Introduction of Mrs. Stone and Mrs. Petee's Interns Fall 2015:

Hello Parents:

My name is Evelyn Barnes-Lyons (Ms. Evie) and I am one of the interns who will be working with your toddler this semester. I am a graduate of Cuyahoga Community College of Cleveland, Ohio. I have an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education and I have been working with young children for close to forty years. I am currently working on my bachelor’s in the Children and Families program at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. My specialty area of teaching is with the three and four year olds, but I look forward to working with your toddlers this semester. During my free time I enjoy reading, going to Zumba classes, and dancing.

ECEC Families,

Hello my name is Maha Reda and I will be one of the Interns in your childs class. I will be at the ECEC on Tuesday and Thursdays from 8 to 4.  I am currently in my last semester at U of M getting my Bachelor’s Degree in Children and Families. I am a mother to 4 children, triplets plus one who also attended the ECEC. It is nice to experience both views as a parent and as a student. I get to finally see what my children experienced when they were here. I did my strategies class last semester with Ms. Stone and fell in love with this age group. I am so excited to be working with your children this semester and very excited to get to know each one of you. I love watching your child explore and learn new things. They are so curious and wanting to be on the go. It is so amazing to watch as the children try to interact socially.  I hope we all have a good semester and I cannot wait to continue working with your children and watch them grow every day! 

Welcome to the new school year!

Welcome families to the beginning of the school year! We are so excited to get to know your family and to work with your child. We are going to have two early childhood interns working with us on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. In a few weeks they will be sending home a note to families introducing themselves, talking about their experiences in the classroom, and what they observe the children learning.

We are going to be spending a lot of time outside during the first few weeks of the school year. Be sure to sign the sunscreen permission slip form if you are comfortable with the Avon Skin so Soft sunscreen the school provides. You are welcome to bring in your own sunscreen beginning of the term, and we will give you a form to fill out giving us permission to put that sunscreen on your child.

The beginning of the school year can be very stressful for families when it comes to drop off. It is normal for children to be unsure or even upset the first couple weeks of school, as they get to understand the routine and to get to know the teachers. This transition will become easier for both you and your child. You will be receiving a drop off routine based on what we have found helpful transitioning children in the classroom. A copy of this drop off routine will be posted near the sign in sheet to remind families of the routine.  If you have any questions about this please let us know, and if you ever need to check on your child after drop off please call (313) 593-5424 and we will gladly update you.

About the Teachers

Catie Stone is a graduate of The University of Michigan-Dearborn and she has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a master’s degree in Special Education. She has been working with the toddler age group for eight years, and in her free time she enjoys playing with her puppy and going up north.

Rebecca Petee is also a graduate of The University of Michigan-Dearborn and she has a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Language Arts. She was previously a preschool teacher at the ECEC, and she is looking forward to working with toddlers. Before she graduated, she worked with Catie in the toddler classroom for two years. In her free time she enjoys playing with her dogs, spending time with family, and preparing to welcome her baby in January. We are both excited to start the school year and to work with each other as co-teachers. 

Classroom Wishlist:

·         Non-toxic indoor plants

·        R ope and/or icicle lights

·         Used pots or pans

·         Clothing/items which represents your family’s culture

·         Your family photo in a plastic frame

Spring 2015 Intern Newsletter

May 11, 2015

Dear Families,

I would like to take the time to introduce myself!  My name is Kendra Kasza and I will be an intern in the Toddler 1 Classroom with Mrs. Stone and Ms. Jones during the Summer 1 term.  I will be in your child’s class from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. 

I am a student in the Post-Degree Certification Program for the Early Childhood (ZS) endorsement.  I am currently a Special Education Teacher at Weston Preparatory Academy in Detroit.  I work with Middle School students receiving Resource Room services.  I have also had experience working in Elementary Resource Rooms, as well.  I am a mother of three, ages twelve, ten, and four and a resident of Dearborn. 

I value the experience of being able to watch all of my students grow and learn.  I believe it is extremely important to provide stimulating environments for children as a way to help them reach their highest potential.  In working with students with special needs, I also understand that the earliest possible intervention is the most effective.  Knowing that the early childhood years are critical in a child’s development is the reason I have returned to U of M-Dearborn to complete my ZS endorsement to be able to work with young children. 

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with your child.  I look forward to getting to know each of their unique personalities, preferences, and learning styles.  I am very excited for this term!!

