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Parenting a preschooler can be challenging, and we hope that this newsletter will add to your parenting toolbox by delivering inspiration and expert advice to your inbox each month. Do you have burning parenting questions or a topic that you would like us to cover in a future newsletter? We would love your input! Please contact Nicole Casey at ncasey@fayschool.org with any questions, comments, or feedback.
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BOOK CLUB - How to Catch a Turkey
How to Catch a Turkey is the perfect book to get your child thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday. This slightly silly story is about a runaway turkey that children try to catch before it interrupts the school play. See the literacy and numeracy section below for a STEM-related activity to catch your own turkey!
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LITERACY AND NUMERACY - STEM
Engineering practices related to design thinking are an important part of early STEM learning. Andrew Shirley, Fay's Technology and Design Teacher, describes design thinking as "a structured way to identify problems, come up with a plan, evaluate how the plan is going, and make adjustments.” In short, young children ask, imagine, plan, create, and improve.
To help your child begin thinking like an engineer, try incorporating the design thinking process into How to Catch a Turkey with the example process below.
- Ask - Turkey inventory is low this year. How can we make a trap to catch a turkey?
- Imagine - Brainstorm possible ways to catch a turkey. What didn't work in the book?
- Plan - Which materials and design will we use to create our trap?
- Create - Make a test version of the trap.
- Improve - Did the trap work? What can be done to improve it?
If you need a pretend turkey to catch, print out a picture of the turkey above.
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ARTS & CRAFTS - Pom-Pom Pies
Materials Needed:
- Pom-Poms in Various Colors
- Mini Pie Tins
- Felt (cream or brown colored)
- Scissors
Directions:
- Gather all of the materials above.
- Using scissors, cut the felt into circles that are the same size as your pie tins. In the center of the circle, you can cut slits like you see on real pie crusts. You can also cut the felt into strips that can be used to make a lattice style crust.
- Create pies! Let your child use the tins, pom-poms, and felt crust to pretend that they are making Thanksgiving pies. You can even create recipes for them to follow to help them work on number recognition and counting. For example, create a pie that requires 5 orange pom-poms, 8 green pom-poms, and 3 blue pom-poms.
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DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE -Routines
Since children do not fully understand the concept of time, their daily routines are important for them to order their days. However, during the holidays it is inevitable that your child's regular routine will be disrupted. When this happens, be sure to communicate the change to your child ahead of time and let them know how the change will fit into the routine they are already comfortable with and can easily predict. For example, if you are visiting family, you can tell your child that you are leaving after nap, but will be back before bedtime. You can also share simple details by telling them that they will have their snack and dinner at their relatives' house. For more information about managing routines and the holidays with young children, click here to read more.
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FIELD TRIP - Wellesley Turkey Trot Kids Fun Run
There are numerous road races that take place on Thanksgiving, but there is one in Wellesley that would be great for the entire family. The event features a Kids Fun Run that is less than a mile in distance and is open to children under 10. All participants receive a race shirt, chocolate turkey lollipop, and a finisher's ribbon. Click here for more information.
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PARENTING ADVICE - Help Your Preschooler Master These Six Table Manners This Holiday Season
If dining at your house got decidedly more casual during the pandemic, you are not alone! However, with some normalcy returning, you may be considering venturing out to a local restaurant, anticipating holiday dinners, or just hoping to make those weeknight family dinners a little more civilized. At Fay, our lunches are served family-style, with a teacher joining a group of students who are assigned to a new lunch table every two weeks. Not only does this foster new friendships between students, but it is also an excellent opportunity to establish some basic table manners. “Practicing good manners helps us enjoy each other's company and conversation as well as the delicious food,” says Fay’s Head of Primary School Katie Knuppel. With the holidays on the horizon, make sure your child has the skills to be a positive presence at any dinner table.
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Kindergarten at Fay School
Kindergarten lays the foundation for a child's entire learning experience. At Fay, our small class sizes and individualized approach help each kindergartener establish the skills they will need for a successful educational journey. Our teachers focus on each child’s literacy, numeracy, science understanding, and social-emotional development, supported by a team of expert specialists who coordinate instruction in art, music, French, and Spanish, and P.E. Our teacher also focus on fostering a love of learning, and they know that when students believe that their learning matters, they give their all.
Learn more about Fay's kindergarten program and beyond at our Virtual Information Session on December 7.
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