Events & Updates - Young Scholars Academy

Introducing Financial Peace Junior into Your Home

January 3, 2020 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

As you have probably heard your preschooler talk about Financial Peace Jr. or Junior himself recently, I wanted to give some suggestions on how to incorporate this program into your home. Over the past few weeks the kiddos have been introduced to new financial vocabulary including bank, store, money, work, spend, save, give, and dept. We have presented new concepts to the kids about the financial world and how to distribute money they earn. Lots of wonderful conversations have taken place and they have shown growth in understanding the concept of working and earning money. Bringing this program into your own home is an easy and beneficial system to have in place.

The first step is to establish what jobs or chores you would like your child to do in order to earn money. Working is the first step of the program that we covered. The students all have one job to do for the day, if they choose to do their job-they get paid. If they choose to NOT do their job, they do not get paid. We tried to make the concept super simple—Working = payment. Just as in the real world, when you show up and do your job, you earn a paycheck. So, at home for this area you need to establish chores you and your child agree upon that they will complete and then get paid for. Some chores may be expectations within your family, so they would not be paid. Establish the frequency of the jobs and the payment amount for completing each job as well. Establishing clear guidelines and walking through the entire process will be very helpful to make sure your child understands the expectations and process.

To help keep track of the jobs completed and payment you will want to set up a job chart in your home. You could simply handmake one or find a template you like online. If you want to be able to reuse the chart every week rather than making/printing a new one, just laminate the chart or easily use a page protector for simple wipe off with dry erase markers. Make sure that you and your child are marking the jobs completed or not completed each time. Follow up with conversations if they do not complete their job-What happens next? Do they still get paid? Encourage your child to try again tomorrow and remind them of the motto Hard Work = Money! Follow up with praise and support when jobs are competed! Make it a big deal so they will be eager to continue to do their jobs.

Next, you will need to set up the envelope system of how your child will divide up their money according to the guidelines in FPJ. For the preschool age group at school, the kids can earn $5 a week for doing their job every day. The program encourages them to split up their money as follows: Give-$1, Save $2, Spend $2. Now, this is a newer part of the program we are just now exploring so your child may still be trying to figure splitting up their earnings. Once each envelope gains larger values, spending that money accordingly will follow. Giving could be donating to a local charity, buying supplies to donate to a cause, or buying supplies in order to make something for others. Savings will go to whatever treat your child has had their eye on and spending will go to the little extras they may want to purchase. For example, have your child bring their spending money to the movies, have them take responsibility in buying the candy they want if you agree to only buy popcorn. Setting up the envelope system helps kids to establish how to prioritize their money now, which will greatly help them in the future.

Having your preschooler practice the Financial Peace Jr. program at home not only reinforces what they are learning at school, it is helping to build a foundation for future smart financial making decisions. Why not provide this wonderful opportunity? Bringing this program into your home will be so beneficial for the entire family! Practicing smart money making decisions now, will only lead to bright futures later!

-Ms. Whitney
Curriculum Coordinator
Lead Prekindergarten Teacher

After Christmas Home Cleaning

January 3, 2020 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

After Christmas there seems to always be an enormous amount of clutter! No matter how much you clean up and remove before hand it just seems inevitable. Clutter for me causes stress and just makes everything ten times harder. Don’t give up hope though because there is always a solution. After a couple days and the holidays wrap up, go through the house again with a fresh pair of eyes. Start a checklist to help organize your thoughts on how you want to accomplish the task at hand.

My checklist is split up within a week’s span, each day covering a new area, so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. Monday: toys, Tuesday: clothes, Wednesday: living room, Thursday: family area, Friday: bedroom/selfcare. Obviously lists will differ depending on needs, but the end goal will be the same.

Toys: I separate out broken toys, as well as items that just have not been played with for a while. I make two piles trash and goodwill and sort from there. If your OCD like me, you can label or have a color-coding system for organization. I went with colored bins, Red: Legos, Blue: Action figures, Orange: Cars, Green: Sports equipment and Pink: Dolls. Now for the smaller Legos, I did find a bin with a lid to try and eliminate any lost pieces.

