Pasitos School, Spanish Immersion Preschool & Child Care in San Jose, CA
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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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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  LIMITED CHOICES/ OPCIONES LIMITADAS

9/21/2020

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Offering limited choices instead of making demands can be very effective. Children often respond to choices when they will not respond to demands. Offering choices is one of the most useful tools we use at Pasitos because it's a win-win solution with young children.

When using this tool, you are offering only choices that are okay with you, so you're happy. Your child gets to pick one that's okay with him/her, so he/she is happy. Now your child is in charge, within your limits. Your child is not in control of much in his/her life so even the smallest opportunity to have some input in a decision is huge.

Giving children choices and empowering them to make their own decisions will help prepare them for life. It will also build respect, develop problem-solving skills, avoid power struggles , teach responsibility and invite cooperation.

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  CONNECT & REDIRECT/ CONECTAR & REDIRECCIONAR

9/18/2020

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Children who hear "no" or "don't" all the time tend to tune out. Simply telling your child to stop doing something is not an effective way to stop or change a behavior. So instead of telling your child what not to do, Positive Discipline recommends connecting and redirecting your child by offering a positive behavior to replace the misbehavior.

Redirection is a classic and effective form of discipline, one that works especially well with younger children who might not necessarily understand or listen to reason and logic. For example, a toddler having a tantrum at the grocery store could be asked to help cross out the items on the grocery list, find some of the items and/or organize them in the cart.

It is important to always remember that children don't usually misbehave deliberately (there is a belief behind the behavior). They may be experimenting a particular feeling or going through a specific face or issue. 

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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool - PARENTING & SELF-CARE/ CRIANZA & CUIDADO PERSONAL

9/16/2020

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Do you feel that sometimes you give so much to your children that you leave yourself empty? Working crazy hours, running around all day for activities, playdates and appointments leaves you exhausted, wanting a nap and yelling to those around us. Taking care of yourself plays a critical role in effective parenting, you must take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Taking care of yourself does not make you a “selfish” parent, practicing self-care makes you a “better” and “happier” parent.

Parents who practice taking care of themselves show their children that there are healthy ways to manage life’s challenges and create powerful teachable moments by exposing them to self-care management techniques.

Self-care looks different for every person, here is how you can start.

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  MAKE IT A GAME/HAZLO UN JUEGO

9/9/2020

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As parents, it can be incredibly challenging to get our children to cooperate sometimes. Turning a challenging situation into a game is a powerful - and often forgotten - parenting tool. When children don't cooperate, our usual reaction is to toughen up and act stricter, the last thing we want to do is to play with our child. However, turning challenging situations into fun simple games has huge benefits. We like to call it “playful parenting.”

Playful parenting helps us end power struggles faster, increases cooperation and helps us re-build connection. Below are three ideas that will help you turn a common challenge into a game.


Challenge: “My child does not want to clean up” ​
1) Turn Chore Time Into Storytime ~ Convierta las Tareas del Hogar en Tiempo de Cuentos. Stories are an incredibly powerful way to teach children almost effortlessly....

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool - Hugs, Hugs & More Hugs/Abrazos, Abrazos y Más ABRAZOS

9/2/2020

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Hugging your child  has innumerable benefits for him as well as for you. Hugs, help your child feel safe, increase his self-esteem, teach him empathy and improve his overall health.

Hugs are a natural stress-buster and also help in discipline. Sometimes, in our efforts to discipline our children, we often choose methods such as putting them in time-out. However, giving them a hug could be the start of the discipline process on a positive note, and this can be followed up with an explanation of what they did wrong.

While your child might resist the hug initially, he will soon give in and allow his emotions and his body to relax, which brings on a feel-good effect. Children do better when they feel better, and so do you. Hugs, help us feel better!

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  CURIOSITY QUESTIONS/PREGUNTAS DE CURIOSIDAD

8/19/2020

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Have you noticed how often you are telling instead of asking ?  When we are asking instead of telling, we are giving our children the opportunity to think and feel capable. If you find yourself telling instead of asking, stop for a minute and think about how you can change the command to a curiosity question. 

Here are some ideas, feel free to post them around the house to help you remember how to use curiosity questions:

¿Cómo puedes resolver el problema con tu hermano? / 
How can you solve the problem with your brother?
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¿Qué necesitas hacer para que tus juguetes estén en su lugar? / What do you need to do to clean up your toys?

¿Cuáles son las reglas para jugar con el agua? / 
What are the expectation to play with the water?

​*Click HERE to continue reading!
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Positive Discipline Parenting Tool -  POSITIVE TIME-OUT/TIEMPO FUERA POSITIVO

8/5/2020

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Positive time-outs are intended to stop negative behaviors and to help children cool off and gain self-control using available resources, including you (mom/dad/caregiver). When children are young the time-out teaches them how to do this and gives them an opportunity to practice those new skills. As the child gets older, time out is both a reminder to the child to regain control over himself and a push to do so.

Here are some tips for creating and using positive time outs with your child:
  • Create a “cozy corner” or other safe, comforting place with your child where he/she can retreat for comfort and renewal.
  • Help him/her decorate it and ask him/her to choose comforting objects, such as stuffed animals, blankets, books or quiet activities. 
  • Encourage him/her to give it a special name. 

*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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