Celebrating Moms with the Rigley Primrose Schools

Dr. Pratiksha Rigley, Franchise Owner | Primrose Schools of Frisco West, Klyde Warren Park, Park Cities, Plano at Preston Meadow, and Prestonwood

Spring has officially sprung in North Texas, which means it is time to once again celebrate another Mother’s Day! We love having this celebration at our schools each year, and typically host a huge breakfast, complete with a photo booth, full breakfast buffet, iced coffee and time for moms to socialize with other moms. The joy that comes to our moms and students from this event each year truly fills our hearts!

This year we had the opportunity to get a little more creative with our celebration, keeping social distancing in mind – not to mention the general health and safety of our students and staff. In spite of the current pandemic our schools were able to deliver a real WOW moment for our families – and a special moment for our Primrose moms, students and teachers!

With schools shut down across the country, we have seen a trend of school and neighborhood drive-by parades and wanted to participate at our schools in Frisco, Plano, and Dallas. Our leadership teams have also spent the last weeks discussing our best options for Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations, and how we could include families who are currently staying home from our school due to the pandemic. (#PandemicMomsNeedLoveTooYall)

Our creative leadership team ultimately decided on drive-by parades at each of our schools, and we added in a Mother’s Day Kit Pickup for those families who have not been attending school due to COVID19. Families were encouraged to drive by our schools at a certain time, with their children in the car, and they could wave, honk, and even speak to their friends and teachers through the fence around the playground. Our students were overjoyed at the sight of friends they haven’t seen for weeks, and our Primrose Moms were so excited and grateful for their gift kits. Each kit contained the materials needed for the art activity, a muffin, and a Starbucks gift card.

While there was nothing but excitement in the air, teachers may have been the most excited of all, spending hours making signs to hang on the fences and windows saying, “We Miss You,” and “We Love You,” and coming outside with their classes to wave to families. They were thrilled to check in with students that have been staying home, some they have not seen since early March.

It was a true joy to see and feel the love when our families drove by our schools this week. Despite the changes in our world right now, it means so much that we could create this special Mother’s Day moment for so many moms. From our Primrose family to yours, and from the bottom of my heart, Happy Mother’s Day.

As we wrap up another week of staying strong together, it is with great excitement we introduce you to our newest high-quality, home-based curriculum that encourages learning and play, Online with Og®!

While impossible to replicate the full Primrose early learning experience brought to life by your child’s nurturing and dedicated teachers, we want to help you by working rapidly to expand and enhance our at-home offerings, as I know many of you have a new dual, concurrent responsibility – to your children and your employer. I can only imagine the challenges you must be facing, working from home while having your children with you.

Og® is a bookworm and one of the Primrose Friends Puppets your children enjoy in the classroom.  Og® the Bookworm represents caring and literacy and is the perfect Primrose Friend to bring your child's school experience to your home. Over the next few weeks, we will provide specially designed interactive activities for children and parents as we navigate at-home learning together – complete with downloadable daily schedules and activities, art projects with instructional videos, STEAM activities and more. There’s even a ‘Snacks’ section!  Each week, new complimentary content will be made available to help you entertain and educate as you engage with your children in fun play and learning activities. We know your children will also be delighted to reconnect with their beloved Primrose Friends puppets.

This week, students at home spent their time enhancing their understanding of natural Earth materials – things they were able to find in their own backyards or while taking a walk! We are finishing up Week 1: The World Beneath My Feet. They were able to do activities like participate in our music program and sing along with Primrose Friend Billy the Duck to their favorite classroom songs, and they even had a chance to get their wiggles out twisting and stretching with Primrose Friend Mia the Mouse!

One of my favorite activities from this week’s Online with Og® curriculum selection is called, ‘Earth Materials All Around Us.’ Children are invited (by parents or teachers) to look around their world, wherever they are, for general images of Earth’s land and water and draw what they find. This encourages children to be observant of the world around them and lays a foundation for a lifelong love of nature. Want to try it at home? Visit the Online with Og® page and scroll down to the red Language & Literacy section to download the activity.

In addition to these resources offered by Primrose Schools, the Rigley Primrose Schools in Dallas, Addison, Plano and Frisco are also sharing some of their favorite children’s stories read by teachers and leadership team members on their Facebook pages (links below). Be sure to ‘like’ each page to see as new videos are posted! You can also subscribe to the Primrose Schools YouTube page for fun (and educational!) activities you can do at home.

Primrose School of Frisco West

Primrose School at Klyde Warren Park

Primrose School of Park Cities

Primrose School of Plano at Preston Meadow

Primrose School of Prestonwood

Our hope is that this new online experience enables you to connect with your child during this time at home.

Please know our entire Primrose community is thinking of you and wishing your families continued safety and health.

