Thursday, April 16, 2015 is the day for on-time registration for  the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Richmond, as well as the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King William, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George and Sussex.

It’s important to register by the registration on April 16 so you don’t miss any important information, teachers can be well prepared for your child in the classroom and school can prepare with enough staff and materials for a great start to the new school year.

Registering your first kindergartner? Get started now.
There’s quite a bit of paperwork involved and you may need a little time to get everything together.
Here’s your Kindergarten Checklist (Download and print one here):

-Child’s official, certified birth certificate

-Child’s Social Security card

-Proof of address

-School Entrance Health Form

-Photo ID for parent of legal guardian

Get more information plus contact information and registration times and locations at Smart Beginnings.

Don’t forget!
 Download & Print our Kindergarten Registration Quick Guide Here

]]> http://richmondmom.com/2015/03/17/its-kindergarten-registration-time/feed/ 0 http://richmondmom.com/2014/12/23/a-school-where-the-joy-of-learning-is-contagious/ http://richmondmom.com/2014/12/23/a-school-where-the-joy-of-learning-is-contagious/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:43:53 +0000 http://richmondmom.com/?p=60835

My daughter Annabel will soon be joining her sisters at Sabot at Stony Point, a progressive school for preschool through 8^th grade, situated next to beautiful Larus Park, just off Huguenot Road. Like a number of her preschool friends, Annabel cannot wait to start kindergarten.  Avery, whose big brother Max is in first grade, is also excited.   Her mother, Nikki, says, “Max has told her that you get to explore in the forest and work on projects with your best friends. The school trips into the city are exciting and PE is fun.” 

While children may look forward to time in the forest and project work with friends, Sabot parents know that deeper learning is also going on. “The teachers know exactly how to inspire my daughters to think more deeply about questions and explore the community and world around them,” says Anne, mother to three Sabot lower-school students. “And I love that they are not only concerned with helping my children to become good learners but to become good people as well.”

Sabot teachers believe that children come to them with natural curiosity and creativity and that it is the teachers’ job to nurture these dispositions. Children learn by investigating and they acquire knowledge and understanding by developing, testing, and defining their own theories. Sabot teachers understand that when children play an active role in their own education they become lifelong learners.

With a more traditional approach to education, students can spend a lot of time memorizing facts and doing hours of busy work – even in kindergarten – instead of being actively engaged in the work, their environment, and their classroom community. Lila came to Sabot in first grade. “At Sabot, Lila has been celebrated for who she is in a supportive, rigorous, and evidence-based environment,” says her mother, April. “She is more authentically herself, more engaged in learning, and happier than we have ever seen her. Her learning comprehension is astounding, and, based on Sabot’s approach to teaching math and science, she is making huge progress in an area that she previously found frustrating. We are thrilled to have found this school, not only for our daughter but also for our family.”

As April notes, Sabot educates the whole child and the Sabot community includes the whole family. “On top of the great education,” adds Anne, “is this amazing community atmosphere. It takes a village to raise a child and this is exactly what we have at Sabot.”

Sabot at Stony Point

3400 Stony Point Road Richmond, VA 23235
(804) 272-1341

To find out more about Sabot at Stony Point, visit the Sabot Preschool Admissions page or contact Director of Admissions, Maggie Barrett, by phone (804) 272-1341 or email her with any questions.

This article was sponsored by Sabot at Stony Point

Small people can do big things.  At the Goddard School kids are learning you are never too young to feel good about helping others.

From December 5^th until the 12^th, kids at The Goddard Schools  in Richmond are crafting for CJ! The tiny preschoolers are doing everything from decorating ornaments for auction, having a bake sale and hosting a spaghetti dinner to raise money. All proceeds from this week will benefit CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation for deserving local families.

 “All of our children got into the holiday spirit making ornaments for a great cause!”

Ms. Mary, Kindergarten teacher from The Goddard School located in Ashland, VA:

CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation provides assistance to families with children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses through financial aid, meals, emergency bill pay assistance and more.

