School for Young Children

Our last school days of the year are here and I always feel a happy sadness with all the goodbyes. I know I will be seeing many of you here at SYC next year, but for those families who are leaving, I hope you will send us an email occasionally to let us know how things are going for you.  You will always be a part of our SYC family.

One thing I’m really looking forward to is the new parenting book based on SYC philosophy and experience coming out in August (pre-order now on amazon.com for discount by following the link below).   It is titled It’s OK Not to Share and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids. It’s written by Heather Shumaker who is the daughter of our long -time teacher Ann Rigney.  Heather attended SYC and now has her own young children.  She wrote this book to share her experience using SYC ways in her own family.  Some of her chapter titles include:

• It’s okay if it’s not hurting people or property
• Bombs, guns and bad guys allowed
• Boys can wear tutus
• Pictures don’t have to be pretty
• Paint off the paper!
• Sex ed starts in preschool
• Kids don’t have to say “Sorry”
• Love your kid’s lies

Heather spent years observing at SYC and interviewing former directors, former and current staff and parents to capture the real essence of SYC, so we are all very excited about it.

We are planning to have a book signing celebration next September here at the school.  Our school, church and local community will all be invited.  We’ll be sending send you more information about this event in the Fall.

I hope you have a wonderful summer!

…Stephanie Rottmayer, Director

The SYC program runs from mid-September through the third week in May.  For those interested in signing their children up for something this summer, we recommend First UU’s Church’s Summer Playcamp Program, which runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:30-12 noon, in four 2-week sessions, beginning June 4.  Children who will be age three by September 30, 2012, up to age 5 who have not yet attended Kindergarten are eligible to enroll in that program.

Registration Info and Form:  Summer Playcamp Registration

For children age 5 and older First UU Church will also be offering a Peace Camp.  We’ll post registration details when they are available.

I remember being a mom with my two boys at SYC.  I didn’t have any family or even any friends with children in town—no one to talk to about being a parent.  When a neighbor pointed out that there was a good preschool nearby, I signed my 3-year-old son up at SYC immediately.

I loved the nurturing feeling I got from the teachers.  I remember listening to them talk to the kids and thinking that they knew just the right thing to say.  But when my own son was crying or unhappy at school, I felt embarrassed trying to handle it in front of the teachers and other parents.  So I volunteered in class a lot because I wanted to learn different ways to handle the tough situations.

Now when I think about welcoming parents into the classroom, I remember how it felt to be a parent in class myself.  Not being quite sure what to do or say, not really knowing if something I was doing was helpful, but the more I hung around the more comfortable I became.

We hope that you are starting to feel comfortable and welcome in class.  Teachers are so busy most of the time that it’s hard for them to stop and talk or give much guidance when you are volunteering.  But we want you to know that we appreciate your presence, whether you are volunteering or just visiting.  We really value getting to know your family better and working together to give your child the best experience we can.

You can just visit or you are also welcome to read stories or share an activity that you enjoy.  We have had a parent tell us a story about breaking his arm when he was a child.  We have had parents show the kids how to make fried rice.  We have had singing and dancing parents and we have tried on Japanese kimonos.  If you think of something you would like to try, we will be glad to help you.  So please consider coming in to spend some time in class.

Our final SYC fundraiser of the year is being hosted by Sharpening On Site. Rebecca Lyon, owner and SYC mom, will park her big blue truck next to the SYC turnaround on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20th and 21st.  She will be there from 12:00pm to at least 3:30pm on both days.  Bring her your garden tools, knives, scissors….she can sharpen almost anything with a blade!  Depending on turn-out, she may also be at SYC on Thursday the 22nd.

Drop-off and pick-up for all items will be here at SYC.  Ideally, you will take items straight to Rebecca in the truck.  If you need to drop off items prior to 12:00 pm, or on Monday, you can leave them in the SYC office, but please make sure all items are well labeled!  Masking tape or mailing labels work well and will keep all of our almost identical shovels and scissors from being mixed-up.  Knife boxes will also be available in the office if you need early drop-off.  Since we can’t know how many people will participate, we can’t give a guarantee that your items will be ready the same day, but we feel certain you will be happy with your newly sharpened tools.  Just ask Adele for her testimonial of the re-sharpened wedding knife.

