The New School Year

The new school year is under way and many children are getting to know new routines, children, teachers and for many also a new language. Parents are invited to our Back-To-School Night on Thursday, August 26 at 6:30 PM to learn more about our program.

The extra-curricular classes are starting next week and we still have room for Deutsch-Sternchen. This class is offered on Thursdays from 2 - 2:50 PM for children born after 6/06 and is a perfectly playful way to help your child with the German language. Many children in Preschool understand German but don't know how to express themselves in German. In a small group they will read German books and stories, sing German songs, paint pictures and talk about their artwork. This is a supporting class for non-native speakers. If you are interested, contact Stella in the office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Welcome Back to School

Summer is drawing to an end and the preschool staff has been gearing up to greet all new and returning families for the new school year.

The teachers have been preparing with workshops, planning meetings and their individual classroom preparations. The preschool facilities received some major improvements over the summer. Our sun and moon room received a new lighting system with sound absorbing ceiling panels, the asphalt in the backyard was resurfaced to provide a smoother and safer surface for bike riding and the front yard received a few improvements as well. Among them, a new climbing dome, donated by the Valenta family. Thank you very much!

We are welcoming a new staff member in the preschool. Claudia Trojan, an experienced preschool teacher from Germany has joined our team. She will be the assistant in the 'Enten' group and a Hort teacher in the afternoon.

Saturday will be the first chance for the children to meet their teachers and see their classrooms during our school picnic. The event will be from 12:30-3:30 PM, with an orientation at 1:30 PM in the preschool for new preschool parents. Please bring a potluck dish and eating utensils for your family. We look forward to greeting everyone either Saturday or on our first day of school and are excited and eager to start the new school year.

End of School Year

Thank you to all parents that have contributed throughout the school year to the success of the preschool. It takes dedicated teachers for a wonderful program but it also takes dedicated parents. Whether by helping in the classroom, doing laundry, being on the board, organizing events, representing your class,keeping the library organized, creating the yearbook pages and all those other endless jobs, you are all contributing and we couldn't have done it without you.
THANK YOU!!!

 

Fairy ceremony

The school year is quickly coming to an end. Our last day of school is coming up, which will also be the last day in preschool for many of our children before they venture into Vorschule or kindergarten. The children 'graduate' by being 'thrown out', which is a symbolic way of saying that they are ready for the next step in their lives. First, the children are magically transformed into 'vorschul' children by our very own fairy, before we get ready to send them on. The ceremony is a big deal for the children leaving, as well as the younger children watching, already anticipating their own turn. I would like to thank all parents for their support and help throughout the school year. Have a wonderful summer!

Conflict Resolution
One of the topics that always come up in preschool are conflicts and how they are resolved. Knowing how we are handling these issues at school will hopefully help you continue to work on these issues at home.Every year we have had children struggling with social role issues and girls and boys usually address them in different ways. Boys tend to resolve issues more physically in the open whereas girls tend to do it more secretively and emotionally. This behavior is part of identifying roles, as an individual and in the group. Social issues and conflicts between children are a normal part of development as well as a normal part of learning how to get along with each other. Even though we recognize that this is a stage that children often go through at this age, we also work with the children and talk about behaviors that appropriate and inappropriate. We involve the children (individually and often in the whole group) in dialogs such as:"What do you need to say if you want to have a turn" “How do you think another child feels when they can not play?” (….you can’t play, come to my birthday, are not my friend). At the same time we also discuss with the children that other children can not tell them what to do and try to teach them to be assertive and to stand up for themselves. We also let them know that they should come to us if there is a conflict they can't solve by themselves or if another child is not listening to them. Here are some active steps you can take with your child should he/she state that someone else was bothering him/her (this is often common when two want the same bike, swing, shovel, etc.). First, start a dialog with your child:
· What was bothering you?
· Did you tell the child to stop? (They should look the other in the eye and tell them in a loud voice)
· Did that help?
· If it didn't help, did you go to a teacher? Which teacher (If not, please remind them to do that)
Also, if you are aware of conflicts between the children, speak to your child's teacher. In general the teachers try to resolve the conflicts during school time, yet should children share concerns at home, please discuss them with your child at home and give the child’s teacher feedback as well. In the past, when parents and teachers worked together as a team to address an issue, it was usually quickly resolved. Sometimes talking to the teacher will also help put a situation in perspective. What is sometimes perceived as a bullying behavior, may have been an innocent conflict between two children.
When conflict situations arise at GAIS, we use specific conflict resolution steps with the children. We work on the problem with all the children involved and try to find a solution.
1. State the problem (hear both sides)
2.Get ideas for solutions (ask the children first, give suggestions if they can't come up with any, e.g.: get a timer to take tunrs, get another truck, etc.).
3. Find a solution all can agree on
4. Follow through and make sure everyone feels better
For example, if one child hurt the other (no matter if accidentally or impulsively), they need to take care of the hurt child and ask what they need to feel better. Usually this involves getting ice for the other child.
Every situation is different and as we try to resolve some conflicts together with the children, in other cases it is more effective to follow through with consequences. For example; if the same conflict arises between two children (e.g. one throwing sand at the other), a better way might be to follow through with a consequence to the action. The teacher/parent states a clear cause and effect, such as: “We just agreed that it is not OK to throw sand at others. Since you did it again, it is better you play inside now. We will try again after lunch and see if you can play in the sandbox without throwing sand.“ With the younger children all that is often needed is redirection or separation of two children. Teachers will often discuss appropriate and unappropriate behavior with the whole class. They will talk about showing respect to others, including others in play and give help for appropriate conflict resoltion. Children in this age group still need much help resolving their conflicts and we need to give them the right tools to do just that. Just as some children will take a little longer developing their fine motor skills, some children need more help with their social development. Recommended resources, to name just a few: I want it my way! Problem-Solving Techniques with children Two to Eight, by Sue Dinwiddie; Positive Discipline Series by Jane Nelsen. Books to read with children: Dealing with Feelings Series: I'm furious. I'm Excited. I'm Scared. I'm Mad. I'm Frustraded. I'm Proud. by Crary. Problem Solving Series: I Want It. I Can't Wait. I Want to Play. My Name is not Dummy

