Our children continue to

make progress throughout

the year. They really enjoy

learning through play in

our “Tools of the Mind”

Curriculum. Here are

some of the activities that

our students enjoy.

Alternate- Mystery Word

or Mystery Numeral

Opening Group

Story Lab-Character Em-

pathy and Visualization

Office of Early Childhood

Decatur Avenue News

Pleasantville Public Schools

March 4,5,6

Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 28 Early Dismissal “Spring Break”

March 29-April 5

School Closed “Spring Break”

May 27 School Closed “Memorial Day”

Dates to Remember:

February Pre K–School

Reading List

Dr. Suess (1996) My Many Colored Days.

Johston, Tony (1985) The Quilt Story

Guy, Ginger Foglesong(1996) Fiesta

Swain, Gwenyth (1999) Cele-brating

Hirch, Marilyn (1984) I love Hanukkah

Maas, Robert (1993) When Winter Comes

Schweniger, Ann (1990) Let’s Look at the Seasons

Keats, Ezra Jack (1976) The Snowy Day

Make Believe Play

Play Planning with Sound

Map

Literacy Activities

Buddy Reading with

comprehension Questions

Gross Motor

Number Line Hopscotch

Literacy Small Group

Story Lab-Story Grammar,

Story Extension with Sound

Map and Learning Facts

with Sound Map

I Have-Who Has? Letters

Math/Science Small Group

Patterns with Manipulatives,

Numerals Game, Venger

Drawing, Attribute Game, I

Have-Who Has? Numbers

and Shapes

Once a week- Science Eyes

with Sound Map

Closing

Character Empathy

Published by Mrs. Elizabeth Flores, Community Parent Involvement Specialist

TOOLS OF THE MIND NEWS

We’re on the Web!

http://www.pps-nj.us/pps/Schools/Early%

20Childhood%20Education/

Please click on teachers website

tab.

You can now view the website of your

child’s teacher on the Decatur Avenue’s

Teachers’ webpage.

Teachers will update their website

weekly with current information and or

planned activities.

If you are interested in attending a

workshop on how to access this

information please contact

Mrs. Flores at 383-6800 Ext. 2545

Page 2

North Main Street School Pre-K News

We are happy and excited to be back to school at North Mainf rom the winter break! This

month, we’ve been doing our best to keep warm! Due to the cold weather, we’ve been trying

out new ways of getting our energy out like riding tricycles in the gym and doing gross motor

activities in the classroom. We’ve learned the importance of wearing our coats, hats, gloves,

and scarves to stay warm during the winter. We’ve celebrated some birthdays and welcomed a

new student in Ms. Perkins’ class. We’ve changed themes and continue to develop our play

skills throughout the day. We celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in our classrooms and look

forward to participating in many more celebrations in the upcoming months!

Leeds Avenue School Pre-K News - September 2011 – February 2012

Once upon a time there was Pre-Kindergarten @ LAS…

And they learned happily ever after”

Our affirmation is “We yearn to learn”!

Our Christmas Pizza Lunch & Pollyanna Gift Exchange was so wonderful! Ronald

McDonald came to visit us; he rode a unicycle, performed magic tricks and talked about

sharing. We enjoyed listening to the LAS Band & Choir practice for their Winter Concert.

We just finished exploring the theme of RESTAURANT and are looking forward to our

next theme of HOSPITAL. We have introduced new components of our TOM curriculum –

Mystery Word, Mystery Numeral, Freeze Dance on the Number, Story Grammar &

Extensions, and Venger Drawing.

We enjoyed making ice cream, driving to a unique Drive-Thru Restaurant created from a

foam packing unit, and selecting Lunch meal choices off a delicious menu in our “Cafeteria”.

We wrote the numbers 1-7 on slices of pizza and designed a very stylish “Snowgirl” for a

circle Venger Drawing.

