Events & Updates - Young Scholars Academy

Finding the Perfect Preschool Program

September 5, 2017 by Young Scholars Academy 3 Comments

Looking for The Perfect Preschool Program? It’s out there!

Preschool program Young Scholars Academy — Kids love doing art!

I had decided that it was time to move away from the comfort zone of a small mountain town. Boy did I have a lot to do! New home, new doctor but most importantly- to find the perfect preschool for my son.

As an early childhood educator myself, I I had “standards” many people didn’t think about. I want to share with you key things to consider when picking out a new preschool for your family!

Identify Your Priorities

When considering a new, or first, preschool program finding your “must haves” is step one. Consider the distance between your home and/or work and what would be best for you. What are the start and end times of your day (and your child’s.) Think about whether you want to commute. Commuting for a minute fit my family so I didn’t mind driving to the best preschool.

Further, be sure to identify the amount of care you will be needing. Are you looking for part time, full time, before/after school, drop in, or something else? Find a program that understands what you need and can work with those accommodations.

The Curriculum…duh!

Any quality preschool program is going to have a top-notch curriculum program! Something to consider is, “Do they teach like I parent?” Consistency is key for brain development, don’t forget this! Curriculum offers more than a learning atmosphere. A class schedule should be posted visually for both parents and kids to see. Ultimately you want a curriculum that focuses on both academics, time for exploration and individual growth.

Also consider what is included within the curriculum. Are you wanting to be sure your child has ample time to explore art? Would you prefer a specific learning approach that you know would work best for your kiddo? These are all things you may want to look into before hand to lessen the stress on your shoulders.

Ask for References

One of the best forms of reassurance is word-of-mouth! Ask your friends, family, or even your coworkers who have experience in choosing a preschool for advice on where to go. (A great place to look is Facebook groups for moms!)

Most of the time they can share real life experiences with you that may benefit your decision. You may even want to consider doing a little research yourself on the school(s) you are considering. Ask other parents why they chose (or didn’t choose) a specific program and look into their websites to look at reviews.

Great tool you can use is the Child Care Aware Hotline! Call (800-424-2246) they will give you licensed preschools in your area. These programs provide peace of mind knowing about programs affiliated with state standards

Consider a NAEYC-Accredited Program

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a process that a center goes through to get the highest quality stamp. NAEYC holds teachers and establishments at high standards in all areas of development and community. NAEYC wants to ensure your family receives the absolute best early childhood.

(As a side note, I am proud to say my son attends one of the only NAEYC accredited preschools in Colorado, Young Scholars Academy!)

Schedule a Visit!

Make sure you set a time to go and explore your different preschool options. Put the school through a “kid test” and see how your child reacts to the environment. Be sure you ask any and ALL questions you may have! This will ease your worries and you will get a feel on how the staff will treat you. Pay attention to the language used by teachers within the classroom,routine of the classroom, and discipline policies. Go and see for yourself how the values of the preschool align with your parenting style to be sure you are getting the best, consistent fit!

These are all things I considered when deciding to put my son in a new school environment. There were certain things I knew I must have when choosing a new preschool and I was sure to write them all down. I wrote down all my wants, needs, and questions and brought it with me when I went to check it out for the first time.

By knowing ahead of time what I was looking for, I was able to ease the chaos of finding the perfect preschool!

Back to School Tips for Preschool Parents: 11 Ways to Help Your Child Settle In

August 31, 2017 by Admin Leave a Comment

As the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer come to an end, your countdown to school begins. With last minute trips to Red Rock Canyon and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, you may want to start preparing your little one for the transition back to preschool. Here are 11 back to school tips for preschool parents to help with the transition.

Adjust Your Alarm Clock

back to school ideas for parents — Adjust your clock to the school year

The start of preschool brings a return to early rising. A week or two before their first day, try setting the alarm clock fifteen minutes earlier each day. This lets you gradually adapt yourselves to an earlier wake up call.

Adjust Your Routine

Of all back to school ideas for parents, gradually shifting your daily routine to the preschool schedule may be the most helpful. Get your child into the habit of changing into a daytime outfit as soon as they get out of bed in the morning. Do the same with teeth brushing and other good self-care habits.

Read Books About Preschool

Children’s books can provide helpful tips for preschool students in story form. For example, the book Llama Llama Misses Mama teaches children how to cope with a new teacher, new toys, and lots of noise. Pick up a few books that tackle the subject of preschool from different angles. Read these books with your child. Then take the opportunity to answer any questions or concerns the books bring up for your child.

Use Your Words

You and your preschooler may experience big emotions during the return to school. Practice naming those emotions with your child, to avoid acting out in unhealthy ways. For example, if your child can tell her teacher she feels afraid, it will be easier to address that fear. If she expresses that fear by biting a peer or throwing a tantrum, things may get more complicated.

