ELNC - Explore and Learn Academy

Mrs. Kara Polegas Voyagers

Classroom Handbook

Welcome!

Dear Families:

Welcome to the Voyager 4 year old preschool classroom at the ELNC Explore and
Learn Academy. I am excited that you have chosen our program for your child, and
look forward to getting to know you and your child this year. I want to begin with
letting you know more about me.

My name is Kara Polega, and the students may call me Ms. Kara. I originally lived
on a farm with my family in Ionia, but moved to the big city of Grand Rapids when
I was in 6th grade. I have lived in the Grand Rapids area since then! In 2006, I
graduated from Aquinas College with a degree in Elementary Education focusing on
Language Arts and Math. During my years in college, I began working at the
Spectrum Health Child Development Center where I fell in love with working with
young children. I found that I truly enjoyed singing all the nursery rhymes, playing
dressing up and pretend, and creating artistic masterpieces with finger paint. I
knew that I wanted to work with preschool-aged children, and have worked with
that age group ever since! I am currently attending Grand Valley to earn a Masters
Degree with a focus on Early Childhood Education.

Personally, I am married to my husband, Joel, and we have 2 children, Jacob and

Emma. Together as a family we like to spend time outdoors fishing, swimming, and
bike riding. We also take walks with the furry member of our family, our dog Rex.
When spending time indoors, we like to listen to music, play around with my
husbands instruments or play Uno together. Whenever I get some downtime, I also
enjoy reading.

I strive to build a learning community in our classroom, and you and your child are a
part of our classroom community. I hope to make learning engaging and fun for
your child. Not only will your child learn academic skills necessary for kindergarten,
but they will also learn important social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and
making friends. If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask. If needed I
can be available before of after school to meet with you.

Best wishes,

Kara Polega

Classroom Policies

Classroom Management/Discipline

In preschool, one of the main goals is to help children develop their social and
emotional skills. This means that we expect that all children coming into the class
are still learning how to manage feelings like anger, sadness, frustrations, and even
excitement. For many children, we know this will be their first experience playing
with other children, sharing classroom toys, and following directions from an adult
that is not their parent. As a result, our classroom management and rules are
focused on helping children learn how to handle their feelings, play with other
children, and learn the routine of being in school.

To start the year, we teach the students 4 simple rules: 1. Kind Hands, 2. Walking
Feet, 3. Inside Voices, and 4. Listening Ears. We explain that those are things we
need to do to keep all people and materials safe. Once the children have been in
class and gotten to know each other, we will invite them to create any other rules
that they would like, and include them on our rules chart. Then we invite all
children to sign the rules chart as agreement to following the rules of the
classroom. The teachers in the classroom will review the rules with the class as
needed to remind them about how we want to be treated at school.

As children are still learning the classroom rules, we know that there will be
conflicts. The teachers work with the children to resolve the conflict using 6 steps:
1. Teacher calmly approaches students and intervenes to stop any hurtful behavior;
2. Help children to identify how they are feeling; 3. Ask all children to explain what
happened. 4. The teacher will then restate what she heard was the problem; 5. Work
with the children to create solutions for the problem; 6. The teacher will follow up
later with the children to see if the solution worked. The teachers will work with
the children to go through all the steps to solve the problem. Different solutions
and strategies for solving conflicts will be taught and displayed in the classroom with
pictures the children understand. As the children learn the process, they will be
able to resolve the problems themselves, and the teacher will be less involved.

To help the children solve their problems, the teachers will also work with them to
name their feelings and how to express their feelings in a way that does not hurt
themselves, another person, or an object in the room. Children will be encouraged
to explain how they are feeling, and taught different methods for handling those
feelings. There is also a space in the room where children can go to be alone in the
classroom. If you have any questions, please let us know!

Parent Participation

Parent Engagement Events

Several times during the school year, we will host parent engagement events.
Typically these will be held after school hours at the school. We will plan a variety
of activities for you to do with your child. We highly encourage you to attend these
events. It is a great time to get to know the other families and teachers in the
program. We will also provide information from resources outside the school to help
continue to prepare your child for kindergarten.