 

Father's Weeks

Our Father's Weeks are in full swing. We have fathers reading stories, cooking, launching rockets, going on field trips and all sorts of other activities. There is still time to sign-up in your child's class. Thanks for taking the time to spend time in the preschool. The kids are fully enjoying it.

Clothing Exchange

Matthias Fallon, the Fledermaus parent rep is organizing a clothing exchange on Friday, May 14th at 1 PM in the preschool front yard. This is the perfect opportunity to bring some of your child's outgrown clothes and in exchange pick-up something else that will fit your child. Please bring your clothes or other kids items before 1PM to be laid out on tables. I for one am always eager to clean-out items my kids have outgrown and will certainly go through our closets. If you can help, please contact Mike at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Thank you for organizing, Mike.

Math and Counting

Sometimes we tend to think too simplistically about mathematics and young children. You hear someone say, "My daughter knows all her numbers. She can count to 20." While counting is an accomplishment, it is only one very small part of knowing numbers. Counting to 10 or 20, or even 100, is called rote counting and requires only the memoriztion of number order. The child may or may not have any real understanding of amount of quantity. Number vocabulary and concepts that young learners can begin to use in meanigful ways include some, more, less, bigger, smaller, pairs, groups, parts and wholes. Talking and thinking about numbers and quantity as part of doing activities is a natural way for children to develop mathematical concepts. Parents can point out math-related aspects of everyday situations. Use number words in conversation: "Let's put these two shirts here" or "I need three more glasses on the table." Estimate how long it will take to get to Grandma's house. Measure how far the ball rolls. Divide a dozen cookies among four family members. A simple math vocabulary grows from experiencing cooking and measuring, understanding that numbers have names and written symbols, guessing and estimating, and talking about days and weeks. These experiences lay the groundwork for beginning math. Parents play an important part in building children's initial math and understandings. Look for ways to help kids see the fun and usefulness of knowing more than how to count to 100.

There are two highlights awaiting the preschoolers tomorrow. As part of our music unit, the older children will be able to go to San Francisco, to visit the children's program of the symphony. However, the younger children won't be left out. We will have a music program for them as well, conducted by a professional musician and teacher in the school's music room. They will also be treated to a mini-concert by the 4th graders. Having the preschool all to themsleves without the older children, will no doubt be another highlight. Thank you to all parents and grandparents for coming in with their instruments. We have had mini-concerts almost daily. Some of the instrumnets we have had in the classes were violin, clarinett, recorder, flute, basoon, trambone and oboe.

