Literacy and numeracy, developmental milestone, parenting advice, and more!
Literacy and numeracy, developmental milestone, parenting advice, and more!
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.
LITERACY AND NUMERACY - What is Design Thinking?
Originally developed at Stanford University’s d.school (the Institute of Design), design thinking offers an empathy-based, solution-oriented approach to solving problems. The process focuses on identifying and understanding the problem, generating and testing solutions, soliciting feedback, and making revisions, in a constant cycle of improvement. 
It might not seem like it, but preschool is actually the perfect time to begin nurturing design thinking skills. When young children design, create, and build, they learn how to make a plan, problem-solve, handle frustration, and the value of refining their ideas to make them better. 
The newsletter this month focuses on design thinking, and the activities and advice below will help nurture your child's design thinking skills. If you're interested in learning more about design thinking at Fay and our new Center for Creativity and Design, please click here.
BOOK CLUB - The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Many fairy tales like The Three Billy Goats Gruff are perfect to incorporate with design thinking activities because most of them are about overcoming a problem. The next time you read a fairy tale to your child, ask them to come up with their own solution to the problem in the story. Can they make a bridge for the three billy goats to cross or a house that can withstand the strength of the Big Bad Wolf? Or, can they create a tower for Rapunzel that has a way for her to escape? 
ARTS & CRAFTS - Recycled Material Flowers
Materials Needed:
  • various types of tape and glue
  • scissors
  • bonding materials (marshmallows, clay, foam)
  • recycled materials (popsicle sticks, buttons, egg cartons, cups, pipe cleaners, paper)
Instructions:
1. Gather the materials above, but be flexible and make adjustments based on whatever you have in your own house.
2. Use the design thinking process outlined below with your child, but resist the urge to step in when your child is struggling. Give your child space to generate and evaluate their own ideas rather than solving the “How can I do this?” dilemma for them.
  • Define the Problem - Present your child with all the materials and challenge them to design a standing flower using only the items they have. Can they make a flower that has a stem, leaves, petals, and pollen?
  • Brainstorm Solutions - What materials do they want to use for their flower? How will they hold all the pieces together? 
  • Make a Prototype - Step back and allow your child to build their flower. 
  • Test - Can your child's flower stand up? If you take it outside will it blow over in the wind? 
  • Evaluate - What changes can be made to your child's flower design to improve it? 
3. Decorate the finished flower with markers, paint, crayons, or any of your favorite craft materials (optional).
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE - Managing Frustration 
It is tempting to immediately help your child when they are frustrated, but parents should resist the urge to fix their child's problems themselves. Lauren Cilley, the Assistant Director of Fay's Early Learning Center, recommends that parents provide support by suggesting that children take a break for a few minutes and then come back to work on the problem they are facing. She also suggests that parents acknowledge their child's frustration and validate their feelings to show that they understand what they are going through. Next time your child is frustrated, try saying something like, "It looks like your building isn't coming out how you wanted, and I can see that this is really important to you."
Design thinking helps children to work through frustration because they learn that failure is a natural part of the creative process. Fay Kindergarten teacher Lillian Bogaert agrees. “Children definitely get frustrated when something is not working,” she says. “But that’s good productive struggle. When it does work, it’s so much more exciting because they had to work so hard to get it right.”
FIELD TRIP - Discovery Museum
The Discovery Museum in Acton is the perfect place to visit to foster your child's design thinking skills. Their interactive and hands-on museum blends science, nature, and play to help spark curiosity and inspire learning through exploration. Click here to learn more about the Discovery Museum and to plan your visit.
PARENTING ADVICE - Four Essential Skills Kids Learn from Design Thinking
When your preschooler builds a rambling city out of blocks or reclaims shoeboxes and cans from the trash to construct a drum set, they are engaging in some great imaginative play. But did you know that they are also building skills and habits of mind that will serve them well in elementary school and beyond? Click the button below to learn more about the essential skills that children learn from design thinking.
Four Essential Skills Kids Learn from Design Thinking
Kindergarten is the beginning of your child's educational journey.
Make sure it's a strong start.
Learn more about Fay's approach to kindergarten, and what comes next, at an upcoming Virtual Information Session on Wednesday, April 28 from 10:00 - 11:00 AM.
Learn More and RSVP
FAY SCHOOL   48 Main Street   Southborough, MA   01772   508-490-8201   www.fayschool.org
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