Pre-K parent post, May 2007 (10th edition)

THE PRE-K PARENT POST
Ready to learn...Ready for school Activities for Georgia's Pre-K children and families

Tenth Edition

"We live in a busy city neighborhood. How can I help my child appreciate nature?"

In our fast paced world, it takes a real effort to "stop and smell the roses!" The beauty and wonder of nature, however, is everywhere for the young child to discover. Observe with your child how the seasons change a familiar tree, from falling leaves, to bare branches, to tiny green buds, to full flowering leaves or blooms. After a rain, take your child for a "puddle jump" while you watch the sun break through the clouds. Search the sky for a rainbow. Catch "lightning bugs" on a summer's evening, but remember to let them go!
Your child is soaking up the sights, sounds, smells, and touch of nature each day. He is learning about the natural world when caring for plants and animals, feeling changes in the weather, watching bugs, birds and other creatures, and living with people who grow and change. You help his understanding when you explain that living things need food, water, air, and care. As you point out a nest or a cocoon, your child learns that living things need shelter and live in homes that fit their needs.

Your child sees the effects of the weather on living things first hand when the cat's fur coat thickens in cold weather, and the ants seek water in the kitchen in the hot summer! Even without a pet, you can teach your child to care for creatures by spreading bird seed in the winter or returning captured insects to their natural home.
Four-year-olds can also learn that our water, air, and land are precious and should be protected from waste. Let your child help you recycle plastic, cans, bottles, and newspaper. Model how to get rid of trash so that it does not create litter.
When possible, plan special outings, such as a trip to a berry-picking farm, a petting zoo, or the botanical gardens. You can also expand your child's awareness with wonderful picture books about plants, animals, and insects. Whether it's a drive to the country or just a few moments of collecting rocks under the porch, you are helping your child learn to appreciate the wonders of nature!

FEATURED WEB LINK
www.discoveryschool.com A website that gives parents advice on how to help kids enjoy learning.
This website is loaded with science activities.
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Herman and Marguerite: An Earth Story
By Jay O'Callahan/Laura O'Callahan
A shy earthworm and a lonely caterpillar live unhappy, isolated lives until they meet by chance and become fast friends, an event that sets off their joint efforts to restore a brokendown orchard with happiness and song. Spend time with this engrossing and beautifully illustrated story full of facts and activities from a "worms-eye view" of the world, and learn something new together.
Look for this book, or a similar one, at your local public library.

MEANINGFUL MATH
In every neighborhood, you can find small treasures by taking a nature walk. Use a small bag to collect items that you find. Look for leaves, small twigs, and interesting rocks. When you get home, use several small containers, such as old butter tubs to count, classify, and sort the items that you find.
Let's put the leaves in groups by color or size.
Let's sequence the rocks from smallest to biggest.
Let's see if we have more rocks or more leaves.

TAKING WALKS
Read this poem with your child and then go on a walk together!
Taking a walk is for having fun so much to do, so much to say you could lose yourself away when you are taking a walk
Taking a walk is for adventure time to look, time to explore
you will see things never seen before when you are taking a walk
Taking a walk is for finding treasure pennies and bugs and bright shiny things
birds to take care of with injured wings when you are taking a walk

Content Standards: Children will begin to have an understanding of numbers.
Children will sort and classify objects.

Taking a walk is for feeling free free to jump, free to shout free to let the real you out
you will find beauty all about when you are taking a walk.
From Tomorrow is a Brand New Day by Debby Boone and Gabriel Ferrer

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SET UP TO RECYCLE
Use several boxes or bins to set up a recycling area in your home. Let your child draw a picture of what goes in each one such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, newspapers, etc. Let your child take responsibility for throwing items into the proper container.
POCKET BUDDIES
Materials: plastic bag that seals, lima beans, alfalfa, sunflowers, moistened paper towel
Fold a wet paper towel and place it in the plastic bag. Drop in a few seeds. Zip up the bag and place it in the dark (your pocket) so that the seeds will germinate. When a sprout appears, plant it in a cup of soil and keep watching for changes. Here are some other changes to try... Dissolve a powdered soft drink mix in a clear glass of water. Observe the way it changes as you stir. Keep a growth chart to see how tall you are getting. Sit in a spot and draw or take a picture of the same scene (trees, flowers, bushes, lawn) during each season. Compare your pictures. Look at magazines and cut out pictures of people at different ages. Arrange the pictures in order from youngest to oldest.
Content Standard: Uses simple equipment to experiment, observe and increase understanding.
DINING
Don't eliminate cookies from your list of snack foods! Take your favorite cookie recipes and make them more nutritious by:
reducing sugar - Use half the amount of sugar in the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, reduce that amount to one-half cup.
reducing fat - Reduce the amount of fat in the recipe by one-third. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of shortening, oil, or margarine, reduce that amount to two-thirds cup.
adding fiber - Replace all or part of the white flour called for in a recipe with whole-wheat flour or rolled oats put through a blender.
Content Standard: Children understand healthy and safe living practices.
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PARENT SURVEY

Please complete this survey to assist the Georgia Pre-K Program in maintaining an effective home-school connection newsletter. The survey can be faxed to 404-651-7184, attention Resource Coordination Program or responses and additional comments can be e-mailed to lori.smith@decal.state.ga.us.

Please rate the following aspects of the Pre-K Parent Post, using the following rating system.

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2=Somewhat/Moderate

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1. The layout/format is user friendly.____ 2. The activities were easy to do with my child.____ 3. The articles were beneficial and informative to my family.____ 4. The newsletter was received in a timely manner.____

INCLUSION CORNER
Commonly asked Questions about the Americans with Disability Act and child care programs:
1. What types of personal assistance and devices must the child care program staff provide? The ADA makes it clear that child care programs are not required to provide items such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, hearing aids or other personal devices.
2. Is transportation offered by child care programs also covered by the ADA? Yes. If a child care program transports other children in their care, they must transport a child with a special need and make accommodations to do so, including a wheelchair accessible bus or van.
3. Is it legal to be charged extra for the costs of caring for a child with disabilities? No. The ADA is very clear that child care programs may not charge parents of children who have disabilities more than other families are charged. To help defray the costs of compliance, child care programs are allowed to spread the cost to all families in the program.
4. If my child is four and not toilet trained yet, can they deny services to him/her? Generally No. Programs that provide personal services such as diapering or toileting assistance for young children must reasonably modify their policies and provide diapering services for older children who need it due to a disability. Some children will need assistance in transferring to and from the toilet because of mobility or coordination problems. Programs should not consider this type of assistance to be a personal service. Children do not need to be toilet trained to enroll in Georgia's lottery funded Pre-K program.
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning 10 Park Place South, Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30303 404-656-5957 or 1-888-4GA-PREK www.decal.state.ga.us
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