"You have exceeded my expectations!"

Thanks to an amazing college professor of mine, I have an inspirational video to share with everyone!

Please take four minutes of your day to watch this touching video featuring a conversation between a 12-year old boy with Asperger's and his mother.

They sit down together while the boy, Joshua, asks his mother, Sarah, some very deep and personal questions about his past, his syndrome, as well as their life together as a family.

Through my life as a teacher and therapist, I picture how children will turn out as they grow up. I also know that it is amazing to look back on the past and see how much progress a child has made!

I can only imagine that hearing the news of your child's Autism diagnosis can be terrifying at first, but as Sarah says, it eventually teaches you how to think "outside of the box" while you get to sit back and watch your child exceed your every expectation with each passing milestone!

 

 

Katie Zink, ITFS/P

Children and Teachers being Active!!

 

 

Today we did something a little different outside; Mrs. Sam (the two year old teacher) had a great idea to get children and teachers more active. We went down to the big football field and did relay races, jumped sticks, balance beams and lots more. Children along with the teachers had tons of fun, this was a great way to get both the children and teachers active. Great idea Mrs. Sam!!!

 

 

 

The benefits of being active for young children include:

·         promoting healthy growth and development

·         helping to achieve and maintain a healthy weight

·         building strong bones and muscles

·         improving cardiovascular fitness

·         improving balance, coordination and strength

·         maintaining and developing flexibility

·         improving posture

·         assisting with the development of gross motor and fine motor skills

·         providing the opportunity to develop fundamental movement skills

·         helping to establish connections between different parts of the brain

·         improving concentration and thinking skills

·         improving confidence and self-esteem

·         relieving stress and promoting relaxation

·         providing opportunities to develop social skills and make friends

·         improving sleep.

The Benefits of Physical Activity for Teachers

 

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It can help:

•Control your weight

•Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease

•Reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome

•Reduce your risk of some cancers

•Strengthen your bones and muscles

•Improve your mental health and mood

•Improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls, if you're an older adult

•Increase your chances of living longer

 

 

Pre-K Teacher Amanda Marshall :)

EVERY FAMILY HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE CULTURE

Every family has its own culture. Just think about when families are merged by marriage. Even when family backgrounds are very similar, newly married couples are almost always surprised at the variations of habits, food traditions and the way holidays are celebrated. Even friends can remind us how different families express themselves in the world. Invited to a friend’s home for dinner and a sleepover once when I was a child, I was taken aback when water was served as the beverage at the dinner table, as was the custom in this home. Such a small thing, really, but as a child, I had never considered that water might be a suitable beverage at dinner.

I was reminded about the uniqueness of each of our family experiences yesterday, when our PIL leadership team started our weekly meeting by sharing our Thanksgiving stories. There were notable variations, though a similar theme to each story.

As teachers, it is important to remember that each of our children enter our classrooms with their own unique life experiences and culture.

Katherine Generaux

We Are Thankful For Your Support!

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones this week, The Board of Directors at Partners in Learning would like to say thank you for supporting our efforts this past year and ask you to celebrate Cyber Monday by helping us in caring for children.

Have you ever pondered the idea of 'possessing lightly' this holiday season? Instead of buying more THINGS for our loved ones, why don't we honor them with a donation to a charity close to their hearts? Partners in Learning is one such worthy organization we will support with a year-end donation. By buying less, you might be also able to invest in Partners in Learning with a charitable gift.

 You can help provide an exemplary early education to our county's yo ungest and most vulnerable children, eight-five percent of whom are currently receiving a scholarship or subsidy to attend. We serve more than 500 children annually; thirty percent of this population has a diagnosed disability. We all know the power of a great education. It is the greatest gift.

"Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of the conditions of men-the balance wheel of the social machinery....it prevents being poor." Horace Mann 1848

 

Please join us in our pledge to 'possess lightly' this holiday season. Click Here to donate now!

 

With Gratitude,

Suzanne Yost        
 

Board Chair Suzanne Yost and her family at the Partners In Learning Wellness event.

The Giving Tree

Partners In Learning held its annual Thanksgiving luncheon last week.   We had over 100 families to come out to celebrate the gift of their child, thanksgiving and friendships.   The book "The Giving Tree", a children's book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein was used as a springboard to teach the children about giving throughout the week. 

The Giving Tree is a tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit and apples to eat. As the boy grows older, he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In an ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut it down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years later, the boy, now an old man, returns, and the tree sadly says: "I'm sorry, boy... but I have nothing left to give you." But the boy replies: "I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Well, an old tree stump is a good place for sitting and resting. Come, boy, sit down and rest." The boy obliges and the tree is very happy.

