Archive for March, 2010

How to choose a Summer Program

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

The Goddard School of Cedar Park has a very popular summer camp program for school age children.  Visitors often ask what makes our program different than other options and here are some tips on what to consider as a parent.

Art - Painting Girl B

According to research conducted by the National Center for Summer Learning, which is based at the Johns Hopkins School of Education in Baltimore, Maryland, summer learning loss accounts for about two-thirds of the difference in the likelihood of a student pursuing a college preparatory path in high school. As these findings indicate, keeping children’s brains challenged throughout the summer is crucial, since the lack of learning that occurs during these months has both short-term and long-term consequences.

Keeping a child’s day consistent throughout the summer months keeps the brain focused and helps prevent learning losses during the summer. In addition, this can potentially ease the anxiety that often accompanies transitioning into a new classroom or school come fall.

Research has shown that programs like The Goddard School that have specific learning goals, use learning and developmental standards and are age-appropriate are ideal in preventing summer learning losses.

Tips for Choosing a Summer Program:

  • Choose a program that is based on each child’s interests and natural curiosity – this allows children the opportunity to direct their own learning.
  • Ask for credentials, experience and training of the teachers/counselors.
  • Check the health and safety practices of the program.  Make sure you are comfortable that the program will be able to handle your child’s unique needs.
  • Inquire about the daily schedule of the program.  Does the program combine songs, stories, exploration, art, physical activities and learning adventures in a safe, nurturing environment?  Ask how much freedom a child has to choose activities.
  • Ask for references.

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FOX TV coverage of Earth Hour @ Goddard School

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Earth Hour

FOX-TV coverage of Earth Hour at The Goddard School can be found at the following FOX-TV link.   See how our children are learning about conservation and protecting our environment!

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Goddard School of Cedar Park celebrates Earth Hour

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Climate change is happening all around us and its pace is accelerating. From melting glaciers to increasingly intense weather patterns, climate change is already impacting life on Earth.

Since we are closed on Saturday, on Friday, March 26, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. local time, The Goddard School of Cedar Park and our students will be taking part in what promises to be an amazing and inspiring event in the fight against climate change: Earth Hour. Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour asks individuals, businesses, government leaders and others to turn out all non-essential lighting for one hour as a bold statement of collective concern about climate change.  Please visit Goddard Earth Hour for more details.

Earth Hour is the largest event of its kind in the world. In 2009, nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries turned out their lights, as well as international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids, and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv.

We’d like to encourage you to join us in this important effort. Participation is free and easy:

1. Sign up at EarthHour.org
Show your support, find out what Earth Hour events are happening near you and get tips on organizing fun events in your community.
2. Spread the Word
Invite your friends and family to join the movement, become a fan on Facebook and post a link to EarthHour.org on your profile page.
3. Turn off the Lights
Turn off your non-essential lighting at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 27.

To get a better sense of the magnitude of the effort, please take a moment to watch WWF’s video about Earth Hour: www.myearthhour.org/news/media.

Our school has long believed in operating responsibly. In the days leading up to Earth Hour, we will take an even closer look at actions we can take throughout the school to operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce our environmental footprint.

Please join us as we turn out and take action!  Contact us at 512.258.5292 if you’d like more details on our scheduled Earth Hour event on March 26th!

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Family Vacations

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

In these economic times, travel may not be a viable choice.  As spring recess is approaching in Texas,  Goddard School has some suggestions that may be helpful.

Stay-cations may not only provide a more frugal family vacation, they may also provide an opportunity to create and experience a higher level of bonding with your children.

Upsides to stay-cations include nominal packing as well as minimal airplane or car ride entertainment.   Stay-cations, however, provide the challenge of getting into vacation mode when the remnants of your day-to-day life are all around – planning ahead is the key.

Fun, frugal stay-cations include:

  • Go on nature walks, hikes and bike rides.  Collect rocks to paint.
  • Organize day trips to zoos and/or museums.  Create a family scrapbook to commemorate your experiences.
  • Choose a miniature golf outing and enjoy a little healthy competition.
  • Plan a family mini-spa day.  Prepare a healthy lunch from your vegetable garden.
  • Go camping in your own backyard.  Don’t forget flashlight tag and S’moresPlan and prepare yummy goodies and enjoy a picnic together in a local park.
  • Rainy day stay-cations are fun too!

o Play board games
o Assemble jigsaw puzzles
o Watch family movies

Find out what we’re doing that’s educational and fun each month with the Goddard School monthly events newsletter SUBSCRIBE HERE

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Ready – Set – Grow!

Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Part of a parterre in an English garden. Photo...
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Gardening is part of our curriculum at The Goddard School.  Following up on our last post about gardening with preschool children, here are some more tips!

Children are fascinated by nature and the simple pleasures of smelling flowers, picking vegetables and studying insects. Gardening provides family fun, teaches patience and responsibility and builds self-esteem.

Pique your child’s curiosity:

  • Plant things your children like to eat – such as veggies they like on a pizza or in a salad or create your own salsa using tomatoes you’ve grown.
  • Make a scarecrow to deter pests or plant daisies and petunias to attract butterflies.

Be sure to plan special time for gardening, but keep sessions brief. Frequent activity changes, such as planting, watering, mulching, weeding and harvesting will help keep children engaged. Allow plenty of time for catching toads, gathering bouquets of dandelions and planting the seeds from yesterday’s snack of fresh watermelon.

Find out what our preschool is doing that’s educational and fun each month with the Goddard School monthly events newsletter SUBSCRIBE HERE

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Gardening with Your Child

Monday, March 8th, 2010
Brian Farrell with helper plants at Our Commun...
Image via Wikipedia

At The Goddard School, we have garden beds to incorporate into some of our science and nature curriculum.  As our summer camp is approaching, here are some ideas for home gardening with your child!

