On Saturday February 10th, UCDC staff attended the first joint PAUS Symposium (Pittsburgh Alliance of University Schools) with our colleagues from Falk School, Carlow Campus School, CMU's Children's School and the Cyert Center. The
Build Something Wonder Full Symposium was held at Falk School and over 135 educators came together to attend workshops and hear the great musings of the keynote speaker, Jason Kotecki. Jason was picked for a very specific reason. The work of early childhood and elementary school educators is a very complex. These careers require the professional to be a lot of things to a lot of people. Not only are they teaching many different children and their varying abilities, they are also advising families, taking care of the children's physical and emotional needs, maintaining the classroom environment, mentoring other adult learners in the classroom, assessing each child regularly, this list could go on and on! As you can see, the work can be very exhausting, but also extremely rewarding.
It is serious work, with responsibilities that never seem to end. All of the educators in these five programs go the extra mile to teach, nurture and care for children (and families). The reason that Jason was chosen was because we all agreed that sometimes you have to step away from the responsibility, the seriousness and the demanding nature of the work. You need a breath and you need to recharge or refocus the energy.
Jason Kotecki is an artist, author, and speaker who considers himself a professional reminder-er and permission granter. He is also a husband, dad, Batman fan, Star Wars watcher, retro t-shirt wearer and avid eater of sugar laden cereal. Jason and his wife, Kim (a former kindergarten teacher) are the dynamic duo behind Escape Adulthood. As partners in crime on a crusade to annihilate Adultitis, they believe that a life that embraces a childlike spirit is a life that is less stressful and way more fun. The couple inspires and encourages people to live amazing stories and make memories with the people they love. Jason works with all kinds of organizations, sharing real-world strategies and practical ideas for restoring balance, preventing burnout and achieving new levels of productivity. He creates art, observations, and experiences that give people hope and the freedom to live joyfully. He works to inspire, entertain and encourage people to rekindle their childlike spirit and create the life they were made for. Visit
escapeadulthood.com to see his work and sign up for his newsletter if you want to experience a few funny anecdotes and ideas to live a happier life.
Jason talks a lot about rules that really don't exist and how sometimes adults think it's so important to do the right thing, that they miss out on a lot of opportunities to enjoy life or even a moment. Adults also need to be able to help children find the joy and wonder in things that are in their lives. This is a very important job that parents and adults have.
A few of Jason's favorite rules that it's OK to break:
- Thou shalt not eat dessert first.
- Thou shalt reserve thy fine china for special occasions.
- Thou shall not jump in puddles.
- Thou shalt not celebrate without thine calendar's permission.
Eat what you love, enjoy the special things that make you happy, get messy and celebrate when the mood strikes you!! Conquer your adultitis and try to live with a little less stress in your daily life!!
Joyfully and thankfully,
Mary Beth
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Curriculum in the Classroom
Preschool Three
On a cold morning, Preschool Three was playing the gym. The sculptures caught the eye of one child and more children gathered and took time to observe each figure: two robots, a polar bear and a dinosaur. The teacher posed a question: "What would you like to see up there?" Immediately, a child responded "a penguin."
Quickly we all became enthusiastic in creating a penguin sculpture. We went to the classroom and talked about what shapes we would need to make a penguin: ovals for the body and wings, circles for the eyes, triangles for the beak and feet. We also looked at penguin photos to further examine shapes and colors. Aside from creating the large base of the structure, the children were integral to its creation. They eagerly used glue, paint and magazine strips to cover the entire body: in doing so they learned a new technique- papier-mâché. After it dried, they added extra layers of paint. With thought and observation, they drew each body part of the penguin. The teacher cut the shape out for them and they decided what color it would be and where it would be glued.
The inspiration and creation of our penguin happened through a collaborative process. The penguin can be observed outside of Preschool Three and, hopefully, one day be placed by the sculptures which inspired it.
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Good Eats: Egg Roll in a Bowl
This recipe was submitted by Jennifer Sneddon from the front office and is so quick, easy and delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 5 green onions, sliced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp Sriracha (or more depending on taste)
- 14 oz bag coleslaw
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
- Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the garlic, onion, and white portion of the green onions. Saute until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the ground turkey, ground ginger, sea salt, black pepper and Sriracha. Saute until the turkey is cooked through.
