Events & Updates - Young Scholars Academy

5 Reasons Why You Should Teach Kids About the Great Outdoors—National Great Outdoors Month

June 21, 2018 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

June has been proclaimed as the Great Outdoors Month. This is a perfect time to share the glory of nature with your child!

There are plenty of reasons why you should pack your stuff and enjoy the Great Outdoors with your kids. Here are just a few of them:

Manage Your Kid’s Excessive Use of Technology

There are so many distractions these days competing for your child’s attention. Gadgets, video games, the Internet, you name it, they’re all out there. And you know, once your child gets their hands on any of it, they give it their undivided attention.

There’s nothing wrong with exposing your kids to technology. But too much of anything can negatively impact your kid, physically, socially and emotionally.

What is alarming though, is how children spend so much less time outside the home and seldom interact with kids their age. (Sometimes, they don’t even talk to their own parents!) Technology is creating a reclusive generation who’d rather spend time in front of a mobile phone or a computer monitor. Even recess has been reduced or eliminated at many schools, further reducing the time spent outside.

Want to prevent this gloom and doom horizon? You can, if you manage how your kids use technology. Giving them interesting alternatives such as exploring the Great Outdoors tops the list.

If you have limited time because of work, look into having your child attend a child care program. There are child care centers that offer outdoor activities in their curriculum.

Explore the Grandness of Mother Nature

The US is well known for its majestic outdoors. Go explore some of it! Kids can learn a lot from actual, experiential discovery. Going camping, fishing, or just playing catch in a neighborhood park? Being outside gives you and your child the opportunity to be one with nature.

Imagine your child responding to a live butterfly flying above her head, instead of watching a some video about insects on the web. It’s amazing to see your child discover new things about nature. Better yet, you’re there to teach your kid about nature itself!

Bonding with Family & Friends

This June is the best month to bond with your child together with friends and other family members. During the National Great Outdoors celebration, there are plenty of fun activities you and your child can enjoy, such as:

Boating
Camping
Family Fun
Fishing
Hiking
Stewardship

Ask the director of the child care center your kid is attending if they offer any of these outdoor activities and how you and your kid can make the most of it. Child care centers often align their activities with the Great Outdoors Month celebration, by including field trips to parks and other outdoor activities. And most centers need and appreciate volunteers to join them on these field trips, so ask how you can help!

Spending quality time with your kid this month while being out in nature is a wonderful and enriching experience. Your child is guaranteed to enjoy endless opportunities for adventure, recreation, and renewal of family ties.

Health Benefits

There’s no denying taking long walks outside can result in long-lasting and far-reaching health benefits. Nature offers an opportunity to explore and get active while strengthening our bonds with family.

The health benefits are not just limited to physical health. Sure, climbing a steep hill or backpacking with your kid builds endurance and improves overall physical well-being. But there’s more to physical health when you enjoy the great outdoors, including:

Mental Health Balance

Spending time with your kids outdoors is also beneficial to your own mental health. It’s a wonderful stress reliever especially if you work in an office all day. Hiking, biking, and climbing can help relieve you of the stress that you deal with on a regular basis.

Social Bond Strengthening

People who love the great outdoors or any kind of outdoor activity usually do well at group work. Outdoorsy folks improve their social skills over time and they do so while learning how to effectively work with others.

Imagine what it will be like for your kid.

Encouraging your kid to enjoy nature also gives them important skills, such as team building and problem-solving skills. These will be extremely valuable when she grows up.

Increased Productivity

Believe it or not, people who spend more time outdoors are more productive in their job and personal life. Kids who spend more time with friends playing in the park tend to show more IQ and EQ than those who spend more time tinkering with their gadgets.

They are more motivated to get involved in activities and they bring this “grit” to solve life’s riddles and challenges.

Healthy View of the Environment

By exploring the world, kids develop a deep appreciation of nature. Teaching your child about nature opens their eyes to how important and interconnected the environment is.

Talk to your child about simple, but pressing, environmental issues of the day and teach her how she can make a big difference in her own small way. Besides, big changes take place with small steps.

Contribute to the Local Economy by Boosting Local, Small Businesses

Last, but certainly not least, exploring the great outdoors with your kids can bring great value to local and small businesses in your area. Every time you go out to enjoy nature, you contribute to your local economy’s coffers.

The Great Outdoors Month of June is a time for everyone to share what nature has to offer. It helps heighten your child’s understanding of nature and their place in it. Plus it’s just a great place to relax in!

7 Reasons a Summer Camp Benefits your Child

June 18, 2018 by Young Scholars Academy 2 Comments

Summer camps can provide the most rewarding and memorable experiences in a child’s life. With the help of caring mentors and counselors, a summer program can help develop valuable life skills that will prepare a child for a bigger and brighter future. If you are still contemplating whether to send your child to a summer camp, here are some important reasons why you should.