Music Unit

There is music in the air. Walk through the preschool classrooms and you are likely to hear children exploring music, by playing instruments, dancing and listening to their favorite tunes. Our new muisic unit has started. As part of the unit, we encourage parents to come in and show off their music instruments during circle time. These mini concerts can be tremendously enriching for the children. If you are looking for things to do during the break, I recommend a free family concert at the Community School of Music and Arts, on April 18th at 2 and 4 PM. Playing is the Oriki Theatre, with African Music and Dance. Africa comes alive when the talented dancers, drummers, storytellers and singers of Oriki Theater take to the stage for a high-energy, colorful, interactive performance. For almost 20 years, this Mountain View-based company has dedicated itself to bringing audiences a shared experience of Africa, its people and way of life

The children in the preschool were all actively involved in the St. Jude Trike-A-Thon. Each class had a designated day to bring their tricycles, bikes or scooters to school.
All received a drivers license that also acted as a punch card to keep track of the number of rounds they made. The Trike-A-Thon raised about $700. Thank you for your generous donations to this worthy cause! Your donation enables St. Jude to continue its mission of finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance and no child is denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. When watching the children doing their rounds, I talked to a mother and found out that this was very personal for her, as one of their friend's children was treated at St. Judes with a brain tumor, which sure serves as a reminder to count our blessings for having such healthy children!

Visit by the Lizard Lady

This week, the preschoolers were able to experience another highlight of our current animal unit, a visit by the 'Lizard Lady'. She brought a variety of reptiles to the classroom, including a blue tongued lizard, an albino boa and a 65-year old, endangered Brazilian red toed tortoise. She gave a total of three presentations to give all children the chance to get an up-close look of the animals and to be able to touch and feel them. Teressa, the 'Lizard Lady', explained what makes each animal and species she brought unique, what they eat and what kind of care they need. Among other things she also told the children how important it is to respect all animals, what role they play in our environment and what role each of us plays in taking care of the environment and thus making sure that all species can thrive. We are now at the end of the unit. The children have been very involved and have had many opportunities to learn about the caring for animals and the commitment it takes. Some visited the pet store, while others visited an animal shelter. All classes had frequent visits by real animals, ranging from dogs to a pony. The rescued baby kittens are doing quite well, they are now three weeks old and are well taken care of by teachers and children. The children also continue to take care of their classroom pets. Within their class they learned about the differences of wild animals and pets, classified and sorted animals and experienced ways to research about animals. The unit was a great example of inquiry based learning.

Newborn kittens in the preschool

Our animal unit in the preschool started a few weeks ago with a visit to the Milpitas Animal Shelter. On Monday, one of the animal patrol officers the children met during the field trip rescued two newborn kittens that were abandoned by their mother and were close to death. Kathrin Winter and her group of frogs have agreed to become their foster parents until they can become available for adoption. Our focus during this unit is on the attitudes of caring and commitment. The children now have the chance to learn first hand what it means to care for an animal and also the commitment it takes. We already have other animals in the preschool, that the children learn to take care of. The newborn kittens on the other hand, need very frequent feedings, warmth and comfort, much love and very gentle care. The children will also be able to learn about the growth and development of these tiny kittens. Their body is still small and fragile, their eyes are still closed and their movements are still very clumsy. In case you are interested in adopting one or both of thse kittens, please talk to Kathrin in the preschool. They can be adopted through the San Jose Animal Shelter in about six weeks.

 

Field Trip to the Animal Shelter and Pet Store

The children started with their new unit "Ein Herz fuer Tiere". To start off the unit, the groups went to tour a local pet store and an animal shelter to see what is needed to take care of animals. In the pet store they saw how the animals are fed, groomed and even boarded. One group bought a hermit crab for the classroom and will learn all about its needs and how to take care of it.

Another class toured the new state of the art animal shelter in Milpitas. The visit included lessons on when a child should or- not- approach a dog, how to care for animals and what animals the Humane Society cares for. The field trip also included a tour through the facilities and an animal control officer meeting us at the end with her truck! It was a lot of fun! During this unit, every classroom will have a different area to explore for the children from an Animal Hospital, Puppet Theater, Humane Society, Research Center and an animal habitat in our dress up corner. If you have animal costumes, furry fabrics collecting dust at home- just bring them into the preschool!

Legos and Play dough

We all know that children need good fine motor control for school success. The process does begin early, when infants and toddlers reach for and grasp objects. But development and coordination of wrist and finger muscles-necessary for hand writing later- come slowly and require lots of practice. Teachers and parents alike can help children develop fine motor control by providing appropriate materials. Playdough and Legos, are great examples. One of the many skills learned through playing with playdough and Legos is the development of strenth and dexterity in hands. Simply through pinching, rolling and shaping play dough, children develop strength in finger and wrist muscles. Connecting Legos develops hand muscles and the finger grasp, the touching of the finger and the thumb that is important for holding pens, pencils and other tools. Playdough and Legos are both open ended materials. Children can play with these however they choose. These materials not only develop fine motor skills but also provide opportunities for practice and discovery of many math-related skills. Both materials provide hours of enjoyment, many ways to enhance fine motor skills, and great opportunities for intellectual developmenmt. Once again: Play is the way young children learn!
Here is an easy recipe for playdough:
1 cup salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups water
A few drops of food coloring
Combine all ingredients in a pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, unti all ingredients are well mixed and the dough begins to pull away from the side of the pan. The dough will smooth out after 10 min. of cooking. Remove from pan and knead for 2 min. The dough can be kept in a plastic container for 3-4 weeks.

