“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.“

– George Washington Carver 

Can you believe how quickly this summer is flying by? We have been busy learning, growing, and  having so many fun summer experiences at The Children’s Center. If you do not currently follow us on Facebook and Instagram, we’d encourage you to give us a follow. You can join the fun on an almost daily basis there, and we’d love to have you! 

     

Who doesn’t love some fun in the sun? Water Day is always a hit with the kids at the center, and we are thankful to be able to provide several water days throughout the hot summer months.

Our after school students went on a guided nature walk at Jarvis Creek Park last month. There was so much to explore! 

As if water days and nature walks weren’t exciting enough, we received a visit from our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! The kids (and Mrs. Jenkins) were thrilled to see one of their heroes in the flesh.

In partnership with several corporations in the hospitality industry on the island, we are providing Saturday School for the second summer at The Children’s Center. One of the highlights of Saturday School are visits from musician Jevon Daly. He is guaranteed to have all the kids singing and dancing while parents are hard at work. 

On August 5th, 2022 we will be celebrating reaching our goal of raising $20,000 for Educational Enrichment Programs at The Children’s Center during our Tot Trot fundraiser! We are not quite at our goal yet, so if you are interested in supporting one of our ten classrooms, please visit our fundraiser webpage here.

Our 2nd Annual Swing for the Future Golf Tournament is coming up! We are so excited to be at the beautiful Wexford Golf Club raising funding for The Children’s Center. All 2021 hole sponsors are able to secure a hole sponsorship for the 2022 event at last year’s price of only $100 until August 5th, 2022. New sponsors and those waiting to commit until after August 5^th will pay $150. We have expanded the event to host 100 golfers, having sold out last year. If you are interested in purchasing a Hole Sponsorship, you can do so here.

Our friends at Hilton Head Island Fire/Rescue Station 5 came for a visit and we had the best time! Thank you to the firefighters for coming and inspiring us while helping us cool off this summer!

We are continuing our series diving deeper into the SC Early Learning Standards. This month, we will learn more about the Mathematical Thinking and Expression milestone for the various preschool developmental stages.

The SC Early Learning Standards have this to say about encouraging mathematical thinking in children:  

“Adults can support the development of mathematical thinking and expression by being enthusiastic about noticing how mathematical concepts are part of everyday activities and using “math talk” to describe children’s experiences. There is no need to drill children with flashcards or worksheets in order to help them learn math. Those practices do not promote children’s curiosity or their confidence that they can “do math.” Adults who provide daily opportunities for children to solve problems, notice the shapes of the blocks they are playing with in the block center, count the number of children sitting at the lunch table, identify which box has more crayons, follow directions, or notice which stack of books is taller and which is shorter are helping children to learn mathematical concepts.“

As you may notice, there is a trend here. It is important to focus more on inspiring learning in the midst of everyday experiences, than it is to force preschoolers to do tedious worksheets and drills. Making learning exciting will help inspire your child(ren) to be lifelong learners!

Infant  

As you might imagine, research on infant understanding of numerical concepts is emerging, but what is clear is that at this age, children begin to understand the concept of more vs. less. Teaching your infant baby sign language such as “more” and “all done” are good foundations for teaching age-appropriate mathematical concepts down the road.

Younger Toddlers

This age group is beginning to explore quantity more, with activities such as filling and dumping containers, and recognizing more objects in a scenario where they are presented with options (for example, a pile of seven blocks vs. a pile of three). Beginning to ask your child questions like “How many blocks did you use?” or “How much is that?” can help bring attention to the mathematical concepts at play in everyday scenarios.

Older Toddlers

This age group is beginning to recite numbers (although not necessarily in the correct order). Counting during play can help children learn their numbers, as can songs like “Five Little Monkeys” and “This Little Piggy”.

Younger Preschoolers

A more solid understanding of numbers is beginning to form for this age group. They may begin showing you how they add or take away items in a set to add or subtract from it. Having children match written numbers and the same number of physical objects can help develop early math skills. Continuing to count out loud during everyday activities is also important.

Older Preschoolers

At this stage, children are more comfortable with numbers and are beginning to be able to answer questions like “How many do we have?” and “How many more do we need?” accurately. Having your older preschooler help you make recipes can help them begin to understand fractions and proportions as well, and is also a lot of fun for them!

Thank you for being a friend of The Children’s Center. We say it often, but we mean it! We could not continue providing early education services to Lowcountry families without your support. We know it takes a village to raise a child and we are so grateful to have you in ours. 

To learn more about Mathematical Thinking and Expression from birth to age five, click here. 

 

Do you want to make a difference? We are looking for full-time and part-time employees! E-mail resumes to info@thechildrenscenter.org.