Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Elf In Our School

"Guess what?" blurted out my little friend as he walked in the door Monday morning, "we have an ELF at our house!" he continued, "his name is Peanut and he loves candy and every morning he's someplace new!"

The Elf on the Shelf has been all the rage these past few years and the families at our school seem to have caught the fever. During free play in the morning the children chatter excitedly about elf names and activities. One child's elf was hanging from the ceiling fan, one hiding in the lamp. Most of the elves are well-behaved creatures but a few have some naughtiness coursing through their impish bodies.

One elf (who shall remain nameless) spilled a bag of flour all over the kitchen and was making snow angels! My little friend explained that even though the elf was naughty sometimes, they loved him anyway. As I relayed this story to mom at pick-up she said they are using the poor behavior of the elf to teach grace to their children. These children are learning that God loves us even when we make mistakes or don't deserve it.

Although I never had the pleasure of an elf at my house, I do have a close personal friend who is a real elf. I'm not sure I'm permitted to discuss this but . . . Mrs. Davis is an elf!

For the past several years Nora Davis has been a volunteer on the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad's Polar Express. After teaching young children during the day she magically transforms into her elf self and hops aboard the train with Santa in the evening. She helps serve cookies, reads to the children and makes sure everyone on the train leaves with happy memories. Sometimes she gets home very late at night and has to quickly change back into human form for school the next morning. If you look very carefully, you can see a special twinkle in her eyes and the remnants of glitter in her hair. 



As adults it's too easy to get caught up in all the fuss of holiday preparations and miss the magic and wonder and grace. Whether or not you have an elf at your house, may you find some magical moments with your little one this season. The cleaning and cooking and decorating and baking and wrapping can all wait. Take a deep breath, find your sweeties and cuddle on the sofa. Read the Christmas story and share a favorite childhood memory of a Christmas past.  

Most importantly, remember the gift of love that was held in that stable manger and the hope it still provides for us today. 




Cheryl Hoover is the Director of Northampton Christian Preschool in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 






Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thank you God, for everything

                                                   Thank you for the world so sweet,
                                                    thank you for the food we eat,
                                                    thank you for the birds that sing,
                                                    thank you, God, for everything.

This little prayer is recited at school each day. As we learned the story of the first Thanksgiving we also learned what it means to be thankful.

Here's a little of what I've learned about Thanksgiving from the very wise three, four and five year olds who teach me each day.

I thank God for:

  • a new puffy winter coat that keeps me warm on chilly mornings
  • news shoes, especially the pretty sparkly ones or the ones that light up when I stomp
  • a fresh new batch of play dough
  • the joy that comes from banging on rhythm sticks or jingle bells 
  • a healthy body that allows me to run, climb and skip 
  • chasing my friends on the playground on a sunny, 60 degree day in November! 
  • being able to "read" my favorite book all by myself 
  • getting a birthday treat from a friend at school 
  • new smelly markers on the art table 
  • finding a little treat food at the bottom of my lunch box 
  • playing pretend 
  • dancing to a song that I know the words to
  • digging a hole on the playground and finding a squiggly worm 
  • making a friend 
  • my parents who pick me up each day and take me to the best place on earth--home. 
May your home be filled with wonderful sounds and smells and family tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving! 





Thursday, October 25, 2012

Making the monsters go away

"Teacher, teacher I want the yellow bean bag!" shouted an excited little one as I was passing out colored bean bags for a favorite dance. "I'm sorry you didn't get the color you wanted, I explained, that's called being disappointed. Sometimes you don't get the color you want but you get what you get and you can't throw a fit." This little lesson, painful as it may be, is one of the ways we teach children how to deal with disappointment.

Preschoolers are just beginning to understand their emotions and a goal of our program is to help children identify and appropriately express a variety of feelings. The month of October and the occasion of trick-or-treat is a good time to talk about being happy, sad, frightened, angry and disappointed.

In addition to learning how to deal with disappointment, children need to learn how to overcome or adequately deal with their fears. (Don't we all!) In the weeks leading up to Halloween we talk a great deal about monsters, bad dreams and scary costumes. We learn that monsters are just pretend and that people can put on a costume and look different even though they're still the same person underneath.

