Where to begin?

I feel as though I have been in a perpetual state of transition—from deciding to move, processing what a move would entail with four school-aged children, preparing the house for market, keeping it clean for open houses (again with four kids, a husband, and a dog and cat), finishing out elementary school with a graduation and year-end festivities, wrapping up three Pre K Scholars classes of my own, house hunting in our new town, enrolling the girls in new schools, packing up fragile and sentimental items, saying goodbye to dear friends. And that was all prior to the actual move!

Upon arrival in our new town I can honestly say that I was faced with one of the most challenging moments as a parent—it didn’t last long, but the first two days were emotionally heavy. All of our belongings were still en route, so it was just our family in an empty house. It was time to get ready for bed and in doing so my husband had a great idea, “You all have to come see how many stars you can see in the sky from our own front yard!” Everyone ran outside with excitement!

“WOW! Find a star and make a wish,” he said.

Kate (five) made her wish out loud: “I WANT TO GO HOME!”

Knowing that children feed off of our energy I knew I needed to remain calm, light-hearted and excited, even if all I wanted to do was cry. Could we pull the move off?

It took about two days and getting the girls’ rooms put together before they found a glimpse of feeling like “home.” We are definitely still transitioning, but life is good and through it all I think we have all learned a lot about moving and life. Here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned:

• Life is a process
• Change is good—we must all learn to be flexible
• Attitude really is everything
• Perception is a choice
• It’s okay to take risks—you might enjoy the outcome
• Children love being given tasks and being a part of the process
• No matter what your age, we all have feelings that need to be respected
• Communication is so important
• It’s okay to cry
• Adventures are exhilarating and there really is no toy that can rival the joy that comes from a plain old brown cardboard box

This is Camille reading:

I started Pre K Scholars because I wanted to make sure my girls are prepared for kindergarten—I want to give them every advantage I can for future success. As a mom, it excites me to see her so eager to read!

After receiving positive feedback at the NAEYC Conference this past fall, we learned a few things:

1. Our concept was well received
2. Our product was aesthetically pleasing and considered “innovative” in that it’s quite comprehensive
3. We offered only two products—the Family Kit and the Teacher Kit
4. Our prices were out of the price range of most teachers, so they needed to get school approval to use school funds
5. Several questions were common:
   • “Can we buy just your guessing game cards?”
   • “Do you sell just the map of Scholarville with reinforcement stickers?”
   • “Would you sell us your character cards?”
   • “I’m tired of the phonics program we are using…do you sell just your phonics component?”

So, in an attempt to share our products with everyone, the individual parts of our whole kit are available to all of our customers.

Many parents and teachers alike are in search of a quality “phonics only” program to enhance their children’s reading readiness skills and they have found this kit component very useful. We have been approached by advocates of the Down Syndrome Association, ESL teachers, preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers, and non-profit agencies, all expressing their admiration in our phonics component and how there is nothing else out there like it!

The town of Scholarville and all of its community members are “one of a kind” watercolored line drawings that have been created by an amazing artist and educator. Scholarville is unique, multi-cultural, engaging, motivating to children, and a perfect springboard into the world of letter and sounds! Their action is evident and their affiliated motions help ALL learners grasp the letter/sound connection!

The Guessing Game is a favorite of all students! It is perfect for vocabulary development and beginning sound reinforcement.

Each piece is important in and of itself, and when combined as a whole kit you have an exemplary kindergarten readiness program!

Click here to learn more about our Kit Components.

Scissors—and cutting—have become a lost activity in the home. Do parents not understand that cutting experiences enable the development of fine motor skills in the hands and fingers of young children?

Cutting enhances fine motor coordination as well as eye-hand coordination. All of these skills are valuable because they promote the strength and dexterity that will be required in school; by teaching our children how to use scissors, we’re giving them the proper tools to be successful in school!

In order to be successful cutters, however, one must know how to properly hold the scissors—as you can see in the picture posted to the right, children can get very creative. Having not been taught the proper scissor hold, this particular student would use the table to leverage the scissors into a opening and closing positioning to make the snips needed to complete this activity. Creative? Yes! Easy? No! This did the trick but not in a timely manner, and it made the task much more laborious!

The correct way to hold scissors

To demonstrate proper scissor handling for your child, put your thumb into the scissors’ smaller hole and your index and middle finger (together) into the larger hole (it’s okay to also put your ring finger into the larger hole, if it fits). Make sure you’re holding the scissors so that your thumb is on top and that the scissors are straight.