The tree gives everything to the boy freely because it loves him, and its feelings are reciprocated by the boy when he returns to the tree for a rest. In this way, the relationship between the tree and the boy as he grows up could be viewed as similar to that between a parent and child; despite getting nothing in return for a long time, the tree puts the boy's needs foremost, because it wants him to be happy. Indeed, the only time the tree ever seems to be sad is when it feels that it has nothing left to give the boy and that the boy might never return.

 The concept of giving is revealed as the tree continues to give to the boy throughout their journey of life. In spite of receiving nothing in return, the simple act of giving to the one that he loves, makes the tree happy.

Blessings, Norma W. Honeycutt

A Day Without Childcare

Have you ever wondered what a day without child care would look like?  It's something that most people never give a second thought.  They may think it won't affect them because they don't have children.  Watch this cute video to see just how wrong they are. 

Norma W. Honeycutt, Executive Director

Taking Advantage of Our Outdoor Environment!

When is the last time your children played outside, I mean, REALLY played outside?

While children today enjoy watching TV and playing video games as past times, children of past generations enjoyed discovering the outdoors.

At Partners In Learning, our Outdoor Learning Environment provides the children with opportunities to explore and discover in a natural environment. The children love all of the great activities that are available on their very own playground.

Another great thing about PIL is the fact that we are located on the campus of Catawba College and the children always enjoy a mini-field trip near and around the campus.

As the Starfish class was on their "Nature Walk" this past Friday morning, we stumbled across piles of leaves that were just screaming our names! The children had a BLAST!

The children enjoyed making "Leaf Angels."

"Ready, Set, Toss!"

Listen to the crinkle sound!!

Take the time this weekend to play outside with your children! Encourage them to explore the sounds, smells, sights, and so much more!!

Katie Zink, ITFS/P

TWO-YEAR-OLDS: A USER’S GUIDE

Izabela has just blown out the candles on her birthday cake.  She is two-years-old------ and now the fun really begins!

Two-year-olds are interesting people. For example, two-year-olds are easily irrigated by one another, yet they tend to travel around their classrooms in swarms. This seems like a contradiction to me. Two-year-olds are contradictions in other ways too. The Human Development Theorist, Erikson, tells us that at about the age of two, children begin to understand that they are separate individuals from their parents, and this is observed by a sudden demonstration of willfulness that seems to emerge around the time a child turns two. And of course there is also the age-old, two-year-olds mantra stated in one simple word: “NO!” . The contradiction is that these little guys are also tremendously physically and emotionally dependent upon the adults in their life. If that weren’t enough, the hemisphere that controls intense and negative emotions grows faster during the first three years of life. Wow!


With so many contradictions, it must be challenging, not only to live with a two-year-old, but also to BE a two-year-old.

Regardless, we simply could not be any happier to be experiencing life with the marvelous, emotional, utterly charming, willful, loving and very, very funny two-year-old, Izabella.

Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion

What Does a Cow Say?

Is your child on track with their speech development? If not, what are you doing to encourage sound and word production?

"MOOO"

Your infant should be making sounds for different needs as well as for pleasure (cooing, gooing). By six months, your baby should be making sounds that show both excitement and displeasure. He should also be babbling by this age. Your one year old should be beginning to make more speech-like sounds, such as "dada" or "cup," although some of the words may not be too clear. Your one year old should also be communicating with gestures, such as waving.

Your toddler (1-2 years) should have a vocabulary of 50 or more words, learning more words each month. Your child should begin to put words together such as "more milk" and be asking questions with one to two words, "help please."

As your child approaches year three, they should have a word for most objects in their environment. Your child should be using one to three words to ask things, such as "more juice please." They should be saying two- to three-word sentences. You, as the parent, and other close people, should be able to understand the majority of what your child is trying to communicate.

Are you worried about your child meeting some of these milestones? Try some of these techniques to encourage your child's speech development!

- Constantly talk about what you are doing and about things in the environment "Mommy is rolling the ball to you, are you ready?" or "Do you see the red flower, it smells so good!" Exaggerate your emotions and point out things that you see, such as an airplane or animals.
- Teach your child animal sounds and match them to the correct animal, "That black and white cow says 'mooo'."
- Count everything; count steps as you go upstairs, count grapes as you feed your child, count fingers, etc.
- Expand on words your child says, such as "dog" -> "The dog is brown and says 'woof.'"
- Read to your child daily and have your child point out pictures in the book.
- Blow bubbles and encourage your child to say "Pop."
- Play with cars and make the sound "v-v-v-v-v-r-o-o-m." Exaggerate other sounds of toys.
- Ask your child questions that require a "yes" or "no" answer or one that require your child to make a choice, "apple or banana?"

Using music and a microphone to encourage speech!!

Watching himself on video mode and introducing his stuffed animal friends - encourages speech!!