Celebrations/Class Parties

Parents are welcome to attend classroom parties and celebrations. We will have
classroom parties for Fall Harvest, Winter Celebration, and Valentines Day. If you
have suggestions or would like to help plan these parties, please let us know. Also
at the end of each of our study units, we will have a class celebration to showcase
all the learning and work we did on that particular study. Again, we will send home
a note and post information about the celebrations as they happen.

Classroom Volunteer

If you are interested in volunteering and participating in the classroom, please let us
know. Parents are welcome in the classroom anytime. However, it is helpful to know
if you plan on visiting ahead of time, so we can plan accordingly. All parents
participating in the classroom will be expected to follow the classroom rules and
contract. If you have ideas about activities or lessons you would be interested in
leading for the class, please let us know. Also let us know if you are interested in
volunteering with take-home projects, and we can make arrangements with that.

Parent Teacher Conferences/Home Visits

During the school year, we will do a beginning of the year home visit and an end of
the year home visit. We will also do 2 Parent Teacher Conferences during the year.
We will have a sign up sheet where you can sign up for a time that is convenient for
you. During these meetings, we will discuss your childs learning and development,
and plan goals for your child. If you need to discuss any concerns outside of a
conference or home visit, please let us know and we can schedule a time to meet or
make a phone call.

Field Trips

During the school year, we will be taking 2 class field trips and transportation will
be provided by the school bus. Parents will sign a permission slip to allow their child
to attend the field trip. Parents are invited to attend the field trips. The purpose of
the field trips is to extend the classroom learning, and provide students the
opportunity to explore environments outside of the classroom. In the Spring, we will
also walk to the neighborhood school, Campus, to visit the kindergarten classroom,
and meet the principal. Parents are encouraged to come along. This is a great
opportunity to learn more about that school.

Illness

If your child is sick, they need to remain at home until they are no longer sick.
Please keep your child at home if they have the following symptoms: fever above
101, diarrhea that prevents normal play, vomiting, excessive green or yellow running
nose, excessive coughing, any unexplained rash, or sore throat. It is important that
your child does not miss school, but if they are too ill to participate it is better to
keep them at home. If your child becomes sick at school, we will have your child lay
down on a mat in the directors office until you or another emergency contact person
can pick him or her up.

Show and Tell

The classroom has a few different Show and Tell bags that will go home with a
student once a week. Each Show and Tell bag will have specific instructions for you
to follow. The purpose of each bag is to provide your child with learning experience
along with the opportunity to bring in an item from home. Children are not to bring
in toys from home to play with in the classroom.

Homework

Occasionally children will receive an activity to do at home. For example, if we are

studying trees, we will send home a paper for your child to draw a picture of a tree
near their house. If your child does not have a specific homework sheet, you can
still encourage their learning by doing one of the following: read a book together,
draw a picture of something you have done together, practice writing their name, or
look for letters of their name around the house. If you have any questions or would
like more information about providing learning experiences for your child at home,
please let us know.

Snack/Birthday Treats

All food and snacks for the children are provided by the school. If your child has
specific dietary needs, please let us know, and we can make arrangements. Please do
not send individual snacks for your child. If you would like to bring a snack for the
entire class, please let the teacher know. Our school is a nut free school.

Your child is allowed to bring in a treat to celebrate his or her birthday. We

celebrate with birthday treats at the end of the day, and you are welcome to come
in at that time too. Please note that any food brought in should be nut free. Also
consider non-food treats as wellpencils, stickers, or tattoos.

Drop off/Pick up

Class starts at 8:30, and you may bring your child in starting at 8:15. Please arrive
no later than 8:30 so class may start on time. When dropping off, an adult needs to

sign the child in. Please assist your child with the transition to school by helping
them put away their coats and belongings and signing themselves in. Even if your
child will cry, it is important to say good-bye, and not try to sneak out. The
teachers will work with you to develop a plan to help your child with this transition.