Having the proper scissor hold you will quickly learn how much children like to cut paper! Over time, you will also see all the ways in which it improves your child’s fine motor coordination.

With so many children not having scissors at home you can imagine the feeling of empowerment, motivation and excitement they feel when I give them their own Pre K Scholars Home Activity Binder with a supplies pouch—complete with their own pair of scissors! Happy Cutting!

Just to be in the nation’s capital, where great policies are made and such history is represented, is awe-inspiring. But add to that a convention center filled with over 22,000 people—all gathering with one common interest: the education of young children. Policy makers, preschool directors, child psychologists, occupational therapists, computer techs, musicians, curriculum designers, authors, children’s literature advocates, distributors and teachers all convening to review key topics in early education and to visit the exhibit hall displaying a multitude of products relavant to the education of young children (there was eye candy everywhere you looked!).

I met people from near and far: China, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, India and many representatives from each of our prospective states. All appeared to be greatly drawn to the Scholarville map—I heard many reactions that described it as “creative,” “unique,” “artistic,” “original,” “multi- cultural,” and “clever.” I even had a man from India take a photograph of it noting that it provided “so many concepts displayed in one small map.”

The feedback was incredible and I can’t help be motivated upon my return. I was flattered to hear that the kit is considered unprecedented and that home daycares are in need of educational materials—they provide quite an expansive market, actually.

In walking the rows and rows of great booths, I was on a mission to establish how Pre K Scholars differs from all of the others offerings. I’ve had a sense of this all along, but my searches confirmed what sets us apart.

Pre K Scholars provides:

1. More than phonics.
2. Completely integrated—fine motor, writing, reading, letter value, letter recognition, number value, number recognition, number writing, basic math, basic science, social studies, colors, shapes, simple science and much more all embedded in one program.
3. A progressive discipline—each week skills are built upon the skills from the previous week. Letters are introduced with a bigger picture in mind.
4. Artistry in the materials that is original and created by well-respected artists.
5. A primary focus on preparing children for the kindergarten of today.
6. Home-based business opportunities—for those wishing to teach classes out of their home, we offer afterschool enrichment for preschools to let them increase their revenue stream while meeting the needs of parents and students. Likewise, we provide a well balanced program for parents wishing to work with their child one-on-one.

What a treat to be able to express our differentiating qualities to those who stopped by our booth!

While I was manning the booth my father visited the Newseum, a museum pertaining to all aspects of news and television. Feeling inspired to be a reporter himself he filmed a short clip, which I’ve included below.

About the NAEYC

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and development services for all children from birth through age eight.

Each year, NAEYC hosts an annual conference for tens of thousands of early childhood professionals from around the world—it’s the largest of its kind in the world! The conference provides hundreds of engaging and motivating sessions, with experts covering a wide range of issues, including early literacy, social and emotional development, infant care, support for families, and school readiness.

The annual conference also connects attendees with nearly 1,000 exhibitors—NAEYC’s Exhibit Hall is among the largest at any education conference. It’s where attendees will find the latest resources for early childhood educators and children, including Pre K Scholars. I’ll be sure to take pictures while I’m there!

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

This is oh so true! I have such a strong passion for children’s literature! People think I’m crazy when they see my collection of new and used, in-print and out-of-print children’s books…I’ve been an avid collector for 25 years and one of my favorite pastimes is getting lost in any type of bookstore. Just the smell of a book makes me happy!

Do you remember that feeling you would get when it was “the” day your elementary school class would get to visit your school library? It was such a treat!

Pre K Scholars is committed to sharing our passion for children’s literature by featuring a book of the month (this month’s feature is Not a Box. These books are personal favorites that provide so much more than just mere words on a page. I’ve seen them captivate the interest of many children. They are also books that spark creativity and peak the imaginations of many children—with that are great springboards for follow up activities that can extend across the curriculum.

In addition to providing readers with a featured Book of the Month, Pre K Scholars also provides its program purchasers with a recommended literature list that is 16 pages in length and contains over 500 titles of spectacular literature for children to enjoy. This list is a “priceless” compilation of suggested reading that is organized to correlate with each of the 22 weekly tabs within our program.

I welcome your suggestions, as well—if you have any favorite titles of children’s literature, please share them in the comments.

It really is profound when you can see the self-worth it restores in many stay at home moms. I hear the dads say, “My wife is so happy to get those monthly checks.” And I hear the moms say, “I am so happy to be teaching again.”