Kiepenkasper

Mike Fallon, the parent rep for the Fledermaus group reported about the puppet show: Uwe Spillman arrived yesterday for his annual Kiepenkasper performance. He is currently touring the West Coast putting on performances at German schools and German classes in the various public schools with his puppet Kasper. The show ran for a about an hour and was a big hit with the kids. Herr Spillman lives in Germany and travels throughout Europe and the US putting on old fashioned puppet shows in German. It was pouring down rain before the performance, with lightning and thunder as well. The Preschool and Kindergarten assembled in the Gym, put their raincoats and boots in piles and sat on cushions to enjoy the two act show. In the first act, Kasper has his golden gong stolen by a pirate, who hides it on a desert island. The kids helped Kasper build a ship, sail it to the island and trick the pirate into revealing where the Golden Gong is buried. In the second act, Kasper is building a bicycle for his friends’ birthday, but is missing a bike seat. He encounters a wizard who warns him about a hideous monster that is in the area. The monster finally reveals himself, and is actually a bike seat in disguise.

Game Night

All preschool classes have finished their first unit of "Hey, that's me". During this unit the children learned more about themselves and their classmates. The emphasis was also on classroom routines and rules, as well as their roles and classrooms resposibilities. All classes did different activities to support the unit, which you can read about in your teacher's infomails on the website. At the end of each unit you will receive a portfolio that will show you what the children have been doing in the class and the progress that went on during the unit. Take some time to look through the portfolios together with your child. This is also an excellent opportunity to get a dialog going about preschool. With the help of pictures your child might be better able to share things about their day and you might be able to learn the names of their classmates as well. Provided lyrics will help you learn the songs. Our next goal is to record many of the songs we sing in preschool and put them on the website, to make it easier for you to sing with your child.

Peace Day

Last Monday was Peace Day. Peace is a very abstract concept for preschool children. In the preschool, peace means that we want to get along with each other without fighting and hurting each other, even when we really, really want to have the toy another child is playing with, for example. We talked about how to solve problems and conflict's on a level the children can understand. We also talked about how it feels when children won't let children play with them and introduced our rule: "You can't say- you can't play" or "Alle duerfen mitspielen". We have a blue circle with a pictogram of children holding hands in a circle to symbolize that rule. You can ask your child to point one out in the preschool. Puppet plays and role play are excellent tools to teach preschoolers new concepts. We used both last Monday and Tuesday to teach the children about conflict resolution and asked the kids to actively participate in solving the problems presented. Problem solving and conflict resolution does not happen on peace day alone, of course. It is an ongoing learning process and will be used every day, all year long. It also lays the foundation for the culture of our school. We want the children to show respect for each other, for themselves, their environment and their learning.

How to help your child become bi-lingual

While GAIS provides a language immersion environment, there are many things only you can do to help your child through this process. Here are some tips that help you improve the language absorption of your child:

The daily morning circle time and activity times are the best daily routine for language learning. Through finger-plays, songs, stories and discussions they are immersed in the language in a natural way. Also take advantage of the following recourses: GAIS library with hundreds of German books, CD’s and DVD’s, GAIS annual German book fair, extra curricular class (Deutsch Sternchen) and Summer school.

If you have an occasional babysitter, try to have a German one. Even though not a practical solution for everyone, getting a German Au-pair can be a great solution for your child care and language needs.

If you show your child that you think it is important and fun to learn another language, your child will tend to think the same way. GAIS also offers adult language classes, so does the German Saturday School and other local adult schools and colleges.

If you speak German, make sure you speak to your child in German and be consistent.

Also, check our GAIS website. In the parent section, under German Language Resource, is an excellent list of websites and information.

Sand Day in the Preschool

The preschool celebrated its annual sand day. The day started out with the delivery of a big truck load of new play sand, which needed to be hauled to the sand area. We accomplished that with much help from parents and the children, who were busy hauling sand by wheel barrows, Tonka trucks, buckets, etc. The children did sand art, baked a cake and finished the day off with a giant volcano.