Clothes: separate out by season and then sort into your piles for trash or goodwill. From there I will sort and put away what is not needed for current weather conditions. My system for clothes will be to assign a drawer per clothing item, one for shirts, pants, pajamas, socks and underwear. For my school kiddo I also have a drawer for uniforms. To help keep this organization each drawer has a picture label to identify which item belongs in each one.

Living room: This space should not be so tough it is simply going through picking up any extra items that have not made it to their new home. If I need to add some organization to this area it would be a hook for coats and a shoe rack.

Family area: Ours is used as a play room/ Library. Each shelf is organized by book size, now for the younger kiddos this will be hard but as long as it is kept up with it won’t get out of hand as far as pick up goes. The toy shelf is organized by kiddo, each having one shelf for toys they would like to keep on there. I let them pick and switch out whenever they choose.

Bedroom: Keep this simple and just go through your items like you have done for the kids, organization does not need to be the same just whatever works for you. You should also focus on a little self-care that day, such as a face mask or painting your nails. Just take a little down time for yourself and soak in the work you have just accomplished.

It may seem like a lot of work at first however, if you take it a day at a time you will get through it in a breeze!

-Ms. Brittani
Health & Wellness Coordinator
Lead Preschool Teacher

My Favorite Phrase

January 3, 2020 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

I’ve taught four and five year old children for many many years. I love this age group because I believe that that foundation for learning and the love of learning is firmly established at these ages. Seeing them light up with their accomplishments makes my day. The challenge of a teacher is to keep them challenged. To encourage them to progress without discouraging them. To teach them to keep trying, which can be difficult in a time of instant gratification and giving up is so prevalent. You need to have activities that are challenging yet meaningful and fun.
Most of all you need to present with the right words.

Cutting with scissors is a simple but effective activity. You need to hold them correctly, you need to concentrate. Start with something simple like just cutting paper up. Then move on to cutting lines then shapes. With this activity they build fine motor skills and increased attention span.

Introduce art that isn’t finished in one day. Multiple steps over days increases patience and the level of involvement in the activity.

As you increase the difficulty of the activities you will start to hear the negative inner dialogue of the child verbalized. I can’t do it, I’m bored, It’s to hard. This is the most important part of teaching. Being there to walk and talk them through it.

So what’s my favorite phrase? You can do it.

It doesn’t have to be perfect just try your best. When I have said this it is amazing to see the pressure just melt away and they are re-energized. They push through the frustration and accomplish the goal.

As a teacher and a parent we need to remember it is always about the product but about the process. Allowing then to try without fear of failure always results in a win!

Here’s to a brand new year of growth with our kiddos!

-Ms. Dotty
NAEYC Coordinator
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Goal Setting with Children

January 3, 2020 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

It’s a new year! With a new year comes New Year’s Resolutions. A resolution is a promise that you make to yourself. I don’t know about you, but when I make a resolution, I don’t tend to stick with it after a month or two. Instead of making a resolution, why don’t we focus on goals. A goal is an aim for a desired outcome, striving to achieve something great.

Making goals as a family will help to strengthen your family bonds and teach kids to have ambition at an early age. Achieving goals also helps children to feel a sense of accomplishment. A great way to do this is to have your child make one or two goals for themselves at the beginning of a new year, new season, or even when entering a new transition for the family such as moving or changing schools.

For a child to make and achieve their goals the child must first take ownership with their goal. As a parent, we all have aspirations for our child(ren). But telling a child what their goal should be can be discouraging to the child. There is a difference between telling and guiding. This is where a parent can step in and give proper guidance for the child when goal setting. Ask the child questions to help them decide on a meaningful goal. Explain to them what a goal is and how to set them. While guiding your child, you help them have a voice in their decision, giving them a sense of self and self-worth.

Next, decide on a timeline. How long will it take to meet this goal? Having a timeline helps to motivate the child to keeping to a set schedule by creating a sense of urgency. Be sure to guild the child to a realistic timeline. It takes time to build the habits needed to achieve a goal. Change does not happen overnight.

What steps should the child take to attain their goal and how can you as a parent help your child succeed? The key is to come up with steps to follow to reach their goal. Creating steps helps to be sure there is a map to follow to succeed.