Encouraging Cooperation: Raising a Child who Works Well with Others and Gives without Expectation

By: Dr. Pratiksha Rigley
Franchise Owner, Primrose Schools of Frisco West, Park Cities, Plano at Preston Meadow, Prestonwood, and Klyde Warren Park (Opening Spring 2020)

Cooperation is a basic life skill that allows children to make friends and work successfully with others. The definition of cooperation is simple enough – combining energies to work towards a common goal. But teaching it can be a challenge as it requires a combination of character attributes, such as respect, honesty, patience and thoughtfulness. Every parent wants their child to exhibit these skills, but they are tricky lessons to teach since young children are naturally focused on themselves. The good news is that cooperation can be learned over time through purposeful activities and frequent encouragement from parents and caregivers.  

We know that children learn character mainly through imitation. They listen, observe and learn cooperation skills by watching the words and actions of their caregivers and parents. When your child sees you working happily with others, he will sense the joy you feel and want to experience that joy, too. By practicing cooperative skills in front of your child, you are teaching behaviors that will ultimately help your child succeed. Here are some ways you can model cooperation:

• Listen carefully to others so that you can understand what they are saying.
• Share or take turns when more than one person wants the same thing. Start at home with
• family conversations that allow everyone time to talk.
• Compromise when you have a serious conflict.
• Do your part of a shared task and do the very best that you can. When you complete your task, ask others how you might help them complete their work.
• Show appreciation for what people contribute to a group or team.
• Encourage others to do their best.
• Include everyone and make everyone feel needed. Help your child recognize that everybody has something valuable to offer in a group. 

In addition to serving as a role model, it’s important to be intentional about teaching cooperation to your child. Use the following every-day activities as opportunities to encourage your child to cooperate with family and friends:

• When you read a story with your child, point out times when the characters cooperate with each other. Discuss how the characters feel and how much easier it is to accomplish the task when they work together.
• Schedule household chores at times when all family members can work together to finish them. Praise your child for her attempts to help, and refrain from redoing the chore when she’s finished. Help her see the fun of working together to accomplish a goal. Talk about how much faster the chores were completed than if mom or dad had to do it alone. Point out how cooperation with chores allows for more time for family fun.
• "Catch" your child sharing or helping someone and show your appreciation. Encourage the behavior but refrain from giving material rewards; they are not necessary. Children should learn the joy of helping others without expecting something in return.

By taking advantage of these moments and creating learning opportunities for your child, you will help him understand the importance of cooperation. Working together becomes fun for children as they develop an understanding of the skills and techniques needed to achieve a common goal. The holiday season is especially great for really honing these skills!

The students at our schools get first-hand experience cooperating each year around the holidays, as each of our schools comes together to donate gifts to local charities. This year, each of our schools’ Angel Trees were for a different local organization, with Prestonwood and Park Cities collecting items for Big Brothers Big Sisters Dallas and Toys for Tots, Preston Meadow collecting items for CHETNA in Plano, and Frisco West collecting items for City House in Plano.

Here’s how it works: Our parents take an angel off the tree at our school, and each angel has a child’s name, age and gift request or clothing size. Our students are very excited to purchase things for their angel child, and they especially love bringing their item to school and putting it under our Angel Tree. This teaches our students to give back without expectation. This year we donated over 350 gifts and $1600 in gift cards to these organizations, thanks to the cooperation and generosity of our families.

To learn about the Rigley Primrose Schools, follow us on Instagram @RigleyPrimroseDreamTeam

For more parenting tips, visit our 360 Parenting blog at www.PrimroseSchools.com/360Parenting.

Nurturing Good Character Traits in Preschoolers

By: Dr. Pratiksha Rigley

Franchise Owner, Primrose Schools of Frisco West, Park Cities, Plano at Preston Meadow, Prestonwood, and Waco at Woodway

Every parent wants their child to develop character traits such as compassion, generosity and kindness, but how do you get from point A to point B? Are preschoolers capable of learning and understanding these traits? And if so, how can parents and caregivers support their development?  

According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, the early years of a child’s life lay the foundation for a wide range of important developmental outcomes, like self-confidence, mental health and the motivation to learn. The earlier these softer skills are fostered in young children, the more likely they are to be successful in school and later in life. And while it may seem like your child is too young to grasp these concepts, the foundational behaviors needed to develop empathy and other social-emotional skills that make us good people are actually nurtured in the first years of life.
Oftentimes the best way to teach young children about these intangible skills and traits is to provide hands-on learning opportunities and to reinforce the concepts in a variety of ways. Primrose Schools suggests the following tips for parents and caregivers to use at home:

• Build an understanding of different traits. Even at a young age, children begin to build their understanding of traits like generosity, respect and gratitude. Read books such as “I Can Share” by Karen Katz (ages 2-5) and “When I Care About Others” by Cornelia Maude Spelman (ages 4-7) with your child and take the opportunity to discuss the positive traits that the characters possess. Ask questions and help your child apply the concepts in the book to real-life experiences.

