JUNE NEWSLETTER 2010

END OF YEAR
June 1 Summer Program payment due
June 2 Our fifth grade graduation party (family pizza party)
June 4 Last day for Nursery School classes
June 4 Night Owls 6-10 pm sign up on bulletin board
June 10 Last day for School Age Care. We are open until 6pm
BVE children get out of school at 12:00
June 11, 14. & 15 We are closed
June 15 Summer Mudpie, Ready Set Go & New Parent Orientation
June 16 All Summer Programs begin
July 5 We are closed

FOR FALL
Aug. 1 You should receive Newsletter and Bill for fall.
Aug. 10 Last Day to pay for Fall and turn in forms while your child eats ice cream. 6 to 7:00pm.
Aug. 18 Last day for summer programs
Aug. 24 Kindergarten Parent/Child orientation before or after Lemonade Day at Burton Valley. At 10 & 11
Aug. 25 First Day of School and Merriewood begins for school age care
Aug. 30 Nursery School begins the week of Aug. 30
Sept. 6 Labor Day. We are closed

CHECKING OUT FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
Everyone needs to check with someone in the office. Please be prepared on the last day that your child will be with us to pay in cash or check for any extra hours accumulated during June. If your child will be here the last day of school there will be extra hours because of school letting out at 12:00 that day.

Nursery School – Please take everything out of your child’s cubby unless he/she is coming to Mudpie. Check out with Teachers and the office.

Kindergarten - On your child's last day, you should find a grocery bag with your child's name on it, his/her extra clothes, things from the cubby etc. Then check out with Diane, Bonnie, or whoever is in the office.
Grades 1 –5 Make sure you are checked out in the office and paid up for June and extra hours including any extra for the last day of school as children get out at noon.
Be sure that you check the lost and found, hooks etc. where your child keeps his or her things. Strange things come home on the last day.

YOUR BILL THIS MONTH
You bill reflects the ½ month June tuition and any extra hours from May. There will not be another billing this school year.

SUMMER SESSION UPDATE
Orientation Meeting is mandatory for parents new to our summer program.
7:00 TO 8:00PM – June 15th Children are welcome
We have openings left. Talk with us if you have questions.

FALL SCHEDULE
You will receive a newsletter around August 1 with your bill for September based upon the schedule you gave us when you re-registered. If you need to change this schedule, please contact us at your earliest convenience so that your bill will be correct. This letter will also contain important information about beginning Merriewood in the fall. The deadline for paying your Fall tuition is August 10. We will be open from 6 to 7pm, so that you may bring in forms, and your child can eat an ice cream cone while you are doing business, etc.

NURSERY SCHOOL VISITATION AND ORIENTATION
You will receive information in your packet about starting school. August 27th if morning visitation and orientation for parents and children.

KINDERGARTEN VISITATION AND ORIENTATION AT MERRIEWOOD
August 24 (same day as Burton Valley’s Lemonade day for visitation to kindergarten) is Merriewood’s parent/child visitation and orientation. Afternoon kindergarteners will come at 10:00 before your Lemonade Day at 11:00. Morning kindergarteners will come at 11:00 after Lemonade Day.

THANK YOU
Thanks to John Trentacosti who has taught our school-agers carpentry once a week all year and who will be here this summer. Kris Halverson who danced with all of our programs and will also be here this summer. And then there are all those parents who have brought in paper and other supplies. A number of parents have come in to do special projects and help in our garden. This makes our programs so rich. Thanks to all the wonderful parents who stop to give us a pat on the back or a little help here and there, and those who were willing to fill in on short notice for an absent parent participator in nursery school or an aide or teacher who was ill. We love having our parents who regularly participate in our programs. It helps to make our programs high quality.

SOME IDEAS FOR A SMOOTH SUMMER

TRANSITIONS
Whether your child will stay home this summer or go into a program, this is a transition time. And like any another transition, the least amount of disruption to the normal schedule the better. Getting plenty of sleep, having quality parent time, and knowing what to expect are all things that keep the stress of change down.

SIBLING FIGHTING
Siblings are sometimes hard to deal with during the summer when children are together more. Make sure that you don't play into the "it isn't fair" game. Give unconditional love and care for individual needs as consistently as possible. Make sure everyone has time away from the other for at least some time daily.

STRUCTURE
Most children don't do well without any structure at all. Children feel more secure with a routine they can grow to expect. So design some routine to their day for eating, sleeping, and playing that suits you as well as your children and don't forget to structure some time for you each day as well. Children who go from program to program in the summer often come into fall and school “burnt out” from having had to adjust to too many new authority figures, rules and form too many new relationships.

EXPERIENCES Summer time can be a wonderful time for special learning experiences. Take your cues from your child; swimming, nature collecting, building, creating, cooking, water and sand play, etc. do a lot to build self-esteem and a feeling of independence.

BEHAVIOR
Upsetting behavior can be worked with by remembering to:
1. Take action when bad behavior first starts--allowing your child to do unwanted actions only helps him/her to get better at it.
2. What action? Remove child from play, other child, or dinner table etc. Allow child to come back when he/she is ready to follow rules of "no hitting, swearing, etc." Sometimes it helps to help the child to rehearse what they will do next time. Spanking, yelling, and heavy trips of guilt will generally stop the behavior but it will come back and be a bigger problem as time goes on.
3. Listen to your child. What is the problem? Let him/her know that he need not act out to get your attention.
4. To prevent bad behavior in the first place, try sitting with your child for 20 minutes or so each day just cuddling, no particular talking, lecturing, but just being there. This can work for every age.