Back-to-School Night for grades 1-4 7:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17th

At the all-school assembly, D-E kicked off its year-long 125th
birthday celebration with the introduction of our new bronze    bulldog mascot sculpture donated by the Sam Davis '70 family.

Choices

Preschoolers make creative
choices every day

Life is about making choices.  As parents, it is important for us to lay the early groundwork for our children to realize there is no one right way of doing things. Eventually adolescents should understand that there are infinite possibilities, and that they are in charge of a process that is exciting rather than overwhelming.  But what choices could one possibly ask a preschooler to make?

Well, the best guideline is to give young children choices that are limited and only those that you are willing to live with. Allowing a preschooler, or even an eighth grader, to choose his or her bedtime is probably not something that any of us would want to live with, and allowing unlimited special meal requests leads to spoiled, fussy eaters. Establishing certain routines and clear limits is essential for the health and sanity of both parent and child alike. However, having a young child choose between the solid yellow and the Power Ranger pajamas or between peas and carrots before the meal is prepared are small but empowering choices. Like any new skill, decision making needs to be introduced slowly and then practiced regularly. As parents, it is our job to remember that we are preparing our children to be comfortable making increasingly larger decisions.

Quiet time is essential for preschoolers
and kindergartners, but they can choose to stay
awake or .....

Rainy days would sometimes provide the opportunity for my four preteen children and me to play a game in our car. Each of them would take turns telling me to go right, left or straight at every intersection. Sometimes we would go around in circles and other times would explore new areas of the town or even the county. Some of them wanted to extend the trip, and others to get home, but each of them had to make choices in turn. In the process, there was laughter, occasional tears and a great deal of discussion. If nothing else, they became much more actively aware of their surrounding geography than if they were passive passengers being shuttled to and from a swim practice.

fall asleep!

If children are always expected to seek parental direction, it is difficult for them to develop their independence and self-esteem, with meltdowns and blow-ups resulting far beyond the adolescent norms. Too many choices too early can also undermine self-esteem and make a child either prone to taking inappropriate risks or wary of taking any risks at all. This is where that delicate parental balancing act comes in. Each child is different and the tipping point for individual children changes as they mature.

It is a traditions for kindergartners to use their
 "banana phones" to talk at lunch. Sometimes
 they even choose to speak with the principal!

Be careful not to give children only the illusion of choices.  When children are asked to make decisions, but they get the distinct impression it is their job to guess at the “right” answer, as hinted at by parents or teachers, it can undermine their positive sense of themselves. This can be a very destructive dynamic. As parents, we all have visions for our children’s futures, but it is important that we help our children to prepare for their own lives. This is where that delicate balancing act comes in again. We need to help them avoid true disasters and give them our honest advice, but not protect them from the important notion that it is feedback from real consequences that really shapes their lives. With each choice comes an opportunity for those discussions between parent and child when the real parental heavy lifting is done!

Children should be able to determine pathways and figure out much of who they are with the support of their families and their schools. Only then will they be ready to follow their own passions and confidently venture out to shape their own lives.

Click here to see the first-of-the-year post of the

Preschool4 Blog (also click from the links bar at the top)

Some Thoughtful Opinions to Consider:

On September 11th one of our dad's treated students
at recess to some bagpipe tunes.

From David Elkind, longtime professor at Tufts University and author of — The Hurried Child, The Power of Play and Miseducation questions the "pushing down" the elementary school curriculum into the very early years of a child's life.

Free play at recess

"Free, spontaneous, and self-initiated play was once the norm for young children.  This is no longer the case.  Even toys for infants both talk and move with little left to the child's imagination....  Both parents and early childhood educators, who once encouraged young children to choose their own activities, are being pressured to replace them with adult directed games, sports, and academic instruction.

"All of this reflects a changed conception of the meaning and value of play.  Free, spontaneous, and self-initiated play was once welcomed as a measure of healthy growth and development.  Today, however, true play is often looked upon as frivolous and a waste of time.  Only toys and games that are educational, in the sense of teaching concepts such as colors, or tool skills such as reading, are worthwhile.  In short, even for young children, promoting academic and athletic achievement is now seen to be more important than the encouragement of imagination and creativity."

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Another great article from the New York Times Style section entitled, Don't Make Your Children the Exception to Every Rule by Lisa Damour, a psychologist in private practice in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a clinical instructor at Case Western Reserve University, and the director of the Center for Research on Girls at Laurel School. 

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Fourth-grade science students learn to sing
"Inch by Inch, Row by Row"
before a session of caring for the garden

And from Ainissa G. Ramirez, Ph.D. Making Friends with Failure. Dr. Ramirez is dedicated to making science fun for people of all ages. She is the author of the TED Book 'Save Our Science' based on her TED talk on improving science education. Before that, she was a popular engineering professor at Yale University. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in materials science and engineering and holds several patents, one of which was awarded MIT’s Top 100 Young Innovators award.

A note to Parent of 5th graders

Music teacher Mary Heveran has written a booklet entitled: A Parent's Guide to Creating Original Opera. The booklets were distributed at the meeting for 5th grade parents on Sept. 3 and outline the curriculum, as well as present helpful information to parents regarding this course. If you were unable to attend the meeting or if you did not receive a booklet, please contact Mary Heveran at ext. 3115 and she will make sure your child brings home the booklet. All parents are strongly encouraged to read this booklet.
The direct link to the D-E 125 Upcoming Events page on the new website: 

http://www.d-e125.org/events.html#sthash.QKIObt7p.dpbs 

Click to see the Prarents' Association News 

Over the Summer.....

Second grader Chloe took 4th best in class
 at HITS on Hudson and 6th at Hamptons Classic.

Fifth grader Aryan played for the Playtime Panthers in the 2013 AAU basketball season and earned an MVP award at the end of the year.  During the regular season, he traveled to multiple states for tournaments and competed with the top ranked teams in the country.