Town Meeting and Behavior/Development Series

Town Meeting Day

Please remember that we will be closed on Town Meeting Day which is Tuesday March 3rd. We will re-open on Wednesday the 4th.

Why do we close for this day? Town Meeting Day is an important part of our state's heritage and our chance to add to our voices to the business of our towns. In closing this day, we allow staff to attend their town meetings, and hope that parents are able to bring their children along to their meetings as well. Talking about Town Meeting Day is a great way to introduce the topics of citizenship and civic engagement to your children. Need some background? Check out these resources:

-Brief Town Meeting overview from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns

-"Town Meeting Day, A Vermont Tradition." This is a publication from the Vermont Secretary of State's office. Intended as a teacher's guide and for middle school students, this is a nice reference for understanding the history, traditions, and purpose of the day. An easy and interesting read!

Why Does My Kid Do That?!? A Series on Behavior, Development and Equipping Children with Life Long Skills.

It's very common for us to receive questions from parents regarding child behavior. More specifically, we field numerous questions regarding challenging behaviors or behaviors that test the limits. This is completely understandable, as this can be a source of confusion or frustration for many parents. To address behavior, we need to take a holistic approach and dive into some big ideas. The goal of this is to identify struggles, recognize them for what they actually are, and turn them into opportunities for learning for both parent and child.

Here are some of the big ideas we'll be looking at both this week and next:

1. Understanding what is happening in the lives of young children as they develop socially and emotionally.

2. Identifying the necessary life skills children need to navigate the world and be successful.

3. Observing and interpreting challenging behaviors and providing positive coaching.

To begin, what is unfolding in the emotional lives of children? The beginning years of life are a time where emotions (and their intensity) are experienced for the very first time. This can be a fairly overwhelming experience, and unlike any other period in a person's life.

In infancy, a child begins to feel and interpret the basic emotions of herself and others. Infants communicate their emotions in a variety of different ways, through smiling, babbling, crying, laughter and body movements, for example. As babies grow, they acquire an emotional skill set. They are able to distinguish a positive from negative tone of voice and they can better understand the meanings of facial expressions. With their growth, babies also develop the ability to become intentional. This is sometimes why angry reactions increase with age: Older infants want to control their own actions and the outcomes (Berk 251).

A toddler moves from feeling basic emotions, i.e., sadness, into understanding more complex emotions like guilt or pride. A toddler is now able to better distinguish their own emotions and begin to understand how what they are feeling may or may not be different from what a parent or peer is feeling. The evolution of language now gives a toddler better means to express their emotions: "Feel mad, go away!" The toddler is also working hard to distinguish who they are as a person. This means they want to try things on their own and move towards independence. This is a time where "No" is a word of choice! When a toddler is having a "meltdown," oftentimes the cause is that the child has a complex set of emotions, and no way to effectively communicate them. A good point to remember here is that behavior, no matter the type, is a form of communication; it seeks to get a message across.

In the pre-school years, the idea of self-esteem begins to develop. As language takes off, children have a better vocabulary to describe and discuss their feelings, the result of this can be a decrease in "tantrums" or "meltdowns." Pre-schoolers are better able to understand and respond to the emotions of others; the concept of empathy (or altruism) can be experienced at this time (Berk 367). Emotional self-regulation is an emerging skill during these years as children learn how to express their emotions more appropriately. While new understanding of emotion develops, this does not mean that 3 and 4 year olds will necessarily act out their emotions appropriately; impulse control is still emerging, and coping with mistakes can be difficult. Saying "sorry" is not always an easy thing to do for preschoolers (or adults for that matter).

All types of behaviors are easier to understand if they are looked at in the context of where a child is situated developmentally. This way, even though a behavior might be upsetting or difficult, it's meaning can be better understood, and the appropriate adult coaching can be applied.

Next week, we'll focus on our second two objectives. But for more on understanding both development and behavior, have a look at the following:

The Behavior and Development section from zerotothree.org, the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families.

5 Facts Every Family Should Know About Challenging Behavior from PBS.org and Inclusive Communities.

We also ask that if parents have specific questions regarding behaviors, or have comments about this series to please email us directly at mountainvillageschoolvt@gmail.com. This way we can reply to your thoughts in next week's newsletter!

*Cited source for this article is Laura E. Berk's 7th Edition of Infants and Children, Prenatal through Middle Childhood.

Classroom Happenings

Infant I: The babies are doing well with the sleep goals mentioned last week. The children are doing a great job of relaxing in their cribs and calming themselves down to go to sleep. Amanda and Danielle are currently developing goals for what each of the children wants to do with their bodies. While milestones like rolling over or crawling happen at their own pace, the teachers are observing the children carefully, and strategically helping the babies attain that growth. For instance, if a child is working on rolling over, an interesting object might be placed near them to encourage them to try. Reasonable challenges help in getting to the "next step."

Infant II: The motto is "Follow the child." This week the children's interests have centered on big trucks and general fine motor activities. As has been the trend for the past few weeks, fitting small objects into larger object is a highlight of the day. Now the children are working on predicting: "Could that Kooshball fit into the racquetball container? What about the ping pong ball?" The sensory table contained some science components as green food coloring was added to the water. The children also used whisks to see what would happen when soap was added to the water.

Toddler I: We have a fish tank! No fish in there yet, but a very interesting tank. The class has been talking about fish and understanding the boundaries of the tank; We leave the top shut and don't put hands in it, we don't bang on the glass, etc. The teachers read the book, Fish, and talked about the similarities between fish and humans: The fish has scales, we have skin. The fins are how the fish moves, we use our legs. The class is excited to meet the new fish, and have decided that the fish will probably hide behind the big rock or in the seashell. A report will follow.

Toddler II: The Toddler II class also had some water themed adventures this week. They began the week by using cork to paint the "sails" for their boats. The sails were cut into triangles, laminated to rigid and waterproof, and then attached with play dough and straws to each boat. By the end of the week the boats were ready to launch in the sensory table, and we are happy to report all boats floated. With some modifications, the boats will be on their way to the America's Cup. (We should have some boat photos next week; had a finicky camera at press time!) Outdoors, the class continued their enthusiasm for the sleds, and have become more bold in climbing the hills to sled down them.

Pre-K: The class has been constructing a lot of open ended art this week, and focusing on process over product. They have also been talking a lot about the art of sound in a couple different ways. First, they have been reading and listening to Zin Zin Violin again this week. Second, the children have been thinking about how sound travels. They have been exploring this concept at the elementary school playground with the communication horns that span the playground, and have constructed cup and string telephones, an activity that will carry them into next week.

As Seen at MVS