LCP Newsletter

Lakewood Co-operative Preschool
October 2006 Newsletter
Where Families and Friendships Grow
Contents Co-Chair's Note A Word from Brigitta Editor's Note Feed the Can Man, Man Board Meeting Summary Are You a Bad Parent? Cute Kid Pix	Co-Chair's Note Welcome (back) to school, Lakewood families! It's been a great start to the year, with so many people helping to get classes off to a smooth start. We are so lucky to have a very active board—people who really roll up their sleeves and get things done. If you are wondering the kinds of things we are working on, see the Board Meeting Summary in this newsletter. I am also really pleased about the energy I see people putting into their school jobs—people improving systems, improving our classroom space, designing new ways for us to communicate through our web site, list serve, and newsletter. Feel free to contact your class chair or the board co-chairs if you have questions or ideas. We are always interested. Stay tuned for lots of fun classroom experiences in October. I look forward to seeing you as we hauls our kids in and out of car seats everyday! Christine Campbell is Co-Chair of LCP. Back to top
	A Word from Brigitta Dear Parents, I am happy to be back as the parent educator for Lakewood Co-operative Preschool. Each year has brought different joys and challenges in terms of my job, but one thing has remained a constant joy: Your children. Coming into the classroom and seeing their spontaneity and eagerness to learn is a very good reminder of why we are here at Lakewood Co-op. The children are the reason we are here. They are the reason our competent and committed teachers Erin and Jennifer are here. They are the reason you parents take on jobs and work so hard to run the preschool! In terms of parent education, my biggest job is to support you in your parenting and to be a resource person for you. I will be in your child’s classroom once a week. This is a good time for me to get to know you and your child and to observe what is going on in the classroom. This is also one of the times you can pull me aside and ask me parenting questions, as long as it does not interfere with your assistant teacher duties. I’ll post a schedule on the bulletin board so that you’ll know which days I’ll be in class. You can also call me at home (328-0960) or email me. A really good time to address parenting questions is, of course, at the monthly parent meetings. I will lead a discussion about a specific topic (for example: development, temperament, etc.) at each meeting, but dealing with emerging parenting questions is always important. At the parent meetings we have our very best resource available: you, the parents, with all your combined wisdom. I am really looking forward to working with all of you! Yours, Birgitta Brigitta Dahl is in her seventh year as the parent educator for LCP. Questions welcome at 206-328-0960 or bdahl[at sign]comcast.net. Back to top
	Editor's Note Welcome to a new school year at LCP, where you—ordinary, marginally skilled parents—get to roll up your sleeves and help, even if you have very little idea of what you're doing. You're looking at Exhibit A. Oh, I've written and edited a few things before, but my knowledge of preschoolers is largely limited to knowing which end to shove the food into. (It's the top end). That's where you can help. We would love to have you write an article for the LCP newsletter. There's boundless subject matter out there: preschooler management tips, recipes that trick them into eating good food, parenting anecdotes, advice, opinions—think about what you'd like to read, then write that. Don't worry about your writing skills; changing others' prose is what I live for. And anything bad that slips by then becomes my fault, so go ahead and send in an article, or inquire as to whether an idea you have is any good. (Between you and me, the bar isn't all that high. You'll note that this first issue is largely filler.) The newsletter will come out on the first of each month, so plan accordingly. Now originally, there were two newsletter editors—the other one was a skilled graphic design person—but she left LCP suddenly. (On the run from the law was the sense I got.) Anyway, that's why this newsletter is, shall we say, graphically challenged. I just slapped the formatting together from bits I sto—I mean, downloaded. Doubtless there's a virus from this web page infecting your PC right now. Had the graphics editor stayed on, she would have created something elegant and never permitted animated GIFs or other such irritating hokiness, but look at those pumpkins at the top! They're bouncing! I'm bouncing too. Now send me some articles, or at least inquire about doing so. Bill P.S. Not much of a reader? There's a section of the newsletter that is blessedly word free. Check out Cute Kid Pix and send me your photos. Back to top