Please visit Rebecca’s website, www.sharpeningonsite.com for a full price list of items that can be sharpened.  Please make sure the items you bring in are reasonably clean.  Payment will go directly to Sharpening On Site, cash or check only.  A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to SYC.

We had an unusually large number of applications submitted for SYC’s 2012-13 school year.  As of our opening enrollment date (Friday, February 17), we received 169 applications for 147 available spaces.  So, unfortunately we were not able to immediately place all applicants into classes, and of those we were able to place, many did not receive their first choice classes.  You can find the length of the class waitlists here, and we will update as changes/withdrawals occur.  Although each year is different, last year we had approximately 25 withdrawals/changes between this time of year and the beginning of the school year.

Materials are now available for enrolling children into SYC’s 2012-13 school year, which will begin September 10, 2012.  The processing date and time for applications for the 2012-13 school year will be February 17, 2012 at 3:15 p.m.  This means that preliminary class lists will be assembled from all applications we have received by that time and that applicants applying after that time will be placed in classes and/or on waitlists on a first come, first serve basis as class space is available.

You can download the registration materials here.

The beginning of this school year brought many changes in the SYC office.  Adele, our office manager and I had to learn to use a new email system as well as learn about and help build our new website during the first few weeks of September, which is normally already wildly busy just with the flurry and confusion of teacher prep week and the first weeks of school.

The computer changes will make things so much easier for us in the long run but in the short run, it’s put us behind in every area and we are having a hard time catching up.  We are starting to round the corner now and our stress levels are slowly settling  into a lower gear.

All this reminded me of how children feel at the beginning of the school year.  They have to adjust to moving from summer schedules to being in a different physical environment as well as meeting new teachers and children!  It’s an exciting time but, even if it is going well, all change brings stress.

When kids are stressed out, you might notice short-term behavioral changes—such as mood swings, acting out, changes in sleep patterns, or regressions like thumb sucking or toileting.  Some kids experience physical effects, including stomachaches and headaches.

In times of stress, Mr. Rogers reminds us that it helps our children’s stress levels a lot when we adults work on our own stress levels.  Here are some key points offered in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: (excerpted from “What Do You Do with the Stress that You Feel?” By Hedda Sharapan, http://www.fredrogers.org/pro-dev/november.html)

Be mindful: Slow down and take the time to focus on enjoying the small things.  Think about how calming it can be when you take a moment to notice and appreciate the sky or a tree on your way to work or to focus on the texture and taste of the food you’re chewing.

Build relationships: Fred often said, “It’s through relationships that we grow best and learn best” – and that’s not just for children!  Make time to be with your friends.

Have realistic expectations of ourselves:  We all fall short of the mark sometimes.  That’s just because we’re human.  Fred said: “The greatest loss we have to deal with is the loss of the image of ourselves as a perfect person.”  Let’s be gentle on ourselves when we make mistakes.  Fred often reminded us there are no perfect teachers, parents, or children – just human ones.

We are all affected by changes, but being surrounded by this wonderful community of families gives us so much support through our stresses and we hope that the SYC staff gives you the support your family needs throughout the year.

We are always honored when a family chooses our preschool program for their children. It’s a big decision to allow other adults to have an influence in the life of your family and we appreciate the amount of trust this takes.

There are lots of research studies showing the benefits of attending a high quality preschool. However, these studies indicate that only high-quality programs have lasting positive effects. So what makes a program high quality? I was delighted to learn that in these studies, programs were considered high-quality if they empowered children, families and teachers!

Here at SYC we empower young children by supporting and encouraging them in all areas of development: social, emotional, physical and intellectual. We want to empower them to think for themselves, solve their own problems, and be an active participant in their own learning.

If you have a child who is now aged 3, 4, or 5,  we still have several openings.  You can check here to see which of our classes have openings.  (Sorry, there are no openings in our classes for 2-year-olds.  Those classes all have long wait lists.)