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Monday, October 29, 2012

UCF Students Pay AFLC A Visit !

On October 19 the AFLC had nearly 50 UCF Student Volunteers come out and help with some general cleaning around the Center. The day started out with a brief orientation on who we are here at AFLC and our mission. The students then watched a video on the history of AFLC and our future plans. It was great for providing context for them on just who it was that they were partnering with to make a difference.
The students then broke out into teams and got to work!They laid mulch, planted flowers, cleaned the classrooms, including helping to sound proof the chairs on our new tile floors, and even helped set up the soccer goals. It was then only fitting to break out into an impromptu game. Volunteers mixed with the children, forming two teams. It was so fun to see the children laughing and playing as they interacted with the UCF role models. Then, right on schedule, it was lunch time!
What made this day especially impressionable was the hard work that the parents and children put in with these volunteers as if to say " You always have something to give." It was not just a day of volunteers coming in to make a difference, but also one in which two communities, UCF students and AFLC families,  came together for the common good. It was truly inspirational. Our parents work so hard on a regular basis. To come in on a Saturday morning, to get their hands dirty right alongside the volunteers, and then to prepare the lunch time meal was amazing to see. Everyone played their own unique role in making today happen and everyone was able to benefit from our time together. Our campus is brighter, more tidy, and definitely better off for having had the extra helping hands around from UCF. Thanks again UCF!











Saturday, October 27, 2012

Souns® and Rhymes


This Class Was Born of Necessity.
Children today need Souns® and Rhymes.
The design of this class is family literacy at its best.
Parents or caregivers attend with a child, age 0-3. 



Mother goose
The design of this class is to establish a foundation so firm that no holes will ever appear in fundamental literacy skills. It’s a simple brilliance that makes it so profound.  Souns® and Rhymes classes consist of two core elements: letter sounds and nursery rhymes.  The classes is interactive and hands-on, bringing language and literacy to life.
The latest neuroscience and reading research support the methodologies.
“…what can psychology and neuroscience recommend to teachers and parents who wish to optimize reading instruction? …we know that conversion of letters into sounds is the key stage in reading acquisition. All teaching efforts should be initially focused on a single goal, the grasp of the alphabetic principle whereby each letter or grapheme represents a phoneme” (Dehaene, 2009, p. 228).
souns
Goal of Souns Time: Establish the alphabetic principal needed for reading
 “Souns is a hands-on early literacy program that teaches letter-sound associations through play.  The child is given the right information (letter sounds) at the right time (birth to three) in the right way (kinesthetically and incidentally.) This practice makes a powerful difference! ’ souns.org 
Hands-on, meaningful learning using Souns® helps bring the abstract world of literacy into the concrete realm, making it tangible and accessible for all children.   “The work of Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget confirms, what the hand experiences, the mind remembers” Souns, 2010, p. 4).
jack and jill
Goal of Rhyme Time: Establish phonemic awareness, the most critical first step in acquiring alphabetics.
Rhyme time consists of reading and experiencing a nursery rhyme.  The nursery rhyme is repeated and the “main idea” of the rhyme is present and real for the child to experience.  The purpose is to establish phonemic awareness and the language code using rhythm, rhyme, repetition and realia.
Rationale for Rhyme Time Using Neuroscience and Reading Research: 
“Phonememic Awareness and the Wise Mother Goose…                 Tucked inside “Hickory, dickory dock, a mouse ran up the clock” and other rhymes can be found a host of potential aids to sound awareness- alliteration, assonance, rhyme, repetition. Alliterative and rhyming sounds teach the young ear that words can sound similar because they share a first or last sound”  (Wolf, 2007, p. 98-99).  
What is the simple magic of letter sounds and nursery rhymes?
The brain is a pattern decoder and is constantly searching for connections and patterns in the surrounding world.  “Children make errors such as blowed and knowed more often than for any other kind of irregular verb.”  These errors are not made because of poor modeling.  The errors are made because the brain has picked up on patterns in the language and applies them to new situations” (Pinker, 2011, p. 72).
References 
Dehaene, S. (2009). Reading in the brain: The science and evolution of a human invention. New York, NY.  Penguin Viking.
Liberman, I., Shankweiler, D & Liberman A. (1990). The alphabetic principle and learning to read. Haskins Laboratories Status Report on Speech Research. Retrieved March 29,2012 from http://www.haskins.yale.edu/sr/SR101/SR101_01.pdf
National Reading Panel. (2012). Report of the national reading panel: Teaching children to read reports of the subgroups Retrieved March 15, 2012, from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/report.cfm

Pinker, S. (2011) Words and rules:  The ingredients of language. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers.
Research and Development Staff. (2000). Nursery rhymes and phonemic awareness Sadlier-Oxford A Division of William H. Sadlier, Inc Retrieved July 14, 2012, from http://www.isd300.k12.mn.us/ES/kinder/KINDERGARTEN%20INFORMATION/nursery%20rhymes%20handout.pdf
Robb, D. (2007). Ox, house, stick: The history of our alphabet. Watertown, MA. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.
Souns. (2010). Souns® for literacy, Language and literacy develop hand in hand. (White Paper) Retrieved October 24, 2011, from
http://souns.org/images/texts/whitepaperforwebsite1.pdfhttp://souns.org/images/texts/whitepaperforwebsite1.pdf
Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain. New York, NY. Harper Perennial.