But what about fear? How do you teach young children how to deal with the monsters under their bed or scary dreams? Faith in a God who is always watching over us is a way to reassure children and  adults.

The Gospel of Mark relays this story. (I've taken the liberty to paraphrase in kid-speak.) Jesus and his friends were taking a boat ride. It was a beautiful, sunny day and they were laughing and enjoying the weather. Jesus lay down in the boat and fell asleep. A short while later the winds began to blow (insert 4-year-old wind sounds here) and the waves began to get bigger and bigger (children rock up and down). The friends of Jesus began to get worried. It was becoming more and more difficult to row the boat on the tall waves. Then the rain began to fall and the friends were getting wet. The wind continued to howl and by now the friends were terrified. "Jesus, wake up!" they yelled.  "Help us, help us!" they shouted.

Jesus woke up and looked at his friends. "Why are you frightened? You know that I am right here with you," he said. And then Jesus performed a miracle. He stood up and said to the wind, "Be still!" He looked at the water and said, "Be still!" And the wind stopped blowing and the rain stopped and the sea was as calm as could be.

"Who is this man?" the friends wondered, "even the wind and the rain obey him." Jesus' friends were amazed.

As we plant seeds of faith in the hearts of our little ones we want them to know that God created them, loves them and is always watching over them. Jesus is with us when the storms come and when there are monsters under our bed and when we have bad dreams at night. We are never alone.

This story is not just for children. It's one I turn to when fighting monster-like adult worries.

If you aren't familiar with the "Veggie Tales" check out the song "God is Bigger." This catchy little tune is another great way to teach your child that God is always watching over them. The song is linked here.





Cheryl Hoover is the Director of Northampton Christian Preschool.









Thursday, October 4, 2012

Confessions of a Wimpy Mom

Now that my children are grown I look back over parenting decisions I made and wish I had done a few things differently. By the grace of God my children are a healthy, happy bunch who are learning to make their respective ways in the world despite their mother's shortcomings. After teaching young children for 16 years I have greater wisdom today than I did as a young mom.

When our son was three years old, my husband and I enrolled him in a two-mornings-a-week preschool program. It was a wonderful little school staffed by nurturing teachers who were well versed in early childhood education.

Our son loved school. For the first month. Then he had an unfortunate but typical potty accident and refused to go back. We talked, cajoled and reasoned with him. (This may have been our first mistake. Who in their right mind thinks they can reason with a three year old!) He dug in his heels, cried and lamented that he was not going back to school.

It's hard to watch your child struggle and it's very hard to see them unhappy. I began to question our decision to enroll him. Does a three year old really need preschool anyway? Maybe he just wasn't ready for the big, bad world of school. Wouldn't he be better off another year at home with me? Was I causing grave psychological damage by insisting he go back? (This might be an overreach but what parent hasn't had this thought?) After a week of fighting I caved in and withdrew him. What a wimp I was.

Even though I went on to make decisions far worse than this one, I did my son no favors by pulling him out. I should have confidently told him that moms work and kids go to school. I should have calmly taken him back to school, let him cry a few minutes until he found something fun to do and returned at the end of the morning. The truth is I allowed a three-year-old child to control the situation and failed to be the parent he needed. I also sent a subtle message that he couldn't handle difficult situations on his own.

Children learn to be emotionally competent when they triumph over their fears. Their self esteem grows when they venture into new territory and find that they not only survive, but thrive. And, they learn discipline when they get to school every day even when they'd rather stay home and snuggle in their pajamas.

Some days school is a great place where you play with your best friend and get to paint at the easel. Other times a mean kid knocks your blocks over and you don't get a turn in duck, duck, goose. Children learn valuable lessons from all these experiences.

I don't believe my misguided decision caused irreparable harm to my son, but I wish I had sent him back to school and empowered him to triumph over a stressful situation. I'm happy to report that although he flunked out of preschool that year he is about to graduate law school. And today he is only occasionally mocked for this event by his sisters.

God made you a parent for a reason. Don't be afraid to lead your child and don't be too wimpy to let them learn lessons, even difficult ones, on their own.




