Pasitos School
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  SCHEDULED SPECIAL TIME FOR CONNECTION/TIEMPO ESPECIAL PROGRAMADO

12/9/2020

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One of the most important things we can do for our children is to spend regular, scheduled special time with them. We can spend long days together, yet our attention may be divided and our children’s frustration builds as they realize we are not fully present. Most children will let us know in their own “creative” ways if they feel that we are not giving them the attention that they need. Some will withdraw while others will act out.

Spending scheduled quality time with our children is extremely important for their development and happiness but carving the time isn't always easy. Below are some tips and ideas: 

Plan: Brainstorm with your child a list of things that you would like to do together during your special time. Take turns choosing an activity (activities do not need to cost any money or be fancy). 

*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  WINNING COOPERATION/GANANDO COOPERACIÓN

11/19/2020

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Mutual respect is the clue for cooperation. When we ask for cooperation from our children in a kind and respectful way rather than demand it, we find they are much more likely to comply with what we’ve asked. In other words, we get far more cooperation by inviting than demanding (see PD tool #4 - Curiosity Questions).

When we demand by ordering, correcting, and directing, we invite a natural fight or flight response and our chances of winning cooperation greatly decrease. Demands often lead to power struggles, tantrums, distance and hostility. On the other hand, asking respectfully leads to closeness, trust, and cooperation.
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There are certain things we can do that greatly increase the chances that kids will cooperate with us. Below are the 3 steps to win cooperation: 


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*Click HERE to continue reading!

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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  FOLLOW THROUGH/CONTINUAR HASTA EL FINAL

11/11/2020

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We all agree that healthy limits and boundaries are important, and we are usually pretty good at coming up with rules and consequences. The difficulty comes when we have to enforce what we say. Here is a common example: “If you don’t pick up the toys, they are going in the garbage,”. Toys remain scattered across the floor and parents just can't make themselves put the toys in the garbage.
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Talking about limits but not actually keeping them is just not helpful to children. Not following through leads to uncertainty, disconnection and even anxiety for both parents and children. Children usually know when parents mean what they say and when they don’t. But, why is it so hard for parents to follow through with consequences? 

Some parents believe that giving children what they want will show them that they are loved. 

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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two-way bilingual immersion Elementary Schools

11/2/2020

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​Schools in many parts of the United States are increasingly offering dual language programs. The most common type of dual language programs is the two-way approach, also known as “TWBI” (two-way bilingual immersion). In TWBI programs some of the children are native speakers (in the target language), some are bilingual, and some come from English-only homes. Some programs teach in English for half the day and the other half in the target language (this is called the 50/50 model). Other programs are almost entirely in the target language in kindergarten and first grade (this is called the 90/10 model). The goal is to have all children test at grade level in both languages by fourth grade.
 
Although there are many language combinations, the English/Spanish pair is currently the most popular in our area. You can click here to see a list of Spanish TWBI elementary schools in the South Bay.
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Staying Healthy at Pasitos School ~ A Social Story

10/26/2020

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​Social stories are short stories that depict a social situation that children may encounter. They are used to teach children through the use of specific and sequential information about everyday events that children may find difficult or confusing, thus preventing further anxiety on the part of your child.

​Social stories have a wide variety of applications from understanding others’ actions and emotions, developing self-care skills, and general safety techniques to specific events or changes in routine. Check out our social story about staying healthy at Pasitos during Covid-19.
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  aCTIVE LISTENING/ESCUCHA ACTIVA

10/24/2020

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Active listening is an essential tool of communication and one of the single most important skills you can have in your parenting toolbox. Active listening means observing and listening to feelings and reflecting them back. It means to recognize your child’s words, and more importantly to seek to really understand his underlying message.

For example, when a child says “I hate you, Mommy!” he isn’t saying “I hate you,” he is more likely saying something like, “I am mad that you are spending more time with the new baby than with me.”/ "Me enoja que pases más tiempo con el nuevo bebé que conmigo".

Active listening does not require that you agree with your child’s feelings, but it allows your child to feel connected and understood while creating a caring relationship in which he sees you as being “in his corner.” 
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​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Día de las Brujas

10/15/2020

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It's almost Halloween!  ¡Calabazas, fantasmas, monstruos! ¡Ay, ay, ay!  

1.  Song about a pumpkin, calabaza.
2.  Story about a ghost, fantasma. 
3.  Song about a monster, monstruo.  
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Letters and Sounds

10/15/2020

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An important part of the preschool years is playing with letters and sounds of the languages we speak.  We do this often with word games, rhymes, songs, chants, tongue twisters.  I remember my own children playing sounds when they were younger, often making up their own nonsensical words.  This would, of course, leave us laughing and would encourage more of the play with the sounds of our languages.  

I like to practice this song with the children, with each child having their own copy of the paper.  I encourage children to lay the paper flat on the floor or on the table and to follow along with their finger.  I like to have my own copy to model how I follow along with my finger, too.  

This song teaches:
  • left to right tracking
  • concepts of print
  • alphabetic principle
  • one-to-one correspondence
  • segmenting initial sounds/phonemes
  • vocabulary
If you you don't have the poster in front of you, and if your child is bored, impatient, hungry, waiting, .... look around point to or touch different objects in your surrounding and sing the song...

"chair, chair, ch, ch, ch; silla silla s, s, s; mano, mano, m, m, m..."

Don't worry about the letter names.  We can use other songs, games, and activities to teach letter names and other emerging literacy skills through meaningful play experiences.  Follow along with the video or audio below.  Have fun with this song!

Email your favorite maestra for a downloadable pdf file to the poster below.  You can also find the English song on your favorite music player, including YouTube.  
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  KIND AND FIRM PARENTING/CRIANZA AMABLE Y FIRME

10/6/2020

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Some parents think that being firm is a synonym of being mean and that being kind is a synonym of being permissive. This thought has no foundation. Setting firm and appropriate boundaries is actually an act of kindness. Kindness is important to show respect for your child. Firmness is important to show respect for yourself. You can set firm boundaries in a respectful, loving and kind way. This is a win-win situation! 

Being kind and firm is one of the most (if not the most) important tools of Positive Discipline. Some parents are too kind, and not firm. Others are too firm, and not kind. Many parents move between the two being too kind until they can’t stand their children (who develop an entitlement attitude) and then being too firm until they can’t stand themselves (feeling like tyrants). This rollercoaster parenting can be ineffective and confusing to the child.

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  TAKE TIME FOR TRAINING/ TOME TIEMPO PARA ENTRENAR

9/24/2020

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Training is an essential part of teaching children life skills. We often ask our children to clean their rooms (for example) and forget that their version of clean and our version of clean are indeed very different. The same thing is true with setting the table, organizing their closets or putting their toys away. We expect them to know how we want things done, without ever taking the time to teach them.

Training is also an important first step in managing children’s behaviors. If your child doesn’t know how to tie his shoes, for example, he might refuse to do it – simply because he does not know how to do it. The solution is simple, teach him how.

A huge part of training is understanding that learning any skill requires a 4 step process: 

1 - Explain the task as you do it, while your child watches.

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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    Pasitos School

    Pasitos is an eco-friendly, bilingual community based on learning and fun. Through a play based Reggio inspired curriculum, children gain the necessary literacy skills to make them successful in both Spanish and English. At the same time, they build social and emotional skills in working with peers and the maestras. Together these skills help open their minds and language capabilities. Teachers interact with the children to build strong academics and positive social skills.

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Two locations in San Jose, CA

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