Parents for PreK

I just came across this interesting site regarding the importance of public PreK and advocating for public PreK if you don't have it in your town. Check it out and let me know what you think in the Comments.

If you didn't already have access to Public PreK, would you advocate for it?

In-Service Days: Lots of Learning Going On

Last Friday was an in-service day for folks in the Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union, so many (though not all), preschool teachers were involved in trainings on that day.

Teachers from Stepping Stones Preschool in Cavendish, West River Montessori School in South Londonderry, the district-wide Essential Early Education teacher and myself attended a training on the Second Step social emotional curriculum.

This curriculum is currently being used by many of the Collaborative's preschool partners, including Windsor County Head Start (Chester Community Preschool), The Little School in Weston, and Suzy's Little Peanuts in Springfield. It is also used in all of the kindergartens in the WSWSU, giving the opportunity for carry-over from preschool to kindergarten and supports to families through the use of similar language and rules across settings.

We also learned about the new Second Step kit which has people puppets rather than animals, and about the Talking About Touching supplemental kit that we are considering for use across all of our early ed. settings as we consider our responsibilities under Act One (more to come on this in future posts).

I hope you'll take a few moments to click on the above links and read a little more about Second Step. It has really made a difference both in area preschools and in many families' homes.

Enjoy this wonderful weather we're having!
Daryl

School Closures and Delays

Ah, snow days. They can be a welcome snuggle under the blankets or a white-knuckled drive to daycare and the office. Depending upon your lifestyle, an automated call in the morning letting you know that school is closed may be just what you need.

In the Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union, we use an emergency response system called Alert Now. Since all of our public preschoolers are entered in the elementary schools' data bases (for census purposes), you could easily get an early morning call that you may not want. For instance, if you live in Chester and your child attends Chester Community Preschool, you probably wouldn't mind a call letting you know that school is closed; but, if you live in Chester and your child attends a program such as Suzy's Little Peanuts or Saxtons River Montessori, you'd probably rather hear from the program itself. Whatever the case may be, it's up to you if you want to be on the list or not.

All of our preschool partners have been asked to find out if parents want to be on the call list. If your program hasn't asked you, or if you feel strongly one way or the other, please either let the program director, your child's teacher, or me know as soon as possible.

And, if what seems like a great idea today turns out to be a major pain come January, just let me know you've changed your mind.

Questions? Send me an email or give me a call. It's a quick and easy fix.
Daryl

WELCOME!

What a year we've had so far! As I write this, on this chilly, snowy, Halloween morning, I'm amazed that it has taken me so long to get a welcome message out to all of our public preschool families. Between the flooding and now an early snow, our weather is definitely something to talk about; but, that is generally not what you'll find here.

This blog will highlight all that is current in early education today as well as what is happening in each of our partner programs. No names of children will ever be listed and, if you don't want your child's photo in any internet format (this blog or your preschool's website), just let the director or a teacher at your child's program know.

I hope you will check back often and leave comments as well. Your comment will probably not post immediately, so don't be worried if it doesn't pop right up.

As always, feel free to contact me at my office or through email and enjoy your year! Being a preschool parent is one of the greatest joys in life. Have fun with it :).

Daryl