                                   My son the preschool dropout and his wimpy mother.














Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's Your Favorite Summertime Play?



Did you hear that? The collective "aah" signaling that school has ended for the year? Parents and their offspring are breathing a great sigh of relief as tests and reports and assignments are put on hiatus for the next 12 weeks. The long, lazy days of summer have officially arrived.

You remember being a kid in the summer, don't you? The freedom to roam about the neighborhood playing with friends and exploring to your heart's desire? Do you remember the joy of spending an entire day just playing? 

Dictionary dot com defines the verb play as; " engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose." Now to many parents (myself included) the idea that children should just waste their time playing all day is unnerving. We think children need to be actively engaged in serious learning. They should be reading or working on flash cards or taking a music lesson or engaged in some sort of enrichment activity. We're convinced that a child left with nothing to do but stare into the clouds and daydream is falling behind the rest of the pack.

Play is necessary and healthy for children and scientists now believe that some daydreaming fosters creativity. We all need to soak up some sun, stretch our legs and run, jump rope or swim in the neighborhood pool. We need to explore our artistic sides by playing with sidewalk chalk or painting rocks found in the backyard. We need to play sandlot baseball (do kids even do this anymore?) We all, but especially children, need time each day for play. The sad reality is the modern school day allows virtually no time for play.

With a blank summer calendar before us, I thought it would be fun to share ideas for encouraging good-old-fashioned play. Reach back into your memory bank and list in the comments below a fun summer activity of your childhood or your own child's favorite summertime play. Let's see how many creative ideas we can brainstorm and then try out in the next few months.

Are you ready? I'll start.

Catching lightning bugs in a jar. For an uncoordinated child like me this was not only fun but challenging! Most of the fun was just staying out past dark racing my sisters around the yard. We'd try to catch as many bugs as possible in our empty peanut butter jars before the mosquitoes chased us inside. We'd then put our jars next to our beds and watch the glow as we drifted off to sleep.

Now that I'm an adult I rarely see fireflies. But when I do, I fondly remember the fun I had as a child and the freedom to experience something unique to a beautiful night of summer vacation from school.

Now it's your turn. I'm looking forward to reading your responses!






Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Secret About Kindergarten

When I began this preschool program, the last day of school was nearly unbearable for me. I would look into those sweet little faces as they said goodbye and fight back tears. I worried about the dangers of the world as they left the comfortable cocoon of our classroom. Part of me wanted to keep them young forever so they wouldn't experience heartaches or failures in the real world. I would watch their chubby legs march off with their parents, headed into the big scary world of Kindergarten and think it would be all down-hill from there.

But then I grew up.

How ridiculous it was for me to cry on the last day of school. What message was I sending to these sweet little beings? Were my emotional reactions teaching them that Kindergarten or any new life experience was something to be feared?

Our goal as early childhood educators is to teach children that learning is exciting and something to embrace. We want children to have the confidence to try new experiences, whether it's painting with your feet in preschool or hopping on the yellow bus to Kindergarten. We want them to continually reach for that next rung on the ladder, even when you're a little worried about letting go of the familiar.

As a parent I've watched four children grow from babies into adults. I've spent nearly 30 years worrying myself sick about my kids even as I've attempted to "be anxious for nothing."* I've stewed when I thought they were headed in the wrong direction and cheered with great pride as they've accomplished life goals. As every parent does, I loved them throughout all these experiences, even when they were pain-in-the-neck teenagers! In spite of my shortcomings as a parent, God continues to mold them (and me) into the humans we are meant to be.

If I were just beginning my life as a parent, I would pray more and worry less. I would soak up every precious minute with my kids instead of worrying about keeping to the schedule. I wouldn't grieve the passage of time, but would truly celebrate every milestone and be excited about the next chapter of life. As I celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday I'll vow to take this advice! 

Mrs. Mottice, Woodridge Primary School teacher and mother to Braden, came to visit last week. After teaching the children how to do the Kindergarten "bunny wave" and make fish tails with your hands behind your back, she told us the secret about Kindergarten--it's more fun than preschool. Actually, I asked her to relay this info to the kids and it's the same sentiment we'll send them out the door with next week. Not only is Kindergarten more fun than preschool, but every new stage in life is more exciting than the next.

