2017 | February Newsletter
Bright Horizons at
Kendall Square News
From the Director
I hope you’ve all been having a great 2017
so far! We’re looking forward to our
Valentine’s celebrations on Tuesday the
14th. We’ll be combining each age group
to celebrate together, so it’s sure to be
special. We’ll be putting sign-up sheets
on the classroom doors in the next week,
so please keep an eye out. And don’t
forget to send your kids to school in red
or pink that day!
We appreciate everyone’s patience with
the construction going on around the
garage. Our older children have really
been enjoying following the new yellow
line to the playground! We’ve learned
that once our old building is taken down
on the corner of Binney and Cardinal
Medeiros, the landlords plan to
petition the city to re-open Binney Street
in one direction. This will allow us to
access the garage from Cardinal
Medeiros, although we will not be able to
access Cardinal Medeiros from Binney.
Important Dates
February 14th- Valentines & Red/Pink
Celebrations
February 16th- Mr. Harry/ Music
February 20th- Center Closed
February 23rd- Playful Tunes/ Music
Reasons to Celebrate
February 1st - Ms. Besi
February 5th – Danny
February 6th – Oliver
February 15th - Felix
February 28th – Ms. Sibela
February 28th - JD
Also, thanks to all the parents who
participated in the Annual Parent Survey.
Your feedback is such an important way
for us to celebrate our successes and
target where we need to improve.
Celebrations- Besi and Sibela's Birthday,
Nancy's Horizons
anniversaryat Kendall Square
Bright
286 Cardinal Medeiros Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139
617-577-9532 | [email protected]
Thank you!
Monday-Friday 7:00 am-6:00 pm
© 2016 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC
CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS
Infant 1
Infant 1 explored winter this month, reading books about snow and
dancing to fun snowy songs. They also explored a variety of colored
ice, painted with white paint on black paper, and played with glue
and cotton balls. When they learned about colors, the teacher
pointed out different colors in the books. They also played with a
variety of colorful toys, including different balls, blocks, baby connects
and even different colored rice in the sensory table! They also used
their bodies to step on different colors and play peek-a-boo with the
scarves.
Infant 2
In Infant 2 the babies explored art, colors and emotions. Our little
artists made shapes out of playdough, watched a puppet show and
played with their own puppets, made music on various instruments,
and painted with their fingers. They explored emotions by playing
peek-a-boo and enjoying silly faces, singing songs about emotions,
and finger painting to different songs. They explored their bodies by
using different body parts to paint, and learning to dance to Head,
Shoulders, Knees and Toes.
Toddler 1
Toddler 1 has had a wonderful month! During the month of January
we talked about shapes, weather, dinosaurs, our bodies and our
emotions. Our week of shapes consisted of picking a shape of the day
and working on things found around us that resemble that shape. At
the end of the week we brought all of our knowledge together and
tried to apply it to shape sorting. For weather, we touched upon what
happens in the sky. Our friends enjoyed several science experiments
during the week to try to produce weather in our classroom. The class
as a whole enjoyed the dinosaur week the best. Friends got to
experience life during the age where dinosaurs roamed the Earth as
well as what it looks like to dig up dinosaurs now. To end the last weeks
of the month we talked about our bodies and the emotions we feel.
Children enjoyed tying in the two weeks learned about their sense of
self and the emotions they feel. In particular, they talked about \ how
they can deal with their emotions when they are difficult.
Toddler 2
Toddler 2 started the month by learning about bears: they sorted them,
made polar bear hand prints, went on a bear hunt, and did all the fun
movement to Teddy Bear Teddy Bear Turn Around. Next they learned
about shapes by playing with shape puzzles, using different kinds of
cookie cutters, and making cool pictures out of shape stamps. After
that they did lots of fun activities to learn about germs, including
experimenting to see how pepper “runs away” from soap just like
germs do, sorting clean and dirty “hands”, brushing pretend teeth,
cleaning the classroom toys in the sensory table, and even watching
how germs spread through exploding pom-pom “sneezes”! At the end
of the month the children explored clothing: singing songs about how
to put on clothes, experimenting with different fabric’s stretchiness
and reaction to water, sorting clothes to match the weather, and
counting the kinds of clothes their classmates were wearing .
© 2016 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC
CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS
Toddler 3
During the month of January, Toddler 3 continued learning about
numbers, shapes and welcomed winter with some snow exploration! For a
Science Rocks activity the children used both fake and real snow to fill the
sensory bin and explored using their hands, cups, spoons, and other
classroom toys. As the children were filling, dumping, and comparing the
containers of snow, they were learning to experiment with volume. The
children strengthened their Math Counts skills as they counted how many
spoonful’s of snow they would need to fill the different sized cups. Toddler
3 also focused on the Number 2 by making a number collage, sorting
items into groups of 2, and using a stamp of the number “2.” The children
read, My Very First Book of Shapes, stamped with circles, round caps and
other round toys to learn about Circles.
Toddler 4
January was back to basics in Toddler 4 as the children talked about
colors, shapes, and numbers! During the first week each day was
celebrated with a different color such as purple, orange, pink, and grey.