If you are at all concerned about your child's speech, contact your pediatrician. You can also do more research, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (http://www.asha.org/) is a great resource for speech and language development!

Katie Zink, ITFS/P

Multicltural in the Classroom!

What is a multicultural classroom? A multicultural classroom is one in which both the students and the teacher are accepting of all races, cultures, and religions. This acceptance is evidenced by the books that are read, the activities that are completed, and the lessons that are taught.

 

This week in the classroom we are learning about foods from around the world. Monday we talked about food we eat every day. Then Tuesday we talked about food we do not eat every day, and we had a parent come in from The New China One that made us noodles!

Showing the children how to use Chopsticks!!

 

 

 

 

Having fun trying to use the chopsticks! (Doing a great job)

The children learned so much by doing this activity, we learned about food from around the world along with using our fine motor skill with the chopsticks.

 

Why is multiculturalism so important? Multiculturalism is important because the world is changing every day. We must learn to accept and get along with all cultures, races, and religions in order to become productive citizens of the world.

 

 

 

Being Silly, Pre-k Teacher, Amanda Marshall

THINGS I LEARNED WHILE HANGING OUT WITH MY FRIENDS (WHO HAPPEN TO HAVE AUTISM)

Salisbury Autism Support Group at Ryan's Restaurant on Nov. 3



Last Saturday morning, I joined friends for a casual breakfast here in Salisbury.  It was an occasion for our Salisbury Autism Support Group to come together, enjoy each other’s company, exchange information and share our success stories.  Here are a few things I learned:

• Khalil likes to run off his meal immediately after he’s finished eating

• CJ is a food stealer

• Parents report that this academic year is getting off to a fairly good start

• If CJ has Jell-O, then it’s almost certain that Robbie will have to have Jell-O too

• Three months ago, Khalil wouldn’t say a word to me. He’s talking to everybody now----including me!

• If CJ gets bored-----no problem---He’ll just borrow his mother’s phone and play a game or two



This is a great group of people----awesome individuals----wonderful, loving families.  I encourage you to join us some time.  Actually, we’re planning to do breakfast again sometime soon.

Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion

That's What Friends Are For...

I get by with a little help from my friends. John Lennon

Doing favors for friends such as babysitting while mom or dad goes to school, work, etc. is priceless. Having a support network helps you get by! Everyone needs help. When someone is in need of something in any situation; think of something appropriate and do it!

Madison, 6, enjoyed helping Eden eat dinner! Eden had to give in and stop feeding herself because Madison wanted to be a big helper and spoon feed her! Allow your children to participate in being helpful to others by following your example.

I was honored to babysit Miss Eden. Why? Because when I was attending night school, someone did it for me! Does this mean Amanda owe's me a favor? No! Why? Because...... THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!


When was the last time you helped a friend? Make it a point to do something for someone this week. Will you accept my challenge?


Michelle Macon, Program Coordinator

What does music have to do with it?

Some people may be thinking; What does music have to do with learning?".  That is an easy question to answer!  There is a direct connection between music and the development of mathematical thinking. Mathematical concepts are developed as children sing counting songs.  Music can create an imaginary world that stimulates a child’s creativity.  Music also seems to be related to very primal parts of the brain (Hudson 2011). Our bodies cannot help but react physiologically to musical input (Thaut & Kenyon 2003; Hasan & Thaut 2004). This implies that even the youngest children have the potential to inherently respond to music and the mathematical constructs it contains.  In the video below, you will see one of our NCPreK teachers (Mr. Matt) playing his guitar and singing with the children.  This is one the highlights of their day.  They have so much fun and joy and do not even know they are actually learning.

 

Music is a highly social, natural, and developmentally appropriate way to engage even the youngest child
in math learning.  NAEYC

Norma Honeycutt, Executive Director

Using Visual Aids and Songs to Teach Hand Washing

As the colder weather approaches, so does the threat of common colds and other yucky sicknesses for our children.

The most effective way to prevent getting sick this season is to wash hands, therefore we need to teach our children the proper hand washing techniques.

Washing hands isn't only for after using the bathroom, below are the appropriate times to wash your hands throughout the day.

- before and after meals
- before and after treating a cut or wound
- after cleaning up the bathroom or lunch table
- after blowing your (or a child's) nose, coughing, sneezing
- after petting an animal or pet food
- after touching garbage

The proper technique involves (1) wetting your hands, (2) apply soap and lather, (3) continue rubbing for at least 20 seconds (Sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice to equal appropriate time), (4) rinse your hands well, (5) dry hands with a clean towel

While it is fairly easy to teach these techniques, some children may have difficulty with the proper procedure. Children with special needs may have trouble following the steps to handwashing, which is important for all children to master.

Visual aids, handwashing songs, and modeling are great ways to help children who need a little extra assistance.

Katherine Zink, ITFS/P