PIFS Tag

29 Sep

Published on September 29, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  On the first day of school, Mrs. Gallagher stood at the door of nursery school, greeting families, some new and others very familiar. She remembered us from our interview. “Sheila and Charlie, we’re so happy to have you.” I smiled and Charlie said, “Remember the bunnies in that room you showed us?” “I do, Charlie. You will see them again, later on.” Mrs. Gallagher pointed out Charlie’s classroom, and he eagerly walked down the wide hallway. Parents...

15 Sep

Published on September 15, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  I read that Albert Camus, French author, philosopher and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, afterwards wrote a thank you letter to a teacher from his elementary school years in Algeria. Camus told Louis Germain that when he won the prize, he thought first of his mother, and then of him. As a child, Camus’ prospects for a successful life had been dim. His father died in World War I; his mother...

08 Sep

Published on September 8, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  Beauty A little girl was slowly following a butterfly in her garden. When it rested on a blossom, the little girl said, “You are beautiful. Thank you.” So wise and so exactly perfect. Beauty is something we are all so grateful for. Beauty changes our lives in every good way. Sometimes we even take it for granted. For someone so little to notice the butterfly and love it will reinforce her appreciation of natural beauty. With some...

11 Aug

Published on August 11, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  [caption id="attachment_7437" align="aligncenter" width="288"] Marianne Riess is the former head of the Putnam Indian Field School in Greenwich, CT. She has 40 years of experience in working with young children.[/caption] Our annual vacation to Block Island this year had a new twist: my NYC grandsons (Axel, just shy of 10 and Owen, 8) were traveling with us. I wondered how to keep them amused during the 2½ hour car trip to the ferry. Knowing that they...

14 Jul

Published on July 14, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  Billy couldn’t wait for his best friend’s birthday party. He had a little collection of presents and he knew Teddy would love them: a piece of green string, a small white shell, a pinecone, a shiny dime and a small picture of the two boys at a fair, taken by Billy’s mother, Holly. Holly gave him bright tissue and a yellow paper bag that was the perfect size for the presents. Holly had a book about...

30 Jun

Published on June 30, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  Many 3 and 4-year olds enter nursery school with no concept of cleaning up. At home, they have dolls, art materials, costumes, trains, trucks, balls, puzzles, games, books. They play everyday. Why are they so unfamiliar with clean up? One answer? Someone else is doing it for them. For other children, cleaning up means throwing things into a toy box with every item jumbled up with everything else. So when they start nursery school, and the...

16 Jun

Published on June 16, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  Most parents are well aware of the value of reading aloud to young children. When they are read lots of good stories, children fall in love with books and become lifelong readers. Yet parents can go further and turn passive listening into involved participation, just by using a few reading tricks.  Use the illustrations – as you read, you can ask your child questions about them. For instance, “Look at his face. How is he feeling?”...

02 Jun

Published on June 2, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  “Rebecca, they aren’t organic!! Don’t go near those carrots!” Paige barked to her daughter at the grocery store. “I can’t look at carrots anymore?” “Looking becomes touching and that’s a big no no!” Rebecca looked carefully from the organic to non-organic carrots, trying to figure out the difference between them. Then she slowly turned away. “Would you like kiwis or Mt. Ranier cherries, Rebecca?” Rebecca didn’t answer. She was examining at least a dozen different types of olives. They were...

19 May

Published on May 19, 2016 in Guest Contributors by

The family vacation, an American tradition. Whether it involves renting a house on Cape Cod, taking a trip to Disney World, or all piling into the family car or RV, it usually implies more togetherness than families experience any other time of the year. Spending time together – that’s our goal, right? That’s what family means, right? We want to believe this, but our anxiety has made popular a plethora of hilarious movies that poke...

12 May

Published on May 12, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  Ages ago, when I was an English teacher at what was then Central Jr. High, the rule of thumb for our department was that you never chose a book for the class which featured a girl protagonist. The theory: boys would not read about a girl, but girls would always read about a boy. So the classes got to know Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Travis of Old Yeller, Jim of Treasure Island, Gene and...

