Center Newsletter
The Children’s Place at Phillips Academy
[email protected]
October 2012
www.brighthorizons.com/phillips
Activity at Home
Since politics will be monopolizing the media in the upcoming months, you and your children will be hearing a
lot about social responsibility. Bright Horizons offers two parent webinars on Raising a Socially Responsible
Child. Visit www.brighthorizons.com/growing/parent-webinar to access the archives.
From the Director
Smart Lunches
Our new lunch program will soon be here! Parents may
order now for the week of October 15th. Go to
www.smartlunches.com
The school code is BH246. A Smart Lunch
representative will be here on Wednesday, October 24
from 4:30-6:00 with samples and information. With this
lunch program, our teachers are able to order 2 free
meals a week! They can also order additional lunches for
a reasonable price. We are so excited to offer this
program. I have already heard from several families who
have had Smart Lunches at other summer camp
programs and loved it.
Curriculum Night
Don’t miss out! Your child’s teachers are working hard
to prepare materials and activities to share with you
regarding your child’s educational experience. Members
of our Parent Rep Group will be on hand to greet and
escort families to the appropriate location. Come learn
something you didn’t already know! Details are located
in the adjacent text box!
Important Dates to Note
Curriculum Night 2012
Infants & Toddler Parents
Tuesday, October 16th 6:15-7:30 p.m.*
Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten Parents
Wednesday, October 17th 6:15-7:30 p.m.*
*Child care and dinner for your child will
be provided. Please rsvp to the office.
Upcoming Holidays
Monday, November 12th – Closed to community
families for Veteran’s Day
Thursday, November 23rd – Closed for
Thanksgiving Day
Friday, November 24th – Closed the day after
Thanksgiving.
All That We Are Learning…
Infant 1: In the month of September the children in Infant One practiced their eye-hand coordination, grasping/pulling and object
permanence while exploring some nature themed fabrics and some recycled materials. Some of our friends were creative in figuring
out different ways to explore the fabrics with the recycled materials while other friends simply enjoyed feeling the different textures.
We also engaged in two sensoy activites by exploring real fruits and vegetables and then used our pincer grasping skills with tools to
incorprate some fine motor development.
Infant 2: We explored the sights and smells of fall. In our creative art activity, we used an apple to make prints. In the sensory table,
we explored pinecones and leaves in the sensory table. The infants had fun picking up the leaves and watching them fall into the
table.
Toddler 1: The children in Toddler One enjoyed a variety of experiences throughout the month of September. We explored the
similarities and differences of our bodies by looking in the mirror and noticing the color of our skin, hair and eyes. They named some
of their body parts such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. The children were engaged in activities that encouraged caring for their bodies by
bathing, brushing teeth and eating healthy foods. Some favorite activities were making their own toothpaste, (mixing salt, baking
soda and peppermint with a drop of food coloring), sensory spice paintings, (cinnamon, garlic salt, onion salt, nutmeg and ground
cloves) to stimulate their sense of smell and helped to cut apples to make an apple pie.
Toddler 2: During the month of September the children in Toddler 2 became "Well Aware" of "Our World" as we covered themes
about our families and our bodies. One Art Smart activity that the children enjoyed involved baker’s clay and cookie cutters to create
big and small people. The children learned how to discriminate sizes as they pressed small and large cookie cutters or shaped/
molded people shapes of their own. After a few minutes of exploring the baker’s clay with our senses and using fine/ large motor
skills to construct, the children added their own special and creative touch by drawing on the dough with markers. This great idea
added bright colors to our creations; making our families even more unique.
Toddler 3: The month of September was full of changes for Toddler Three. We have new friends, a new teacher and a new room!
With all of these changes, we decided to dedicate our curriculum in Septermber to getting to know each other as well as the
classroom rules and routine. The older friends were great helpers in showing their new, younger friends the ropes. We focused on
activities that allowed the children to work together. One activity we did was making a friendship trailmix. The children worked on
their math skills as they took turns adding one or two scoops of the ingredients. The children later enjoyed the delicious snack they
made.
Preschool 1: Preschool One: This month in Preschool One we learned all about ourselves! We learned about how our charactertisitics
and features make us who we are. We also discussed what it means to be a good friend. We created friendship bracelets and practiced
our new vocabulary words when giving them to our friends. At the writing center, we made friendship cards with illustrations and
stories we remembered having with our friends. This was the month where we learned not only more about ourselves as preschoolers
but our friends as well.
Preschool 2: During the month of September Preschool Two opened up our year learning about Friendship. The children took
pleasure in constructing friendship patterns, doing collaborative paintings with new friends and learning how to work as a
team. Next, we Explored the World of Preschool. As we investigated different areas of the classroom and its corresponding materials
and learned how to use and take care of our classroom materials.We all hope to see you on Wednesday, October 17th at 6:15-7:30
during Curriculum Night so you can Explore the World of Preschool too!
