March News from Especially for Children

MARCH 2022

Greetings!

MINNESOTA SPRING

Mud, slush, and water… oh my! The first official day of spring is March 20 and with that comes “the thaw.” With this thaw, comes lots of puddles and wet snow. The children will get wet all the way through their snow pants and sometimes through boots too! Please make sure your child has at least two changes of clothing at school, including extra socks, and mittens. We want to make sure that the children can play outside every day and still come in and be able to learn and play in comfort. This is also a great time to double check your child’s bin of extra clothes to ensure they have the proper sizes! Thank you.

CENTER HAPPENINGS

ST. PATRICK’S DAY - MARCH 17!

We will be celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17. This is a day to celebrate Irish history, ancestry, traditions, and customs. Did you know that over 34 million Americans are of Irish descent? That is almost nine times the population of Ireland!!

In the past, the leprechaun has been known to get into some mischief by leaving his footprints around our center, hide his gold, and has even turned our milk green! We may need to come up with some ideas on how to capture that mischievous leprechaun…

READ READ READ

The month of March has traditionally been the month we celebrate exceptional books and the joy of reading at our school. Books can easily transport you to an imaginary world and introduce you to new friends, situations, and experiences. What would we do without books? In March, our teachers will select their favorite children’s books to share with you, and we hope you will enjoy their selections.

STAR WELLNESS

LEPRECHAUN JUICE SMOOTHIE

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Here is a great way to get your children to eat some greens! Feel free to experiment with different amounts or types of fruit.

What you will need:

1 banana cut into chunks

1 cup grapes

6oz vanilla yogurt

½ apple, chopped up

1 ½ cup fresh spinach leaves

Combine items in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into glass and enjoy!

ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

SUPPORTING SELF-REGULATION

By Angie Williams

One of the main emotional developmental goals we support at Especially for Children is self-regulation, or the ability for children to understand and manage their own behavior and reactions to feelings and experiences taking place around them. We recently shared the article Regulation as the Foundation for Learning by Jamie Chaves with our teaching staff and thought it would be a helpful resource for families as well—at least it was for me!

Below are some of the highlights from the article, but the whole text is worth a read and can be found here:

https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2022/Regulation-as-the-Foundation-for-Learning

The Brain’s Hierarchy

The brain is organized in a hierarchical fashion—there are systemic needs at different levels, and the needs of the lower level must be met before the higher level can be engaged. The limbic system regulates the lower-level needs---those related to survival such as processing fears or threats, anxiety, etc. If the limbic system is signaling a threat, the brain’s resources move there, and higher-level brain functioning can’t be easily engaged. Therefore, when children are struggling, it is important that caregivers first help children feel a sense of safety. As the author writes, “And here the word 'safety' does not just mean an environment that is free from perceived threat or harm, it is the felt sense within the brain and body guided by connections to the nervous system. This environment is created through both internal and external messages of safety rooted in relationships.”

Co-Regulation Versus Self-Regulation

When considering the process of creating a safe environment through relationships, it is key to understand that both people in the relationship contribute to the regulated state. Before engaging with the child, caregivers should take note of their own feelings and energy:

“It’s important to recognize that a student’s state of regulation will impact their behaviors, and their behaviors will impact your state of regulation and subsequent behaviors. We call this the teacher-student response cycle. This cycle can be negative or positive.”

In order to make create a positive cycle, caregivers should use tools such as deep breaths, humor, or brief meditation to regulate their own emotions.

The Importance of Sensory Inputs

Sensory inputs can have a large influence on regulation. Natural light, flexible seating, and outdoor play all support self-regulation while excessive screen time can have detrimental effects. From the article: “While screen time altogether is not ‘bad’, it does tend to overstimulate the visual and auditory systems while at the same time deprive the brain of stimulation from the tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems.” Providing young children with an abundant amount of time to explore sensory experiences can help them self-regulate as well as learn about the world around them.

Learn more about the brain’s functioning around self-regulation and additional tips for supporting this important emotional skill by reading the full article.