Red, White and Blue Pancakes?

That's right the red were strawberries, the blue were (blueberries of course) and the white simply... a plain pancake!

We made pancakes for the entire Children's Center! They were delicious!

Creating Memories

How do we as a community develop rituals that create memories? "The human family thrives on rituals and celebrations...Rituals may be simple or elaborate and consciously or not, they are created with a longing to honor or create a memory, often employing symbolic gestures or objects. Children quickly come to understand the notion of a party, but the symbolic importance of a ritual may not be uncovered until they explore this memory later in their lives." This explanation of the role of rituals comes from Learning Together With Young Children, the text the TBSCC faculty has been studying this summer. Specifically, we've been concentrating on a chapter focused on creating a nurturing classroom culture. As we think through using school rituals to create memories, we'd also like to consider children's home rituals. What do you do at home that creates memories for your child? Please share an idea with us.

Rolling Along

A morning spent rolling along in the Community Room is a morning the children look forward to. What could be more fun than a ride on a padded tube? But did you know this is actually a pre-writing exercise in disguise? Look closer and you'll see how the children are strengthening their arm and hand muscles by reaching out their arms and using them to support their full body weight.

Having strong upper body muscles is critical in being able to sustain the kind of writing required for elementary school. Most children begin working intensively on these muscles when they first learn to push up from their stomachs as infants and then continue as they go through the crawling stage. As they grow older, children need continued opportunities develop this muscle strength to reach the point of proper stamina necessary for writing.

To continue working the same muscles at home, without a padded tube, try the wheelbarrow game. Hold you child’s legs up and straight as they hand walk around the house or yard. You may find that initially it is difficult for your child to keep his body up, so keep the game short, letting your child rest and trying again. Over time, as your child becomes skilled at the game, add another challenge. Leave balls or toys around and challenge her to pick one up and carry it to a new spot.