p.s. did you know: What is the Pyramid Model?

As we kick off the new school year with so many changes, there is at least one staple that will not be changing… implementing the Pyramid Model at The Children’s Center (TCC).  Since 2017, TCC staff has been a part of a huge change in the NH Department of Education to better cater to the proper social and intellectual development of our young minds.  After a competitive process to apply for a grant, we were one of five community collaboratives in NH to be chosen to receive Pyramid Model training and a 5-year state grant that we share with the Governor Wentworth Regional School District to get started. 

The main “change” that you will see in our Pre-K rooms, and eventually our Infant/Toddler rooms, is a more solid curriculum that focuses on social / emotional learning better catered to the development of these age groups.  This whole program is based heavily on scientific research and has shown that when education is focused on social and emotional development at these early stages, the children will be more ready to move forward with grammar school curriculum when it is later introduced. 

So, while you will still see our children learning A,B C’s and 1,2 3’s, you will see more emphasis on identifying feelings / emotions, regulation methods (Zones of Regulation) and strategies for problem solving in social scenarios (sharing, trading, taking turns, etc.).  Your child will likely want to explain to you things like how they moved from the “yellow zone” to the “green zone” by using “cat breathing” or taking time to sit in the “quiet zone” to think about what they need to get back to “calm” again. 

Over the many years I have been working with children and their families, I have never been as excited and impressed by a program like this!  Being a therapist, I know that children do better when they find their best way of communicating and feel safe in their environments.  We are at a point where stress levels are extremely high for whole families and they are desperately seeking tools on how to cope and be successful.  I am here to say that The Pyramid Model works and it is due to the fact that it includes all who are involved in the lives of your children.  A child does not stop learning when they transition between environments and so having a culture that shares same practices across the environments help a child to “buy in” and yes, “feel safer and calm” because of the shared expectations and parameters.  The parents/guardians/educators/children all benefit from the results of the Pyramid Model practices!

So, as we move forward this school year, we are starting a new program to bring as much information about The Pyramid Model to the parents/guardians as we can.  It is called “P.S. Did You Know” where the P.S. stands for Parenting Solutions.  You can access this site by going to #psdidyouknownh to see all the information that is shared out over the school year.  This month, we are featuring the theme of “TRANSITIONS”!

Click here to download a fun fact sheet!