A summer camp encourages kids to try new things

If this is the first time you’re sending your child to a summer camp, expect them to be pushed out of their comfort zone. It is going to be a whole new environment with lots of different faces. It could be scary at first but it is a perfect opportunity for children to learn how to engage with other kids. A camp pushes and encourages kids to try new experience and activities that they may not be familiar with. This is an excellent time for them to discover new hobbies and interests. Through various activities, kids may just discover something they will excel at.

Camp develops social skills

A summer camp teaches kids to communicate and work with other campers. If your child is the shy type, sending them to a camp can make a big difference when it comes to developing their social skills. In a camp, there won’t be parents or teachers to l guide a child on how to approach others. This means that they will learn how to make friends on their own. They will learn how to be more confident in introducing themselves to other campers.

Going to Camp fosters independence

At a summer camp, children learn how to make decisions without the guidance of their parents. There won’t be moms and dads who will make the decisions for them. They will learn the responsibility of taking care of themselves within the safe environment of the camp and under the safety net of their counselors. As they continue to discover new facets of themselves, they are free to take the risk of finding out what works and what doesn’t. It is in a camp that children, even at a young age, will learn how to overcome their constant parental dependency.

Summer camp teaches the value of hard work

Some children don’t recognize the value of hard work because parents do everything for them. At camp, kids are exposed to various challenges that encourage them to take healthy risks. It teaches them the significance of working hard and never giving up on achieving their goals.

Going to summer camp builds character

Summer camps do not only encourage a child to make friends; they also help campers build the character that will cultivate their relationships. At camp, kids are equipped with the core values of a moral individual, learning about honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Camp gives a child the chance to relax

Of course, camps are not just about learning new skills and developing character. Camps also provide children plenty of opportunities to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Even kids need time to relax and break away from the daily stress of life and school. They also need to unwind, and summer vacation is the perfect time to do it. Camps allow children to make the most of their childhood by giving them the chance to enjoy carefree living and unstructured play.

Attending camp lets your kids unplug

Most kids these days spend a lot of their free time on the screens – watching TV, playing video games on the laptop or mobile phones. While there is nothing wrong with using technology for entertainment, too much screen time isn’t healthy for kids. By sending your child to a summer camp, you’re allowing them to unplug and spend more time for outdoor playing. And that’s exactly what they need.

Summer camps provide great experiences for children to learn and develop skills. Because camps provide several developmental needs for your children, it’s a great time to enroll your child in a summer camp.

Handling Hard Drop Offs

June 14, 2018 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

It’s Not Goodbye… Just See You Later

In the daycare world kids often come across many many changes and growth during their time in care. Kids are growing so fast it’s hard to believe sometimes. So many different milestones are being met, emotions are evolving, and so many wonderful moments are being created within their classrooms.

As children start to get a bit older, they realize and can really feel the change happening around them. During their time in care, children will be transitioning to different classrooms as they mature. Even at a young age, these kiddos know exactly what is going on. They sense your emotions as parents and ours as teachers along with all of their own.

When your child becomes apart of our classrooms, they become apart of us. We are so lucky to spend a huge chunk of our day with them. They really are an extension of our family, our kids. So when its time to make that transition to a new classroom or maybe you are exiting daycare for ‘xyz’ reason, it is so important to make sure as their parents you are preparing them for these changes.

It is important to make sure they are able to express and work through any feelings they may be having about moving to a different classroom or leaving school. This is such a great opportunity to really engage your child to use words to express their emotions.

In some cases, you may not feel like you personally connected deeply with your child’s teacher. But, your child who has spent weeks upon weeks with their teachers may feel very differently. On the other hand, you may absolutely adore and connect with their teacher, and maybe they did not.. at all-haha! Most importantly, it’s not about us. It is about them. So allowing them the chance to communicate their feelings about leaving should be a priority.

While talking with your child about these changes, it’s great to speak with their current and future teachers. Their current teachers should be discussing the upcoming transition as well. Be on the same page; discuss the child’s hesitations and/or excitements together. That way when either party is speaking with the child about the changes they can both address any concerns that the child may have. If you are able, it’s wonderful to meet your child’s future teachers before they enter the new classroom. As the time gets closer, doing a walk-through together and meeting the new teachers is helpful so you both can get a feel for the new environment.

Most important, allow the child to say goodbye. Let them know of their last day in their current classroom so they can gain a small piece of closure. Allow them the opportunity (if they would like) to say goodbye to friends and teachers. Remember, your kiddo has spent weeks after weeks with the same group of friends (some would say family) and they have made some wonderful bonds. It is a happy, sad, exciting, and scary time for some; transitions can sometimes be hard on all of us. Communication is so key here to see that the emotional needs of these kiddos are being met.

Remember, its not goodbye forever. Just see you soon or until next time.
~ Ms. Whitney
Lead Pre-K Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator

Learning in the Summer!

June 7, 2018 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

Summer is my absolute favorite season. I love being outside and feeling the sunshine. Even as a child, summer was something I always looked forward to. Not because of the typical reason of “school is finally out!”, but rather because of the fun, easy going times summertime brings.

