{"id":7046,"date":"2017-10-14T16:20:23","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T20:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=7046"},"modified":"2017-10-20T08:13:23","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T12:13:23","slug":"pre-k-hosts-new-chew-chat-series-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/pre-k-hosts-new-chew-chat-series-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-K hosts new \u2018Chew and Chat\u2019 series for parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prekindergarten (pre-K) Family Engagement Specialists Karen Kagel and Tonya Evans wanted to find a new way to connect with families and share resources outside of a school setting.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 10, they welcomed more than 100 prekindergarten parents and guardians to the first-ever \u201cChew and Chat.\u201d Kagel and Evans plan to host a new Chew and Chat monthly, alternating between breakfast and lunch, while also hosting evening \u201cDiscovery Nights\u201d for both parents and their prekindergarten children.<\/p>\n

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Kagel (left) and Evans (right) welcome Chew and Chat attendees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe want to keep this informal. We would love for these monthly meetings just to be a great way to network with our partners and with our parents and with our staff,\u201d Kagel told the group.<\/p>\n

Parents and a few young siblings enjoyed a light breakfast while Kagel and Evans discussed the theme for the Chew and Chat \u2013 literacy \u2013 and introduced the community partners they invited to share resources and information.<\/p>\n

Karen Schell from Virginia Beach Public Libraries shared information about obtaining public library cards, noting they delivered almost 300 cards last year to families with children in the division\u2019s pre-K program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy to do that again this year,\u201d said Schell. \u201cWe have library applications here today. I\u2019d love for all your kids to have library cards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marian Atterberry, from the Barnes and Noble located on Virginia Beach Boulevard, and Barb Lito, from Virginia Beach GrowSmart, also were there to \u201cchat\u201d with parents about programs and resources they have for young learners.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited about these partnerships,\u201d Evans told parents, \u201cand you will hear that word a lot today \u2018partnership\u2019 and \u2018team.\u2019 That\u2019s what this is all about. From the time your child is in pre-K to the time they graduate, you are a partner or a team with the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The parents present were eager to be partners and to learn more about what their children are learning in school and how they can support them at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working on letter recognition,\u201d Kagel replied. \u201cThey are learning a letter a week and we\u2019re also introducing what\u2019s called an \u2018alphabet soup letter,\u2019 which is another letter they will revisit. So, let\u2019s say they start with the letter A and we might introduce the letter L with it because \u2018leaves\u2019 starts with the letter L and we\u2019re focusing on fall. Then we\u2019ll come back and revisit the letter L later in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kagel also noted that students are learning emergent reader skills like turning the pages and being able to follow left to right. They are learning to identify the letters in their names as well as writing their names. In math, she told parents, students are working on numbers one through 10, counting objects and practicing on patterning.<\/p>\n

To reinforce emergent reader skills at home, each parent at the Chew and Chat received a copy of a book from the \u201cWe Both Read\u201d series that focuses on alphabet recognition. All pre-K students will receive a new book each grading period to help build their home libraries.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is designed to be interactive. The parents will read one side of the book, the left side, and the child will read the right side,\u201d explained Kagel. \u201cYou might be saying, \u2018My child can\u2019t read,\u2019 but they can find letters. What we are encouraging you to do is to have your child hold the book properly, turn the pages, go left to right and then really just having that special time together. These books are perfect for that. If your child has older siblings, they can read it with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we encourage the kids to read it over and over and over again,\u201d Kagel added.<\/p>\n

Pre-K field trips were also highlighted: visiting Hunt Club Farm in October, seeing a musical performance at the Sandler Center in February and touring the Norfolk Zoo in May. Each trip relates to instructional lessons back at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an exciting, busy year,\u201d Kagel told the crowd.<\/p>\n

A pre-K newsletter sent home with students will include more information about instructional resources, classroom lessons and upcoming events, added Kagel before closing the event with a raffle of prizes and letting parents talk with community partners and each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cChew and Chat is solely for sharing information and being here in a comfortable setting so they can talk with us if they have any concerns,\u201d said Kagel after the event. \u201cIf there is anything we can do, we can get them the resources. We\u2019re here. They can catch our ear and we can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next pre-K Chew and Chat is scheduled for Nov. 28, at noon at the school division\u2019s Plaza Annex. Parents will receive RSVP information from their child\u2019s teacher as well as a schedule for the first Discovery Night held in November on various dates at select pre-K school sites.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Chew and Chat series or other upcoming pre-K events, parents may contact Kagel or Evans by calling the Department of Teaching and Learning at 757-263-1070.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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