Sincerely,

Kendra L. Kasza

Building Strategies Learning Group Summary Weeks 1-7 Continued (4)

We decided to reintroduce mirror blocks in in the sandbox on a tabletop.  Again, by removing them from the other blocks in the block area, they would be easier for the children to focus on building with.  We set up a few provocations in the sandbox for the children to see examples of other ways they could build with the blocks besides just stacking the blocks up.  We asked the children, “How can you build?” It was during this time we also heard the children begin to count as they would stack the blocks, “One, two, three…”

The children began to bring other items over to the sandbox.  Many children began to bring the small cars and trucks over. They experimented with maneuvering the cars around the blocks.  This is where are discussion of tunnels began.  We worked with the children to construct simple tunnels in which we could experiment together to see if our cars would or would not fit through.  

Building Strategies Learning Group Summary Weeks 1-7 Continued (3)

During building exploration, we noticed at often times the children would bring different materials over to the table to build with. Many of the children were bringing over the smaller silver mirror blocks.  We thought we would like to explore building with these blocks since they fit into their small hands better. We also noticed that the children were able to stack higher with these blocks because they were all the same size and shape.

Building Strategies Learning Group Summary Weeks 1-7 Continued (2)

We continued with the projection provocations and provided the children a small table to build at in the block area. 

Building Strategies Learning Group Summary Weeks 1-7 Continued

We heard words and statements from the children as they built like “building” and “real high.”  The children were beginning to become very excited and intrigued about what they were looking at in the pictures.

In the following weeks we thought we would continue the exploration by projecting the photographs of the structures on the wall in the block area.  The children were so excited to see the projections on the wall.  They would walk right up to the wall and try to touch them.  A few of the children even tried to walk up the stairs of the Great Wall of China.

Building Strategies Learning Group Summary Weeks 1-7

In the first semester, the children demonstrated interest in building.  They built with materials of all sizes and shapes, including wooden blocks, mirror blocks, cubes, Legos, Magnatiles and natural materials.   We were glad to see the children had discovered the many building materials in our classroom. We could tell they were intrigued by the materials, so we thought that we would like to focus on the process of building with the children for the second semester.

We began by just offering a simple exploration of wood blocks.  We placed a selection of different size wood blocks at a table in the art area.  We decided to move the blocks from the floor in the block area to a table because the space is so large and there are so many other materials around that could distract the children from the blocks.

We noticed the children began their explorations with stacking the blocks.  The blocks were of various sizes and shapes.  We heard words like “tower,” “tall,” “fell down” and “triangle.”  The children became enthusiastic when they could knock down the structures they had built. We heard a lot of children exclaim, “Uh Oh!”

Next, we thought we would give the children inspiration for their stacking by providing them with pictures of famous structures from around the world.  They looked at black and white photographs of the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Renaissance Center, Sears Tower and the Great Wall of China.  The children were intrigued by the photographs and we encouraged them to build what they saw in the photographs. 

February 9, 2015

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are already in week six of the semester!  The children have been exploring several new inquiries within the classroom.  We have been studying building from different prospectives and building strategies, the motion and movement of sand and our continuing to explore rolling.  We have also been collaging, painting with tempera paint and continued our clay explorations. We are so impressed with the children’s creativity!

We have had a few questions regarding Valentine’s Day.  The children are welcome to bring in cards for their classmates.  There are ten children in the morning and ten in the afternoon.  Please sign the cards with your child’s name and we will distribute them. We ask that families do not bring in food or candy due to classroom allergies and our food policy at school.

Also, please remember to pack proper snow gear for your child.  We try to go out most days, so it is important to pack hats, gloves, boots and a warm coat and snow pants. The children truly love going outside and we want to make sure they are kept warm!

Just a reminder that Spring Break is the week of February 23-27, 2014 and our classroom will be closed. We wish you a wonderful Spring Break as we look forward to getting closer to spring!

As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Stone & Ms. Jones

Hello everyone. We are so excited to be interning with your little ones this semester. We are all seniors in the Children and Families program, and plan on graduating this May. We are excited to learn and grow with your children, and appreciate you allowing us to be apart of your child’s growth here at the ECEC. Here is a little information about us:   

My name is Jennifer Makowski and I could not be more excited to be interning at the ECEC with your children! Following graduation this May, I want to continue my education in speech and language pathology at Wayne State University.  I currently work with infants and toddlers in a childcare center and have 10 years of experience with children under the age of 5.  Getting to know your children and figure out their interests through play is going to be an adventure this semester and I look forward to helping them grow and learn over the next few months.  Wednesdays are my designated day to be in Ms. Stone and Ms. Jones’ room, from 8 am to 3:30pm.  Outside of the classroom, I enjoy traveling, music including going to concerts and local shows, and playing with my two dogs Zoe and Hank.  My goals for this semester at the ECEC include creating bonds with your children and finding new and interesting ways to inspire their growth both physically and mentally.  I am excited to be a part of such a welcoming teaching team and am looking forward to our collaborations in the classroom.

