New and Lasting Friendships for Parents and Kids
Posted by Danny Jensen in 
Make new friends
And keep the old
One is silver
And the other’s gold
Ah, friends. They’re worth their weight in gold, and just like gold, you can’t have too many of them. At some point in life, you (and your child) are going to find yourselves in a situation where you’re feeling lonely and in need of a good friend. Maybe you’ve just moved to a new town. Maybe your child is starting at a new school. Maybe his best friend (or yours) away. Even if you’re already blessed with a circle of good friends, there’s always room for one more. But make no mistake, it’s not always an easy task, especially if you’re quiet or shy. It’s never too early to start teaching your child how to make (and keep) new friends, so here are a few tips to make it a bit easier:
Join a playgroup
Find a local parents’ club or organization that has regular playdates already organized. Playgroups are usually grouped by age, which makes it easier for your child to bond with others. And since you’ll be going through the same parenting joys and sorrows as the other parents in the playgroup, you’ll have plenty to talk about.
Join a class
There’s nothing like shared interests to jump start a conversation. Sign your child up for a class he loves, like ballet or soccer or gymnastics so that he can meet people who like the same things he does.
Head out to the playground….
If your child needs a friend, go to where the children are. Many parents or caregivers take their children to their neighborhood park on a regular basis, so if stick to a particular date and time for your playground runs, you’ll likely see the same faces again and again.
…. and take an extra toy with you.
If you have a shy child who finds it difficult to approach a group of children, just take along an extra dump truck, shovel or ball to the playground Give your child some advance notice that these toys are meant to be shared, and dump the whole lot into the sandbox. Children will flock to your child like bees to honey — and so will their caregivers. Your child is bound to find a new friend, and so will you.
Make the first move
If you’re the new family in town, jump start your social life by making the first move. Join the PTA, become a room parent or volunteer at your church’s Sunday School so you can get to know the other families in the neighborhood. Then invite a fellow parent over for coffee, and invite a classmate over for the afternoon.
Even if you’re not the ones moving to a new place, remind yourself and your child that there’s no need to limit yourself to your old circle of friends! It’s tough enough being the new family on the block, so put on your welcoming hat and make the first move. Welcome a new family into your neighborhood or school by knocking on their front door with a pan of brownies, inviting them to your block party, or arranging a playdate with your child.
Keep your old friends
Stay in touch with old friends by exchanging emails, letters and Christmas cards. Have your child write out a birthday card to the friends in his old school or town — or better yet, put them on the phone so they can hear each other’s voices. Keep the memories alive by putting up photos of your child and his friends or making scrapbooks of fun moments they’ve shared together. And if you’re still in the same town but have moved to another school, keeping the friendship alive is easier than ever. Sign up for the same ballet classes or soccer teams so they get to see each other in an organized group setting. And remember to keep those playdates and parties going!
A Child’s Academy, is a Gainesville FL Preschool and Daycare. We have provided Gainesville FL Preschool Children with the Love of Learning for 32+ years. Book a tour of A Child’s Academy to meet our great teachers and to experience our preschool at www.achildsacademy.com/tour.
The Impact of a Great Pre-School Teacher
Great teachers make great preschools. When looking for a preschool, it is very important that a parent understand the preschool learning environment and the influence that a teacher has in creating that environment. Understanding a teacher’s contribution to a well-run classroom, then, is critical in selecting a preschool for your child.
Life is very active for a preschooler. A young child learns most of his or her concepts through play and hands-on, real-life experiences. Therefore a great preschool teacher will plan and set up a rich, inviting environment that provides each child the opportunity to learn at an optimal level. A classroom filled with toys, equipment, and themes by which children can learn language, math concepts, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, creativity, problem solving, and science concepts, serves as a tool for teachers to use in keeping a well-managed classroom. He or she will understand the various means by which young children learn, and provide activities and lessons which engage children on multiple levels. With a carefully planned and prepared environment, an early childhood teacher has all kinds of teaching resources at his/her fingertips.
A great preschool teacher will notice and value the individual. A great preschool teacher will have a method to take notes about a child’s individual development and methods to customize attention or activities to individual needs. A great preschool teacher will take the time to understand each aspect of a child’s development: creative development, social and emotional development, cognitive development, language and communication development, and physical development. Within this framework, the teacher will honor each child as a unique person worthy of respect, listening and responding to questions and concerns.
A great preschool teacher will encourage each child. A teacher should provide plenty of positive reinforcement, both when children are in groups and also when working one-on-one with a child. Just as adults appreciate affirmation in what they do well at work, church, or volunteer service, so children desire to know specifically what they do well. A great preschool teacher will notice these details and communicate them to the children. A critical part of preschool development involves social interactions; so a great preschool teacher will encourage healthy relationship development between the students, and between the students and staff.
A great preschool teacher will be effective by being a gentle leader. The list of characteristics that describe teachers is endless. One parent said that she looks for “someone who is very, very sweet – is kind;” but “kindness” only begins the list. Preschool teachers must be mature leaders who have great inner strength and know how to be creative, spontaneous, problem solving, patient, calm, positive, consistent, caring, listeners, kind, knowledgeable, and respectful. These qualities are the same qualities we hope to instill in our children; and they learn what they love. All these characteristics can be summed by one word: LOVING.
A Child’s Academy, a Gainesville FL Preschool and Daycare, strive to hire great preschool teachers with loving character. They are leaders that teach with LOVE. At A Child’s Academy Preschool and Daycare we say that LOVE is Leading the children, Optimizing their learning opportunities, Valuing each as unique and individual, and Encouraging each to develop as a complete child. Book a tour of A Child’s Academy to meet our great teachers and to experience our preschool at www.achildsacademy.com/tour.
2010 Mothers Day Luncheon
We had a wonderful turnout and a fantastic time at the ACA 2010 Mothers Luncheon today. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families. We took some photos of all the action at our Gainesville Daycare and Preschool and put together a little photo montage below.
All of our Mothers were really excited about their FREE Massage appointments that we booked them for!
Learning is Everywhere
A great resource for families, complete with appropriate, fun and educational activities for children is the Learning is Everywhere calendar, which comes out of the Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).
Every month this activity guide provides suggestions for families to use at home with children from infancy through kindergarten. It also provides suggested books for young children as well as helpful hints for parents.
The recommended activities are aligned with Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards for Infants and Toddlers, Pre-kindergarten, and Kindergarten children.
Although developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Public Welfare, these early learning standards are highly consistent with early learning standards from states around the country and, quite frankly, with the curriculum framework that you should be able to see at any early childhood education program that your child attends. They are designed to ensure that children in early care and education programs receive the skills and experiences they need to enter school ready to learn, but also to ensure that children learn these skills in a developmentally appropriate, fun and engaging way.
Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards cover key learning areas including Approaches to Learning through Play, Creative Thinking and Expression, Social Studies Thinking, Health Wellness and Physical Development, Cognitive Thinking and General Knowledge, Mathematical Thinking and Expression, Scientific Thinking and Technology, Early Literacy Foundations, Partnerships for Learning, and Social and Emotional Development. Thus, they are quite comprehensive as are the suggested activities in the Learning is Everywhere calendar.
It’s a great resource and very well done—not just for families from Pennsylvania—and we all appreciate the great work of Pennsylvania’s OCDEL on behalf of children everywhere.
Updates, Inspiration, Ideas & More
Private Tour Appointments
Why our Parents Love ACA:
Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment
A Child's Academy's VPK program has received a gold seal rating from the state of Florida for the highest standards of "quality in the level of care and supervision provided to children"