11 May

Published on May 11, 2016 in Education & Programs by

  The sky was bright, the sun was finally shining and the children of Putnam Indian Field School spilled out of the classrooms eager to plant the seedlings they’d started inside many weeks before. Different classes had different assignments, but by the time the last group was finished, the school gardens were filled with lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, snap peas, bush beans and squash, all destined to eventually become part of the school lunch and snacks menu....

05 May

Published on May 5, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  The late day sun felt great in the play yard of Little Farm Nursery School. The day had that perfect Thursday afternoon feeling. Children and parents were getting into cars. “Could you and Timmy come over for an early supper tonight? Mike won’t be home until late,” Meredith Ford asked Jane Mathews. “We’d love that!” Jane answered. “Dave is late tonight too. What time is good?” “Luke and I are off to the grocery store to pick up...

02 May

Published on May 2, 2016 in Education & Programs, Giving Back by

  The weather was spectacular on Saturday, April 30th and so was the Putnam Indian Field School Annual Art Show. Eager children tugged at parents’ hands, pulling them into the school to view their creations, which were the culmination of almost a year of work in their classrooms and art studios. The gym was transformed into a museum of colorful exhibits. In the autumn, PIFS students harvested their own organic vegetable gardens. The Pre K children visited...

25 Apr

Published on April 25, 2016 in Education & Programs by

  Putnam Indian Field School has been recognized by the State of Connecticut for its long-term commitment to providing environmental and sustainability education, improving the health and wellness of their students and staff, and reducing environmental impact and cost. PIFS is excited to continue this journey with other CT Green LEAF Schools as they share resources, expertise, experiences and track their growth as a leader in environmental practice and education. PIFS children and teachers celebrated Earth Day...

21 Apr

Published on April 21, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  Ozzie was waking up. His four-year old eyes looked at his Grandfather’s blue bottle sitting on a white shelf by his window. He loved looking at this bottle every morning. As the morning light passed through it, he realized there was another bit of blue on the white wall opposite the bottle. “Ozzie,” his little brother Davey called, “Come here.” Ozzie left his blue images and ran to Davey’s room just down the hall. Davey sat in his...

07 Apr

Published on April 7, 2016 in Guest Contributors by

  Katherine Kinzler’s article, The Superior Social Skills of Bilinguals (NYT 3/11/16), cites recent research by herself and others that indicates that young children growing up in a household in which they are exposed to more than one language develop a greater capacity for a skill that is crucial to interpersonal understanding. Because they must keep in mind who speaks what language to whom, they have constant practice in putting themselves in the place of others. It...

24 Mar

Published on March 24, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  In case you missed, Children Teaching Parents, Part 1 Sam was excited, knowing Nick and his parents were coming over. He had been gathering little sticks since early morning so that he and Nick could add onto their houses the second he arrived. Julie was working on a small pastel of trees while Philip swept the sunny terrace. “It will be so nice to have Nick over,” Sam said to his mother. “I hope his parents are...

17 Mar

Published on March 17, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  Sam and Nick were four-year-old best friends. Life with each other was all they knew and that was just fine. Sam’s mother and father were Julie and Philip, slightly older parents who felt so lucky to have Sam. Julie was a landscape artist and Philip was a veterinarian. They loved time together and marveled at their little boy’s openheartedness. Nick’s father, Ron was a rather serious insurance salesman. His wife Lois had recently found a part...

10 Mar

Published on March 10, 2016 in Guest Contributors by

  In Marianne’s last two columns on Bev Bos, she shared and reinforced Bev’s belief of the importance of parents creating memories and traditions for children and of passing on memories and traditions from their own childhoods. I would like to expand this theme a bit further. There are really two related but separate themes here. One is the theme of children creating new memories of experiences such as family vacations, decorating for the holidays, and other...

25 Feb

Published on February 25, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

Thanks to all who responded so positively to my column on Bev Bos last week. As a follow-up, here are some of the beliefs that she stressed in her writings and presentations. They can guide us all as we teach or parent young children. (My thoughts in italics) On the Importance of Socialization "Kids have to be social by six. If they’re not social by six, if they don’t know how to give and take, if they...

18 Feb

Published on February 18, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

On February 4th, Bev Bos died in her sleep at her home in California. She was a giant in the field of Early Childhood Education, a mentor and inspiration to 40 years of nursery school teachers, and a gift to children everywhere. Bev gained national notice when she was featured in a segment of ABC’s 20/20 in 1991. It was an eye-opening twenty minutes in an era when the “push down curriculum” was subjecting young children...

