Benefits of Daycare

A good daycare program can offer some significant advantages:

• Continuous care: Most child care centers offer care from the early months of infancy through toddlerhood, and sometimes even beyond.
• Education: A well-organized program is geared to your child's development and growth.
• Socialization: Your baby will get lots of face time with other little ones.
• Cost: If you’re planning to go back to work and need someone to watch after your child while you’re away, daycare tends to be less expensive than hiring a nanny.
  
• Reliability: Most centers stay open for about 12 hours to support a variety of parent schedules.
• Specific to group daycare: Staff is trained and licensed. And because there’s more than one caregiver, there’s always a sub.
• Specific to home daycare: There are fewer children than you’d find at a group daycare center — which may mean more personal attention and less exposure to illness.

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Downloadable Curriculum

Starting January 2016, the Star-Brite Learning Program will be offered as a downloadable file! For only $27.00, you can download and print out as many copies as you need! The program can be purchased on our website at www.star-brite.com. You will receive an email with the link to download the entire month's program straight to your computer!

When Kids Fail

Most parents can handle success—but how can parents help their children handle failure?

First, your child needs to know that you’re on her side, that you accept her for what she is, win or lose. Your comments should reflect on what she’s done, not on what she “is.”

Second, don’t be kind by being dishonest. Your child knows when she hasn’t done well, when she has “failed.” When you acknowledge that you know this, too, but that it isn’t the end of the world, your child has confidence in you to reflect an honest value to her.

Finally, let your child know every day and in many ways that you love her. A child needs a lot of hugging, even at times when her behavior is definitely “unhuggable.”

As children try to find their place in the world, they look to their parents for guidance and support. Make sure you give your child the room she needs to learn and make mistakes, but also make sure she knows you’re on her side—win or lose.

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Getting Along With Others

Children are more successful in their relationships when they feel comfortable than when they are self-conscious.
You can help by being supportive and encouraging rather than critical or discouraging.


 
Here are some do’s and don’ts:
DO stand up for him, especially with adults. Everyone needs someone they can depend on, no matter what.
DON’T suggest he has trouble getting along with others. (“Nobody really likes you.”)
DO give him positive feedback for getting along well with others. (“I really like it when I see you helping Jack put on his shoes.”)
DON’T force him into uncomfortable situations.
DO allow him to work out his own relationships with a minimum of interference.
DON’T compare him with other children.
DO respect his wishes about how and with whom he wants to spend time.

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Ghost Poem for Halloween!

Ghost Poem

Have the children act out the motions while you read the following poem. 

Repeat this poem several times for the children to enjoy.

l saw a ghost,

(Have the children make finger circle eyes.)
 

He saw me too.

(Have the children point to themselves.)
 

I waved at him,

(Have the children wave their hand.)
 

 But he said, “BOO!”

                             (Have the children try to scare

                           the person next to them.)

Learning to Talk

Some professionals believe that children who are spoken to a great deal in early infancy talk sooner and better than children who aren’t spoken to a lot.

While this is difficult to verify by means of tests, the idea matches findings that toddlers and preschoolers who are read to a great deal do read more easily and better than those having less experience.

A baby’s receptive language—that is, the language she hears—depends upon her good listening and looking habits with parents or other familiar people.

The very young child doesn’t understand the meaning of words, but she does understand something of what is meant because the words are delivered along with feelings, facial expression, gestures, and body movement.

For example, when Father says, “Come here”, he holds his hands out to receive the baby.
When Mother says, “Give it to me”, she reaches out for the object, and when she says, “Here, I’ll give back to you”, she hands it back.
Another example is when an adult pretends he can’t see the baby and says, “Where’s Baby, where’s Baby” as he dramatically searches for the baby,
and finally exclaims: “Here she is!”

Babies also like the game of peek-a-boo. To play, cover your face with a towel and encourage the baby to pull it off.
If she doesn’t, peek through the towel to be sure she is looking at you. Remove the cover slowly as you say, “Peek-a-boo!”

When you play games, talk to the baby: be a ham—put lots of drama into your voice. Make it rise and fall; change from soft to loud; alternate from slow to fast.
Activities like this contribute to a baby’s developing capacity to understand language.

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State Standards and Guidelines

At Star-Brite Learning Program, we understand the importance of education for children. We recognize that how a child is taught will affect their ability to learn, comprehend, and apply information. For that reason, Star-Brite makes sure that our programs and curriculum adhere to the standards and guidelines provided by the National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) and HeadStart. For your convenience, these guidelines are listed below with a side-by-side comparison of how our programs measure up.

The HeadStart Framework represents the foundation of the Head Start Approach to School Readiness. It aligns with and builds from the five essential domains of school readiness identified by the National Education Goals Panel (see inner circle) and lays out essential areas of learning and development. The Framework can be used to guide curriculum, implementation, and assessment to plan teaching and learning experiences that align to school readiness goals and track children’s progress across developmental domains. The domains and domain elements apply to all 3 to 5 year olds in Head Start and other early childhood programs, including dual language learners and children with disabilities. Click here read how Star-Brite Learning Program aligns with the Head Start Framework (Learning Objectives SB Version).  Click on the image on the left to see the the Head Start’s Framework.

NAEYC GUIDELINE COMPARISON

"Which Ones Go Together?"

Here’s a language learning game that helps children understand how objects are related.

Materials: Handy household and clothing items which have something in common (such as their use) but which also have basic differences:

Some examples:
tissue - handkerchief
pen - pencil
comb - brush
fork - spoon
shoe - boot
glove - mitten
glass - cup
paper clip - rubber band

Select one item and ask a child to: “Find the one that goes with this.”
When she makes a selection, you can ask “How are the items alike?” and “How are they different?’
You can add or subtract items, or increase the difficulty by making the similarities a bit harder to understand. Thinking and reasoning is definitely required.