Of course change is never easy, and there will be challenges and disappointments to be sure. But change, even when painful, is always good. God doesn't want us to stay caterpillars forever. He wants us to fight our way out of that chrysalis, dry our wings and soar to new heights.




*Phillipians 4:6 & 7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (New International Version)



Monday, April 23, 2012

Nurturing Creative Thinkers

Since the death of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., much has been written about how to educate children to become future inventors and innovators. If you aren't familiar with his personal story, Jobs was a college dropout who spent 18 months dropping in on creative college classes. He stated that Mac computers were designed with such a wide variety of fonts because he once sat in on a calligraphy class. 

Does our current educational system encourage learning that will produce future inventors like Jobs? Or do children lose a vital part of their education when schools concentrate too heavily on tests and not enough on art, creativity and imagination?

Northampton Christian Preschool believes it is essential to nurture imagination skills in children. Our teachers prepare the classrooms to allow for long periods of pretend play, block construction and creative art activities. Crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, paper in different colors and textures, feathers, tape dispensers, and toilet paper tubes are some of the items routinely found in the Art Center.

The role of the teacher is to order the environment so that it is organized and inviting. Like this:


 

 These simple materials enabled this little Buzz Lightyear to create this:


If you look carefully you can see he's added "buzz wings" to his "buzz helmet." This young man worked all morning adding new details to his costume. The idea was his and the teachers provided encouragement and help when needed.


Due to the strong emphasis on standardized testing beginning in early elementary school, these experiences are often eliminated in preschools to concentrate on activities deemed more academic. We falsely believe that children who are just playing or using an entire roll of scotch tape on some silly project are wasting time they could be using to learn something important. But it is precisely during these times that children develop much-needed skills. Not only are they becoming proficient at using scissors and glue and pencils, but they are learning how to experiment and create and take chances. We want to encourage children to come up with an idea and act on it, even if it doesn't turn out the way they planned. As adults we know the best lessons are learned from mistakes and when we don't succeed we need to try again. We want to empower our children with this same sense of confidence.

But don't children need to know the alphabet and shapes and counting before entering Kindergarten? Absolutely, and those skills are taught in a developmentally appropriate fashion every day. But we also need to teach that joy comes from creating something all your own and there is great satisfaction in working hard to bring an idea to fruition.

I'll leave you with this link about a little boy who had a good idea that morphed into something completely unexpected. Thank you to Nora Davis who shared this gem with me. The joyful guy depicted in the video may be a future inventor. Northampton Christian Preschool hopes to raise a few of our own as well!



Cheryl Hoover works with future inventors each day at Northampton Christian Preschool. 






Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Can't Say Fat




At Circle time today, my little friends and I were running through some of our favorite finger plays. We began with "The Thousand-Legged Worm", which gave all of us (including me) the chance to practice our hopping. We moved on to "God Loves You" followed by "Leo the Lion". The children love to open their arms wide and let out a great "roar!" Afterward we turned our lion jaws into elephant trunks and repeated:

 The elephant is so big and FAT
he walks like this
he walks like that.
He has no fingers
he has no toes
but oh my goodness, what a nose! 

As we were trumpeting like elephants at the end of the song I heard an excited, "teacher, teacher!" "Is there something you'd like to share?" I asked a little boy. And his sweet voice replied, "you can't say fat."

Taking advantage of this teachable moment we talked about how the word fat would be a very mean thing to say to a person. Mean words make your heart hurt. We decided it was okay to say an elephant is fat because animals are different than people and don't have feelings. The children then named some animals that were large like elephants and thin like snakes. 

Preschool children are by nature egocentric which is why sharing is difficult for them. They are just beginning to understand that other people matter. The concept of feelings is new to them as well so I found it unusual that a child this young would be sensitive to a word like fat. I'm sure he's learned this lesson at his family dinner table. 

