Events & Updates - Young Scholars Academy

Starting Preschool Tips

March 31, 2016 by Young Scholars Academy 1 Comment

For a little one starting preschool, there can be a lot of nerves. In many cases, the first day of preschool is the first time that your little one has been under the supervision of a stranger. This can create separation anxiety.

It can be hard for parents too. Your child’s nerves can induce nerves in you, the parent. You may worry about whether your little one will have separation anxiety, creating a circle of jitters that can be hard to break once started. To help both you and your child deal with the big day, here are some tips for starting preschool.

Get to Know Your Preschool Teacher/Provider

Starting Preschool Tips — Start preschool with smiles, not tears!

Even a little bit of knowledge can help to calm your nerves. This is why it is so important to get to know who is going to be taking care of your children. Make sure you thoroughly research the child care facility your child will be attending. Get to know the staff and ask about their history and training. Most childcare professionals are naturally approachable and would be happy to open up to you. You will be surprised how this can help reduce your concerns.

Now that you are reasonably calm, you can better help your child negotiate any nerves that might come up.

Arrange a Playdate

To help make the first day more familiar for your child, arrange a playdate for your child and another child in the classroom. Even better, enroll your child in a preschool program one of their friends attends.

For children, the playdate exposes them to new children from their class and makes the first day a little more familiar because they already have a buddy –or even a group of buddies- in the class now. This can cut down on the separation anxiety.

Make the whole process fun

Take your child shopping for school supplies and let them pick out a new backpack and their favorite school supplies. While shopping, you can talk to your little one about your first preschool experience and all the fun things they can expect to learn and experience.

Don’t make goodbye too long

This one can be really hard, especially if your little one is upset and bawling as you try to leave on the first day. Your natural instinct is to comfort them. Definitely do this, but don’t drag it out too long. Most children who have fits of tears snap out of it when their parents actually leave. If you stick around too long, you are reinforcing the idea that separation anxiety will only be alleviated by your presence, when the opposite should be the case. And a good childcare provider knows exactly how to get children to calm down by directing their attention to something else.

Starting Preschool at Young Scholars Academy

Young Scholars Academy in Colorado Springs is committed to making the transition for you and your child into preschool life and learning a fun and positive experience. Our professional and caring staff will help your child calm the nerves that can come with such a new experience. Young Scholars Academy encourages parental involvement in all our programs and we welcome you to engage your child’s learning to help ease the anxiety that you both may experience. Come check out our programs and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!

Kindergarten Readiness

March 4, 2016 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

Since that precious moment they were born, your child has been soaking up a lot of knowledge. Much of this knowledge isn’t taught in schools. Though we may not think of it in these terms, something as seemingly simple as learning to crawl and then taking those first steps requires both a tremendous amount of biological development and growth and cognitive acquisition.

By the time a your child reaches three years of age, they are likely talking and interacting with the world and others in ways that are going to have profound effects later in life. At around this stage, you may start thinking about the exciting day that they start their first day of kindergarten. But you may have some concerns about kindergarten readiness. Is your child ready for kindergarten? Below we will examine some of the kindergarten readiness indicators.

Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

The question can cause many parents anxiety, especially if this is their first child to go kindergarten. There are both social and cognitive benchmarks that indicate kindergarten readiness. The social indicators include the ability to play and interact with other children in an appropriate way, an awareness of sharing and taking turns, handling toys and other materials properly and putting them in their proper place. Other behavior indicators include an understanding of basic safety and asking for help when it is needed.

Cognitive and intellectual indicators of kindergarten readiness include the ability to sustain engagement with an activity and a genuine interest in learning. The ability to follow along with the words of a song, form complete sentences most of the time, and has little difficulty with simple puzzles.

For a detailed list of kindergarten readiness indicators, check out this great kindergarten readiness checklist. It will help you track and document your child’s progress towards that first day of school!

Kindergarten Readiness Programs

Kindergarten Readiness programs are a great way to ensure that any gaps in our child’s readiness are filled. Preschool is a great way to prepare your child for kindergarten. Preschool programs have been shown to give kids the social and intellectual skills they need to have a successful kindergarten experience.

Choosing a preschool is not an easy task and it is important that you ensure that you are enrolling your little scholar in a quality preschool experience. Make sure you consider the things that indicate a quality kindergarten readiness program. Here is an article that can help you to choose a good preschool or kindergarten readiness program.

Kindergarten Readiness Programs at Young Scholars Academy

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs is dedicated to providing quality childcare programs with a focus on kindergarten readiness. With a comprehensive set of daycare and childcare programs for infants to school age children, Young Scholars Academy is the place for all your childcare and early childcare education needs. Come check out our kindergarten readiness programs and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!

Benefits of Preschool Education

February 29, 2016 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

Preschool is a unique opportunity for children to learn in ways that they may not ever be able to again. The brain of a preschool age child is at a stage of development where it is structured to quickly adopt new information and utilize it. There is more learning going on in a preschool age child than there is in college students. They are literally absorbing the world around them.

As parents, you want to make sure that you are offering your child the best opportunities for a successful academic future. The first step to giving your children a boost is to enroll them in a quality preschool education program. A quality preschool education program will ignite your child’s curiosity and fuel their life long pursuit of learning. Here’s how:

The Transition: Preschool Education

As the name suggests, “pre” school is supposed to be a training ground for real school. It’s kind of like a bike with training wheels. It has all the parts of a bike. It looks like a bike. But it also has extra supports in case something goes wrong or the rider needs a little balance. Preschool provides the balance and support children need before they are thrown into formal learning.