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VISORS!

~~Early Bird Special~~
Order your September 2015 Curriculum now and receive FOUR FREE ANIMAL VISORS!

Type in the code "4visorsFB" in the comment section of the online order form to claim.

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Praise is Like Sunshine

Consider this insight from psychologist Jess Lair:
“Praise is like sunshine to warm the human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it.
"And yet, while most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism, we are somehow reluctant to give our fellows the warm sunshine of praise.”
Train your eye to see the good in your children, your neighbors. Identify their gifts, talents, and skills, and praise them lavishly for them.
The story is told of a ten-year-old boy who labored in a Naples, Italy factory.
His dream was to become a singer, but his first teacher discouraged him, declaring: “You can’t sing. You haven’t any voice at all. It sounds like the wind in the shutters.”
However, his mother, a poor and uneducated woman, placed her arms around the boy and praised him. She told the boy she knew he could sing and could see improvement in the quality of his voice.
That mother’s praise and encouragement changed her son’s life. His name was Enrico Caruso and he became the most famous opera singer of his generation.

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A Start on Telling Time

When your child is hungry and impatient with the speed of mealtime preparations, point to the large hand of the clock and say to her, “We will have dinner when this big hand gets to the bottom (or the top) of the clock.”
As you say this, point to where the hand will be. Then make every effort to meet this prediction accurately.
If she is not familiar with the clock, you will need to explain that the hand does move, but too slowly for her to see it.
Don’t try to teach her hours and minutes at first. This is difficult even for some first graders to understand, though by kindergarten many children will understand the concept of hours.

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Cultivate Patience

No matter how much you love your child, there will be times when her behavior will exasperate you.
Try to remember that she will never be this age again and that this, too, will pass.
Let her know how you feel when what she does upsets you. But try to keep your sense of humor and perspective.
Be patient with her attempts to do things for herself. She may not do them well at first, but she’ll learn with practice.
Like every other skill, responsibility for oneself takes practice and lots of room for mistakes before it’s mastered.

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Scribblers Just Can't Help Themselves

Scribblers just can’t help themselves. They’ve just got to close their fists around those fat crayons and scribble. Around and around they go, in circles, zigzags, blurs, and blobs.
Unfortunately, scribblers sometimes like to use walls for their canvases.

If you provide an alternative for the scribbler, like a large chalkboard and colored chalk, an easel with newspaper and paint, or lots of plain paper (the back of computer print-outs, recycled paper, or a roll of shelf paper) you’ll have fewer pictures on your walls.

Scribbling may look like nonsense to adults, but there is some sense in it for a child. When children learn to stop their arm movements in time, those big circles becomes faces.
Tight, round scribbles make eyes, looser ones make curly hair. Sweeping lines stop short for arms, fingers, mouths, and spiky hair. Pounding with the point of the crayon makes snow.

Scribbling is necessary preparation for drawing—and writing, too. But it’s hard to know what to say when you’re presented with a scribbled work of art.
“I really like purple scribbles” is probably the most honest, appreciative and gracious thing you can say!

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Brite-Kids Fun Pack now Downloadable!

Available Now ~ BRITE-KIDS FUN PACK is now downloadable for only $15.00!

Your download includes:
- Full color flashcards for each letter with 4 to 5 activities for each
- Approximately 2 or 3 letters and 1 number each month, as well as several different themes
- Monthly calendar pack with full-color decorations and date shapes
- Daily calendar of events with recommended reading list
- Circle time song sheet with over 10 different songs included in the lesson plans
- A monthly progress report for each child
- A monthly two page parent newsletter for each child

Click Here to Order your Download.

Will it float?

 

Suggest that children look around for things that are expendable — twigs, leaves, stones, egg shells, pencils, straws, popsicle sticks, aluminum plates, ping pong ball, napkin, comb, and so on.
The objective is to predict whether or not these objects will float. To test the prediction, use a large container with water and check floating vs. sinking.
Children are natural scavengers, so why not make them collectors for a purpose?

In addition to the actual experience, kids will learn about the words that describe water. For example, you can discuss the different sounds made by water—splashing, bubbling, dropping, roaring, and trickling.
How about the way water feels? Hot, cold, lukewarm, icy, fast running, slow running.
What are the various uses of water? To drink, play in, wash clothes, cook with, water gardens, clean windows and take a bath.
And finally, how many places can you name where water is found? Lakes, oceans, streams, inside plumbing, puddles, dams, ditches, ponds, fountains, and so on

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Good manners start early — at home

The basics of good manners for children are:

• Respecting other people’s prop­erty and privacy;

• Behaving well at the dining ­table;

• Not being rowdy in public;

• Not interrupting or contradict­ing;

• Not demanding one’s way all the time.

Choose the manners that are most important to you and your family and concentrate on those.

If you start teaching manners consistently and with purpose in the preschool years, they should be a habit by the time a child enters school.

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Start on tellng time

When your child is hungry and impatient with the speed of mealtime preparations, point to the large hand of the clock and say to her, “We will have dinner when this big hand gets to the bottom (or the top) of the clock.”

Point to where the hand will be as you say this.

Then make every effort to meet this prediction accurately.

If she is not familiar with the clock, you will have to explain that the hand does move, but too slowly for her to see it.

Don’t try to teach her hours and minutes at first. This is difficult even for some first-graders to un­derstand.

However, by kindergarten many children will understand the concept of hours.

www.star-brite.com
1-888-858-2954