DISCLAIMER: This newsletter was scheduled to go out prior to the destruction of Hurricane Ian. We have been to check on Fun Time Academy and although there is no power, the building suffered only minor damages. We look forward to opening our doors again as soon as electric returns and it is safe to do so. Please know that the entire staff at Fun Time is thinking of those affected by the storm and we are hoping for a fast recovery for all. We will continue to share any important community information over on our Facebook page. If you don't already follow us, you can do so by clicking here.
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The school year is underway, and as children grow and develop right before our eyes, we consider the importance of social and emotional skills every single day. Many ways of interacting with others such as walking through a room full of people without bumping into others or learning to wait patiently are skills that our young children develop with practice. Increasing attention to preferred activities and attending to non-preferred activities are end-of-year goals that children should be working toward before entering kindergarten. At Fun Time Early Childhood Academy, children are developing their emotional functioning, managing emotions, building and maintaining relationships with adults and peers on an ongoing basis, and developing a sense of identity and belonging through play.
Our instructors teach children to express, identify and respond to a range of emotions and develop strategies for self-regulating their behavior. We want our children to be able to recognize and name their emotions and manage and exhibit behavioral control. Self-regulation is managing our own thoughts, feelings and actions, and it is the cornerstone of a successful life. Emotions are complex, and children need to recognize their own, as well as those of their peers, and respond with empathy and compassion. This also sets the stage for interacting with both adults and their peers by being able to maintain friendships and engage in prosocial behavior such as cooperating, compromising and turn-taking. Ultimately, we strive to help children independently engage in simple social problem-solving and learn to consider the perspective of others.
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We use Conscious Discipline as a whole-school solution to teach social and emotional early learning developmental standards, discipline, self-regulation and classroom management. The strategies and structures transform our school into a haven of cooperation, constructive problem-solving and academic success. We strive to understand the internal brain-body states that are most likely to produce certain behaviors in children and in ourselves. With this awareness, we learn to consciously manage our own thoughts and emotions so that we can help children learn to do the same. The goal is not to turn into neuroscientists but to provide a simplified brain model as a means for increasing our self-awareness so that we can respond consciously to the needs of the moment. Becoming conscious allows us to access our own wisdom and remain calm in the face of antagonism and disorder. It is the foundation of choice and change.
See how our teachers implement the Conscious Discipline framework in their classrooms:
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October 12 - OnTheTable SWFL
Pull up a chair—there’s room for everyone!
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You’re invited to pull up a chair and join us for a chat on Wednesday, October 12, when we are hosting an On the Table® SWFL conversation. It will be a relaxed, fun gathering to share and connect around our experiences living in Southwest Florida. We’ll exchange stories about how we came to the community and why we stay here, and we’ll explore what each of us can do to make this place we call home more sustainable and vibrant. We will also discuss why we believe early education is important. Please be my guest, and you are welcome to invite a friend too. Participating will add your voice to a region-wide conversation about who we are as a community, where we’re going and how we can get there.
Here are the details:
Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Fun Time Early Childhood Academy Multi-Purpose Room
102 12th Street North
Coffee and light refreshments will be available.
Feel free to park in the loop.
Please sign up as a guest at OnTheTableSWFL.com by using this link if you are interested. We hope you can join us!
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October 19 - Volunteer Orientation Brunch
Help shape the future of our children's lives!
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We are excited to welcome our volunteers back to Fun Time Academy for the 2022-2023 season! The impact our volunteers make on our children’s preparedness for kindergarten is immeasurable, and we cannot thank you enough for choosing to spend your time with us. If you are interested in volunteering, please click HERE to RSVP to our Volunteer Orientation Brunch on Wednesday, October 19, at 10 a.m. at Fun Time Academy.
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February 16, 2023 - Broadway Gala
Setting the Stage for Success!
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Parent Involvement and Special Events |
We are so happy to have a partnership with Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (CMON). They visited our center to present hands-on engaging lessons that complement what our students are learning in their classrooms. This month the children had a blast learning about their five senses to explore their social and physical environment. Children should be able to identify all of their senses and their relationship to each of the sense organs.
The science class was divided into five groups, one per sense. Each group participated in scientific inquiry through exploration and discovery. One engaging activity involved mixing smelly paint to create new colors and aromas. They also used their sense of sight to examine several types of fake insects with a magnifying glass. Children created a phone using plastic cups and string to observe various sounds, and they also identified some of the sounds of the world. In addition, they used their sense of taste to determine if foods were sweet or salty. Trays of various objects allowed children to explore the nature of sensory materials. Everyone had a wonderful time identifying and making observations by using each of their five senses.
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In addition to outreach visits at our center, CMON will host five family night events—one each in the months of October, December, January, March and April from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Families will be invited to participate in activities that complement the topics that their children are learning in school related to science, technology, math, engineering and art.
We are already looking forward to the upcoming events with CMON and appreciate all that they do to provide an exciting, inspiring environment where children and families can play, learn and dream together!
The museum will also host a free family night at the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples for exhibit exploration on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Save the date and mark your calendar!
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United Arts Council Theater Classes |
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The United Arts Council (UAC) wants to ensure that children in our community have access to the arts. They have partnered with Fun Time Academy to visit monthly for instruction in music, dance, theater and the visual arts for our pre-kindergarten students.
At this month’s visit, the children practiced movements and sounds while getting to know one another. We appreciate UAC’s commitment to enrich lives and strengthen our community through the power of the arts!
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This month the children learned what makes them unique and special. In social studies, children were introduced to the terms such as "individual" and "groups." They had the opportunity to share more about themselves and recognize the various ways that they are and aren’t alike by identifying similarities and differences between themselves and others as part of a group. For social emotional development, we also helped children develop a sense of self-awareness and independence by encouraging them to use pronouns such as I, me and mine. Using words to demonstrate knowledge of personal information will help develop their sense of identity and belonging.
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For children’s physical development, we want them to consistently follow basic safety rules independently across different situations and identify the consequences of not following safety rules when participating in daily activities. They continue to practice ways to stay safe as they use their bodies to run, jump and play. Teachers spend a great deal of time teaching procedures and sharing their expectations with children such as “walking feet,” “nice hands,” “chairs are for sitting” and how to be kind to their peers.
In science, children have been learning all about the five senses to identify and make observations about what can be learned about the world. The teachers have developed a variety of hands-on activities that enable the children to use their senses to observe and experience objects and their environment.
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During math time children have been studying number sense through their daily calendar lesson as well as by using number words, identifying amounts, counting, one-to-one correspondence, and learning how to read and write numbers. |
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Get Involved with Fun Time! |
Our children love interacting with our volunteers to read stories, complete academic activities and even head outside to our garden. If you are interested in volunteering, call us! |
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Want to help support our mission? Click here to view our Amazon wish list. Fun Time staff appreciate having a variety of books and academic toys to help support children in their development.
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Want to learn more about Fun Time and see our friendly, nurturing environment firsthand? You can view learning in action for each age group, hear about our curriculum, see our beautiful campus, and get answers to any questions you have.
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Fun Time Early Childhood Academy | [Website]
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