Without an introduction to formal learning in preschool education, the abrupt beginning of kindergarten can shock and overwhelm a child. Preschool education offers the perfect transition between informal play and formal learning, which will give your child a leg up when they get to kindergarten.

Academic Benefits of Preschool Education

The academic benefits of preschool programs have been well studied and documented. According to a report on the effectiveness of New Mexico’s pre-K initiative released by the National Institute for Early Education Research, four year old participants showed increases in math, early language and literacy skills.

Another study of Oklahoma’s preschool initiative reported that the study results “provide solid support for the benefits that such a program can have on the test scores of young children of differing ethnic and racial groups and from differing socioeconomic backgrounds.” The authors of the study go on to say that “the program appears to have its largest effects on the Letter– Word Identification subtest, which assesses pre-reading abilities; followed by the Spelling subtest, and finally the Applied Problems subtest.” Because of these statistically solid results, the authors conclude that “our research supports the proposition that a universal pre-K program financed by state government and implemented by the public schools can improve pre-reading, prewriting, and pre-numeracy skills for a diverse cross-section of young children.”

Preschool Education at Young Scholars Academy

The preschool programs at Young Scholars Academy in Colorado Springs are both fun and educational! Our goal here at Young Scholars Academy is to challenge the kids but do so in a way that is going to make the most impact (they’re only kids once!) Come check out our preschool program and contact us today! We look forward to hearing from you!

Preschool Music Programs

February 3, 2016 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

Taken by themselves, the benefits of preschool and early childhood education for children are incredible. Children exposed to a preschool setting are given the opportunity to socialize and learn in ways that many children have to wait until kindergarten to explore. Even more, a preschool education coupled with a music education program is highly beneficial for the children who get to participate in them. Music education helps develop the child’s motor and intellectual skills in ways that far exceed the qualities of normal classroom learning.

What are Early Education Music Programs?

Preschool music programs are designed to give young children their first exposure to music as a way of learning. They are also introduced to music as an object of learning. Your child has no doubt by this stage developed an ear for music and perhaps sings along to their favorite songs on repeat, over and over, much to your enjoyment and exhaustion. The next step is to teach the rudiments of music theory. That is what preschool music programs do.

Some Benefits of Preschool Music Programs

According to research compiled by PBS, music education imparts a number of positive benefits on all age groups. In preschool age groups specifically, music programs have been shown to develop the part of the brain involved in language acquisition and speech. Language development, the article continues, is essential for proper social development as well.

Another benefit of preschool music programs has been revealed in measures of intellect. According to the results of a study conducted by E. Glenn Schellenburg at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, six year olds who were given weekly music lessons showed an increase in IQ test scores over children who did not participate in any music education programs. This should come as no surprise. Neuroscience has discovered that the brain of early musicians works more efficiently than that of a non-musician.

Even further, because of the more efficiently functioning brain and neural network of the child exposed to music programs, these children also exhibit improvements in fine motor skills, sound discrimination and spatial temporal skills.

All these subtle benefits of preschool music programs are also displayed academically. According to a 2007 study, students who were involved in music education programs scored 22 points higher in English and 20 percent higher in math scores on standardized tests.

Music Education Programs at Young Scholars Academy

At Young Scholars Academy of Colorado, we are proud to offer quality preschool and school age programs in the Colorado Springs area. The mighty moves program emphasizes the importance of both exercise and music. Our children become active while dancing to music, learning spatial awareness, how to incorporate your 5 senses, stability, loco-motor skills, object manipulation, all while Learning from our Food Friends how to eat healthy! Come check out all our programs and contact us today!

Ideas For Busy Parents For Creative And Healthy School Lunches

January 26, 2016 by Young Scholars Academy Leave a Comment

There is a wealth of information available about the importance of good nutrition in brain functioning. Growing kids, in particular, need to have a balance of complex carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats and of course, all the vitamins and minerals their little body needs.

The good news is that kids that bring their own lunches and snacks to school don’t have to end up with the same old thing every day. There are a lot of simple, quick, and easy ways to make really interesting, tasty and healthy foods your kids will love.

Go Insulated

One of the best things to invest in is an insulated lunch bag. These will be very helpful in keeping cold foods cool, especially when paired with an ice-pack. By placing the ice-pack in a zip-lock bag, you can prevent any problems with leaks and still keep fresh fruits, vegetables, dips, cheeses and meats at the right temperature.

Healthy Lunches and Snacks

For some healthy yet simple to make lunch options besides traditional sandwiches consider the following:

• Turkey or chicken or cheese wraps using lettuce, thin strips of red or yellow peppers, and a bit of salsa rather than mayonnaise.
• Pasta salad with mixed vegetables, cheese, diced hard boiled eggs or even diced ham. Use an Italian dressing for something different or a ranch dressing for a more traditional taste.
• Whole grain crackers with cheese, meat and your kid’s favorite pickles. Each can be packaged separately, and the child can make his or her own “stackers” for some fun finger food.
• Fresh cut vegetables with a dip made of ranch dressing or plain yogurt with fresh or dried herbs. Try some unique vegetable options such as colored bell peppers, purple or orange cauliflower, fennel and sugar peas for variety.
• Cube up fresh fruit and provide a creamy dip. This can be made with vanilla yogurt or any other flavor your child enjoys. Remember, fruit and vegetables should be paired with a protein for energy.
• Homemade trail mix can include dried fruits, berries and nuts depending on your child’s preferences and what the school allows.
• Mini-pretzels with a side of salsa for dipping are a great snack and healthier that chips or sugary treats.

Be sure to check with the school regarding any issues with children having peanuts or other types of nuts or foods in the school. Providing a good selection of different items for the child in the lunch is always a good option, as is having your child help you in choosing what they would like to have.