Fall Open House

Principal Gary Schadow of Dream Lake Elementary and Dr. Mike Painter, Community School Administrator from Westside Tech, hosted Wednesday's Open House at the Apopka Family Learning Center.  Dr. Painter is active on the Board of Directors at the AFLC and Principal Schadow is an advocate and avid supporter of the Kids in Motion program.

Guests arrived around six and were greeted by teachers and staff members for a tour of the facility and an overview of the program.   Invited guests included educators from nearby schools, philanthropists, the Parent Advisory Council and community volunteers.



After a guided tour, guests were brought into the great room that was transformed from a classroom to a banquet hall.

Ninth Grade Student at the Junior Achievement Academy- Attended KIM for 9 years
High School Senior and Honor Student Helped by KIM
Mothers of KIM Students



Once the guests ate and mingled, they then learned more about the programming at the Apopka Family Learning Center.  Dr. Painter spoke of Westside Tech's involvement in helping the learning center enhance work with adult literacy.  Dr. Schadow talked about his search for the trick to helping students who are learning English as a second language and said the AFLC is the closest thing that he has found.  Rounding out the evening was a video followed by moving speeches from former Kids in Motion students. 
The first student talked about how his time in KIM helped him gain entrance into the Junior Achievement Academy.  The second student, a high school senior, spoke of the importance of Kids in Motion for her academic success and noted the social-emotional support she and her family received from the program's staff. 
Several mothers of Kids in Motion students spoke about how Kids in Motion helps their children learn and how KIM assists them since they work.  They are grateful that  and their children are in a safe, nurturing environment.


Follow the Apopka Family Learning Center on Facebook.








Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Meet the Kids in Motion Team

The Apopka Family Learning Center’s mission is the creation of a unique educational environment of hope and encouragement for lifetime learning.



Our teachers interpreted the mission visually through a 
team-building activity.


Miss Gia: Hearts Teacher




 Giovanna
I am Imagination and Energy that inspires
I wonder of all that could be
I hear the sounds that aren’t there and should be
I see talent, hope and beauty in every pair of eyes I look into
I wish and make it happen because I feel I am meant to
I am Creativity and the will that makes it happen
Dasso

Miss Ruth: Diamonds Teacher


Ruth
I am friendly and a dreamer
I wonder about the future
I hear children eager to learn
I see a world where people is treated equally regardless of their gender or race
I wish to become an excellent pediatric nurse
I am honest and a caregiver
Morales

Miss Alejandra: Stars Teacher


Alejandra
I am kind, emotional and passionate about teaching.
I wonder when peace is going to rule the world.
I hear people’s voices asking for help.
I see the smiles on the kids faces when they’re happy.
I wish everybody was treated equally, no matter what their race, ethnicity or where they came from.
I am friendly, organized. I love fashion and I love kids.
Garcia

Miss Corinne: Lanterns Teacher

I am Corinne
Daughter of Holly
Who needs sleep, community and respect
Who loves exploring, learning, my family
Who sees potential, beauty, lizards
Who hates cockroaches, red lights, injustice
Who fears vipers, emptiness, being afraid
Who dreams of peace, palm trees, new experiences
Resident of Apopka
Waite

Miss Laura: Middle School Teacher


Laura
I am full of faith and hope for the future.
I wonder what I can do to make things better.
I hear the sounds of people in need.
I see healing, victory and redemption for what’s been lost.
I wish others would catch the vision and see it too.
I am ready and willing to see the vision through the end.
Rodriguez

Ms. Beatrice: Creative Arts and Outreach Manager 

Beatrice
I am creative and compassionate
I wonder all the time
I hear children giggles
I see children’s faces
I wish for laughter
I am creative and compassionate
Puebla

 Ms. Della: Education Director
Della
I am passionate and driven
I wonder & wonder & wonder some more
I hear children reading
I see a world of possibilities
I wish to bridge Montessori and mainstream
I am passionate and driven
Palacios

Ms. Ellen: CEO

Ellen
I am creative and a leader
I wonder how we can help more children achieve their dreams
I hear laughter and silence
I see smiles and a bright future
I wish more people knew about us and would join our mission
I am a Mom and a Dreamer
O’Connor





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