Get the Lay of the Land

Visit your child’s preschool and meet his teacher before the first day of school. Even at a trustworthy preschool in Colorado Springs, it can be difficult for teachers to get acquainted with your child’s specific needs. As well as areas of gifting unless they can chat with you apart from the hectic drop-off and pick-up times at school. ????

Practice Independence

You will not be able to hold your child’s hand throughout the day at preschool. Increase age-appropriate independence during the final days of summer. Teach your child to clean up after themselves. Also, practice simple conflict resolution and how to dress themselves.

Shop Smart

Take your preschooler with you to shop for these preschool essentials:

Lunchbox
Folder
Blanket/Pillow for Naptime

Buy items your child will be proud to bring to school each day. Also, buy items in multiples to avoid meltdowns if a favorite school item should happen to get lost.

Be Consistent

Arrive on time for drop-off and pick-up each day at school. This will give your child one less thing to worry about during the day. Consistency will also make you a favorite to your child’s preschool teacher.

Volunteer

how to get ready for school after a break — Make your child excited to go to school

Volunteer from time to time at your child’s school. Parent volunteers are in high demand at preschools, so it should be easy to spend a few hours at your child’s school each week. This will reduce separation anxiety for your child.

Spend Quality Time

Preschool will reduce the amount of quality time you get to spend with your preschooler each day. Make sure to have at least fifteen uninterrupted minutes per day with your child. This is to keep your bond strong. Quality time will build your child’s confidence at school, and empower them to be their very best. Back to school tips for preschool parents should make your relationship with your preschooler stronger.

Get Excited!

As you learn how to get ready for school after a break, don’t forget to show your enthusiasm for your child’s preschool program! Ask your child to share her favorite moments from school each day. The more your child gets reinforced in her love for school, the easier it will be to spend time there each day.

August is National Eye Exam Month: 5 Ways Eye Health Affects Your Child’s Performance in School

August 22, 2017 by Admin Leave a Comment

August is National Eye Exam Month, it is also the month most kids get ready to go back to school. With both things in mind, getting a comprehensive eye exam should be on your back-to-school checklist.

As a child’s body grows, their eyes go through changes. Sometimes, these changes are gradual. So gradual, that the child gets used to the change without noticing it. Your child may not have any problems with blurry vision or headaches. An annual back to school eye exam will ensure your child’s health, development and school performance. In the spirit of National Eye Exam Month. Here is how eye health affects your child.

School Performance

pediatric vision test — Take your child for an eye test before school opens

The most obvious reason to have an annual exam is to ensure your child can do well in school. If your child cannot see at a distance, they will miss out on critical information presented on a board or screen. For kids who cannot see things close up, reading and written assignments become a challenge.

You may only detect a problem when your child’s grades start to slip. Having an annual exam will detect eye issues before school even starts. It should become a normal part of your back-to-school routine.

Eye Problems Cause Other Problems

Children who have eye problems often have other physical symptoms. Eye strain can trigger headaches. They may start out as mild but if the vision problems get worse, the headaches will get worse as well. This can interfere with the child’s school performance, sleep patterns and other daily tasks. Tired eyes are another physical symptom. As the child squints to clarify their vision, the muscles around the eyes will grow tired. This only adds to the problem by causing blurry vision and eye irritation.

Intellectual and Social Development Suffers

If left untreated, eye problems can start to affect more than the physical part of your child’s life. Their intellectual development will start to slow down as school work becomes more of a problem. Your child will start performing below their potential. This can snowball if not treated.
Social development can also suffer with eye problems. Kids use their eyes to pick up on non-verbal social cues. If the kids cannot pick up those social cues, they may experience embarrassing social situations. For some kids, it may cause social withdrawal.

Frustration with Learning

Children can experience intense frustration if they cannot keep up with their peers. It can severely hinder the child’s desire to learn new things. This can cause major problems in both the short and long-term. Short-term the child may start refusing to complete homework, assignments or tests. They may leave reading and writing assignments undone. Long-term, the child may develop the mindset that, if learning is so hard, why do it? It only causes frustration. That kind of mindset is very difficult to change once it’s learned.

Some Eye Problems are More Serious than Others

Near and farsightedness are serious issues for anyone. However, they are not the only eye problems that your child may experience:

Amblyopia is often referred to as “lazy eye” It occurs when poor vision develops in only one eye. The stronger eye overcompensates and the other eye gets weaker.
Strabismus refers to misaligned eyes. Some misalignments are quite noticeable, with one eye being strongly turned away from the other. Some misalignments are more subtle and may be harder to detect.
Ptosis happens when the eyelid droops over the eye, blocking part or all the vision in the effected eye.
Cataracts can occur in children as well as older adults.
Blocked Tear Ducts can cause eyes to be constantly teary or have a chronic infection.
Chalazion appears as a lump on the eyelid. It’s caused by a blocked oil gland.