The 9 participating Goddard Schools are in the following cities: Ashland, Chester, Chesterfield, Glen Allen, Midlothian, Henrico, Mechanicsville.

To find out more about The Goddard School and locations, visit their website.

By Steve Green, Executive Director
Sylvan Learning of Richmond

It’s that time of the school year again – report card time.  While many students will come home with good grades, others would rather stuff their report cards deep into their backpacks than show them to their parents.  As parents, you want your child to do well in school, so what do you do when your child’s report card doesn’t reflect his or her academic potential?

Children get frustrated and upset when their report cards show they are not reaching their potential. Understanding your child’s personal ability and determining if your expectations are too high will allow both you and your child to set appropriate goals for each class before report cards are distributed again.  It will also help establish an environment in which your child is not apprehensive about sharing his or her report card with you. 

Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, offers the following tips for parents on how to deal with a “poor” report card:

Set expectations. Not every child will earn all A’s, but that doesn’t mean your child should strive for less.  Talk with your child before the school year starts and explain that you won’t be upset if he doesn’t bring home all A’s – but that you will be upset if he doesn’t try his hardest and doesn’t ask for help.

Communicate with your child.  Don’t wait until report cards are issued to talk with your child about school and grades.  Talk with her every night and every week about homework.  Ask how she is doing in school and what subjects she finds challenging.     

Discuss your child’s performance with his teacher and/or guidance counselor.  Your child’s teacher and/or guidance counselor are the best sources for information about your child’s scholastic performance.  Your child’s teacher can recommend ways to help your child or point out difficulties he is having.  His guidance counselor can provide progress reports between reports cards or help set up additional parent-teacher conferences when necessary.    

Set goals for improvement with your child.  If your child is currently a C student — then setting a goal of getting all A’s may not be reasonable.  However, creating an improvement goal for each subject will help her work toward an attainable level for each class. 

Establish a personalized study plan with your child.  Your child should keep a schedule of all classes, assignments and key dates (e.g., project deadlines, big exams, etc).  As part of that schedule, he should include specific time for studying, projects and extracurricular activities.  The more comprehensive the schedule, the more efficient your child will be in completing his homework and the better he’ll do in school. 

Seek outside help.  Some children may need additional attention that can’t be provided in school.  Speak with your child’s teacher about tutoring or supplemental education providers to help your child work towards better grades in school.

Praise your child’s successes.  Praise your child for what she is doing well, whether it’s a specific academic subject or an extracurricular activity.  If your child is not doing well in English, but loves to read the latest Twilight book, show her the connection between the two. 

For more educational resources for children in grades pre-K through 12, please visit Sylvan Learning Center online or call 804-782-2377

Steve Green is the Executive Director of Sylvan Learning of Richmond, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels with more than 30 years of experience and nearly 800 centers located throughout North America. Sylvan’s trained and Sylvan-certified instructors provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan also hosts MomMinded.com, a blog offering tips and resources from moms and education experts. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit www.sylvanlearning.com

Sylvan Learning is a sponsor of Richmondmom
Get 25% off your assessment at Sylvan when you mention Richmondmom.com

Sunday, March 2nd 3:30- 5:00pm

At Aleph Bet Preschool children ages 2-4 can discover a love of learning in a creative Jewish environment where your child’s individual style of learning is valued and nurtured.  Aleph Bet enocourages your child to explore the world, to learn to be part of a group, and to solve problems in a constructive manner. Learning is self-rewarding, joyous, and noncompetitive.

Your child will be offered a comprehensive secular curriculum, which includes reading readiness, concepts in numbers, science, and social studies. In addition, your child will be exposed to a rich and meaningful Jewish program consisting of Jewish holidays, traditions, and the Hebrew alphabet and language. All is taught through music, art, and creative play.