• Introduce important life skills. Even very young children can begin to learn about essential life skills, such as manners, safety and caring for the environment. Letting children take care of their very own plant will promote responsibility while also teaching the importance of caring for the world around  them. Modeling these life skills is also a great way to introduce them, especially for younger children.

• Make time for hands-on learning. Children get most excited about giving back when they are able to experience it firsthand. Introduce your child to helping those in need by starting small in your community. Whether it’s collecting coats for a clothing drive or making cards for the local nursing home, it’s rewarding to see your child begin to understand the huge impact a simple project can have.

Young children learn through repetition and observation. One of the best ways for you to nurture positive character traits is to lead by example and consistently model what it means to be a good person. Sooner than later, your child will start imitating you and be on their way to becoming a kind, caring individual.

To learn about the Rigley Primrose Schools, follow us on Instagram @RigleyPrimroseDreamTeam

For more helpful parenting tips and information, visit our blog at www.PrimroseSchools.com/blog and sign up for the Pointers for Parents newsletter.

10 Ways to  Reduce First Day of School Jitters

By: Dr. Pratiksha Rigley
Franchise Owner, Primrose Schools of Frisco West, Park Cities, Klyde Warren Park, Plano at Preston Meadow, Prestonwood, and Waco at Woodway

The first day of school is often a nerve-racking time for parents and young children alike. Little ones are embarking on a brand new milestone in their educational journey, and parents have to come to
terms with their baby growing up. It can be tough on the whole household, but there are steps parents can take to help ease the transition.   

Children need to feel confident and prepared going into their first day of school. Simple adjustments to their routines at home leading up to the big day can help the whole family feel better about the
change.

Primrose Schools provides the following 10 tips to help reduce your child’s first-day jitters:

1. Read about the first day with your child. It is often the anticipation of the unknown that makes children anxious about going to a new school or classroom. Reading about it gives children an opportunity to imagine their own experience and express their fears. The following books can help your little one prepare for how they might feel when school starts:
   • “When Mommy and Daddy Go to Work“ by Joanna Cole
   • “First Day“ by Joan Rankin
   • “The Kissing  Hand“ by Audrey Penn
   • “Don’t Go“ by Jane Breskin Zalben  
2. Prepare your child for longer periods of separation in increments. Before leaving your child at school for the first day, have her stay with a grandparent or a babysitter for increasingly longer periods of time. This time away will help her build trust that you will always return.   
3. Tour the school with your child. Visit the classroom your child will be in, meet the teacher and tour the playground so the places and faces he will see on the first day will feel familiar and safe. Afterward, talk about what you both saw and how fun the different activities looked.
4. Refer to the teacher by name to help your child think of him or her as a person you know and trust. Reinforce the idea of school being a safe place to learn and play.
5. Set the stage. Talk to your child about the first day of school and help her visualize what the day’s activities are likely to be. “On Monday when you go to school, you will see your friends, play on the swings and read stories. Ms. Smith will be there to help you. It will be a great day!
6. And Mommy or Daddy will be there to take you home when school is over for the day.”
7. Shop for school supplies. Most children love shopping for school supplies. Give your child the opportunity to pick out a few items he likes (within reason, of course) to provide a sense of ownership and responsibility in the decision-making process.
8. Establish a daily routine that fits your family’s school-year schedule and try to stick to it. Don’t wait until school begins to start implementing your weekday morning routine. Begin activities at the same time every day starting least two weeks before the first day of school.  
9. Nighttime routines are important, too. The whole family can help make the morning of the first day (and every school day) easier by taking care of tasks the night before. Try making it a habit to pack book bags, complete homework and pick out the next day’s clothes in the evening to avoid morning mayhem. 
10. Get your rest. Read a bedtime story early enough in the evening for your child to get a good night’s sleep. Many morning issues can be avoided if everyone is well rested and ready to begin the day!
11. Say a quick goodbye and promise to come back. When dropping your child off at school on the first day, give a quick hug and kiss, cheerfully say goodbye, and promise to return later. When you linger, you undermine your child’s confidence that you feel good about where you are leaving her.  
12. Establish a partnership with your child’s teacher. Children look to their parents’ behavior for emotional cues. The more comfortable you are with your child’s teacher, the more comfortable your child will be. Over the first few weeks of school, regularly touch base with your child’s teacher about  how he is adjusting. The more visible you can make the connection between home and school, the more secure your child will feel.  
    
    
    To learn about the Rigley Primrose Schools, follow us on Instagram @RigleyPrimroseDreamTeam!
    
    For more helpful parenting tips and information, visit our blog at www.PrimroseSchools.com/blog and sign up for the Pointers for Parents newsletter.