An important goal of our school is to teach children, after the example of Jesus, to love your neighbor as yourself and to be kind to everyone. It's a very simple concept. Or is it? I don't usually call people fat but am I always kind to everyone? Do I kindly wait behind the woman in the Produce Section who is taking her good old time when I'm in a hurry? Am I kind to people whose political views or opinions are vastly different from my own? Do I offer up a smile to the grouchy looking man at the post office or do I put my head down and avoid him? And am I always careful with the words I use?

Schools across the country are investing great time and money to institute anti-bullying programs. How much easier it would be if all children were taught at a young age, like this little guy, to keep your tongue from saying something mean.


Monday, April 2, 2012

A Sad Day and a Happy Day

In preparation for Holy Week my husband and I re-watched Passion of the Christ last evening. This movie does an amazing job of placing the viewer in the midst of Jerusalem to witness the horrific events of Good Friday. The violence, brutality and humiliation Jesus endured is graphically depicted. For adults of the faith it's important to re-visit this scene each year, but what about children? Are preschoolers ready for this information and is it something their young minds can understand?

Many years ago our school purchased a set of Read Aloud Bible Stories by Ella K. Lindvall which we frequently use in our classroom. The illustrations are large and simple,  perfect for reading to a group. The author uses text that is easily understood by children ages four to eight years old.

The Easter story is titled; "A Sad Day and a Happy Day."  The story begins by saying some bad men did not like Jesus and put him on a cross to die. It then goes on to talk about the tomb and how sad Jesus' friends were when they couldn't talk to him anymore. The main focus is the miracle of Easter morning when the women arrived at the tomb to see the stone rolled away and the angel's announcement "He is alive!" It concludes when Jesus appears to his friends, shows them his scarred hands and says, "Don't be afraid, I am alive!"

At Northampton one of our goals is to plant spiritual seeds in the lives of our young students. We want them to leave our program knowing they were created by God--just the way they are, that He loves them dearly and He is always with them. The telling of "A Sad Day and a Happy Day" is the first seed in the concept that He is alive and always watching over us.

We'll be celebrating new life at school this week. The children will be bringing in items from home to share or looking for examples as we hike to the garden and play outdoors. As we marble paint crosses and hunt for eggs we will remember the story of Easter and the hope we have because Jesus is alive!











Thursday, March 1, 2012

Falling in Love

I'm a new grandmother. Five months ago, after waiting and praying for several years, my daughter and her husband had a sweet little boy whom they named Logan. Grandparent hood is everything they say it is and so much more. This sweet little guy has rocked our entire family. Every last one of us is smitten but good.

I watch Logan several afternoons a week while his mommy works. We love rocking and singing and cooing. It's pure heaven.

When my daughter arrives to pick him up he's usually snoozing in his swing. She tiptoes over and gently switches off the button. He slowly opens his eyes, takes a moment to focus and then explodes into a huge smile as he recognizes his mommy. They then cuddle up together, blocking out the entire world, as they reconnect. 

Watching this scene play out reminds me of falling in love. Remember when love was new and your heart would skip a beat at the sight of your beloved? When you could barely stand to be apart?

This same feeling is playing out in our classrooms. Now before you all become alarmed that your children are pairing off into couples, hear me out. Young children who make a friend for the first time exhibit the same giddiness as a couple in love.

When the children entered our classrooms in September they did so with some apprehension and anxiety. For many this was a first group experience and the first time they had been left with someone other than family. What if I don't like it there? What if I miss my mom? What is school really like anyway? I'm sure many of these thoughts entered their precious little minds.

But now, a mere seven months later, so much has changed. These children now happily separate from their parents and rush to the sensory table. They know how to sing the clean up song and where the doll clothes belong. They know how to sit crisscross applesauce at circle time and that it's not okay to push someone. They've learned that we always sing the bunny song before the goodbye song (and they'll remind me if I forget!) and then we go home. They have also learned the thrill of making a friend.

As new friends squeeze next to each other on the rug for group time they can barely contain themselves. The look at each other and giggle, wrap their arms around each other and grin. They have favorite toys they play with each day and favorite books they cuddle up with together. Certainly not as strong as the mother/child bond but the feelings are similar. I feel the same way when I spend the afternoon with a dear friend, catching up during a walk. It's just good to connect with other humans.

