to recognize for making all these changes possible: Michael Bolling, Jeremy Wilson, Danny Pope, and Burt Valencia.

Special Committees: This winter we have a few committees that we could use help with: The Budget Review Committee and Policy and Procedures Committee. Volunteering for a committee is a great way to get involved and we would love the extra help. If anyone is interested they can email Danielle or Lesley.

Winter Break and School Closures: The preschool will be closed December 20th through the 31st for Winter Break. Classes will resume on Monday, January 3rd. In case of inclement weather we follow the Kent School District. If local news states that Kent School District schools are running late or closed due to weather, All BHCP classes will be cancelled for the day. An additional source for school closure information is: http://schoolreport.org/

Green River Updates:

Thank you to all families who participated in the PAC Scholarship Fundraiser for original works. Your items are due to arrive the second week of December.
Winter Quarter Registration will begin soon. You can bring your check made out to GRCC for $26.00 to class and Register with Bonnie or compete the registration process online.
Parent Ed at Kent Station – 3s and Pre-K families will have parent ed. at the GRCC location at Kent Station: Tuesday, November 30th. Time: 7pm. Toddler and Two’s families are invited too. The topic is Friends, Families, and Relationships. Remember no children including infants are allowed at GRCC Kent Station.

Winter Social: This year, the Winter Social is being held on Monday, December 6th. It is an adult only event with social time from 6:30 – 7:00 and a speaker from 7:00 – 8:00.

This year’s guest speaker is Jocelyn Manzanarez, who is a Tahoma Co-op parent who runs a business called Musically Minded. She’ll be speaking about literacy through music. “Jocelyn started Musically Minded, Inc., with the hope of reaching the very youngest students and awakening their inner musician. Her mission is “to provide and open-minded, innovative, purposeful and passionate approach to early childhood education for young children in the greater Seattle area.”

Scholastic Book Orders: Don’t forget to take a look at the Scholastic book catalogs that are placed in mailboxes. Scholastic publishes wonderful books for children. Ordering through Scholastic is a great way for the school to earn books as well. We’re also hoping to use the points we earn from book orders to put together a fantastic basket for the auction at the end of the year.

The next book order will be placed on December 3rd.

Mom’s Day Out Program: We are cross-promoting with the local Mom’s Day out program. They still have openings if you are interested in getting an extra day each week to yourself! The cut-off birthday for each level is August 31st. Each family gets one drop-off day per week, the program is from 9-12 each morning. Parents are responsible for two helper days per child. Openings are as follows:

Wednesday Level 2 (ages 2.5-3.5) – 2 spots
Level 3 (ages 3.5 and up) – 1 spot
Thursday level 2 – 1 spot
Friday Level 0 (6 months – 18 months) – 2 spots, Level 2 – 1 spots, Level 3 – 3 spots

Interested parties can e-mail Kristy Fassio at kkfassio@comcast for more information or for a registration sheet. Cost to register is $42 and tuition is $42 per month.

Kudos: More Special Thanks to:

Krista Earl, Katie Valencia, and Jolene Irons For subbing during Deana’s vacation and Joanne’s sickness

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- October 2010 -

Hello BHCP Families,

The school year is in full swing now and there are all sorts of exciting events. New families: we welcome you and understand that this can be an overwhelming time of year. You may have questions about fundraisers, cleaning nights, classroom procedures, etc. Rest assured that class chairs, teachers, and returning families are more than happy to answer any questions. We’ve all been in your shoes! The Parent Handbook (available on the school website: http://bensonhillcoop.org) is also a good resource for you. Please remember to check your boxes for mail each week so as not to miss important information: book orders, fundraising paperwork, tuition envelopes, etc.

Fall Fundraisers: There are 2 big opportunities this fall to fulfill or exceed your fundraising requirement for the year. Entertainment books are being sold now and until October 22^nd. Each book sold for $25 will satisfy $12.50 toward your goal. Also, it’s not too early to start thinking about the holidays. Tell your family and friends about our Poinsettias and Wreaths fundraiser. They are grown locally and of higher quality than what you will find in most stores. Order forms were distributed at orientation. Please let your class fundraiser know if you need another order form.