	Feed the Can Man, Man Can Man want baby food now! Sorry. That was pushy, but I am hungry, so very hungry. The soup last month was delicious; thank you for all your contributions. But this month I yearn--no, hanker--for baby food. Clean out your shelves or pick up some extra baby food at the store, and stuff it in my mouth. From the bottom of my stomach: Thank you! The Can Man lives near the LCP entrance. He's a recognized expert on eating packaged cuisine still in the package. Back to top
	August Board Meeting Summary Class Chairs Update Presenters: Jurate Audejaitiene, Kara Dowider, and Brian Buckner The Bumblebee class is full with a long wait list. The Cricket class currently has one opening and Melanie is calling wait-listed families. The Dragonflies class is full with only a short wait list. It’s possible that, if someone drops out, we won’t have a full Dragonflies class. Classroom Updates Presenters: Teacher Erin and Teacher Jennifer Erin worked with Jim over the summer on classroom improvements: a listening center with headphones, convertible listening center table for multi-use, loft, shelves, and a canopy. Rochelle Brown is the LCP secretary. Back to top
	Are You a Bad Parent? Bad parents are everywhere: restaurants, soccer games, Bahrain. Are you one? Take this quiz from Bad Parenting magazine to find out. Which of the following is a good source of parenting tips? The Jerry Springer Show Parolee boyfriend Other parents at the Tannest Toddler contest Which of the following is not an appropriate toy for a 2-year-old? Broken Karo syrup bottle Incontinent badger Candy-coated poison Your child throws a tantrum in public. Your best course of action is: Get whatever he wants, then restrict his airway with it Ditch him and let CPS handle this crap; isn't that why we pay taxes? Use the new RitalinTaser, from KidCo If your child keeps wetting the bed, do you: Have him sleep in bathtub Tie trash bag around waist at bed time Use the healing power of public shame When my child won't stop crying, I: Get us each a milk & vodka Let parolee boyfriend work his special brand of magic Remind him how much monsters love the tasty tears of children While searching your daughter's room for anything that might incriminate you at trial, you stumble upon her diary. Do you: Correct her grammar and punctuation with a bright red pen Post its contents on MySpace.com so her friends can share Forge bizarre entries, purportedly written while she was high, to scare her away from drugs Despite many warnings not to, your son repeatedly leaves his bike in the driveway. You should: Drive over bike so he visually understands what could happen Don't let him leave the driveway until he finishes eating every last piece of that bicycle Place neighbor kids' bikes in driveway and run over them also, so everyone's clear who's the alpha dog around here Your child appears to be choking. Do you: Give him a time out, because choking is wrong Ignore this transparent bid for attention; Oprah is me time Reward him for finding your keys Despite your threats and pleading, junior's grades remain sub-par. Experts recommend: Explaining how his present course will lead to a life like yours. Show him your pay stubs, if necessary Remedial courses in threatening and pleading; clearly you suck at it A Ghost-of-Christmas-Future-like tour of the local bartending school When should you tell a child that he is adopted? When he's old enough to understand that he can be sent back to the orphanage if he spills juice in the living room again As soon as he understands genetics and heredity--should be a real day-brightener for him The teen years, even if it's not true. It will knock some of the sass out of him Bill Muse is the editor of the LCP newsletter, at the moment. His daughters think he's the best dad ever. Back to top
	Cute Kid Pix Email your cute kid photos, or you'll see only mine every month. Seasonal pictures are nice: Thanksgiving shots for next month; Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Solstice pics for December; using expensive toys they played with exactly once for January; etc.
The first day of Crickets class, with Veronica, Annabelle, and Eden
Classroom loft building
Cricket Veronica Muse, sophisticated lady
Your newsletter editor. No, the curtains don't match the carpet
Happy Halloween Back to top