When you visit, you’ll see why parents love Aleph Bet:
“From my very first visit to the school, I felt that the teachers and staff feel that it is their privilege to teach and spend time with the kids. This kind of intimate and caring environment is great for making the transition from being at home to school. There are parents from every stream of Judaism, even secular families, and everyone feels welcomed. That’s important to me.” - Arnon Vered

Aleph Bet Open House / Open Play
Sunday, March 2nd 3:30- 5:00pm

Advertisement on Richmondmom.com

Much has been written about ‘the Montessori method’, but exactly what does that mean?

Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, educator and innovator, Montessori is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adolescence.

The hallmark of a Montessori education is based on nurturing and cultivating the child’s natural desire to learn by:

• Creating student-centered learning environments that are prepared, adaptive and responsive to student needs
• Providing hands-on concrete experiences with specifically-designed Montessori materials
• Encouraging exploration, problem solving and creative reasoning as part of the learning process
• Supporting the development of the whole child, socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically
• Fostering intrinsic motivation by focusing on process rather than product
• Offering multi-aged groupings and social settings as a community within each classroom
• Focusing on cooperation, collaboration and mutual respect
• Promoting “freedom within limits” by providing opportunities for self-directed choices within an ordered and structured framework
• Promoting independence, leadership, responsibility and self-reliance

Aspects that are unique to a Montessori Education:

The Prepared Environment 

The Montessori classroom is warm, inviting and aesthetically pleasing. It is organized to support the natural developmental needs of the age group it serves. It contains multi-sensory, sequential and self-correcting materials to facilitate self-directed learning and exploration by the child.

Freedom within limits

The Montessori classroom balances freedom with responsibility. The prepared environment allows the children the freedom to choose their own work, guided by the teacher. The fact that the students have opportunity to choose and make decisions fosters independence, self-discipline and self-confidence.

Multi-age classrooms

The multi-age groupings provide opportunities for broad social development and meaningful friendships, which are often life-long. Respect of ground rules and an emphasis on care for one another and the environment supports the need to get along and to settle differences peacefully. The range of ages and abilities helps to build a tolerance and appreciation of individual differences and fosters collaboration and cooperation as the students form their own cohesive community.

Visit the Richmond Montessori website for more information and schedule a visit to see first-hand how it works. It’s time that will provide your child with a bright future!

Richmond Montessori is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, educator and innovator, Montessori is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adolescence.

Wishing Woods at Montessori

• Creating student-centered learning environments that are prepared, adaptive and responsive to student needs
• Providing hands-on concrete experiences with specifically-designed Montessori materials
• Encouraging exploration, problem solving and creative reasoning as part of the learning process
• Supporting the development of the whole child, socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically
• Fostering intrinsic motivation by focusing on process rather than product
• Offering multi-aged groupings and social settings as a community within each classroom
• Focusing on cooperation, collaboration and mutual respect
• Promoting “freedom within limits” by providing opportunities for self-directed choices within an ordered and structured framework
• Promoting independence, leadership, responsibility and self-reliance

Click here to learn more about the Montessori Method and other information.

Aspects that are unique to a Montessori Education:

The Prepared Environment 

The Montessori classroom is warm, inviting and aesthetically pleasing. It is organized to support the natural developmental needs of the age group it serves. It contains multi-sensory, sequential and self-correcting materials to facilitate self-directed learning and exploration by the child.

Freedom within limits

The Montessori classroom balances freedom with responsibility. The prepared environment allows the children the freedom to choose their own work, guided by the teacher. The fact that the students have opportunity to choose and make decisions fosters independence, self-discipline and self-confidence.

Multi-age classrooms

The multi-age groupings provide opportunities for broad social development and meaningful friendships, which are often life-long. Respect of ground rules and an emphasis on care for one another and the environment supports the need to get along and to settle differences peacefully. The range of ages and abilities helps to build a tolerance and appreciation of individual differences and fosters collaboration and cooperation as the students form their own cohesive community.

Richmond Montessori is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com