Why Preschool When We Have Abuelita?

There is a saying that goes "A child's first school is their home". As in many communities, this saying rings true for the Latino communities out there. We all know someone in our families or communities who spent their early years learning from their abuelita (grandmother), abuelito (grandfather), tias (aunts) or tios (uncles) at home while mom and dad were working during the day. Our family's culture, what ever it may be, is our first true lesson in life. Although this is a strong, worthwhile lesson to learn, a proper preschool education is becoming more and more essential to a successful school experience for today's children.

Times are changing. Kindergarten used to be the classic "beginning" of a child's journey through school. Preschool was thought of as another name for "daycare". But the world is demanding more from students these days and a quality preschool education is more important than ever. What does a quality preschool education mean? A healthy environment, qualified teachers and a convenient location are all things to consider when looking for a preschool program. But don't forget that curriculum is equally as important. "Curriculum in a preschool?" you might be wondering--yes! A well thought out and carefully prepared curriculum can mean the difference between an easy or difficult transition for your child into kindergarten. Think about it: learning the fundamentals of English, math and all the other school subjects during the preschool years means that your child will already begin his or her elementary schooling that much ahead of everyone else.

Science has shown that between the ages of 2 to 5, a child's brain is going through a tremendous amount of growth. According to an early education study commissioned by the United Way, a preschool aged child's brain is developing strong social, emotional and mental connections during ages 2 to 5 years old. This means that those preschool ages are crucial times for learning the basics that children will use the rest of their lives. On top of this, a quality preschool program should also be able to equip your child with good social and classroom skills, such as raising their hand in class and how to properly get along with classmates.

When your child reaches the appropriate age, sending him or her to a quality preschool can be one of the best decisions for your child's future. Of course, they should still get their cultural education from la familia (family), because let’s face it, there are some life lessons that only family can teach. When you combine these life lessons with a head start on learning ABCs or 123s, our children become stronger students and stronger members of their community.

Celebrating Innovation

This past January, President Obama encouraged the nation in his State of the Union address to "out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world". Much of the President's focus was on the innovation and technology that America has been known for, particularly in the fields of math and science. And as the President mentioned, the state of our math and science education across the nation is not where we want it to be. Unfortunately, those statistics are even worse for Hispanic children, particularly those facing the additional obstacles of living in poverty and having to learn English as a second language.

 Only 3.4% of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) jobs in the United States are held by Hispanics. In 2009, only 44% of Hispanic fourth graders were able to test even at a basic skills level on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). That means 1 out of every 2 Hispanic children in fourth grade essentially failed science. A Carnegie Report puts thirteen year old Hispanic children four grades behind in science skills.

 

It is absolutely crucial that we start intervening in these gaps at a young age. According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 32% of “at-risk” children (from families where English is not the primary language, live below poverty level, or whose parents did not get past high school education) were able to demonstrate basic math skills in kindergarten, compared to 65% of non at-risk children. These children are coming into kindergarten at a disadvantage not just in literacy and language skills but also in math and science. Focusing on these skills during preschool could make a dramatic difference—what takes only thirty minutes a day in catching up at the age of 4 or 5 takes two hours at the age of 8 or 9.

 

Each Mi Escuelita site held a Math and Science night on April 8^th, where the parents came to the school and participated in Math and Science activities with their children. It is important to show our parents how easy it is and what it might look like to engage their children in math and science learning at home. Our teachers have been tackling this issue of improving our math and science curriculum with a lot of innovation themselves. In fact, this year, our Bethany site had a particularly special night: they had a science fair with all the parents and the children! The teachers sent home different ideas of science experiments that the family could do together. The families worked on the experiments at home, and presented their findings to the other parents and children during Math and Science Night. It was a very special time to see the parents so engaged in what their child is learning. There are some pictures below of proud parents and children and their experiments.

As President Obama said, a quality education “begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”
 

Week of the Young Child

"Children are the living message we send to a time we will not see."

- Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood, 1982

We've all heard the saying that "the children are our future". While this is certainly true, another lesser known saying is one that appropriately balances out this famous quote. That particular saying goes:

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, that we sometimes forget that he is a child today.

It's interesting to truly examine the times we live in and to consider how youth is experienced by children today. If the above quotes teach us anything, it's that children are a representation of all of modern society, not just our education systems. If a child can pass a standardized test and that recorded score goes down in the annals of history, what good is that score if the child doesn't learn proper social behavior skills or how to keep physically fit or how to simply have fun? Celebrating a child's life should offer us a prime example of the exuberance of our world as seen through the eyes of the young.

This week is the Week of the Young Child, an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Its purpose is to raise public awareness on the needs of young children and their families. One of the main goals of raising this awareness is to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet the needs of such children and families. At Mi Escuelita Preschool, we are proud to not only be one of these programs that services the Dallas community but we are also firm believers in truly celebrating what it means to simply be a child (and all the fun that goes along with that).

