Lead Teacher- Suzette Schimm
szoia@umich.edu
Assistant Teacher- Erin Self
eself@umich.edu
https://umdececroom8.blogspot.com/
313-593-5424
What to Bring to School
Please label everything your child brings to school with your child’s full name.
A backpack to hold your child’s belongings. Please make sure the backpack is clearly labeled.
We can get very messy at school, so we ask that you bring a few sets of clothes (top, pants, underwear and socks). Please label!
A water bottle (water only please) that is clearly labeled for your child to use throughout the day and while playing outdoors.
Items for rest time (blanket, lovie, small pillow) to be kept at school throughout the week. Please know cubby space is limited - multiple blankets and lovies will not be needed for school rest time.
Please leave all toys at home, unless it is a stuffed animal for rest time.
All clothing items should be labeled (coats, gloves, hats, scarves, boots, etc.)
If your child is still in diapers or toilet training please bring some diapers for us to keep at school, as well as a few in their backpack.
In the morning and afternoon we go outside. The only time we do not go outside is during inclement weather or if the wind-chill gets below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. This includes dressing in layers and sending them with appropriate winter gear (gloves, hats, boots, etc.)
If you are not using school sunscreen, please bring a sunscreen labeled with your child’s full name to keep at school.
Lunch boxes should have your child’s name on the outside. Any thermoses kept outside of the refrigerator should be labeled clearly with your child’s name. Lunch boxes should have morning and afternoon snacks labeled inside.
We love looking at all our families and talking about them. Please add to our family photo display. Bring in a framed or printed picture to display in our classroom.
The children need to have safe shoes for the playground. The ECEC requires that the whole foot be covered securely with shoes that are suited for running, for example: tennis shoes. If you send your child to school in sandals, Crocs, or flip-flops, please have them bring a pair of shoes for the playground. Climbing on the structure, riding bikes and scooters, even running in the wood chips, require covered feet for safety. Flip-flops, Crocs, and sandals do not provide protection. If your child doesn’t have proper shoes they will be directed to play in the sandbox or at a less physical activity. Boots are imperative for snow and mud. The children will change back into indoor shoes after going outside to keep the wet and dirt from covering our floor. Rain Boots are fabulous for keeping feet dry. Our playground is famously muddy. It is great fun and rain boots insure the children can enjoy our playground.
Drop Off and Pick-up
The Early Childhood Education Center is in session from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Early drop off (prior arrangements needed) begins at 7:30am in the classroom.
New COVID procedures are implemented for drop off and pick up. All families will enter through the gate and get a temperature check and health screening. One family member should drop off the child and pick up the child. The family member will walk the children to their classroom door for morning drop off. Please say goodbye at the door. Your child’s teacher will help them continue their morning routine inside of the classroom.
Children will be asked to wash their hands after arriving in the classroom. In order to keep germs and viruses at bay this is a mandatory part of our day. Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for washing hands at school. We will encourage frequent hand washing throughout the day. It would be wise to have your child wash hands before you leave for home also.
The gate will be open from 8am to 9:30am in the morning, but please know that we start our morning meeting at 9:00am. In the afternoon the gate is open from 3pm to 4pm in the afternoon. Please note those are the times the gate will be unlocked - if it takes a few minutes for you to pick up (especially since we are furthest away from the gate), please plan accordingly as the gate will be locked promptly.
If we are outside, your child’s belongings will be with them outside at pick up time. If we are in the classroom when you come to pick up, please knock on the classroom door and your child will be brought to the door with their personal belongings.
When you come to pick up your child, please know that staying for extra time on the playground will not be permitted as we are trying very hard to limit gatherings of people and extra people on the playground.
Unfortunately the teachers are not able to spend a lot of time talking to families at drop off and pick up times. If there is an important matter that needs to be discussed, please contact me via phone or email and we can set aside time to talk.
If a family member or friend is picking up your child, they will be asked to show their license. The name of the license will be compared to the emergency card. If the adult is not listed on the emergency card they will be unable to pick up your child.