When you wonder if the money you've invested in preschool education really pays off, think of these experiences. If your child never attended preschool they would learn the alphabet and colors and how to count because you would teach them those skills. But what they might not learn is how to venture off into a scary new territory, take a risk and make new friends. And it is precisely these experiences that will prepare your child for future challenges down the road--like the big yellow school bus that will one day drive them off to Kindergarten.



Cheryl Hoover is the Director of Northampton Christian Preschool in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

You Go, Moms!

Our Pre-K children have been writing about their "marvelous moms" this week. Here's a sampling of what they've had to say:
  • My mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world! 
  • We get to spend time together and play.
  • I love her cooking. She makes me white eggs. 
  • My mom's name is Mom and her last name is Cherie.
  • She likes games. She doesn't like pitching baseballs but she likes cars! 
  • I really like riding bikes with her. 
  • I love her, we go on walks together. 
  • She has really pretty bangs. 
I have the utmost respect for the moms of our school. These women unselfishly give to their families and serve others as well. Many of them combine the challenge of raising children while working. They spend long hours using their God-given talents to financially provide for their kids. Others have made a great personal and economic sacrifice to be at home full time. Some are single moms who bravely struggle alone. All these women have one thing in common; they are putting the needs of their families ahead of themselves.

We have moms at our school who work the night shift and still manage to drop their child off with a kiss and a smile before heading home to bed. Moms who barely sleep, pump breast milk, pack lunches and load the crock pot before working a 12-hour shift. Moms whose homes are bursting at the seams with active little ones who keep them hopping all day long. Moms who lovingly and patiently reprimand their children and teach them right from wrong. Moms who run from volunteering at their child's school, to the library, to soccer, to church and yet still have time to help with homework, read a story and share some quiet moments before bedtime. 

These women are called to a high purpose; modeling sacrificial love day after day after day. But isn't this what every mom does? Sadly, no. There are too many children in this world who suffer from neglect and abuse at the hands of their parents. These women love their children too, but they have so many issues of mental illness, substance abuse or domestic violence they cannot care for themselves let alone provide for the needs of their offspring. The heartbreaking reality is that not every child has a stable, caring mother.

So here's my personal "shout out" to all you moms who think you aren't doing enough. Trust me, you are. God has placed you in this high role for His purpose. And every time He sees you, in all your exhausted state, caring for His children, He smiles.



Cheryl Hoover witnesses marvelous moms every day at Northampton Christian Preschool.




Friday, January 13, 2012

God Never Sleeps

A quality preschool program designs curriculum to meet the needs of the whole child. Physical, intellectual, emotional and social competencies are all important for healthy development. To this list Northampton Christian Preschool also adds spiritual development.

Our goals for spiritual development are simple. We want children to understand they are created by a God who loves them and is always watching over them. We teach children that they can speak to God through prayer anytime and anywhere and that He loves to hear their prayers. We are learning to talk to God whenever we are happy or sad or worried or afraid.

As we learned about the Good Shepherd this week we reinforced these concepts. A shepherd feeds and cares for his sheep. He leads them on the journey through lush valleys and rocky paths. He protects them from the wolves. He lovingly rescues them when they wander away. He is always watching over them.

In the lunch room today, a sweet friend who recently turned five said "Teacher, I don't feel very good." "What's the matter?" I asked. "Well, my tummy hurts," he said as he took a large bite from his sandwich, "and I didn't get good sleep last night. I had bad dreams all night." 

"I'm sorry to hear that" I replied. "I have bad dreams sometimes too. When I do, I talk to God. I know He is always watching over me because He never goes to sleep." "You know what?" my little friend piped up, "I'm just like God cuz I don't like to go to bed either!"

As I teach these lessons to young children, I re-learn them over and over again in my own life. If God is my shepherd then I have everything I need. If God is always watching over me (and my children) I need not worry when they drive out of the driveway on a snowy night. And when I am awakened in the middle of the night from worry, God is still up waiting to hear from me.  

Cheryl Hoover is the Director of Northampton Christian Pre-school.