One mom in particular outwardly exemplifies this business enthusiasm. Amy Hunt is a stay at home mom and former teacher from northern California. After hearing about the Pre K Scholars Program from a friend, Amy grew curious and emailed for more information. We had several email exchanges to answer her questions address her initial fears. After deliberating for about a week, Amy decided to GO FOR IT!

Amy began recruiting and initially was only able to find one student. But this did’t stop her from teaching the class—she proceeded with one student. It didn’t take long at all for word to spread of her course, and six months later, she has created her own website, www.prekconnection.com, she has been featured in her local newspaper, and she has summer and fall classes all lined up. Read Friday’s story from The Ripon Review.

Amy’s is not the only PKS success story, but it’s one worth sharing…

Yesterday I was walking to the store with my family, when I overheard a woman tell her friend that she was off to visit her dad for Father’s Day. Her friend replied, “Make sure you give your dad an extra big hug, because my dad is no longer around.”

That really sat with me all day. I feel so fortunate that not only do my dad and I have a very close relationship, but that I have also been able to become business partners with him and have him navigate me through the business world. His credits (see below) are numerous and I value the opportunity to have him as my mentor.

Starting Pre K Scholars has been a fun adventure with a HUGE personal learning curve. I am not fully business-minded—I like the creative side of it all—but I feel like I am getting a hands-on, crash course approach to my MBA. Thank you, Dad, for being my professor through it all, and Happy Father’s Day!

For his gift I surprised him with his very own Pre K Scholars T Shirt!

Alan Pierrot, MD, Co-Founder and CEO
Dr. Pierrot is a retired orthopedic surgeon who discovered he had an entrepreneur’s heart shortly after opening his practice in 1973. With local physicians he launched a hotel-like physician-owned surgery center that grew it into a remarkable new model of care, the specialty hospital. Listening to his patients, he realized they wanted an exceptional healthcare experience with all the customer service of a boutique hotel—so he built a team and a facility that delivered both. The model won national awards for excellence and earned the highest hospital customer satisfaction ratings in California and Alan was named Northern California’s 1991 Entrepreneur of the Year for healthcare. When he heard of the tremendous local success of his daughter Amy’s kindergarten readiness course, he encouraged her to make the course available to parents and teachers alike, and their partnership in Pre K Scholars was born. Dr. Pierrot researched the industry and soon recognized the value and unique qualities of this program. He oversees the business while Amy focuses on keeping the program relevant and creative.

Many of these inquiries come from former teachers who miss working with children. Almost all say, “It would be a perfect fit…but can I ask you this? And what about that?” I am ALWAYS happy to answer any questions, but I thought it would be nice if they could hear firsthand from a stay-at-home mother of two, and former teacher, who decided to purchase the Home Based Business/Teacher Kit and teach the program with a friend.

1. How long have you been teaching your class?
   “I have been teaching my class with a partner for almost 6 months.
2. How many students are you teaching?
   “We have 8 students in each of our 2 classes that we teach.”
3. How did you recruit students?
   “We recruited our students mostly by word of mouth. We did send an initial flyer, but most of those people had shown interest prior to the mailing.”
4. How did you prepare your home?
   “My partner’s home is perfect for teaching this class. We made sure that we had a sitting area and two work spaces for children to work in small groups. We also made sure we had all of the tools listed in the Instructional Guide that came with the kit.”
5. What feedback have you received?
   “We have heard from many parents that their children don’t want to go to their preschools anymore; they would rather come to our class.”
6. What one piece of advice would you give a prospective buyer of the HBB/Teacher Kit?
   “Buy it! It has been such a joy to get these children ready for Kindergarten.”
7. What’s the biggest pleasure you’ve received from the PKS Program?
   “After teaching our 18th class today, I feel like our kids have the head start needed to have a successful kindergarten experience. They are ready and we had a huge part of that!”
8. Do you consider your HBB/Teacher Kit purchase a good investment?
   “YES!!!!!! It paid itself back within the first month, with having two classes. I feel like I am really contributing to our local schools and our family.”
9. As your classes come to an end, do you plan on teaching subsequent classes?
   “Yes, some parents are wanting some additional activities/classes over the summer.”

As we talk with moms and teachers to get feedback on the Pre K Scholars program, I will post more of their responses. In the meantime, if you or someone you know is interested in learning more, we welcome you to send questions to info@prekscholars.com. The Pre K Scholars website also offers detailed information on both the Home Based Business Kit and the Family Kit.