Science Eyes was highlighted by a magnet experiment to predict if a magnet attracts pa-

per clips in sand and water; individual booklets of Faces & Feelings were written; and an

awesome Hibernation project. The Hibernation project focused on different animals that hiber-

nate in the winter. Different types of food were discussed and graphed. Three caves were built

and a rhyming game was played. Students wore their pajamas and brought in their favorite

teddy bears!

We love to learn in Pre-Kindergarten @ LAS!!

V OLU ME 1, ISS UE 1 Page 3

AtlantiCare Kids has some exciting celebrations happening in each building this month. The

students will learn about Black History Month by having a building celebration and a special

presentation about Daniel Hale Williams, the first open heart surgeon, also an African Ameri-

can. Ms. Karen Jackson, our family worker will be presenting this information.

AtlantiCare Kids has been lucky this month for we have already experienced snow. The stu-

dents were able to use snow as a science experiment. They were able to identify that snow

was cold and it melts when brought into a warm building. That was a lot of fun.

AtlantiCare Kids North Main Street School

has many themes going on. In Ms. Cindy’s

classroom you will see many animals and

pets doing different tricks, being trained and

groomed as well as loved by their owner.

The pets are able to win prizes as they join a

pet show, have the owner create a collar for

them and give them treats depending on the

size of the animal. We do not want to feed

them too much. The students are enjoying

this theme.

Atlantic Care Kids –NMSS Atlantic Care Kids –810 South Main

AtlantiCare Kids 810 S Main Street has been

working hard on fixing the building this past

month. Mr. Luckey’s class has combined with

Ms. Tiffany and Ms. Mary-Jane until the room

is complete. The Building Inspector has visit-

ed today, Tuesday, February 5th. It looks as if

we are not too far away from moving back in.

We are very excited.

As for the students, they have been working

hard. Recently the classrooms moved to the

hospital theme. We have a parent coming in to

talk to the students about being a phlebotomist

and working in a hospital setting. We will also

have a nurse visit. The students are learning

how to be nurses, doctors, patients as well as

prepare gifts in the gift shop and visit their sick

friends. They are focusing on being healthy by

eating right and exercising.

Atlantic Care News

AtlantiCare Kids Community Preschool

AtlantiCare Kids Community Preschool has been very busy the past month. Most of our students have

been learning or began to learn about the restaurant. In our classrooms in the month of January, you saw

cooks, hostess’, customers and waiters/waitress’. The students enjoyed going to fancy restaurants, order-

ing pizza and making food for each other. While some classrooms are still exploring the restaurant

theme, other classrooms have moved onto hospital for the month of February. The students are begin-

ning to learn about how a hospital works. Nurses, doctors, patients and visitors are a part of our class-

room hospital environment. You will see students wrapping up bandages to help an injured patient as

well as feeding them while they are sick. A nurse will be visiting our school to give the students a true

understanding of what happens in the hospital. He will check their heart with a stethoscope and assess

the patient. The students have checklist to assess the patient and tools such as a stethoscope and a wheel

chair to know about a real hospital. They are excited to start this theme.

V OLU ME 1, ISS UE 1 Page 4

The Highly Successful Pleasantville Advisory’s Third Annual “ Each one—Reach One Warm

Winter Hat & Glove Drive” brought over 1400 winter items. The Advisory Council reaches out

to businesses, colleagues and friends. Over 610 Pleasantville Early Childhood students were

presented with a warm Winter Hat & Glove Set.

We would like to thank our biggest contributor, who donated $500 dollars

towards hats and gloves.- AC Linens - Ronald Stablin

Special Thanks to all our Advisory members and Contributors!

