Tag: fine motor skills

The Importance of Parent/Teacher Conferences: Fall 2018

This week’s topic is parent/teacher conferences; this blog post originally ran in November 2016.  Its information will help you prepare for what you’ll learn at our upcoming Green Room, Pre-K, and Junior K conferences on November 5th and 6th, as well as the Creche/Red Room conferences on December 3rd and 4th.  Enjoy!

Creche students at 45th Street experiment with apples via stamping. They are also engaging in a sensory experience by touching the paint, strengthening fine motor skills by grasping the handles of the stampers, while increasing their social skills by working together at the art table.

A friend of mine recently attended the parent/teacher conference for his eighteen-month-old son.  Prior to the meeting, he questioned the importance of attending a conference for a child so young.  What would the teachers possibly have to say about his son, he asked?  After attending the conference, he had an answer: a lot!

At The International Preschools, parent/teacher conferences are held twice a year:  once in the fall and once in the spring.  Parents have the opportunity to speak directly with their child’s teachers about the child’s school experience. Whether your child is two-years-old and just starting school, or five-years-old and heading to kindergarten next year (or beyond), there is important information to be learned at every level.  Here are some of the many topics you can expect to (or ask to) hear about at your child’s conference:

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Preschoolers + After School Program = An Enriching Addition to Your Child’s Day

Children boost their individual coordination and motor skills while playing together in a large group during Super Soccer Stars.

Although dismissal time signals the end of the school day for some, the fun continues “after hours” at The International Preschools.  Our school provides a wide variety of after school program choices for parents to choose from, all of which build upon the concepts being taught inside the classrooms each day.

  • Language Development:  Children acquire new vocabulary words when playing sports (i.e. “dribble” during Soccer) and learn to process and follow directions when playing games.
  • Social Skills:  Making friends and initiating play is an important concept taught in every IPS classroom.  After school programs allow children to meet fellow students who are not in their everyday class.

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Learning Through Play

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.  But for children, play is serious learning.  Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers, educator and Emmy-winning creator of the children’s show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

boy-girl-pattern
Learning math skills is fun and educational! Junior Kindergarten children play a game where they ultimately create a boy-girl (AB) pattern.

The idea of learning through play is a key principle here at The International Preschools. Our school mission states in part that “through play, we promote the cognitive, emotional, social and physical growth of each child in a nurturing atmosphere.” It is believed that, through this practice, children will learn the necessary social and cognitive skills that they will use throughout their lives.  How, you might ask, can these goals be accomplished?

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