Message from the Liaison (Brooke Sieg, PCSD 6)
Liaison Program Schedule and Information
All programs are FREE and open to children of ALL ages!! Attending any of these programs is a great way to support and extend the learning your child is already doing at his/her preschool or at home. Please note that parents must remain in the classroom for the duration of each program and are expected to be active participants with their child(ren). Be sure to download the December schedule below!
At-Home Preschool Calendar
Literacy Corner (Leanna Morton, PCSD 6 Literacy Coach)
Most parents have heard that it's important to read to their child, but did you know it's just as important to read with your child by pointing out observations and asking questions? Interactive readalouds, which involve, not just listening to the words of a book, but responding to intentional questions along the way, can support children's literacy development, extend their understanding of language, and build their comprehension skills.
Mindful Math (From the experts at DMTI)
Developing Mathematical Thinking Institute (DMTI) is a professional development and math curricular resource company that partners with PCSD 6 teachers and families to help children significantly increase their math scores while learning to love mathematics.
What's involved in this month's activity:
- Seeing quantities and operations
- Understanding what the child knows or doesn't know in the problem
- Problem Solving
- Seeing Patterns
Why it matters:
- Builds critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Gives insight to what a child understands and how the child thinks
- Highlights misconceptions that may be hidden with symbolic calculations
Fine Motor Movement (Ashli Westbrook, MS OTR/L, Children's Resource Center)
Hand Strength
Quick Tip: Fine motor development involves the use of small muscles of the body (hands and fingers).
This is the ability to pick up small items, color with crayons, copy designs, string beads, cut with scissors, draw shapes, and write letters.
Increase Control and Hand Strength:
- Do a variety of puzzles.
- Tear paper and make a collage.
- Peel and stick stickers and/or tape to paper.
- Build or play with dominos.
- Color and write with broken crayons, short colored pencils, and thin markers.
- Offer tracing stencils or trace around objects.
- Build with small Legos or small wooden blocks.
- String beads, noodles, cereal using pipe cleaners (easier) or yarn.
- Play games or explore with tweezers or small tongs to pick up items such as cotton balls, marshmallows, cereal, pom poms, or small rocks. Commercial games that use tweezers are Bed Bugs, Thin Ice and Crazy Octopus.
- Sprinkle salt, flour, or oatmeal onto a cookie sheet. Your child can use a finger to make lines, shapes, letters, and/or numbers. Gently shake the tray to erase.
- Paint with various types of brushes and on various surfaces (paper, foil, wax paper). In the summer give the kids water and have them paint the side of the house and/or sidewalk with water and brushes.
- Use hole punches, shape punches, and/or letter punches.
Things to remember:
Make it FUN and hands on! Children need frequent opportunities and a variety of materials to develop their fine motor control as well as eye hand coordination.
Book Nook (Holly Baker, Cody Public Library)
December in the library is extra-fun! The Grinch will be coming Monday evening, December 5th at 6:00 to start the season off right – it’ll be a fun evening for the whole family with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, photo ops, Grinch-y games + crafts, and green snacks.
There are always things going on in the Kids’ Library! The best way to keep up with our scheduled events is through our monthly calendar. Paper copies to hang on the fridge are available in the library, or you can sign up to receive them by email: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/QkCEJiq/codykidsread
We are also active on Facebook and Instagram @ “CodyKidsRead”. Please follow us! The monthly calendar is always posted there, as well as reminders about individual events and fun photos.
You can easily reach us by phone at the Kids’ Library direct number (307) 527-1884. You can also visit our website at parkcountylibrary.org.
The library is open Monday through Thursday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
You are always welcome to contact Children’s Librarian Holly Baker hbaker@parkcountylibrary.org
We look forward to seeing you during the holidays, and any time you can come!
BBCW Fun Facts (Emily Buckles, Interpretive Specialist and Natural Science Educator)
Did you know?
From September 1, 2022 through September 1, 2023, ALL kids that live in Park County, along with one adult chaperone, get into the Center of the West for free?! (See flyer below this section for more details.)
Mule Deer Migration
When we think of migration, I know must of us think about songbirds. But did you know that mammals migrate too? Bison, Pronghorn, Elk, and Mule Deer all move to new locations in the spring and fall.
Did you know that some mule deer in Wyoming migrate over 150 miles one direction?! This is one of the longest migrations of a mammal in all of North America. Scientists have even tracked one female deer that migrates more than 240 miles every spring and fall.
To prepare for winter, many animals migrate so they can find better food sources. Others hibernate so they don’t need to worry about finding food during the cold months. And still others like people, ravens, coyotes, stay in the winter and remain active. They have to be creative in order to find/store food and stay warm during the long winter months. How do you like to spend the winter?
Counselor Corner (PCSD 6 Elementary School Counselors- Linda Baumstarck, WesLeAnn Medina, Kambrie Simmons)
Emotion regulation falls into the category of self-regulation (which also includes skills like impulse control and maintaining or shifting attention). Children do not automatically self-regulate. They need help learning these skills before the “self” part begins. Common pitfalls for parents are expecting children to control their emotions without teaching them how or trying to teach emotion regulation skills only when their children are having a strong feeling. The best time to teach emotion regulation is when children are calm. Practicing emotion regulation skills when your child is calm is more likely to help them learn tools to use when they are having strong feelings. Practicing deep breathing is a great place to start. (See visual guide above.) It takes many opportunities of practice for behavior to be automatic, but these are skills to use for a lifetime and well worth the time invested.
Breathe in for three seconds like you are smelling flowers. Hold that breath for three seconds. Breathe out for three seconds like you are blowing out candles. When you model, be sure to count. Your child’s lungs are smaller than yours so the length of breath that feels most comfortable for you might not be what works best for your child.
DFS Info (Department of Family Services)
As a parent, you give your children a good start in life—you nurture, protect and guide them. Parenting is a process that prepares your child for independence. As your child grows and develops, there are many things you can do to help your child. The CDC created Positive Parenting Tips to help you learn more about your child’s development, positive parenting, safety, and health at each stage of your child’s life. These tips are broken down into age groups to provide information for children birth-age 17.
Be sure to visit the DFS website for more helpful information for families.
Park County Sheriff's Office
Contact Info
Email: brookesieg@park6.org
Website: www.park6.org
Location: 919 Cody Avenue, Cody, WY, USA
Phone: (307) 272-0153
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057666729007