If you want your child to grow up to be a gardener, it’s important to remember to share gardening experiences with them throughout their childhood. These include frequent, pleasurable occurrences, designs that include messy, colorful plots and great memories of working together in the garden. Each child’s capabilities and attention span will vary so it’s important to adjust your expectations. The goal is to teach your children to respect and enjoy gardening as well as experience a feeling of “I did it myself” at harvest time.

The Composting Council of Canada developed the following good reasons to foster a lifelong love of gardening in children.
1. Health:  Growing your own vegetables makes it easier to get enough servings each day.
2. Exercise: Digging, turning, spreading compost, mulching, hoeing, excavating rocks – all burn calories, help build muscles and strengthen hearts and lungs.
3. Save Money: Even a small vegetable patch can reduce your expenses.
4. Education:  Gardening is terrific for providing hands-on lessons in botany, zoology, weather, hydrology, as well as cycles of life, death and physical decay.
5. Waste Reduction and Recycling: Compost piles transform kitchen scraps, leaves and yard waste into rich soil amendments. Gardeners can reuse of all kinds of cans, cartoons, meat trays and more.
6. Stress Relief: Planting seeds and tending plants can restore balance and perspective.
7. Togetherness: Use vegetables grown together to make delicious meals together and donate abundance to people who need it.
8. Helps Improve Reading and Math Skills:  Children can make plant markers, read seed packets and even help pay for nursery plants.
9. Memory Building: Provides great memories for the years to come.
10. Satisfaction: The more time you spend with your children in the garden, the more they will feel the garden is truly theirs and the more eager they will be to take care of it.

Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

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Playing with Your Child

Friday, March 5th, 2010

The importance of play is key to a child’s development at  The Goddard School.  Here are some great thoughts on this topic by Dr. Pruett.

Excerpt from Me, Myself and I
By Dr. Kyle Pruett

The best way to know what your child thinks about his world before he can tell you directly in words is through playing with him.  It is right there, in their play sequences and manipulations that we see and hear what they understand and think about the world we share.

Remember, however, that this is his play, not yours.  You are a partner and a facilitator, occasionally a “go-fer,” but you are not playwright, producer or director.

Fall - Mother Daughter

  • When you play make-believe with your child using simple dress-up (hats alone are great), narrate her play: “And now you get on your hat.”  Describe what you think she is feeling: “Don’t you feel fancy (snazzy, cool…)?”  And listen for when you are not quite on track: “So, then what?”  Children often love to have you with them in these imaginary explorations of role and role-play and usually will do their best to keep you from getting lost along the way.
  • Use reflecting surfaces (mirrors, windows) as you play peek-a-boo with your child’s image and then yours, or add a little face paint or make-up as he explores what happens to his face as he, or you, add a dot here or a line there.  It helps him define who he is by enjoying the reflection of his face and feelings back and forth between you.  Doing this together just feels different and better and usually more important.
  • Sit together in the dark with a flashlight and give your child a sense that he has some control over what appears, reappears, and disappears into the darkness.  Narrate the experience with him, and match his level of emotional interest, as you share the job of turning the flashlight on and off together.  Sara, at 22 months, loved this game and called it the “good-bye light game.”  She seemed to be sorting out the comings and goings of important things and people as the lights went off and on.

There are countless other ideas available from books and magazines.  Borrow, invent, and reinvent games just for the two of you.

Find out what we’re doing that’s educational and fun each month with the Goddard School monthly events newsletter SUBSCRIBE HERE

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Thumb sucking and Pacifiers

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Dr. Kyle Pruett AThe topic of thumb sucking comes up with our toddlers at The Goddard School.  Here are some ideas by Dr. Pruett, MD:

Thumb-sucking and pacifiers are guaranteed to evoke debate whenever the topic is raised with parents, especially new ones. We have no trouble remembering relevant stories in our own families about thumb-suckers and how old they were when they stopped. Fact: Many children choose to suck their thumbs from before they are born because it is an important form of self-soothing and comfort.

Here are a few considerations that shape this debate as you make your decision about skin versus plastic:

  • Contemplating germs?  Thumbs and pacifiers are about equally un-hygienic, but both can be washed frequently.
  • Concerned about teeth deformity? Dentists have found that genetic tendencies forecast the need for braces more often than sucking a thumb or pacifier in infancy. The exception may be “24/7-suckers” through kindergarten and beyond.
  • Pacifier versus thumb?  Your thumb is always with you – no late night 911’s to the nearest pharmacy.  The pacifier, however, is easier to remove when the day comes (typically first in a parent’s mind), and seems less self-indulgent to many parents.
  • Partner consensus?  Talk to your partner. Do not assume that your partner has an identical philosophy about thumb versus pacifier as yours.

This is an important conversation to have and revisit. Discuss this topic with your child’s teacher.  Most parent magazines also cover this issue regularly.

Try not to make this a big deal.  Very few children go to college with their pacifiers.  At the same time, denying your children their comfort at a time when they may need it most will backfire more often then not, increasing their attachment to it. Children who know when it’s time for their comfort are showing you they know a thing or two about their needs, not that they have a habit.

Kyle D. Pruett, M.D. is an advisor for The Goddard School®.  Dr. Pruett is an authority on child development who has been practicing child and family psychiatry for over twenty-five years.  He is a clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale University’s Child Study Center.

Find out what we’re doing that’s educational and fun each month with the Goddard School monthly events newsletter SUBSCRIBE HERE

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