Cubbies
Each child will have a bin for their own set of markers, crayons, and sensory items. This will help to prevent the spread of germs on frequently touched items. The ECEC will provide each child with their own paint brush, markers, crayons, colored pencils, sand, and play dough. Cubby space is limited, so please make sure rest items aren’t too bulky.
Medication
Medicine to be given to the children at school must be in the original container and have the child’s name clearly labeled on it. Parent/Guardian must fill out an orange medication form. All medicine must be given to the lead teachers to be kept in a safe place out of the reach of children. Medicine cannot be kept in backpacks or lunch boxes.
Injury forms
Bumps, scrapes, and bruises may occur during the day, teachers will write up an incident report. Incident reports will be taped to your child’s cubby. We ask that you sign the form and return the white copy to a lead teacher or staff member. The yellow sheet is your copy to keep.
Playground
One of our new COVID procedures is you will now see cones on the playground. This is dividing the playground into three sections. This is to separate kids from other classrooms while playing outside.
The classrooms will alternate between the three different sections so that all children get a chance to ride bikes, play on the playground and explore the courtyard.
This means that we may be on a different part of the playground when you come to pick up at the end of each day.
Snacks
We sit down for snacks in the morning and in the afternoon. Please send your child with a morning snack and an afternoon snack in their lunch box. Please label snacks. Snack foods should be relatively healthy (no candy, cookies, chocolate bars, etc.)
Lunches
Please make sure your child’s name is clearly labeled on the outside of the lunch box.
Lunches will be put in the fridge shortly after arrival. A date label which we provide needs to be attached each day. This is a great task for your child to develop their independent sense of responsibility. A teacher will put it in the refrigerator. Lunch box love notes to your children are great literacy moments! (Please see ECEC policy about sending 100% juice.)
We will not be able to heat up your child’s lunch. Please send a lunch that can be eaten cold (we will refrigerate lunches) or pre-heat items and send them in a labeled thermos.
Your child’s lunch will be served as-is. Please be mindful of how food is prepared such as pre slicing fruit, vegetables, or other meal items.
Nutritional lunches are important for children to grow healthy and strong. They are also important to help children function throughout the day and foster learning. Helping to support healthy eaters will also encourage children to continue healthy eating habits throughout life. Balanced lunches include a small amount from several food groups.
Your child will be encouraged to eat what you send and take home what they do not finish, so please send only what you expect your child to eat.
Lunch is from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m.
Please let the office know if your child has any allergies. This helps us minimize the possibilities of your child coming in contact with a potential allergen.
Allergies
Due to certain allergies, our classroom is a PEANUT AND PEANUT BUTTER FREE classroom. Sun butter is a great alternative! If you send a sandwich with sun butter please label it so we do not mistake it for peanut butter.
We also ask that all food be finished before entering into the classroom in the morning.
Face and Hand washing will be highly encouraged after the children finish eating at snack or lunch time to help stop the spread of allergens.
Thank you for helping to ensure the health and safety of all children in our classroom!
Nutritional Suggestions
Proteins & Dairy
Cheese, cottage cheese
Turkey
Peanut Butter (may be restricted depending on allergies)
Hard boiled eggs
Tuna or egg salad
Leftovers
Chicken
Tofu
Beans and rice
10. Yogurt
Fruits & Vegetables
Celery
Apples
Carrot Sticks
Oranges
Cucumbers
Pears
Cherry Tomatoes
Peaches
Pickles
10. Raisins
11. Grapes, cut in half lengthwise please
Whole Grain Ideas
Granola bars (may be restricted depending on allergies)
Cereal
Muffins
Oatmeal
Pastas
Rice
Popcorn
Tortillas, breads, bagels
Tortilla chips, crackers
Rest Time Procedures
Rest time begins immediately after lunch. Children will be reminded to use the bathroom before resting on their mat. Children will be provided a rest mat. Having a blanket and small pillow from home encourages the child to rest well.
Resting means staying on the mat to rest mind and body without talking. Lights will be out and calming music will be played. Children will be given a choice of several relaxing activities (puzzle, book, legos etc.) to do on their mat after resting for 45 minutes until rest time is over at 1:30 p.m. Those children who still sleep will rest in the quietest area to sleep.
