Dear Parents,

The year is progressing quickly and we find ourselves in Spring. The weather is still unpredictable so please have appropriate clothing for your children as we are seeing a wide variation in temperature day to day.

As a reminder to parents, we are preparing for Tax Season so please let us know if you need your statement for 2017. We can provide it to you at your request.

We are drawing closer to the end of the school year and it is time to start thinking about Summer Camp. Registration is underway and the registration form is available at the front desk. Please check with the front office if you have any questions about Summer Camp.

Congratulations to our first Employee of the Month recipients, Ms. Leewitt and Ms. Guoli

Spring Photos are coming up soon and will be March 19^th – March 26^th, please let your child’s teacher know what day you would like.

Our Spring Fund Raising is in full swing. We will continue to have the fund raising until March 15^th. Thank you for your support.

As a reminder, be aware of an extra charge that may appear on your statements. This will be for your annual registration as many are coming up soon. If you have any questions regarding this, please see Ms. Nina or Ms. Riya as we are happy to explain.

Parenting Tip:

10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Play

By: Laurel Bongiorno

1. Children learn through their play.
   Don’t underestimate the value of play. Children learn and develop:

cognitive skills – like math and problem-solving in a pretend grocery store
physical abilities – like balancing blocks and running on the playground
new vocabulary – like the words they need to play with toy dinosaurs
social skills – like playing together in a pretend car wash
literacy skills – like creating a menu for a pretend restaurant

2. Play is healthy.
   Play helps children grow strong and healthy. It also counteracts obesity issues facing many children today.
3. Play reduces stress.
   Play helps your children grow emotionally. It is joyful and provides an outlet for anxiety and stress.
4. Play is more than meets the eye.
   Play is simple and complex. There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules-–to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects: how children learn through play, how outdoor play impacts children’s health, the effects of screen time on play, to the need for recess in the school day.
5. Make time for play.
   As parents, you are the biggest supporters of your children’s learning. You can make sure they have as much time to play as possible during the day to promote cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional development.
6. Play and learning go hand-in-hand.
   They are not separate activities. They are intertwined. Think about them as a science lecture with a lab. Play is the child’s lab.
7. Play outside.
   Remember your own outdoor experiences of building forts, playing on the beach, sledding in the winter, or playing with other children in the neighborhood. Make sure your children create outdoor memories too.
8. There’s a lot to learn about play.
   There’s a lot written on children and play. Here are some NAEYC articles and books about play. David Elkind’s The Power of Play (Da Capo, 2007 reprint) is also a great resource.
9. Trust your own playful instincts.
   Remember as a child how play just came naturally? Give your children time for play and see all that they are capable of when given the opportunity.
10. Play is a child’s context for learning.
    Children practice and reinforce their learning in multiple areas during play. It gives them a place and a time for learning that cannot be achieved through completing a worksheet. For example, in playing restaurant, children write and draw menus, set prices, take orders, and make out checks. Play provides rich learning opportunities and leads to children’s success and self-esteem.

Laurel Bongiorno, PhD, is the director of Champlain College’s graduate program in early childhood education, with specializations in teaching and administration, in Burlington, Vermont. She has taught preschool, directed early childhood programs, and studied parents’ perceptions of preschoolers’ learning through play.

My door is always open, so do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns or suggestions.

Each classroom has provided an update in their classrooms, please click into the individual classrooms to read on this page.

We published our lunch and snack menu for the month at the same time as we publish this newsletter.  Please check out our menu page.

Also, We use Facebook to communicate important news about our center. Please click on this link, like and follow our page:

https://www.facebook.com/longmontpreschool/

Nina Emmer

Director-Sunset Academy