Class ends at 3:30. Please be ready to pick your child up at that time. Please note
that if you are not able to pick up your child, we can only release the child to adults
whose names are listed on the Child Record Form. If we do not know the individual,
we will ask for photo identification. If you need to add or remove people from the
list, please let us know.

Dressing Your Child

Your child will get messy at school. Please send them to school in play clothes that

can get dirty and are easily washed. We encourage children to be independent in
the bathroom. Please make sure that their clothing allows them to do this easily.
Please keep an extra change of clothes in case of accident or if the childs clothing
is excessively wet or soiled.

The children will be going outside all year. We only stay inside if it is raining or if
the windchill is below 10. Please send them with weather appropriate clothing
boots, hats, gloves, and snow pants in the winter. We do have a few extras available
if your child forgets. Please let us know if you need any assistance with weather
appropriate clothing.

Comments/Concerns/Questions

We have a mailbox outside the classroom door. If you need to leave us a note,
please feel free to leave it in there. We are also available to meet before or after
school as needed. Please let us know if you would like to schedule a meeting.

Daily Schedule

8:30 - 8:45 - Arrival/Greeting Time Teachers greet parents and children as they
enter the classroom. Parents sign in children and children sign themselves in by
writing their name. Children will answer the question of the day by putting their
name under the appropriate heading or dictating their response to the teacher.
Children move their name from home on the Home/School Chart to the school
category. They may choose a puzzle to work on independently or with a partner, or
they may read a book.

8:45 - 9:00 - Large-Group Time Teachers begin with a welcome song that
encourages all students to participate. Teachers lead the whole group in discussions
regarding the study topic and recording responses as needed. Teachers will also
lead cooperative games or songs with suggestions from students about movements or
ideas.

9:00 - 9:05 - Transition/Hand Washing - Teacher leads children in a song or a

game as students begin washing hands for breakfast.

9:05 - 9:25 - Breakfast Time - The meal is served family style where children
serve themselves food and teachers join in conversations with children.

9:25 - 9:35 - Transition/Library Time/Bathroom - As children finish eating

breakfast, they wash their hands, and are encouraged to use the bathroom if
needed. Children look at books in the library until all children have finished eating.

9:35 - 9:50 Small Group Time - Teachers and children work in small groups on
teacher planned activities that are based on the topic of study and childrens
interests and developmental needs. Activities should encourage children to explore,
play, or work with materials, and talk about what they are doing with each other
and the teacher.

9:50 - 10:00 - Planning Time In their small group, the children discuss what
areas of the room they would like to work in for choice time. The teacher asks
questions about what the children will do and what materials they use.

10:00 11:00 Choice Time Children initiate all activities and carry out their work
from planning time. They can make choices about where to play and how to use the
materials. Teachers play alongside children letting the children lead the interaction,
and encourage childrens problem solving as needed.

11:00 - 11:10 Cleanup Time Children and adults clean up the classroom together.

11:10 - 11:15 Recall Time Children discuss what they did during choice time.
Children can share in small groups, or a small number of children can share each day.
All children should have the opportunity to share at least once during the week.

11:15 - 11:45 Outside Time Children have free choice time to play outside.
Teachers can plan activities to support student learning as an option for children to
choose when outside. Teachers also join in and support childrens play outside.

11:45 - 12:00 - Large Group Read Aloud - Teacher will read a story to the
children. Children are encouraged to participate in the read aloud through actions
or with repeated phrasing. Teacher may also plan a follow up activity related to the
story.

12:00 - 12:30 - Transition/Lunch/Brush Teeth Teacher will lead a song or game

as children will begin washing their hands and preparing for lunch. Lunch is served
family-style with teachers supporting children doing things for themselves. Children
and teachers have conversations with each other as they eat. After eating, children
clear away their plate, wash their hands, brush their teeth and use the bathroom.