The children explored Science Rocks through sensory and art as they
mixed different colored paint to create new colors, mixed food coloring in
water, painted snow and made silly putty! They practiced their shapes
using blocks to build towers and learn about squares, cups to create
circles with paint, and popsicle sticks to make triangles. The children
strengthened their hand-eye coordination and number recognition as
they used stamps to create a number collage. As the children added
spots to their lady bugs they practiced counting out loud 1-6.
Preschool
Preschool had a wonderful time learning about winter and the human
body. They read books about arctic animals and practiced counting fish
to give to their class penguin. They had penguin waddling races and
made their own hockey sticks and pucks and played in the playground.
They also made fun crafts like ice skates and snow globes as well as a ski
resort in the block area and a penguin habitat in the sensory table,
complete with ice cubes! The children were very excited to learn about
the human body next. They started by learning about their five senses
through a series of experiments, including smelling ginger (too spicy!),
touching a mystery object inside a box, listening to different objects inside
opaque container, and blindfold taste tasting of snack food.
Kindergarten Prep
In January KPrep explored two very different parts of our natural world:
winter and gravity! As part of their exploration of winter, the KPrep children
talked about the differences between summer and winter. They talked in
particular the different kinds of winter clothes and how the environment
changes. They also talked about how the different kinds of weather we
see in winter, particularly snow and rain, happen. They made Venn
diagrams of hot and cold food, estimated the number or teddy bears that
could fit in a winter hat, and made a class book of winter clothes. They
also spend a lot of time with the book the Mitten, and enjoyed putting on
a play for their friends. In the middle of the month they started learning
about gravity and other forces. They learned about experiments,
hypotheses, and results, and did several different experiments involving
dropping kinds of items from different heights, learning about how gravity
affected them different.
© 2016 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC
READY FOR SCHOOL NEWS
Growth Mindset and the Power of “Yet”
Yet. It’s a word that doesn’t get much credit despite its mind-changing powers. Consider the
following:
“I am no good at this,” versus, “I am no good at this yet.” ” I can’t,” versus, “I can’t yet.”
“I have never gotten it right,” versus, “I have never gotten it right yet.”
Those three letters can make a big difference. Children are in a constant state of
development, but they often talk about themselves as a finished product. This perspective has
potentially damaging consequences because children base their value only on what they can
do successfully today, rather than seeing their growth as a fluid, lifelong pursuit. When they
encounter challenging material, they may shut down or get stuck, rather than persevering or
looking for new solutions.
Teachers and parents can help children (and themselves) escape the dangers of thinking their
abilities are fixed,” says Rachel Robertson, VP of Education and Development at Bright
Horizons, by using the word “yet” to offer a more flexible approach.
Growth Mindset
The term, “growth mindset,” was originally coined by Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at
Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Dweck observed that
children’s beliefs about their ability have a self-fulfilling effect on performance and achievement.
Changing those beliefs from a fixed mindset to a more flexible perspective can have lifelong
benefits. But growth mindset isn’t about giving children unwarranted praise or lowering
expectations. When children believe they can learn new skills, they’re more likely to persevere
through difficult tasks or look for new information and solutions.
So what does growth mindset look like in action? Dweck suggests that a shift in adult
attitudes and perceptions comes first. As adults are able to view growth with a more flexible
and generous perspective, they often change how they respond to the children in their lives.
For example, a young child is frustrated by the task of using scissors. A fixed mindset would
say, “I’m not good at this. It’s too hard. I can’t do this.” Through adult modeling and dialogue,
the child can reframe the situation and say, “This is hard, but if I keep trying, it will get easier. I
can ask for help and find other solutions.” In this particular example, the teacher or parent can
offer solutions, such as holding the paper to steady it, encouraging the child to make small snips
before attempting to cut a large piece of paper, or offering play dough to cut initially, which is
easier to cut than paper and strengthens hand muscles.
The next time your child encounters something hard, think about growth mindset and the
power of “yet.” How can you help your child go from “I can’t” to “I can’t…yet?”
© 2016 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC
BRIGHT HORIZONS NEWS
Child Care Drop-Off: Tips for Smoother Morning Drop-Offs
Remember that your child is in a safe place.
Keep in mind that your child is in a place that they are loved and cared for as they are at home, and that the
experiences and friendships they build with their classmates are really special.
Give yourself enough time.
Allow enough time to not be in a rush. The whole day is better when you don’t fly in to the center, peel your
crying child off of you, and rush out the door hoping that’s not your kid crying (knowing it is). When you get
there early, you can linger a bit. Let your munchkin show you something she’s excited about in the classroom,
chat with the teacher, or just allow yourself a breath. Of course there will be days that all the planning in the
world won’t get you there early…but you can try.
Spend some extra time in the classroom letting your little one get comfortable.
Have a discussion with the teachers ahead of time so you’re on the same page about your approach to drop-off.
For example, some days you may be able to spend that extra few minutes until your child is immersed in
something in the classroom, but have a signal for those days when you can’t stick around and need the teacher
to swoop in to help.
Have a good-bye routine.
Having a good-bye routine that you do every day can make the transition easier. It can be as simple as a highfive or hug that you do consistently every day.
For more parenting tips and tricks, visit Bright Horizon’s blog, The Family Room at
https://blogs.brighthorizons.com/familyroom/.
CONNECT WITH BRIGHT HORIZONS
© 2016 Bright Horizons Family Solutions LLC