May 2013 Parent Post
Garden News
I'm still holding out hope that the weather will change and bring us some nice, warm, sunny days. With that optimism, I'm keeping the date for our Family Planting Day for Saturday, May 18th from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The raindate (or cold-weather date) will be Saturday, May 25th, from 9:00-noon. But...please be prepared to switch the dates if the weather does not improve.
Please bring seed and plant donations for the garden by Wednesday, May 15th. Thank you!
We maintain the garden during Family Gardening Time. In the past, we have gardened on Mondays and Thursdays in the late afternoon. We're going to try something different this year. Family Gardening Times will be Mondays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 9:30-10:30 a.m. We're hoping that this schedule provides opportunities for more families to be included.
We also made plans to add a few new items to the garden that will be elements of for play for the children. You'll just have to wait to see!
We scheduled two events for in the garden: The Summer Garden Kick-off on Monday, June 10th from 4:30-5:30. We will serve ice cream with strawberries (hopefully!) from the garden that evening. We will also host Water Play Day on Monday, July 15th from 4:30-5:30. For those of you who came to water play last summer, you will remember that the children are in charge of the hoses...no one goes home dry! On the evening of Monday, June 10th, we will ask for more ideas from all of you for other special garden events to add to the summer months.
Block Party
We will hold our annual Block Party ...our end of the year picnic...at noon on Friday, June 7th. A sign-up sheet for attendance at the picnic and for donations for the meal are on the front counter. Your child does not need to be in "official" attendance on this day for your family to participate...everyone is welcome.
Annual Meeting
We will hold our Annual Parent Meeting on Friday, May 10th at noon at the center. During this meeting we will discuss the results of our annual program survey and use this discussion to establish goals for the 2013-14 school year. Notes from the annual program survey have been compiled and are added to the section below in this edition of the "Parent Post." We will also discuss the goals that we established for the 2012-13 school year and assess whether they have been achieved. This year's goals were:
·
Start a parent group that could
help plan events for families to network with other families
and/or to hold appreciation events for the student staff.
·
Display the vision work done by
the staff and possibly offer short (one-page) explanations about
what we are doing and why (“Vision in Action”) as a follow-up.
Annual Program Survey Results
For the past five years we have
used a quantitative, “yes/no” type of survey to evaluate the
program we provide for our children and families.
This year we chose to do a more qualitative type of
survey, with the goal of gathering a bit more feedback and
information. We
chose four broad categories to address.
The survey questions that were presented in each category
are listed below and are followed with a summary the responses
received.
Relationships: Relationships
are the basis of everything that happens here at the center.
Think of your child…does he like school?
Does she trust the adults here?
Does he find support and comfort?
Do we meet the social/emotional needs of your child?
Do you find the center welcoming?
Do you feel supported by our staff?
Etc.
There were several relationship themes that
appeared often in our parents’ survey responses.
These included that their child:
·
loves school
·
gets needed support from the
staff
·
trusts her caregivers
·
feels safe at school
Another compelling theme was that the
center is a welcoming place.
The staff was described as pleasant, kind, supportive,
helpful, positive, patient, and amazing.
The parents feel that they are supported
when they have a question and/or a concern.
They also feel as though the building of relationships is
encouraged and fostered.
Of special note: parents appreciate the
home visits Dawn completes before their child enters her group.
Concerns Shared: Is there emotional support for my child when
bullying occurs?
Sometime other children exclude my child from play.
Does Cindy discuss the transition to kindergarten with
her children?
Curriculum: When
we hear the word “curriculum,” we often immediately think
“academics.” Weaving
literacy and math into our curriculum is important.
So too is the integration of art, music, pretend play,
large motor play, small motor control, science exploration,
construction play, etc.
The environment is also a part of the curriculum.
Please consider the entire realm of curriculum as you
ponder this. Do the
toys and tools provided stimulate thought, creativity,
exploration, critical thinking?
Is the environment conducive to learning?
Is it interesting? Challenging?
The response most often given related to
the way in which the unit plans and the environment supporting
the unit plan changes weekly.
At the end of the week, the children and their parents
look forward to seeing what is being planned for the next week
and how the environment is going to change.
Most of them described it in this manner:
“We can’t wait to see what’s going to happen.”
“We talk about it all weekend.” “We get excited about the
changes.”
Our parents also viewed the variety in
toys, tools, and materials as supporting a range of ability
levels. They
described these tools as being interesting, stimulating, and
challenging. They
also indicated that the toys and tools offer opportunities for
exploration and creativity and that the teachers consistently
use effective teaching strategies.
Of
question or concern: Could a list of the signs that my child
knows be provided so that we can use them at home?
At conferences we are asked about brainstorming ideas of
what is of interest to our children – what about asking about
our ideas? Please
keep tv time limited…it is not used often and we appreciate
this.
Resources:
Your first thought may relate to the resources that are provided
for the children as they explore and discover the world around
them. These are
important – please consider them.
But please consider yourselves as well.
Does our staff provide you the resources you need as a
parent? Do we supply
enough pertinent parenting information to you?
Do we provide enough opportunities for you to get
together with fellow parents?
Do we inform you of resources in our community?
There were two over-riding themes in the
resource category:
the center staff is appreciated as a resource and so are fellow
parents. Parents
appreciate the fact that the center staff have an answer to many
parenting questions or are willing to find an answer to a
question. Parents
also feel as though they are encouraged to ask for help when
help is needed.
Parents value the opportunities the center provides for them to
connect with each other (parent meetings, the Parent Group,
Facebook, family events, etc.).
The resources that are available in written form (books,
“newsletters” we have written, postings in the entry) are viewed
as “abundant and useful.”
Of
question or concern: More opportunities to connect with other
families are always appreciated. Could the parent group meet
occasionally in the evening so that those unavailable during the
day could join in?
Could there be more chances to ask child development questions
of more than one teacher in hopes of hearing different
perspectives/ideas/responses.
Could we plan some summer events for families?
Communication:
Good, solid two-way communication is essential for
providing a high-quality service.
Do we answer questions promptly and respectfully?
Do you feel comfortable sharing your concerns?
Do you find our website to be helpful and informative?
Have you found the Facebook group to be supportive for
you? Do we provide
information in a timely and efficient manner?
And the question I would really like to
address is: How would it affect you if we started distributing
information concerning events and deadlines
only electronically?
This would mean no more notes on lockers – information
would come only via
email or placed on our website.
Would you find this helpful?
Or do you prefer paper?
How can we best get information to you?
The dominating theme in this area is that
exceptional lines of communication exist between staff and
families. Parents
appreciate the thoughtful, respectful, and prompt answers to
questions. The
website is viewed as helpful and informative and is used by many
of our families.
Email reminders of upcoming events and/or deadlines and verbal
updates concerning one’s child are appreciated.
The electronic-only distribution of
information received mixed reviews.
Although many people stated it would work very well for
them, an equal number perceived the need for occasional email
reminders, paper reminders (a note), and/or signs in the doorway
to make sure the information really “hit home.”
Of special note: the school-to-home
notebooks that Dawn and Angela keep with their families are
valued means of communication.
Of
question or concern: What is the
best way to reach
each of the teachers?
Some seem to use email routinely while others don’t.
What is the preferred contact method for each?
Sometimes the nap chart is not fully completed and this
information in entirety is useful.
Other concerns: Please consider the use of cloth diapers.