Kindergarten Prep: Kindergarten Prep began our new school year with a new room, new friends, and new Pen Pals! We began a
year-long correspondence activity by writing letters to our grandparents, inviting them to be our pen pals. We mailed our first letters
in the big blue mailbox that we passed on our way to the Andover Public Library. We have been reading their responses as they
arrive, and we are working on new letters to send out next month! Trains have also been a focus of our curriculum this month. We
have begun to compare the types of trains that we would take to visit our grandparents to the types of trains that may carry our letters
to them.
Turning the Presidential Election Into Learning for Young Children
Our World, an element of the Bright Horizons World at Their Fingertips curriculum, nurtures a child’s understanding
of the world they live in, fosters an awareness and appreciation of its diversity and promotes positive relationships
and empathy for one another. There are many ways to introduce these concepts to children. Opportunities to
delve into meaningful civic lessons and social studies serve as an ideal way to do just that. A Presidential election
and all of the activity that takes place in an election year can inspire a variety of learning experiences. While it is a
complex process, there is much for children to learn from the experience. We can do children a service by
focusing on the rich lessons a presidential election can offer, without exposing them to debates, issues, and
opinions they can’t understand. When asked whom they will vote for, children will certainly parrot their parent’s
opinions, but we can go further and help them understand the voting process, develop negotiation skills, practice
critical thinking, and engage in important social studies and civic learning. Not only can we make the election
process meaningful for them, we can introduce an important lifelong responsibility and privilege of citizenship.
Try these activities with your preschoolers, pre-kindergarteners and school-age children.
Vote - Host a family vote on any topic from what to eat for dinner to how to spend Saturday afternoon.
Learning about voting, give and take, and negotiation are good life skills. It can also become a family practice that
makes decision making a bit easier.
If I Were the President… – Whether in the car or at the dinner table, talk about what you’d do if you were
the President. This is a great way to find out what’s important to your child.
When a Bill Becomes a Law – Work together to draft a few laws for the family. Maybe each person can take
turns making a law for a day or the family can establish a set of laws together. The process and experience may
teach more about the value of rules and mutual responsibility, than parental lecture ever could.
Family Flag – Research different flags and their meaning. Together create a family flag that represents the things
most important to your family. This can be both a historical and family bonding experience.
Campaigning – As a family, discuss a social or civic problem that is important to you. Then come up with a few
solutions. Maybe there isn’t enough bicycle parking at the library, perhaps a park in a low-income neighborhood
needs new equipment, or maybe you feel the residents at a local nursing home need more consideration – get
creative. Put together a campaign: determine whom you should talk to about the issue, how you should get your
message out and fundraising strategies. Then put your plan into action.
Presidential Reads – Use books to learn about things like the presidential election and the duties of the
President and to spark conversation. Here are a few suggestions preschoolers and young school-age children:
If I Ran for President – Catherine Stier
Duck for President – Doreen Cronin
If Everybody Did – JoAnn Stover
Grace for President – Kelly DiPucchio
Vote – Eileen Christelow
2012 Curriculum Nights
Each year, Bright Horizons hosts an evening where parents can come together to learn more about the Bright
Horizons curriculum The World at Their Fingertips, mingle with other parents and spend time with their children’s
teachers. This year, the events we have planned will be better than ever because you helped us plan them. Over
5,000 families responded to our surveys last year and using that feedback, our centers have planned events that
will allow you to not only hear from center leadership but experience activities that demonstrate how your
children are learning how we are tracking that learning.
Our events will consist of a:
Presentation led by our Center Director, that provides an overview of our curriculum and the
developmental progression of learning for each age group.
Review of Bright Learner, our tools & processes for understanding, planning and communicating your child's
developmental journey with you.
Time in your child's classroom to meet our teachers and see how they foster your child's growth and
development through the World at Their Fingertips curriculum each day.
Meet members of our Family Partnership Group and families from your child's classroom, ask questions
parent-to-parent and hear about their experiences at our center.
We hope you will be able to join us. If you’d like to learn more about our curriculum before the
event, check out our NEW Curriculum Guide!
REMINDER: Idling Cars
For the safety of our children, families and environment, please remember to turn off your cars when using our
designated pick-up and drop-off parking spaces. We understand as the weather warms up or cools down many
parents like to maintain a comfortable temperature in their cars, but ask that you refrain from keeping your cars
running while idle. Thank you.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions®, Bright Horizons®, and College Coach® are all registered trademarks owned by Bright Horizons LLC. Bright Space® is a registered trademark of
the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.