FAMILY BUZZ
National Children’s Dental Health Month
AUTHOR: Becky Danielson, M.Ed. is a licensed Parent & Family Educator on staff at The Berry Patch and Whittier Wildflowers Preschool. She contributes monthly to the Family Buzz, highlighting a topic or current trend in parenting.
Dear Whittier Wildflowers Preschool Families,
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Tooth decay is the most prevalent dental health problem for preschools. Cavities in baby teeth can affect permanent teeth, so it’s best to get a good start with caring for those cute smiles when children are young.
Keeping up on good dental hygiene is important for a number of reasons. The mouth is the first stop in the digestive system. Strong teeth allow for foods to be chewed into digestible pieces. The saliva mixes in and then it’s down to the tummy. When teeth are kept plague free, decay is less likely to occur. Plaque, a sticky, bacteria-filled substance, causes cavities. A bright, shiny smile is the goal!
11 Tips to Help Your Child Develop Good Dental Health Habits
• Use a soft bristled toothbrush. Brush teeth at least two times a day, morning and before bed. Supervise and help your child.
• Use fluoride toothpaste for children over two-years of age with no more than a grain of rice sized amount of paste pressed into the bristles of the brush. (Press it in so the paste isn’t rinsed down the drain.) Encourage children not to swallow the toothpaste.
• Model for your child how to use dental floss.
• Limit sugar consumption. Check labels, as there’s more sugar in our foods than we often realize.
• Water and white milk are the best drink options for children. Juice, sports drinks, lemonade, and pop contain sugar and acid that can harm tooth enamel.
• Raisins, Craisins, gummies, and other sticky treats easily catch between teeth and should be kept to a minimum.
• Have “tooth brush foods” available for snack time: raw carrots, celery, apples, and other healthy snacks with a crunch.
• Get in the habit of a quick “swish and swallow” after meals with water to rinse the mouth after meals and snacks.
• Don’t share eating utensils, cups, or plates. Germs are easily passed along.
• Schedule a check-up with the dentist at 12-18 months and every six months following for a cleaning and exam. Discuss the options with your child’s pediatrician and dentist.
• Let the child choose a fun toothbrush. Having a princess or a super hero help with the brushing is much more exciting.
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you… 3 John 1:2a
Subscribe to the free parenting blogs available to Whittier Wildflowers Preschool families at 1Corinthians13Parenting.com and the brand new site, FaithFirstParent.com. Like the Faith First Parent Facebook page for encouragement, tips, and fun for faith-filled families!
On the topic of: PLAY
AUTHOR: Becky Danielson, M.Ed. is a licensed Parent & Family Educator on staff at The Berry Patch and Whittier Wildflowers Preschool. She contributes monthly to the Family Buzz, highlighting a topic or current trend in parenting.
This month’s topic of interest is PLAY! It’s a vital part of your child’s job description and the basis of Whittier Wildflowers Preschool curriculum. Through play, children explore their world, growing socially, cognitively, and emotionally. This happens through both unstructured and structured playtime. Play is considered a best practice according to the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC). Please refer the following article for further information on the benefits of a play-based program. The NAEYC website is a wealth of information for families.
The Whittier Wildflowers staff strategically plans for learning through play with intentional activities prepared and centers available throughout the room for discovery. When your child announces he played all morning at school, he’s correct! Each activity is thoughtfully designed as a learning experience with a specific outcome.
What about playtime at home? It’s sometimes hard to resist the urge to fill in those empty spots on the family calendar with activities and classes for children. Instead, choose to play with your children or encourage them to play together! Here are the benefits.
Social Playtime offers children an opportunity to practice communication skills, learn to share, cooperate, resolve conflict, and build friendships. It’s a training ground for getting along with others.
Emotional While playing, children often act out emotions they are dealing with in life. This is a great time to help your child put words to feelings as well as guide in problem solving. Step in when necessary with comments like, “I see you’re frustrated when the tower you built out of blocks tips over. Let’s see what happens if the base is bigger.”
Cognitive Play provides hands on experiences, allowing your child to experiment and try new activities. When a skill is mastered, it can be built upon for more difficult tasks or applied to other areas of learning. Children are multi-sensory learners, using all five senses to investigate and examine their world. Developmental psychologist Erik H. Erikson stated, “The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.”
Unstructured play, without Mom or Dad acting as cruise directors, fuels creativity. These playtimes incorporate social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of learning. Children will come up with fabulous games and adventures. Play is a child’s work. Allow time and freedom for children to explore, even if it gets a little messy the benefits are terrific.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” —George Bernard Shaw
All the best for a wonderful start to the school year,
Becky Danielson, M.Ed.
Licensed Parent & Family Educator
b.danielson@berrypatchschool.com
2016-17 School Calendar
We're excited for the new school year and an up-to-date website to house all the information you'll need throughout the year! Check out the calendar for upcoming events at Whittier Wildflower Preschool. When you click on individual events, you can easily add them to your personal calendar. You can also find the calendar on the homepage for easy access. Happy last couple weeks of summer!
2016 Enrollment Forms
For your convenience we have made the following forms available for you to download. We are required to have all of these forms on file before your child begins preschool.
Enrollment Form (You can also fill out the online application.)
Health Care Summary (Requires doctors signature.)
Immunization Record (Requires doctors signature.)
Permission Form (Toddler for 2 year olds.)
Permission Form (Preschool for 3 & 4 year olds.)