In addition to placing a high importance on academic and cognitive growth, the curriculum our Early Learning programs implements also emphasizes the promotion of emotional and social development. Our teachers strive to create classroom communities where children are nurtured to be kind, to be safe, and to be respectful individuals. This means that they are encouraged to take care of themselves (being safe), to take care of their friends and teachers (being kind), and to take care of the materials in the classroom (being respectful).

Each month we focus on a different character trait and incorporate developmentally appropriate activities to illustrate how to take care of oneself and one another. Activities could include large and small group read-alouds and follow-up discussions, role playing, puppet play, being assigned a classroom job, learning new songs or chants, playing games, and much more.

August – Respect

September – Responsibility

October – Cooperation

November – Citizenship

December – Kindness

January – Self-Motivation

February – Tolerance

March – Honesty

April – Self-Control

May – Caring

While these are big concepts to understand, the more that concepts such as empathy and cooperation are modeled for our little learners, the sooner we begin to see social problem solving and the formation of meaningful relationships within the classroom. Practicing these traits helps to teach children the importance of being an engaged and helpful citizen from an early age and lays the foundation for them to grow into thoughtful and caring adults. Success in school is measured by much more than how many numbers or letters a child recognizes. It can also be measured each time a child shares with a friend, helps their teacher, or says a kind word. World Kindness Day and Kindness Spirit Week Sunday, November 13th is World Kindness Day.

To celebrate, all of our Early Learning programs will be having a Kindness Spirit Week beginning on Monday, November 7th.

Monday, November 7th – Powered by Kindness – Super Hero Day

Tuesday, November 8th – Wild About Kindness – Dress up as your favorite animal

Wednesday, November 9th – Crazy for Kindness – Crazy Hair or Crazy Sock Day

Thursday, November 10th – Team Kindness – Favorite Sports Uniform/Jersey

Friday, November 11th – Dream of Kindness – Pajama Day

Click on the link below for ideas how you can promote sharing and spreading kindness at home and as a family. https://tinybeans.com/random-acts-of-kindness-just-because/slide/1 For a list of children’s books that promote character building, click on the link below. https://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/Character-Education-books.html

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