November ELC Newsletter
Sand and Water Play
Play improves the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well being of children and young people. Through play, children learn about the world and themselves. They also learn skills needed for their every day lives, such as: confidence, self-esteem, resilience, peer interaction, social skills, independence, curiosity, coping and problem solving. Check out the photos of a couple of our friends engaged in PLAY.
With the warmer weather our students have the opportunity to play with our sand and water tables! These are a huge hit here at the ELC! Sand and water play promotes development and learning- Here's how!
Social Emotional: Sand and water inspires children to work together to construct a sand village or to wash a baby doll in water or chasing a bubble floating in the air. Playing with these materials can calm a child who is upset- they often express their feelings or thoughts during this time.
Physical Development: Children strengthen their muscles as they mold wet sand or scoop water. They develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination when they work with props. They pour water through a funnel or sift sand through a sieve. They develop gross motor skills by carrying buckets of sand or water outdoors.
Language & Literacy: Children expand their vocabulary as they learn new words such as "grainy", "sprinkle", "shallow" and "sieve". When they write letters in the sand they are building literacy skills!
Cognitive, Mathematics & Science: Sand and water are natural companions in scientific explorations. With water, children learn that as a liquid it can be splashed, poured and frozen! As a solid, sand can be sifted, raked and shoveled! They learn about volume and capacity when they fill up empty containers. They explore cause and effect when objects sink or float!
Enjoy some of our friends playing in our water and sand tables!
Spotlight on Fall Fest!
Creating a Safe Place/Calm Down Area at Home
Here at school, each classroom has a Safe Place, which is a physical location where children can go to self-regulate and/or co-regulate when they are feeling strong emotions. It is equipped with tools for calming and self-regulation, and supports the skill of composure by providing the opportunity for children to remove themselves from the group in order to become calm and maintain control when they are angry, frustrated, sad or scared. Check out this tip sheet for creating a space like this for your child to utilize at home, as well.
- 24-25 Family Folder-Here you will find general information about our school and programming. This folder contains information about school supplies, our daily schedule, policies/procedures, communication platforms, the school calendar and more!
- 24-25 Early Learning Center School Calendar
- Outdoor Play Guide--Children benefit from being outdoors for unstructured play in a natural environment. Please see the attached Outdoor Play Guide, as the colder weather begins to move in.