It is necessary to understand why the goal is important. When it is important to the child then he or she will work harder meet their goal, build self-confidence, and reach their full potential. Understanding the importance helps children to have a desire to succeed.

It is not enough to say, “I want to do better in school.” Is there a subject or aspect about school in which the child would like to improve? Let’s say math is a subject of struggle. The goal could then be to improve math by a letter grade or certain percentage. Maybe because a new quarter is starting, the child can set two timelines, one for the quarter and one for the semester. Some steps to improve math scores could be to ask more questions during class, study math facts, and take timed tests to improve speed in answering. Improving in math is important because math is a progression building on skills. First the basics are learned then it builds from there. Having mastery of the skill will help the child to progress successfully throughout all of their school years.

Once your child has decided on a goal, write it down and help them succeed by checking in on them and their steps to achieve their goals.

Ms. Blair
Health & Wellness Coordinator
Lead Preschool Teacher

5 Benefits of Positive Reinforcement in Raising Children

December 20, 2019 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that being a parent is one of the most difficult roles in the world, and if there’s one challenging aspect of parenting, it’s managing your child’s behavior. Behavior management is crucial because we want to raise kids who know how to act and behave appropriately, both at home and in social settings. So how do you manage your child’s behavior? Do you find yourself constantly yelling at your child to call out their misbehavior? Are you often losing your temper and feel like you’re already overwhelmed? If you want to see a change in your child’s behavior, you may want to reconsider your approach. This is where positive reinforcement comes in.

Positive reinforcement is a parenting technique used to encourage obedience and inculcate desired behavior without the use of punishment, threat, abuse, shame, or humiliation. If you haven’t given positive reinforcement a try, here are some of the reasons why it’s time you should.

Positive reinforcement provides long term benefits

While it’s important that children receive the right amount of discipline that doesn’t mean that discipline should involve punitive measures. If you want to encourage a better response from your little one, use positive reinforcement when asking them to perform certain tasks. Positive reinforcement can provide more long-term benefits because it positively impacts a child’s long term behavior. On the other hand, trying to change a child’s behavior by instilling anxiety or fear may result in negative feelings that they may carry as they grow up.

Positive reinforcement develops a child’s character

Young children who are encouraged to behave appropriately by means of positive reinforcement tend to show more positive results in terms of character development than children who are motivated out of fear of punishment. In fact, imposing discipline by using a positive approach even compels children to exceed expectations. Children who are motivated by fear of punishment on the other hand, only comply with minimum effort; they only do the bare minimum so that they can avoid being punished.

Under a system of positive reinforcement, children understand that their good behavior results in positive consequences such as rewards or even mere recognition. This teaches them the value of personal responsibility and self-discipline.

Positive reinforcement makes a child feel loved

Not all children understand the concept of discipline, and they don’t grasp why their parents try to make them behave in certain ways. This is the reason why, when children get punished or reprimanded, they mistake it as a sign that they are not loved, and that their parents simply just want to hurt them for misbehaving. That’s the last thing we as parents want to make our children feel.

Responding to your child’s behavior using a positive approach will make them feel that they are loved and cared for.

Positive reinforcement helps develop a child’s self-esteem

Children who are confident and have healthy self-esteem are the ones who are more likely to find success later in life. By using positive reinforcement, we are making our children feel good about themselves; especially when they have done something right. Instead of feeling terrible and focusing on the things they did wrong, they will realize that they are inherently good and that they can even do better.

Positive reinforcement also teaches children to feel good about their accomplishments and successes – no matter how small they are. Punishment on the other hand, instills in young children a feeling of shame and sense of inferiority, which aren’t helpful in contributing to their happy and healthy growth and development.

Positive reinforcement makes you feel good as a parent

Using punishment or harsh words when disciplining a child can make a parent feel guilty, but you won’t have to feel any guilt when you opt to use a positive approach when instilling discipline. You will see a change in your child’s behavior and attitude without making them feel bad or feeling bad yourself for using force or painful words.

It’s not always easy to find an approach or technique that will be both rewarding for children and parents alike. If you haven’t tried positive reinforcement yet, it’s about time that you do to see how it works wonders for you.

For more helpful parenting tips, or if you’re looking for a good quality preschool, please visit Young Scholars Academy.