Hello, my name is Katie Trinkle.  I have been working in the childcare field since September, 2011. I am a lead toddler teacher at Morning Star Child Care in Dexter. This will be my third year working with toddlers and prior to that I worked in an infant room. I enjoy watching the infants and toddlers go through the different milestones and I am excited to learn and grow with them. I will be interning in Ms. Stone and Ms. Jones room Wednesdays from 8am to 3:30pm.  My education includes graduating from Dexter High School in 2007.  I have my Associates in Applied Science from Washtenaw Community College in Child Care and now completeing my bachelors’ in Children and Families. After graduating I plan on getting my certification in therapeutic riding. You may be interested to know that I have lived in Dexter on a horse farm for most of my life.  I have one brother and three sisters. I enjoy my outdoors and spending time with my family.

Hello! My name is Emily Phee and I am interning in your child’s classroom this semester on Mondays and Wednesdays. I am very excited for this opportunity! I look forward to getting to know the children and learning about what they are interested in. My goal this semester is to better understand how a classroom functions and to get better at teaching children based on their own interests. I know we will work together on some exciting projects over the next few months.

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself. I have a strong background in early childhood and a lot of experience in the classroom. I have worked in several toddler and preschool classrooms previously and always enjoy my work. I also have previous experience working at the ECEC as staff and learning through other practicums. I will be working as staff throughout the building during the rest of this semester as well.

I was born and raised in Southeast Michigan. I graduated high school in 2011 as a good student with every intention of majoring in Political Science. After my first year in college, I realized that this was not the right choice for me. I am incredibly thankful that I switched to the Children and Families program because it has taught me so much and brought me so much joy. I have had the pleasure of meeting many professors and peers that really love teaching young children. This has made me look at teaching as not just a job, but a passion.

   Currently, I live in Wyandotte with my family. My son, Owen, is five years old and is my biggest motivator every day. Being his mom has shown me so much about what it takes to teach and care for children. He has put us through every possible situation and has been patient as we tried to figure it out. Together, we love to read books, go on walks, play with friends and explore nature. Having a family, working, and going to school keeps me pretty busy. When I do get a moment of spare time, I love to cook, read, go to new places, and spend time with my family.

Again, we couldn’t be more honored and excited for the opportunity to get to know your children this semester!  Please feel free to chat with us about what is going on in the classroom at drop off and pick up.  

January 2015

Dear Families,

Welcome to a new semester!  We are so excited to see all of the children and look at how much older they all seem!  So far we feel like each child has grown so much over break! 

We are looking forward to another great semester and know this one will fly by as fast as the previous one did!  We have three new interns this term.  Emily will be with us on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Jennifer and Katelyn will be with us on Wednesdays.  They all seem excited to work with the children and get to know what we worked on last term. 

Ms. Jones and I will be taking our planning time on Monday afternoons this term.  This will give us the chance to plan for the children each week and look over our documentation that we collect.  Our classroom will be well staffed on Monday afternoons and we will be able to check in frequently with the classroom.  If you need to get in touch with us during this time you can let the staff members in the classroom know and they will get the message to us.

The weather outside seems to be taking a turn towards winter now.  Please make sure your children are bringing their outside gear and that items are labeled with each child’s name or initials.  We have a lot of boots, mittens, and snow pants to keep track of so this will help us to stay organized.  Wet boots can be placed on the boot rack outside the classroom door or in your child’s cubby.  We will be going outside if there is snow on the ground so snow pants are encouraged.  There may be days that it is too cold to venture outside on the playground but we are encouraging everyone to be prepared just incase. 

Monday, January 19^th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day so the classrooms are closed on this day. 

Please know that with the weather this season if you see that the University of Michigan-Dearborn has closed campus that we are closed also.  Notifications should be on the major local news stations.

As always, if you have any questions, or comments please don’t hesitate to let us know!  Have a great week and stay warm.

http://ecec-stone.blogspot.com/

(313) 593-5424