ARMC Family Enrichment Center
August 2013
Kim Mietus, Center Director
Renee Thompson, Assistant Director
From the Director
Safety & Security
For the safety of all children in our
center, we require all parents to have
badges. If you are a parent and do not
have a badge, you must have one made as
soon as possible. Please contact Courtney
Costner at the ARMC security office at
538-7423 or ccostner@armc.com to
schedule an appointment to have one
made.
Also, when entering the building, please
do not let anyone else in the front door.
Each parent must swipe their badge to
enter. If someone is at the door when you
walk in, you can escort the person to
Renee or Kim. Please take extra measures
to ensure that the door closes behind you
and no one else enters. The only people
authorized to be in the building
unescorted are parents with badge
access. We do not want unauthorized
people walking unattended around the
center. Thank you for understanding.
Please let me know if you have any
questions.
Important Dates
End of Summer Celebration
Friday, August 23rd
-
Kindergarten Prep Kickoff
Monday, August 26th
-
Curriculum Night
Thursday, September 19th
-
5:30p.m.
Reasons to Celebrate
Happy Birthday to You!!
Children
Norah W. 8/27
2 years old
Faculty
Ms. Renee
8/19
Ms. Tish
8/22
981 Kirkpatrick Road, Burlington, NC 27215 | P:336-586-9767 | armc@brighthorizons.com | Mon-Fri, 6:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Classroom Highlights
ArtSmart:
Dramatic Art
Rags to Riches, a traveling theatre troupe for young audiences, came to visit the center to
put on the play, “Little Red Riding Hood”. They did a wonderful job of capturing the
attention of all the children in the center, from Infants to Kindergarten Prep. In addition,
the play was very interactive and the children were given verbal cues to take part in some of
the actions. Later that day, some of the older children even began acting out different
scenes from the play on the playground.
981 Kirkpatrick Road, Burlington, NC 27215 | P:336-586-9767 | armc@brighthorizons.com | Mon-Fri, 6:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
READY for SCHOOL News
READY for SCHOOL for Babies and Toddlers
In the current social climate of “earlier is better”, we may feel pressure to think about
school readiness with even the youngest children. While we all know that an “academic
push” is not appropriate with infants and toddlers, at the same time, there may be alternative developmentally
appropriate interactions with young children that can set the stage for school readiness. Some examples follow:
Building Skills for Language and Reading
It has been found that around 18 months of age, a toddler adds a new word to his/her spoken vocabulary
about every two hours. That is an amazing rate of vocabulary growth! And the words they understand
grow even more rapidly. Children flourish in environments where adults model and expand on what they
say. (The toddler points to a father carrying an infant and says “Baby!” and the parent responds with “Yes
– That Daddy is getting ready to give his baby a bottle.”)
Repetition counts. The synapses between brain neurons that are activated most frequently are the ones
that tend to become permanent. It is not only important to introduce new words, but to reinforce the
ones a child already knows through conversation and reading. Toddlers LOVE and benefit from hearing
the same story (whether read or told), song, or rhyme, over and over and over.
Building Skills for Writing
Children become interested in writing instruments around one year of age. Provide your child with
writing tools like fat crayons and chalk. Painting with water on the sidewalk or creating open-ended
creations with playdough builds the small muscle control needed later for writing.
Building Skills for Math
Mathematical language should be a part of how we talk to even our youngest children. “You just ate two
Cheerios.”
OR “I am going to cut your banana in half so it is easier to manage.”
Using the early language of measurement (“Let’s see which one is bigger”); of volume (“the big cup holds
more milk”); and one to one correspondence (“You get one pretzel and I get one pretzel”) helps your
child build mathematical thinking from the earliest years.
Building Skills for Science
The roots of scientific inquiry start early. Responding to the many, many, many questions children ask as
their language emerges can be tiring at times, but helps children make sense of the world. When you
don’t know an answer, introducing even very young children to the idea of research, (“I don’t know, but
let’s see where we can find that answer”) helps set a life-long attitude and appreciation of the quest for
knowledge.
To read more: Wolfe, P & Nevills, P. (2004). Building the Reading Brain. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
981 Kirkpatrick Road, Burlington, NC 27215 | P:336-586-9767 | armc@brighthorizons.com | Mon-Fri, 6:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.
Curriculum Night- Coming Soon!
Want to experience a day in the life of your child? Take a walk in your child’s
shoes by joining us for Curriculum Night!
Each fall, Bright Horizons invites families to visit with teachers and parents in your
child’s classroom for an orientation into the school year. Parents of children in all
age groups will have an opportunity to gain insight into your child’s day, discuss
learning objectives and developmental milestones, and get to know the teachers
and families in your child’s classroom.
At Curriculum Night, you will:
Meet with your child’s teachers to ask questions, review the daily routine and discover learning objectives for
this year
Learn about opportunities to get involved in your child’s classroom and in center events and activities
Schedule a personal conference with your child’s teacher and learn more about how we host our family
conferences
Create a special project inspired by your child’s classroom experience (and leave them a surprise in their
cubby!)
See your child’s teacher for more information about Curriculum Night for your classroom.
Visit us Online for Additional Curriculum & School Readiness Resources…

Check out our Curriculum Guide for further details about the
World at Their Fingertips for all ages.

Visit our Growing Learners page for education resources to
inspire a love of learning at home.

Watch our ‘Growing a Learner’ webinar for parents to learn how
to create a learning culture at home.

Reference the eFamily News archive for articles with educational
resources and parenting tips to support your growing family.
Connect with Bright Horizons
981 Kirkpatrick Road, Burlington, NC 27215 | P:336-586-9767 | armc@brighthorizons.com | Mon-Fri, 6:00 a.m.– 6:00 p.m.