12:30 - 1:30 Quiet/Resting Time Children are read a short story and encouraged
to rest on their mats with a blanket and pillow. The teachers turn off the lights and
play soft music. Children that do not sleep are allowed quiet playbooks, writing, etc
on their mats.

1:30 - 1:45 - Wake Up Time/Planning Time - As children wake up, they put away
nap materials and plan where they would like to play for afternoon Choice Time.

1:45 - 2:45 - Choice Time (refer to AM descriptions)

2:45 - 2:55 Clean Up (refer to AM descriptions)

2:55 - 3:00 - Recall Time (refer to AM descriptions)

3:00 - 3:15 - Snack (refer to AM descriptions)

3:15 - 3:30 Large Group Time/Review/Dismissal - Teacher and children review the
day and talk about the next day at class. Teacher will lead children in an interactive
song or game. Children then prepare themselves to go home and teachers assist as
needed. Teacher communicate with parents about the day.

Curriculum

In our classroom, we will be using the Creative Curriculum. The Creative Curriculum
provides long term studies of a variety of topics that we will investigate as a class.
Typically the study topics are something that the students are already familiar with.
For example, we may do a study on trees. We will begin the study by asking the
students questions to find out what they already know about trees. We will then
ask students to share what they want to learn about trees. To help guide the
students in this process, we will provide some example questions and ask the
children some leading questions. Once we have formed some questions about our
study topic, the teacher will plan small investigations around each of the questions.
For example during the tree study, one of the investigations might be What are
trees used for? During that investigation, we would explore different objects made
from wood and learn about how and why things are made of wood. Throughout the
study, the teacher will be observing the children and listening for new questions for
them to study. Once all the investigations are complete, we record all that we have
learned about trees and end the study with a celebration. At the celebration,
families are invited into the classroom to see all that the students learned during
the study.

During the study, children are not only learning about the investigations of the topic,
but they are also working on 23 different learning objectives from Creative
Curriculum focusing on social and emotional development, physical development,
cognitive development, language development, literacy skills, and mathematics. All
skills are taught in a intentional yet fun and playful manner. The skills are taught
through songs, interactive games, and using hands on toys and objects for students
to explore. While the children play they are working on all of these objectives.

Social and Emotional Development

These skills focus on

How the child controls their feelings and behaviors

Develops relationships with teachers and friends

Participates in the classroom following rules and taking turns.

To learn these skills, children would

Talk about the feelings of characters in stories

Tell 2 puppets how to resolve a conflict over a toy

Sing the same song during clean up time

Physical Development

Gross Motor Development - These skills focus on how the child uses the gross or
large muscles of his or her body to

Move aboutrunning, jumping, skipping, walking, etc

Balancewalking on a balance beam, hopping on one foot, etc

Throw and catch balls

To learn these skills, children would

Play running games outside like Red Light, Green Light

Walk on a straight line made with chalk

Throw a ball at a target

Fine Motor Development - These skills focus on how the child uses the fine or small
muscles of his or her body to

Hold pencils,

Use scissors

Turn pages of a book

Do puzzles.

To learn these skills, children would

Practice writing with a variety of crayons, markers or pencils

Use play dough to strengthen finger muscles

Sing songs with finger motions

Cognitive Development

These skills focus on

Building the childs problem solving skills

Sorting and classifying skills

 Using symbols to stand for something else

Memory

To learn these skills, the children would

Use blocks to build a house for an animal

Sort colored bears into different cups

Play dress up and pretend to play restaurant

Play memory matching games.

Language Development

These skills focus on

Helping your child listen and understand language

Use words to have conversations with other children and adults

To learn these skills, the children would

Play a game of Simon Says

Share with the class what they did over the weekend

Have conversations at the table during meal time

Literacy Skills

These skills focus on preparing your child to learn to read and write including

Hearing and identifying sounds of languagesyllables, rhyming words, beginning and

ending sounds of words

Identifying letters and letter sounds

Learning about print conceptsletters are put together to make words that can be
read

Understanding stories and answering questions about them

Learning how to write

To learn these skills, the children would

Sing nursery rhymes

Trace letters of the alphabet in shaving cream

Write stories and draw pictures

Retell or act out stories

Sign in each morning by writing their name

Mathematic Skills

These skills focus on preparing your child for math in the elementary classroom,
including

Counting objects and identifying the number of objects in a group

Simple addition and subtraction

Learning shapes

Comparing the size of different groups

Measuring

Creating patterns.