Summer ... and the learning continues! — Summer … and the learning continues!

In fact, I’ve always loved school. As a kid, and especially as an adult, I enjoy learning, progressing, and engaging my brain. One of my hopes as a teacher, and as a mother, is to try and pass on my love of education to my son.

So while it is Summer time and I want him to enjoy every minute of it, I also want to show him that learning can happen year round; and it can be fun! ReadingRockets.org offers some great ideas on how to keep up on curriculum during the Summer.

Here are a few I find very easy and very valuable:

1) Incorporate reading and writing into every day:
I personally think this may be the most important step in encouraging academics during the Summer! For our family, reading stories at bedtime is where we get a lot of our daily literacy. I know that during the Summer, bedtimes may be a bit later, therefore the bedtime routine may suffer. However, incorporating that bedtime story every night can be a vital resource to that growing mind!

Choose smaller books, learn to read books, books about Summer, or any kind of book that fits your needs; just make sure you are still reading! Further, one of my favorite things to do when it comes to incorporating fun writing, is writing with nature. Say you go on a hike, you and your children could collect flowers, rocks, leaves, sticks, really anything and see how many letters/words you can create! Journaling about your fun Summer activities is also a great way to keep writing active.

2) Be an active citizen:
Social and emotional growth goes hand-in-hand with academia. Children who are active within their community gain skills in empathy, self-confidence, and problem solving! PBS kids offers a ZOOM program where volunteer resources are offered, different projects to work on, and stories from other children on how community engagement impacted them.

3) “Make cool things”:
Encourage your kids to be hands on! The world of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) is being introduced to more and more school programs each year, and it is great! Pinterest some fun projects you can create based around STEAM, I promise there are so many! And, half of the fun is in trying. If a Pinterest fail happens, use that as a learning opportunity and try it again! STEAM doesn’t have to be boring or limiting, see how creative you and your kids can be this Summer!

While these are only a few suggestions on how to keep learning alive in the Summer, I hope they were valuable. Even more, I hope this inspired you to come up with your own ideas on how to engage kiddos while school is out! Summer learning doesn’t have to be as boring or as daunting as it may seem, just be resourceful and remember to have FUN! Tag or comment with us your favorite summer learning activities!

-Ms. Caitlin
Wellness Coordinator

Parent-Teacher Relationships

May 28, 2018 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

parent-teacher partnerships are important! — Parent-teacher partnerships are important!

As a teacher, I’ve always told the parents that I interact with that I am here to work with them as a teammate. I want to see their child succeed and I want to work along side the parent to make sure there is consistency on behalf of the child. Having a successful parent-teacher partnership holds some important value, as well.

According to PBS, having a positive parent-teacher relationship can lead to success in school. It shows that your child can trust his teacher, because you do. Now I get it, there will be times when you don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with your child’s teacher; but we both still want that end goal of success in school. So what can we do?

Here are some steps to make sure the parents and the teachers are all a part of one team.

1. Communication: This step easily creates a gateway of opportunities for success. I like to tell myself “if you don’t ask, you won’t receive”. If I need to know something in order to benefit my student (for example, their schedule), I need to ask in order to get my information. I would like to think that the same goes for the parents, as well.

If the parent wants/needs to know details about what is going on in school, or maybe the parent wishes to talk about options regarding optimal learning, the parent needs to approach the teacher. There are many communication styles available these days; from email, phone calls, conferences, and messaging, the team is bound to find a mode of communication that works best for them.

2. Relationships: According to guidance counselor, Linda Lendman, “this is one of the first relationships with an adult your child may have outside of the family unit.” This means that you are helping your child build a skill of learning how relationships work, develop, and unfold.

Come to this parent-teacher relationship with respect and watch how your child’s relationship with their teacher develops. You child spends a lot of time in the classroom, and you want them to have a positive experience, without possible negative predispositions about the adult role model in the room.

3. Remember your own experiences: Think on your own elementary experiences and I am sure you will remember teachers you both liked and disliked. Try and keep that in mind when working with your child’s teachers. When your child is in a class with someone you connect with, that is a great set up for a positive parent-teacher relationship!

However, if you find yourself not necessarily agreeing with the teacher, take a step back and remember the goal: success in a positive school environment. Remember to respectfully ask for what it is you want/need on behalf of your child. Understand that there will always be people you and your child won’t agree with, but how are you going to use this as a learning opportunity in fostering positive/meaningful relationships.

I truly hope these steps help you find peace in knowing that successful parent-teacher relationships are attainable. This relationship will take attention, time, and work, just like any other but it can be so rewarding in the benefits your child will see. As a teacher, I want you to know that we are all in it together, we’re a team!

~Ms. Caitlin
Wellness Coordinator
Lead Floater

Manage Your Kid’s Excessive Use of Technology

Explore the Grandness of Mother Nature

Bonding with Family & Friends

Health Benefits

Contribute to the Local Economy by Boosting Local, Small Businesses