The First Six Weeks
As we begin a new school year at the ELS, it may be some of your children's first time at school, first time in a mixed age classroom, or first time with their current group of peers or their teachers.
Carolyn Black
she/her
Jay & Rose Phillips Early Intervention Specialist
cblack@jccdenver.org
Moving On Up!
As we approach the last day of summer on August 7, and the first day of the 2026-27 school year, parents and children may have mixed feelings about the big changes to come.A few classrooms moved up in June, but all other children moving up will do so on Tuesday, August 18. The ELS is closed the week of August 10-14 for professional development, and you will have the opportunity to meet your child's teachers on Monday, August 17th. Children moving into toddlers or twos will stay with their same classmates, with only a few exceptions in infant rooms. Preschool children are split up a bit but always have at least one friend from their current class placed with them. Preschoolers stay with their teachers for two years in mixed-age classrooms until they move up to kindergarten! With all this change on the horizon, it's normal for children to show their uncertainty in a variety of ways. You may see heightened emotions or increased challenging behaviors, either at home or at school. Your child may have questions about where certain friends are going or what their new teachers will be like. You may even see things like difficulty falling asleep, potty training regressions, or an increase in physical activity as summer winds down. All of these things are normal and expected, and temporary!Hopefully you were all able to attend Rising Night Info Sessions or watch the recordings. In order to help make the transition for our kids moving up in August smoother, I have lined PDFs for social stories about new classrooms for you to print and read at home. Teachers have also received hard copies of these to read at school with the kids. There is one for each move-up room, as well as a general one for brand new students. I've also linked the Rising Night Info Session presentation slides at the very bottom for your reference.
Biting: Why It Happens and How We Respond
If your child has bitten another child—or your child was on the receiving end of a surprise bite—you are not alone. Biting is one of the most common behaviors in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. While it can be upsetting and even embarrassing, it's important to remember that biting is a form of communication, not a sign that your child or a child in their class is "bad."
Welcome to Summer 2026!
If you are new to the ELS, please say hello when you come in; I'm usually at the front desk. If you've been here a while, hey! I am Carolyn, the Early Intervention Specialist for the ELS. Before taking on this role in October of 2025, I was a coach for an early intervention program run through AmeriCorps called Early Learning Corps for 4 years. Prior to that, I was a classroom teacher for 12 years, including several years here at the ELS teaching twos and preschool. I am a parent as well, with 7 year old son and a 3 year old daughter who also attends the ELS!
My role at the ELS is multi-faceted. In addition to providing developmental screenings and supporting teachers and parents with Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education referrals, I coach teachers around developmentally appropriate practice and behavior management, provide social-emotional resources and guidance to entire classrooms, and offer Tier 2 support for a wide range of things, from separation anxiety to potty training and everything in between. I also head up the Parent Resource Library and will soon be partnering with our Pedagogical Leaders to run more parent education series and events! I visit each classroom weekly and provide support with trouble-shooting, setting expectations, and preventing and addressing behavioral challenges.
Our goal at the ELS is to meet every child where they are and to recognize that they are unique individuals with the right to an inclusive, loving and safe environment in which to learn and grow. By building relationships with each child and co-constructing learning as they navigate new experiences and friendships, we work to create a strong sense of self and social confidence in our learners. I am here to provide resources, answer questions, and share my early childhood development expertise with families as we navigate parenthood together--no question is too trivial, so please reach out if you ever need support!
Happy Summer!
Carolyn