GRCC’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC) has a scholarship fund to help support families in need throughout each of the co-ops affiliated with GRCC, and to help build up that fund there is a wonderful voluntary** fundraiser with Original Works that we can all participate in. Our teachers will be providing time for your child to make something on the special paper. Then inside each of your parent mailboxes you will find a green plastic bag with all the information you need to order items **Please be aware the total collected from this fundraiser does not apply towards your yearly fundraising total for Benson Hill Co-op Preschool. This is a separate fund-raiser offered by the Parent Advisory Council.

Playground: A HUGE heartfelt thank you goes to Joanne Garrott and Kathi Charlton for their endless hours spent working on our playground. It looks fantastic. Also, a very special thank you to Mark Duppenthaler for all of his backhoe work. What a gem he was for giving all that time, equipment use and expertise to our school!

**We will host the next “Playscape Work Party” on Saturday, October 16^th at 10am. If you can volunteer for even an hour or two, it would be greatly appreciated.**

Cleaning Nights: All parents must attend one cleaning night per year. They are scheduled for the first Wednesday of each month. If you can’t make the scheduled night for your class there will be some make up sessions.

It is wonderful to see the children discovering the world around them, especially at this time of year when there is so much to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. We look forward to an autumn full of learning!

- September 2010 -

We welcome all new and returning families to BHCP this 2010-1011 school year. Please check your email for information regarding orientation, parent-only nights, and slow start dates in September. We’ll be in the classroom before you know it!

Coop preschool is rooted in early childhood research indicates which indicates that young children learn best through play. In the process of exploring and manipulating materials in their environment, they gain an understanding of their world. Young children are natural learners whose curiosity and desire to make sense of their world leads to spontaneous, self-directed learning.

The following article provides a guide for parents to help foster learning through creative play. Parents will notice many of these strategies frequently used in BHCP classrooms!

___________________

* From: National Network for Child Care -
NNCC. (1993). Creative play helps children grow. In M. Lopes (Ed.)
CareGiver News (October, p. 3). Amherst, MA: University of
Massachusetts Cooperative Extension.

Creative Play Helps Children Grow!

Every child is born with creative potential, but this potential may be stifled if care is not taken to nurture and stimulate creativity. Creativity shows one’s uniqueness. It is the individual saying: “I can be; I can do.” Isn’t this what we want for our children? Creativity is the ability to see things in a new and unusual light, to see problems that no one else may even realize exist, and then come up with new, unusual, and effective solutions to these problems.

WAYS TO STRENGTHEN A CHILD’S CREATIVITY

Relax the controls. Adults who constantly exert supervision and control diminish the spontaneity and self-confidence that are essential to the creative spirit.

Inspire perseverance. All the creative energy in the world is useless if the product is not seen through to completion. Show appreciation for a child’s efforts. Suppress the impulse to accomplish tasks for children.

Tolerate the “offbeat.” Let children know that it is not always critical to have the “correct” answer to the problem – that novel, innovative, and unique approaches are valued as well.

Provide a creative atmosphere. Creative materials should be available to the young child for his use. Some of the basic equipment includes books, records, drawing materials, objects to make sounds with, clay, and blocks. Toys for imagining: Supply preschoolers with unstructured toys and materials. Provide the child with toys that can become a variety of things. Be careful about discouraging daydreaming. Daydreaming is really an imagery process. Some of what goes on in the name of daydreaming is really problem solving.

Planning and problem-solving. Encourage creative problem solving in a variety of ways. Teach a youngster to look at alternatives, evaluate them, and then decide how to carry them out successfully.

Offer – but do not pressure. Resist the temptation to overcrowd children with organized activities in an attempt to cultivate their creativity. Allow the child time to be alone to develop the creativity that is innate in all of us.

CREATIVE GAMES

OBJECT CREATION
Have the children create a “machine” piece by piece. Some players become parts that move and make noise, while other players operate the machine. Others can then guess what it is. Try making a lawnmower with people as wheels, body, and handle, and have another player push it. Everyone can join in the sound effects as it tackles the lawn. More good objects to role play: eggbeater, record player, garbage disposal, toaster, pencil sharpener, and water fountain.