North Main School Staff Decatur Avenue Staff George’s Fuel Oil

Michael Hull, One Stop Staff Sharon Brown-Jackson,

Blanca Ruiz St. Gianni Beretta Molla Leeds Avenue School Staff

Pleasantville Parent Resource Center Staff Proclaiming His Word Church The Love Center

Atlantic City Rescue Mission New Life Church Casa

Tim Jones Pleasantville Rec Center

Advisory Council Committee News

Decatur Avenue Early Childhood Center

Not all doctor visits are scarey! Ask the Pre-K students in Mrs. Huber/Ms. Pacula’s class at

Decatur Ave School. Ms. Pacula invited Dr. Fred Dalzell to visit the class and demonstrate what

he does as a bone doctor, or an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Dr. Dalzell showed actual x-rays of broken toes and even a knee replacement. He asked for 2

volunteers to demonstrate how a real cast is made. Nameer and Kailei were eager to have a cast

made on their arms. Kailei’s cast was pink and when the lights were turned off Nameer’s cast

glowed in the dark!

Doctor Dalzell’s visit was perfect timing because Health Care was the theme for the month of

January. During this time, the students were introduced to various facets of the Health Care

System. They learned and acted out the responsibilities of doctors, nurses, x-ray technicians,

pharmacists and other jobs related to the healthcare field.

We’re giving Dr. Dalzell a big “shout out” to thank him for this valuable learning experience!

The children in the class also taught the Doctor a thing or two! They taught him how well they

listen and how very bright they are. Thanks again to Dr. Dalzell.

Early Reading and Writing Development

By Froma P. Roth, Ph.D, CCC-SLP and Diane R. Paul, Ph.D, CCC-SLP

Children start to learn language from the day they are born. As they grow and develop, their speech and language skills

become increasingly more complex. They learn to understand and use language to express their ideas, thoughts, and

feelings, and to communicate with others. During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are

important to the development of literacy (reading and writing). This stage, known as emergent literacy, begins at birth

and continues through the preschool years.

Children see and interact with print (e.g., books, magazines, grocery lists) in everyday situations (e.g., home, in pre-

school, and at daycare) well before they start elementary school. Parents can see their child's growing appreciation and

enjoyment of print as he or she begins to recognize words that rhyme, scribble with crayons, point out logos and street

signs, and name some letters of the alphabet. Gradually, children combine what they know about speaking and listening

with what they know about print and become ready to learn to read and write.

Are Spoken Language and Literacy Connected?

Yes. The experiences with talking and listening gained during the preschool period prepare children to learn to read and

ite during the early elementary school years. This means that children who enter school with weaker verbal abilities are

much more likely to experience difficulties learning literacy skills than those who do not.

One spoken language skill that is strongly connected to early reading and writing is phonological awareness — the

recognition that words are made up of separate speech sounds, for example, that the word dog is composed of three

sounds: /d/, /o/, /g/. There are a variety of oral language activities that show children's natural development of phonologi-

cal awareness, including rhyming (e.g., "cat-hat") and alliteration (e.g., "big bears bounce on beds"), and isolating

sounds ("Mom, /f/ is the first sound in the word fish").

As children playfully engage in sound play, they eventually learn to segment words into their separate sounds, and "map"

sounds onto printed letters, which allows them to begin to learn to read and write. Children who perform well on sound

awareness tasks become successful readers and writers, while children who struggle with such tasks often do not.

Who is at Risk?

There are some early signs that may place a child at risk for the acquisition of literacy skills. Preschool children with

speech and language disorders often experience problems learning to read and write when they enter school. Other fac-

tors include physical or medical conditions (e.g., preterm birth requiring placement in a neonatal intensive care unit,

chronic ear infections, fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy), developmental disorders (e.g., mental retardation, autism

spectrum), poverty, home literacy environment, and family history of language or literacy disabilities.

Early Warning Signs

Signs that may indicate later reading and writing and learning problems include persistent baby talk, absence of interest

in or appreciation for nursery rhymes or shared book reading, difficulty understanding simple directions, difficulty learning

(or remembering) names of letters, failure to recognize or identify letters in the child's own name.

Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have a key role in promoting the emergent literacy skills of all children, and

Page 5

especially those with known or suspected literacy-related learning difficulties. The SLP may help to prevent such prob-

lems, identify children at risk for reading and writing difficulties, and provide intervention to remediate literacy-related diffi-

culties. Prevention efforts involve working in collaboration with families, other caregivers, and teachers to ensure that

young children have high quality and ample opportunities to participate in emergent literacy activities both at home and in

daycare and preschool environments. SLPs also help older children or those with developmental delays who have

missed such opportunities. Children who have difficulty grasping emergent literacy games and activities may be referred

for further assessment so that intervention can begin as early as possible to foster growth in needed areas and increase

the likelihood of successful learning and academic achievement.

Early Intervention Is Critical

Emergent literacy instruction is most beneficial when it begins early in the preschool period because these difficulties are

persistent and often affect children's further language and literacy learning throughout the school years. Promoting litera-

cy development, however, is not confined to young children. Older children, particularly those with speech and language

impairments, may be functioning in the emergent literacy stage and require intervention aimed at establishing and

strengthening these skills that are essential to learning to read and write.

What Parents Can Do

You can help your child develop literacy skills during regular activities without adding extra time to your day. There also

are things you can do during planned play and reading times. Show your children that reading and writing are a part of

everyday life and can be fun and enjoyable. Activities for preschool children include the following:

Talk to your child and name objects, people, and events in the everyday environment.

Repeat your child's strings of sounds (e.g., "dadadada, bababa") and add to them.

Talk to your child during daily routine activities such as bath or mealtime and respond to his or her questions.

Draw your child's attention to print in everyday settings such as traffic signs, store logos, and food containers.

Introduce new vocabulary words during holidays and special activities such as outings to the zoo, the park, and so on.

Engage your child in singing, rhyming games, and nursery rhymes.

Read picture and story books that focus on sounds, rhymes, and alliteration (words that start with the same sound, as

found in Dr. Seuss books).

Reread your child's favorite book(s).

Focus your child's attention on books by pointing to words and pictures as you read.

Provide a variety of materials to encourage drawing and scribbling (e.g., crayons, paper, markers, finger paints).

Encourage your child to describe or tell a story about his/her drawing and write down the words.

If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development or emergent literacy skills, please contact a certified speech-language pathologist. Go to ASHA's Website for more information and referrals, or call 800-638-8255. © 2006 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

Page 6

115 W. Decatur Avenue

Pleasantville, NJ 08232

PLEASANTVILLE

EARLY CHILDHOOD C ENT ER

Early Childhood Registration

Phone: 609-383-6800 Ext. 2545

Fax: 609-383-1329

E-mail: Flores.Elizabeth@pps-nj.us

The Early Childhood Department will

be accepting new applications for the

2013-2014 School Year beginning

with parents who have children

enrolled in Pleasantville Public

School District starting in March. All

other students, registration will begin

in April.

For the 2013-2014 school year all

children, including those with

special needs, who turn 3 or 4 years

old by October 1st, qualify!

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOW-

ING DOCUMENTS TO REGISTER:

Original Birth Certificate

Parent/Guardian’s Proof of

Identification and Address

Immunization Record (Child’s

medical record must be updated prior

to registration)

Completed Physical Examination

Form

Two Acceptable Proof of Residency

Items: Current Lease, Deed,

Mortgage Statement, Rental

Agreement, Tax Bill and Utility Bill

Need Help with your heating bills? The State Department of Community

Affairs has a program that can help you. Applications for the program are

available now. Please contact one of the agencies below to get further

information.

Necesidad ayuda con sus cuentas de calefacción? Los asuntos de comunidad

de ministerio de asuntos exteriores tienen un programa que puede ayudarle.

Las aplicaciones para el programa están disponibles ahora. Por favor póngase

en contacto con una de las agencias abajo para conseguir la información

adicional.

Atlantic City 1 S New York Avenue.

348-3901 Suite 610

Atlantic City Martin Luther King Center

343-

LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Please take advantage of this great opportunity.

If you are a parent or guardian temporarily residing with a resident of Pleasantville, you MUST complete an affidavit prior to submitting an application to Central Registration to enroll

your children. Contact Mrs.

Owens at (609) 383-6800 ext.

2523 to complete this process.

Page 6