Sigg Bottle Recall

The kids are back in school and it’s time to pack lunches again. We always encourage parents to use re-usable bottles and food containers to cut down on unnecessary waste. Many parents like to use the Swiss made Sigg aluminum bottles. If you do own a Sigg bottle, please be aware that they have found trace amounts of BPA in the lining of the bottles, made prior to 2008. The bottles are easily recognized by a golden interior color. The good news is, that your old bottles (no matter how old and dented or where they were purchased), can be easily replaced with new bottles at Whole Foods. Other stores may do the same but I personally tried Whole Foods and got all my bottles replaced.

As the summer winds down, the start of the new school year is fast approaching. For some of the children this will mean their first entry into the world of preschool.
To help make the transition smoother, we will have a parent picnic on Saturday, August 22 from 12-3 PM. This day has traditionally been our big workday before the school starts, getting all the rooms in order for the new year. We have been busy with many of those tasks over the summer. This way, you can focus on getting to know the school a bit better, showing your kids around, meeting the teachers, talking to other parents, etc.
Returning families can catch-up with others after the long summer and can help welcoming all our new families.
Please bring a pot luck dish to share for a common picnic and eating utensils for your personal use. The picnic will be held school wide but considering the needs of the smaller children, we will stay on the preschool grounds.

There will be an orientation for new families at 1PM to inform about the first days of school, preschool procedures, etc. The location of the orientation will be posted at the school on that day. It will take place either in the preschool or the gym.

The first day of preschool: For the 5- and 3-day group, the first day of preschool will be on Monday, August 24th; the 2-day group will have their first day on Tuesday, August 25th. The first day is an orientation day for new parents and children alike. Children may come with their parents and stay as long as they like to meet their teachers, find their cubby and explore all the different areas of the preschool. The regular daily preschool routing will start on the following day. If you or your child anticipate separation anxiety, please talk to your child's teacher during the orientation day or parent picnic on how you plan to address the separation. Some children are natural risk takers and come bounding into the classroom eager for new adventures. Others are more naturally cautious and require more time and reassurance to feel safe and at ease. There is no one style fits all prescription and we will do our best to make the transition as smooth as possible. Make sure you don't slip out when your child isn't looking, as tempting as that may be. Children need to know when you are going and be able to say good bye.

If this is your child's first experience in a preschool setting, it helps to read books with a starting-school theme. Local libraries and bookstores are usually well stocked at this time of year. Reading stories about school helps the child understand what to expect and encourages her to ask questions. It is also good to go over the daily schedule with the child, talking about some of the things she will be doing while at school (circle time, eating snack and lunch, playing, painting, riding a bike, story time, etc.). We discourage bringing toys from home, however if a special stuffed animal or blanket helps your child with the transition, they are more then welcome to bring that. Sometimes, even a family photo can help the child feel more secure in their new environment.

We are still enrolling children and will notify you of your child's group and teacher by next week.

On August 27th, we will have a Back-to-School Night for all preschool parents at 6:30 PM.

If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the office at 650-324-8617 and I will be happy to return your call.

We all look forward to welcoming you into the GAIS community (or welcoming you back) for another enriching and fun filled school year.

School Year 2008/2009

Mother's Day Celebration

One of the highlights in the Preschool is our annual Mother's Day Celebration. This is a day when all moms are invited to come in for a 'Kaffeeklatsch' or breakfast. Two groups already celebrated the big event today. All mothers were greeted with flowers, which was followed by songs, gifts, big hugs and a big buffet.

The children have been busy all week, practicing and preparing for it all and it has been fun to watch all the excitement and anticipation.

Preschool Unit "Our Five Senses"

The preschool children continued with their unit of the five senses. This week, most children explored the sense of sight. Besides talking about the eyes and what children can discover with them, they also explored what it might be like if you can't see. The children got to see and, of course, feel a book written in Braille and navigated around the classroom with an authentic white cane. They also made their own canes for further exploration and tried other activities blind-folded, such as playing, eating, painting, etc.

Trying this showed them the limitations one experiences when one sense is missing but also the things one can do despite of this. Relying on the sense of touch teaches the children to become more aware of this sense and and they have also been increasing their vocabulary in describing what they see and feel. Here are some of the quotes from the children: Wenn man blind ist, dann muss fuehlen um zu lesen, ... dann schreibt man mit einer Maschine, ...dann braucht man einen Blindenstock,...you can't see the birds,...you can't see what you want to read,...you can not see where you want to go,...you can't see where your food is.