04 Feb

Published on February 4, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  Savannah Burke was cleaning up the oatmeal that her four-year-old son Jackson had spilled on the floor. Just then a feeling of something wet and cold made her touch the back of her white sweater. It was milk. She looked up and saw her son grinning as he put the glass on the table. As she reached for some more paper towels. Jackson said with a little laugh, “Too bad. More work for Mommy.” Just then...

21 Jan

Published on January 21, 2016 in Guest Contributors by

  One of the hats I wear is that of a spiritual counselor and religious educator. Combining my background in developmental psychology with my faith, I have developed a series of talks I call “Parenting in Partnership with God.” I was therefore delighted to make the acquaintance of a developmental psychologist who has brought the importance of spirituality in a child’s life into the mainstream. In her book, The Spiritual Child, Lisa Miller documents a boatload...

14 Jan

Published on January 14, 2016 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

I always believe the best presents for children begin with ‘B:’ Books, Blocks and Balls. All can be enjoyed independently or with others, in many different ways. I’ve named some favorite children’s books in previous articles. A few new ones found their way into my pile of gifts this past holiday season. Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman is a cute book about friendship between two unlikely characters, and appeals to the 3-4 year old set....

07 Jan

Published on January 7, 2016 in Anne's Parenting Column by

  “Things just shouldn’t be so hard, Paul. You’re the kid and I’m your father. You get in the car when you are asked to and that’s that.” Russ’ voice was exasperated. Paul climbed into the jeep and tried to buckle his car seat. “That’s more like it. Try harder. You’re four now, or did you forget?” Paul’s hands were suddenly putty and he couldn’t get the metal things in their slots. Russ yanked open the back door of the...

10 Dec

Published on December 10, 2015 in Guest Contributors by

  As holiday time approaches and children begin to get excited and form expectations about the meaning of Christmas, Chanukah, and other celebrations, I want to ask you parents to pause and reflect on what message you are sending to your children. Because young children are just gaining the cognitive capacity to see the world from points of view other than their own, they are naturally self-centered (“egocentric” in psychological lingo) and easily fall into an attitude...

03 Dec

Published on December 3, 2015 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  In the Reggio Emilia schools, they say children have 100 languages. They don’t mean languages in our usual sense of the word, but symbolic languages through which children express their questions and ideas about the world. The Reggio educational philosophy goes beyond speaking, writing and numbers to encourage pre-school children to illustrate their thinking through drawing, painting, sculpture, dance, dramatic play, construction with all sorts of materials, gestures, music, physical activity, map-making, etc. All are...

22 Nov

Published on November 22, 2015 in Cool Other Stuff by

Putnam Indian Field School teacher and Party with Moms Managing Partner Anne Martine Cook continues to share her love of life and fun with very young children and their parents. She was honored by staff and parents for 40 years of inspired teaching during the recent PIFS Auction at the Round Hill Club. [caption id="attachment_6652" align="aligncenter" width="288"] Dawn Israel, President of the Board of Trustees with Anne.[/caption] Photos taken by Fairfield County Look see all their beautiful...

03 Nov

Published on November 3, 2015 in Health & Beauty, Mom of the Week, Mom Of The Week News by

PIFS Presents: "An AaHa Focus on Family Nutrition" with AaHa Founders Alexa Fishback MS, RD & Hala Si-Ahmed, MPH Wednesday, November 4th Morning session : 9:30 AM / Afternoon session : 1:30 PM Location: Putnam Indian Field School (101 Indian Field Rd, Greenwich) Ideas for picky eaters - Learn how family eating trickles down - Easy, healthy meal prep tips & recipes www.aaharestart.com www.pifs.net  ...

29 Oct

Published on October 29, 2015 in Guest Contributors by

  Most likely, few of you readers of this column are grandparents. Most of you who have young children, however, probably have one or more parents of your own who play a role in your children’s lives. As a grandparent myself, I offer this column to encourage you to give some thought to the nature of the grandparenting relationship. Perhaps it will even encourage you to open up a conversation with your parents that will make...