Children can bring rest time blankets, small pillows, books, or stuffed animals to rest with. If the child attends five days per week, rest things may stay in the cubbie until Friday at which time they must go home for laundering.
Teachers may assist children in resting their bodies by reading a story to them or rubbing their backs if the child requests.
Parent Participation
As we have to prohibit families from spending time in our classrooms, parent participation will look much different this year. You are welcome to record yourself reading a book and send it to us for the classroom. We will be regularly posting on ClassDojo so you can get classroom updates, and will try to send out regular notes, reminders, and classroom updates. If you have any other ideas as to how you can participate “from a distance” or indirectly, please let us know! We want to keep parents and families as much of a presence as we can in the classroom during these unprecedented times.
Practicum Students
The ECEC is a laboratory school made up of student staff and practicum students. Many practicum students are working towards their Bachelors or Master’s degree. All student staff and practicum students receive background checks, daily health screenings, COVID tests, and are supervised by the lead teachers. On any given day we might have one of the following students in our classroom:
Child Development Students: Observe and interact with children, perform a “child study” which includes interaction with a child on an individual basis (a permission slip needs to be signed by a parent)
Strategy Students: Interact with the children, write and teach one lesson each week, take over lessons planned by teacher
Student Teachers/Interns: Write and teach lessons, interact with parents and teachers, participate in the direction of practicum students, by the middle of the semester take over as “teacher in charge”
Birthdays
Birthdays are very important to the children. We will recognize birthdays by singing “Happy Birthday” at Group Time. If you would like to celebrate with your child at school, we welcome you to record yourself reading a book for us to watch with the kids. Please refer to the Parent Handbook page for more details if you wish to send something into the class. Due to high numbers of allergies, food may NOT be shared. Birthday party invitations should only be put in cubbies if the entire class is invited. This certainly is not expected. Please discuss more discreet options with the teachers for inviting your child’s friends from school in order to keep non-school events outside of the classroom. Thanks for your understanding.
Daily Curriculum Information
Please look out for monthly emails and Dojo Posts with newsletters, lesson plans and blog postings. The lesson plans will list all morning and afternoon activities for the day. This is a great way to begin conversations with your child about their day.
Children Sign In
There is a sign in sheet for the children to sign in everyday! We will encourage your child to sign in independently, but are there to help if needed. This will foster the importance of print and support writing skills.
Questions or Comments for Teachers
Email is a great way to communicate with us. We check our emails multiple times throughout the day. This is the best way to get in contact with us.
Class Dojo is another great way to send your teacher messages.
Phone messages may be left at the front desk and one of us will return your call as soon as possible, usually at lunch.
Amazon Wish List
Parents always ask what they can bring for the class or how they can help! Throughout the year specific interests come up and we may be limited on those materials for the children. We have created an Amazon Wish List that we will update throughout the year.
Reggio-Emilia Approach
This philosophy influences our curriculum in the following ways:
Children are unique, capable and full of potential.
The environment is the third teacher— provoking materials and surroundings encourage children’s curiosity and learning.
Children’s inquisitiveness is supported as an emergent curriculum integrates appropriate learning concepts within their interests.
Concrete explorations provide meaningful learning experiences.
An open-ended time frame allows for in-depth study.
Multiple forms of representation make learning visible and provide opportunities for all children to be successful.
Parent and community involvement is welcomed and encouraged.
Curriculum
Kindergarten curriculum is aligned with State of Michigan’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (Math & Language Arts) and Grade Level Content Expectations (Science & Social Studies pending new standards format).
Pre-K curriculum is aligned with standards of National Association for the Education of Young Child for developmentally appropriate practice.
Play and hands-on exploration opportunities provide meaningful learning experiences based on constructivist theories.
Curriculum meets each child where they are at developmentally in order to promote exploration of concepts at many and varied levels
Learning Explorations
Each of these areas will be explored daily in planned lessons and self-initiated play.
Math
Literacy
Science
Social Studies
Art / Music / Dramatic Play
Technology
Sensory Exploration
Assessments
All children up to 60 months: Ages and Stages
All children: PALS Kindergarten
All Children: Portfolio and Developmental Progress Report (TS Gold)
