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 November schedule below!
Mindful Math
Sorting
WHAT ARE SORTING ACTIVITIES?
Sorting activities are actions that require children to identify groups of items that have particular traits in common. Those traits can be characteristics like color, size, shape, and other classifications.
Children engaged in sorting activities are asking questions about what items belong together, and how they relate to one another. For example, a group of items may belong together because they are all red, even though they might be different shapes. Or, perhaps a child is sorting animals by species–for example, dogs vs. cats.
WHAT DO SORTING ACTIVITIES TEACH CHILDREN?
Sorting helps children develop visual perception, fine motor muscles, reasoning and problem solving skills. While working on classifying and grouping objects, young minds are busy analyzing similarities, differences and making choices.
These are skills necessary for higher learning because they help children develop the ability to organize and process information, skills known as executive function skills. Children use executive function skills for everything from decoding words for reading to working with others to getting ready to go to school in the morning.
TYPES OF SORTING ACTIVITIES
The ways preschoolers and toddlers can learn to classify things is endless. Here are a few simple ideas to get you started. No doubt, observing how your child interacts with the items will give you (and them!) more inspiration.
COLOR SORTING
For toddlers, the easiest color sorting activity is to sort two colors into two piles. My toddler sat at the table with a pile of red and blue blocks. In front of him was a red paper and a blue paper. He had fun placing the red blocks on the red paper and the blue blocks on the blue paper. It's not fancy, but it works!
SHAPE SORTING
Circles, squares, and triangles, oh my! Shape sorting is a classic preschool activity.
You can do this very simple sorting game at home. With masking tape, mark out a circle, rectangle and triangle on the floor and ask your child to place any round objects they find in the circle, square or rectangular objects in the rectangle and triangular objects in the triangle.
You don't need a fancy shape sorting toy. Make your own shape sorter by cutting a circle, rectangle and triangle in the top of a box and ask your child to drop the corresponding blocks through the holds.
SORTING BY SIZE
There are so many ways to sort by size! One easy way to get started is to place a small box and a large box on the floor. Any objects that can't fit in the small box go into the big box!
Alternatively, give your child a tube to act as a chute (an empty paper towel roll works well), and a pile of objects of varying size. The child can sort the objects by dropping them through the tube into a box. If they fit, they drop down, if not, they get set aside. If you have multiple sized tubes, so much the better. Kids also get a big kick out of sliding objects down the chute!
Book Nook (Holly Baker, Cody Public Library)
As days become shorter, spending time at the library may sound more and more appealing! We are open Monday-Thursday 9:00-7:00, Friday and Saturday 9:00-5:00. Every Monday morning from 10:00-10:20 is Toddler Time, especially for ages 1-3 with short stories, music, and movement. Story Time is every Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 10:00-10:45 with longer stories and an activity or craft. These are also great times to meet other moms and caregivers! No sign-up is needed.
Some special programs coming up include:
-Night Time Story Walk - Monday evening, November 6th at 6:00. With fingerlights and glow sticks, we’ll read the newest book along the outdoor Story Walk, then come inside for hot chocolate and cookies. This is for the whole family!
-Turkey Trot –Thursday afternoon, November 16th at 4:00 will be our third annual fun walk of thankfulness! The whole family is invited! Please bring a nonperishable food item for the Cody Cupboard and dress for the weather. We’ll enjoy a fun, creative walk around the building together. It’ll begin with a turkey craft and end with prizes and snacks for all.
-The Grinch – Monday evening, December 4th at 6:00 will be our big, special holiday program of the year. Grow your heart 3 times its size with The Grinch! Photo ops, games and snacks for the whole family.
Counselor Corner (PCSD 6 Eastside Elementary School Counselor, WesLeAnn Medina)
Chores or “Contributions”
“You are such a helper!”, a mom exclaims out to her toddler at the laundromat while he is doing a far less-than-perfect job folding a dish rag. Teaching age appropriate chores or “contributions” (as they call chores at the Love & Logic Institute) instills a helping attitude. Learning chores, done a little at a time, helps them prepare, so that someday they can take care of themselves. Even though that can be so bittersweet to think about as a parent! Helping the family also gives children a sense of purpose. As mentioned above, chores can be called “contributions.” “Chores” can sound like work and “contributions” are meaningful things we do to help our families. For example, a parent can contribute by making dinner, grocery shopping, and driving kids to activities. Older children can contribute by putting their clothes away, cleaning the floors, doing dishes, and setting the table. Young children can put their toys away, fold small towels, and sweep. Everyone in the family can grow into their role as a helper at home.
Tips for Success
Start early (but it’s never too late). If you want your kids to help when they’re older, it is easier to invest the time when they’re young. You can probably clean the floor or fold the clothes in a fraction of the time it takes your child. It can be tempting to just do it yourself because it saves time. Getting your children involved early can save time in the long run and make it more likely that they will be helpers when they are older.
Don’t skip the training stage. Just because your child has been in the same room as you while you have completed a task, does not mean they can do it independently. It takes repeated practice to learn new skills, even how to clean up a spill. A child might not even understand how to hold the broom the first time you hand it to them. There might be too many steps at first, so here’s a trick. They can begin helping with a first step, like putting clothes into the hamper, or at the end, like taking clothes out of the dryer or holding the dustpan while you sweep in the pile. Even teenagers might not know exactly what to do for a task, even if they have seen you do it a thousand times.
Resist the urge to redo their work. Imagine a child feeling proud about making her bed all on her own the first time only to see a parent remake the bed. A toddler is not going to fold like an expert, even if they know what to do. Keep your child’s development in mind. Their motor skills might not be developed enough to make crisp folds. They might not remember more than one direction at a time. We can be proud of their successes as they complete new tasks and become better at other ones, and they can be proud too.
Make it… fun? Timers, music, and to-do lists can make chores feel more exciting. For example, set the timer for 3 minutes and see if the task can be completed in that amount of time. (My kids would take forever to clean their room, but they liked racing the timer and were often done before it went off.) Be reasonable for how much time to expect and not every kid enjoys a timer. Chunk larger chores: Set the timer for 15 minutes and then stop when the timer goes off then resume the task later. Or break the task into smaller tasks like washing all the plates first, then the cups, then the utensils, etc. To-do lists can help children keep track of what they need to do, and marking off completed tasks usually feels good.
Do you need help with ideas for developmentally appropriate activities for your child? Here’s a list to help you get started: https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/montessori-practical-life-chore-chart/
DFS Info (Department of Family Services)
Cent$ible Nutrition Program
The Cent$ible Nutrition Program (CNP) is Wyoming’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Department of Family Services partners with The University of Wyoming Extension office to offer CNP.
CNP offers free cooking and nutrition education classes for both children and adults throughout Wyoming. You are eligible for CNP classes if your income is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. To see if you qualify, please go to the Cent$ible Nutrition Program page.
CNP classes help you make healthy choices on a limited income. All CNP lessons are free and include a CNP cookbook, kitchen tools, a menu planner, and a year-long subscription to the CNP newsletter. Best of all, you can make new friends and have a lot of fun.
To find your nearest Cent$ible Nutrition Program educator visit their website at Cent$ible Nutrition.
For additional Information about SNAP-Ed, please contact:
Marianne Kerzman
2300 Capital Ave, 3rd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307) 777-6313
marianne.kerzman@wyo.gov
Park County Sheriff's Office
Scan the QR code below to be notified by your local emergency response team in the event of emergency situations or critical community alerts. Examples include: evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices, and missing child reports.
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