Thoughts from Mr. Z - 14 June 2013
Firefly Reading Garden - We are excited that our Firefly Reading garden is completed but as always outdoor play spaces are always evolving. I would encourage you to grab a book and take your child to the Firefly Reading Garden for an intimate reading experience in the shade of the river birch trees.
Pergola - Construction of the Pergola will take place on Monday June 17. Lead by Andrew Finkenkeller, Eagle Scout and a group of 17 volunteers from the Coast Guard and Equifax Corporation. The Pergola will begin to provide the shade needed on the Adventure Playground.
Family Mtg about the Family Age Grouping/Mixed Age Groups - On Tuesday, we had a meeting to continue to keep open dialogue about the program design of Family Grouping/Mixed Aged Grouping. It was insightful as we explored the challenges, benefits and opportunities of the program design. It continues to be clear, we have not articulated the benefits of Family Grouping/Mixed Aged Grouping over the past 18 months. Several parents have expressed the value they have observed for their younger child. We still have families with concerns and trepidation about the Kindergarten expectations. Kindergarten expectations vary from school to school and district to district. This is challenging for families and UCCC.
We will host one more Family Grouping/Mixed Aged Grouping feedback meeting on
Tuesday, July 2 @ 5:00.
Come and share your thoughts, feelings and observations about Family Grouping/Mixed aged Grouping.
Parent Cafe - Biting - Are you hungry for more information? We hosted a Cafe focusing on Biting on Wednesday. I appreciate the emotional courage all participants demonstrated while discussing such a sensitive subject. We wish there was a simple answer to the situation but there is NOT. Biting is for toddlers and two's is developmentally appropriate but NOT acceptable. We do know, if we can reduce a child level of frustration, we can mitigate the problem.
UCCC will shadow a child that is biting, have empathetic conversations with the families, look are a child's development, if there are any changes in the child's life, or is the child getting ready for a developmental leap. Biting can be rooted in so many areas but most of all it is connected to language development. We often see that as a child's language and use of language increases, biting diminishes.
We need to keep in close conversation and we continue to implement strategies.
Post by: Steve Zwolak