CONTINUING STORY
Someone starts a story and each person adds a part.

CREATIVE DRAMATIC PLAY
One of the best ways children have to express themselves is through creative dramatic play. Here they feel free to express their inner feelings. It occurs daily in the lives of young children, as they
constantly imitate the people, animals, and machines in their world. It helps them understand and deal with the world. Stimulate this spontaneous kind of drama by providing simple props and encouragement.

Animal Cracker Game – Child chooses one cracker; looks at it; then eats it. Then the child becomes that animal for 1-2 minutes.

Read a story and then act it out.

Puppets

CREATIVE MOVEMENT

A child can develop and express his or her personality in his own way – pretending to be animals, snowflakes, fairies, giants, snails, mice, etc.

Role playing family happenings, everyday activities such as a visit to the doctor, store or bank, day care situations, etc., stimulates creative thinking and is a good way to help children see the viewpoints of others, help them explore their own feelings, and handle their emotions.

The following are some creative play activities that require the use of
large muscles and help in the development of those muscles:

Follow the Leader - The leader child moves freely about. He or she may
imitate animals, hop, skip, or whatever. The others must follow the
leader and act as the leader does.

Guess What I Am? - Without saying a word, a child tries to act out the
movements of some object. Suggestions include an airplane making a
landing, a rooster strutting around the barnyard, a cement truck dumping
its load, a clock telling the time of day. The child may think up
things to do, or the teacher may whisper suggestions.

Building with Sand, Mud and Clay - Children use large muscles to build
sand mounds with moats around them. Sand pies and sand forts can be
built in a sandbox, on a sand table, or at the beach. Children use mud
to make large structures. Clay is also used to create structures and
shapes.

CREATIVE QUESTIONING

Ask open-ended questions: Show the child a picture, then ask questions to stimulate and create a thinking atmosphere, for example: What are the people in the picture doing? What are the people saying? What would happen if …?

Ask children to use their senses: Young children may often have their creative talents stretched by asking them to use their senses in an unusual way.

Have children close their eyes and then guess what you have placed in their hands – a piece of foam rubber, a small rock, etc.
Have children close their eyes and guess at what they hear – use such sounds as shuffling cards, jingling coins, rubbing sandpaper, ripping paper, etc.

Ask children about changes: One way to help children to think more creatively is to ask them to change things to make them the way they would like them to be, for example:

What would taste better if it were sweeter?
What would be nicer if it were smaller?
What would be more fun if it were faster?
What would be better if it were quieter?
What would be happier if it were bigger?
What could be more exciting if it went backwards?

Ask questions with lots of answers. Any time you ask a child a question which requires a variety of answers, you are aiding creative thinking skills. Here are some examples using the concept of water:

What are some of the uses of water?
What floats in water?
How does water help us?
Why is cold water cold?
What always stays underwater?
What are the different colors that water can be?

Other concepts: fire, sand, cars, smoke, ice

Ask “What would happen if…” questions. These questions are fun to ask and allow the children to really use their imaginations. Here are some:

What would happen if all the trees in the world were blue?
What would happen if all the cars were gone?
What would happen if everybody wore the same clothes?
What would happen if you could fly?
What would happen if no one cleaned the house?

Ask “In how many different ways…” questions. These questions also extend a child’s creative thinking.

In how many different ways could a spoon be used?
In how many different ways could a button be used?
In how many different ways could a string be used?

- July/August 2010 -

Summer days are wonderful in so many ways. School is out, the evenings are long, the weather is warm, and parents and children are ready to cut loose. These elements combined are often a perfect recipe for fun. However, there are some days when we find ourselves stuck in the same old routine and need to jazz things up a bit. So, if you’re looking for things to do in the area, these websites are chalk full of ideas for you and your family as you anticipate the first day of school again:

Ruby Slipper Guide: http://rubyslipperguide.com/

Red Tricycle: http://www.redtri.com/category/seattle/

Benson Hill Cooperative Preschool

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