To learn these skills, the children would

Count the number of students at home or school and compare which group is more
or less

Sing songs where objects are added or taken away

Find examples of different shapes around the playground or neighborhood

Measuring a stick with cubes

Creating musical patterns with instruments

Specials

When children enter the elementary classroom, they will have Specials classes
where they go to a separate teacher for music, art, gym, or other classes. In our
preschool classroom, they are integrated into the daily routine within the classroom.

Art - In the art center, there is an easel and paint, paper, scissors, writing tools,
and a variety of art supplies. The teacher will refresh and add different materials
to the center throughout the year. Children may visit the art center during Free
Choice Time.

Music - We incorporate singing and music throughout the day. We sing songs during
Large Group Time, at transition times, and before meals. We will play a variety of
different music during Free Choice Time, at rest time, and have music available in the
Listening Center. We also have a collection of musical instruments that teachers will
use to lead activities, and children are welcome to use them during Free Choice Time.

Gym - During the outside time, the teachers will plan activities for physical
development and exercise. Children are also given free time outside to run and play
games.

Technology - There is a desktop computer in the classroom. The teachers will use
the computer in Small Group Time to teach technology skills, and children will also
have the opportunity to use the computer during Free Choice Time.

Assessment

In our classroom, we use assessment to help us understand what the students

already know and what we need to teach. You will be invited to participate in your
childs assessment. At the beginning of the year, we will ask you questions to get to
know you and your child a little better. You will also be given an Ages and Stages
Questionnaire to complete with your child. This form will direct you to do activities
with your child to see where they are at with their development. We at school will
also do an Ages and Stages with your child. We will use these forms along with
observations of your child to get an overall picture of what skills your child already
knows and what skills we will work on in the classroom.

As the year progresses, our main way to determine what your child is learning is
with observation. Before, during, and after teaching concepts to your child, we will
be watching them and writing down how we see them using the skills we have
taught. The children are not even aware that they are being assessed, and can
preform how they naturally would. For example, if we have been working on
counting 10 objects, we will watch the children during small group activities, meal
times, or large group times for examples of them counting 10 objects. Our notes will
include actual written descriptions, pictures, videos, or sound recordings of your child
performing a task. After we take the notes, we review them, and plan what we will
teach next, either reteaching some concepts or moving on to new concepts. We use
the assessments to plan our instruction are not used to determine how smart your
child is, or make judgements about your child.

To help us with our notes, we use the GOLD system from our curriculum, Creative
Curriculum. This is an online system that helps us organize our notes according to
the learning objectives that we teach. It also shows us how to extend a concept to
push a child further or simplify a concept that a child may be struggling with.
There is a parent log in feature where you can log in and view the notes on your
child. You can also see how your childs development in each of the areas compares
to typical developing children in each area. At parent teacher conferences, we review
with you your childs strengths and plans for growth and development.

If you have concerns about your childs development, please let us know. We can
consult with you about different strategies you can do at home, or recommend an
evaluation if needed. We also can work with outside resources to fully support your
childs learning in the classroom. If your child is working with a counselor or other
professional, you may sign a release form that allows us to coordinate with this
person.

Thank you for taking the time to review our classroom handbook. Please note that
changes in policy may occur as needed, but we will let you know in writing of those
changes. We look forward to a great school year and getting to know you and your
child.

After reading the entire handbook, please sign and return the following form.

_____________________________________________________________

I have read and understand all the information contained in the Voyager Classroom
Handbook.

_____________________________
Parent Name Printed
_____________________________

Parent Signature

____________________

Date