All week long, throughout our five campus, Mi Escuelita site staff and teachers will be dedicating a portion of class time to celebrating what it means to be a kid. From crazy hair day to parent-produced puppet shows to an end of week carnival, each Mi Escuelita campus is incorporating unique themes into the student's daily routine. Some of the activities, such as the children portrait projects, is specifically aimed at helping parents express to the entire school just how much they value and appreciate their children. They accomplished this by creating paper doll cutouts of their children and decorating them with words of encouragement and love. These works of art were hung in prominent areas of several of the Mi Escuelita campuses, where the children pass by everyday and are able to see for themselves just how special they are to their parents.

Mi Escuelita's St. Matthew's site in east Dallas combined fun with safety with "helmet day", emphasizing the importance of wearing bicycle helmets when enjoying a bike ride.


Mi Escuelita's Bethany Site in northwest Dallas celebrated Week of the Child with a special "dance day" where the children showed off their dance-floor skills while being introduced to new dances from various types of music.

And of course, a week as important as Week of the Young Child deserves a proper send off. At the end of this week, each of the Mi Escuelita campuses will have a site wide carnival where all the children can let loose and have fun. Face painting, parent readers and games are just a few of the festivities planned for Friday. Even as I write this blog, the room I am in is buzzing with parent volunteers furiously constructing banners, preparing games and planning snacks for the "big day". Wait until you see the pictures of the kids enjoying this special event that celebrates their lives and the people who help them grow. Those photos of smiling children, parent volunteers and Mi Escuelita Staff all joining together in joyous appreciation of one another is what should stand as history's proof that in this place, in this time we understood and celebrated the pure fountain of youth alive in us all.

Find out how you can celebrate our community's young children by visiting our involvement page here at Mi Escuelita Preschool's website. Show a child you care, today.

A Peek into the Classrooms in March

March at St. Matthew's was a busy month! They had a Dr. Seuss parade and a St. Patrick's Day parade as well, which was a huge hit with all the children and teachers. On March 21st, our Program Director, Prerna Richards, came and celebrated Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors, with the children. One of the parents who also celebrates Holi came and shared henna designs with the children, which they were excited to show off. The children also learned how to do the "Dandiya stick dance" and painted their faces with bright colors, like the tradition of the festival. Later in the month, Daisey and Patricia, our health services specialists, came and did a presentation on "Good Touch and Bad Touch" where Tia Medina, the nurse puppet, was a huge hit among the children.






Cockrell Hill welcomed Ms. Montoya, who joined their office team this March, and Ms. Hernandez from Wesley Rankin who joined Class 5. This month they took 72 children on a transition field trip to L.O. Donald Elementary school, where they acquaint the children with the school they will be attending for kindergarten. The kids loved the gym "because they can play outside regardless of the weather"! Also this month they had a Magnet Mania presentation from the Dallas Science and History Museum. The site manager, Ms. DeLeon, said she couldn't tell who was having more fun learning--the children or the teachers! March is the month of projects, where all the classes teach on different themes that they come up with. Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Fernandez are doing a "ball" project and have had parents and volunteers help by playing baseball, soccer and football with the kids and they're loving it! The adults end up getting a work out as well, and the parents even attended a health presentation.


This month Crossover is highlighting Ms. Graciano and Ms. Solis's class. They are doing their project month on snakes and have done an outstanding job. One of the students' homework activities was to create a snake--some came back made out of socks, others out of paper, all very creative! They learned about how snakes sleep with their eyes open because they have eyelids; rattlesnakes have to have more than one rattle to make the rattling sound; you can tell how old a snake is by its segments; and snakes have teeth not just in their moth but inside their bodies! Who knew?



Buckner had their visit from the TWU nursing students this month and they worked with the children on brushing and flossing their teeth. They also celebrated their first Grandparents Day, which was a great event! Thirty grandparents attended, had breakfast and socialized with other grandparents as well as spent time in the classroom doing an activity with their grandchild. Buckner would like to highlight Ms. Gonzales and Ms. Urbina's class this month, whose project theme is cows. The children learned that there are many different cows in many different colors. Their dramatic play area is decorated as a dairy products store where children learned how to milk a cow and tasted two different kinds of cheese. Another class is learning about dogs and really enjoyed their special visit from "Pico", the Bichon Frise.




At Bethany, children are learning about plants and insects. They got to plant seeds and observe them sprouting. They also learned about insects, their movements, and the life cycles of butterflies. They had a visit from the Museum of Nature and Science as well as a field trip to the Dallas Arboretum where the children were introduced to flowers and listened to stories. They had lots of questions about planting seeds and got to practice planting sunflower seeds.



Hope you enjoyed a virtual look into our classrooms! You can see more pictures of different events on our Picasa page: https://picasaweb.google.com/miescuelitapreschool?fgl=true&pli=1.