- Add the coleslaw mix, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Saute until the coleslaw is tender.
- Top with green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
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Little Hats Big Hearts
February is American Heart Month and volunteers from all over the country have been joining the American Heart Association and the Children's Heart Foundation by knitting and crocheting red hats for babies born in February at participating hospitals.
This cause is close to our heart here at UCDC and some of our crafty teachers worked together to make a donation of 29 hats which contributed to the total of 200,000 that have been collected across the country! This campaign's goal is to raise awareness of heart health as well as congenital heart defects. Read more here about it
here and see how you can help!
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FYI
- There have been many observations happening this semester in the preschool classrooms including students from Instruction and Learning as well as the Psychology department. These observations are two-hours in length and the University students have been impressed with the program and the children!
- The dental students will be coming in March to teach the preschoolers about brushing teeth, flossing and foods that are healthy for your teeth.
- Speech and Language Screenings will be taking place this spring. More information to follow in your child's mailbox.
- UCDC's Annual Plant Sale will be happening again this spring! Please keep an eye out in your child's mailbox for more information!
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PAUS Conference:
Build Something WonderFull
As Mary Beth discussed in her article, the Pittsburgh Alliance for University Schools (comprised of the educators from the Children's School of CMU, the Cyert Center, Carlow Children's School, Falk School and UCDC) gathered for a half day conference at Falk this month.It was a lovely morning with a lot of information shared.
At the conference, each school hosted two trainings in order to highlight our individuality as well as to share ideas. Joanne, Sam and Cheryl (active and ambitious members of our gardening committee) presented on our garden including the recent grant received, innovative gardening ideas and composting with children. Their training was well received by all of the participants! Ammie and Justin (two members of the Preschool One teaching team) presented on teamwork and how to work well in a teaching team. They used research and personal stories to support their presentation and the feedback was stellar!
There were also opportunities to attend trainings on supporting children with special needs, project work, Shakespeare, block building, and tech toys among many others! There was a lot of information to gather and absorb.
The keynote speaker was Jason Kotecki, an artist and motivational speaker that focuses on the idea of avoiding "adultitis." Jason defines adultitis as...
"a common condition occurring in people between the ages of 21-121, marked by chronic dullness, mild depression, moderate to extremely high stress levels, a general fear of change, and, in some extreme cases, the inability to smile. Patients can appear aimless, discontent, and anxious about many things. Onset can be accelerated by an excess burden of bills, overwhelming responsibilities, or a boring work life. Generally, individuals in this condition are not fun to be around."
As you can see his personality was lively and his presentation followed suit. It was definitely a great reminder of how to stay young and not take life so seriously.
The conference also purposely overlapped with the end of our time with our students from Duksung Women's University. They all participated in the conference and then enjoyed a farewell dinner with the administration of each school and the cooperating teachers. It was a busy, but lovely day!
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"A good friend gives hugs." - Cecelia |
Preschool Wisdoms
Kindness is a big part of our curriculum here at UCDC and we work hard to model and teach this to the children. As part of this, we also talk about friendships and their value. See what some of the three-year-olds in Preschool One believe it means to be a good friend.
"A good friend means sitting next to you." - Ryan
"Takes a nap with you" - Evelyn
"You have a best friend to play with." - Ari
"Sings you songs" - Sophia
"A good friend has good words." - Juliet
"Being good" - Mia
"Being tickled" - Everett
"A good friend gives hugs." - Cecelia
"A good friend helps you." - Miles
"Plays with you" - Louisa
"A good friend kisses you." - Jordan
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Our Philosophy
UCDC utilizes a child centered, extended family approach that is fostered by supporting the developmental needs of all children. We foster children's self esteem, creative abilities, sense of belonging and success by implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on NAEYC and Keystone STARS standards, through a play-based approach to learning. We support families and partner with them to provide an environment that welcomes their collaboration and supports both cultural and family preferences.
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