Schedule Your Child’s Eye Exam Today

To avoid all these issues, you need to get your child in for a pediatric vision test. All it takes is a quick call to set the appointment. The back to school vision exam will only take a few minutes and is time well spent. If the children’s eye doctor says everything is fine, you can let them go to school without worry. If there is a problem, you can get it treated immediately. That way, your child won’t have to deal with the side effects and can concentrate on doing well in school. And that’s a great way to celebrate National Eye Exam Month.

Work Week Time Involvement

August 15, 2017 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

We all have our moments where we don’t want to be bothered as soon as we come home from a long day. We just want a couple minutes to ourselves to wash away the people who gave us attitude, and who used the toilet paper without refilling it. At the same time, we then feel guilty for not spending that time with our kids.

We get so caught up in our world thinking that we are tired for working FOR our kids to have nice lives, but then we become absent at home. So how do you find balance?

There are those that say you will never find balance, that life is always going to raise you up then knock you down and the cycle will endlessly repeat itself. But there are things you can do to help transition from employee to dad/mom.

Talk to your kids! Ask them “Would you like to hear about my day?” on the car ride home, I can almost guarantee that they will not understand, of course but they will listen to you. You are then able to release all the negative energy you had from the day and not think about it because you just spilled your guts to a 2-year-old. Even if you must over talk them, just do it.

All the kiddos need is your involvement, they want to see you happy and kids can feed off our vibes.
It is a tricky line to find, to be engaged with our children and their lives, yes nobody said it was easy. Being an engaged parent has many benefits for a child such as, increasing feelings of love and acceptance, building self-confidence, and providing guidance and opportunities to grow.
Think about your kids’ day too!

Be random. Take your kiddo out not only when he\she has a awesome day at school; what about a date with your little one because their having a rough day? Give them random kisses and hugs (which never get old to them!).

Make the effort. Obviously we can’t be around our kiddos 24/7. But of all the ways to be involved, trying is CRUCIAL. If it’s taking 10 minutes to kick around a ball in the background, it could turn into something and a memory that your child will remember. It just takes one step!

~Ms. Tenesha
Safety & Health Coordinator

5 Alternatives to “Time Out”

August 12, 2017 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

Time Out alternatives | Young Scholars Academy — Need alternatives to Time Out”? We have ’em!

Do you sometimes feel like “time out” just isn’t working? You keep putting your child in time out, and she keeps doing the same thing over and over.

Wondering what you can do instead of “time out” to teach your child the differences between right and wrong? There are alternatives!

Here are some you can utilize during your next meltdown!

Describing Feelings. Sometimes just helping her describe her feelings helps. Children act out and do things they shouldn’t because they are frustrated and unable to describe what they are feeling. Acknowledging their feelings and giving them a name for their feelings can help them to feel less frustrated. Instead of jumping in and telling them they need to apologize and yelling at them that they can’t do that, stop and acknowledge that they are frustrated, angry or sad and explain to them that it is okay to feel that way that they just can’t behave in that way. This helps them to understand their feelings.

Express Feelings in a New Way. Teaching her a different way to express her feelings is another way to help her. Once you’ve helped your child describe her feelings it’s time to help her deal with them in a more constructive manner. If your child is hitting because she is angry that someone has taken her toy away, acknowledge that she is angry and give an alternative to hitting you or someone else. Tell her, “I know you are angry that your toy was taken away from you, but I can’t let you hit someone. Try hitting this pillow instead.” Make sure you let your child know that you still love them and that she hasn’t lost your approval. There are more acceptable ways to express your anger than hitting someone.

Tune into Feelings. Teaching a child to tune into their feelings instead of just offering praise when they do something good is another alternative to time out. Prevent the behavior before it begins. “How did it feel when you helped pick up your toys?” This helps her to start thinking about her feelings and stay in touch with those feelings. If children are more in touch with their feelings they are less likely to act out.

Stay and Listen. Stay and listen to them when they are really upset. When a child is very upset they are not going to understand or listen to reasons they shouldn’t behave a certain way. They are not going to understand why they are in time out. They just know that they are upset. Let them know that you are there. Rub their back, if they don’t mind the touch, and just sit and listen to them. Do not push them and expect them to get over it quickly, just sit with them until they are calm. This will let them know that you are there for them no matter what and that you love them always. It also lets them know that you can handle their emotions.

Redirection. Redirection is also a great way to keep them from doing something that they shouldn’t be doing. If your child is doing something unsafe you certainly want to teach them that it is unsafe but making a big scene isn’t going to get the message across that it isn’t okay. For example if your child is climbing near the stove you can calmly tell them, “You’re a great climber, but you can get a big boo-boo if you climb there.” Then you can take them to a safe place to practice climbing like the couch or a pile of pillows. “If you want to climb here is a safe place to do that.”

Many times children misbehave because they don’t understand their feelings or ways to express those feelings. Helping them understand their feelings and way to express them safely is a great alternative to time outs and prevents the bad behavior in the long run.

So I encourage you to try out the new tactics and just see how they do!
Thanks for reading, hope this helps!

-Ms. Cheryl
Literacy Leader
Totally Awesome Toddler Teacher