Packing the perfect lunch

Every parent who has ever packed a lunch has struggled with the decisions going into it.  Will I pack enough?  Did I pack too much?  Will he eat what I pack?  Will her neighbor's lunch look better?  Is she going to go straight for dessert and not eat anything else?

After working with small children for many years, we have developed a few tricks of the trade when it comes to preschool lunch boxes.  While these are not guaranteed to work for every child, we've found them to be fairly universal across age groups and appetite types.  Try each with an open mind and be ready to adjust at any given moment...just as with anything related to little ones!  

1)  Portion Sizes:  We know that as a country, our portion sizes have gotten bigger and bigger over the years.  So, it's hard to know how much is appropriate for our little ones.  Below is a good guideline to illustrate how to know if you are providing the correct portions for your child.  

Taken from www.henry.org.uk

While these guidelines are important, we also know from experience as parents that we all tend to pack a little extra for our kiddos each day.  With kids this age, sometimes you never know what they're going to eat, so extra seems to be the way to go!  We suggest doing this a few times as a test, then pulling back on portions if a lot of food is coming home uneaten.  


2)  Sweets and treats:  According to the state guidelines we are required to follow, we are not responsible for ensuring the children's nutritional needs are met when parents provide the lunch.  During lunchtime, teachers are engaging in social interactions with the children and the overall management of the busy classroom.  So, if Sally has Oreos, the teacher's main focus will not be to keep her from eating them, even if she reaches for them as soon as she opens her lunch box!  The best rule here is that if you don't want Sally to eat Oreos first, don't send Oreos in Sally's lunch.  We talk to our kiddos about "healthy" vs. "sometimes" foods, but are not able to truly enforce which they eat while they are here.  The best policy for treats is to send them rarely so that it truly is a treat!  

3)  Communication is Key:  If you are unsure what to pack, ask!  Sometimes there are kiddos who only want what the kid next to them is having.  If you think this may be the case with your kiddo, let the teachers know and they will be happy to help you plan accordingly.  If Joey is bringing a ham sandwich that is coming home every day, it may be that he is longing for Sam's hot dog!  Once the children are home, the issue is long gone from their minds, but chances are the teachers will remember.  If you have questions about what your child is eating while at school, please feel free to communicate with the teachers.  We all know that nutrition is key to development and always want what is best for our sweet kids.  

4)  Ideas galore:  There are some kids who are happy with the same lunch every day, while others prefer variety.  For those who would like to try different things, having resources full of new ideas is essential.  A quick Google or Pinterest search will give you more ideas than you can make in a year, so we've narrowed it down to a few of our favorites to help get you started:

A week of Easy, Healthy Lunchbox Ideas by The Chronicles of Home

No Sandwich Lunches by What Lisa Cooks

Top 10 Kid-Friendly Wraps by Super Healthy Kids


While all of these ideas can help ensure your child eats and enjoys a healthy lunch at school, it's important to remember that this lunch is only one meal out of many he/ she will eat each week.  If he/ she isn't a big eater at school, never fear!  The teachers take note of this and often offer extra snacks and lots of water to help get the child through the day until they come back home hungry and ready to eat!  

What's the difference between Preschool and Mother's Day Out?

Doing a quick search for "Mother's Day Out vs. Preschool" proves just how much confusion everyone has on the subject.  There are multiple posts on many different forums where moms have posted this question and gotten every different answer possible.  Even those of us on the professional side of early childhood education often differ in our definition of the two.  Let's see if we can sort this out, shall we?  

Early childhood education can be traced as far back as the 1800's when a mother in Europe began educating other families' children in her home.  During the Industrial Revolution in America, "nursery schools" began popping up as a place for families to leave their children while they were at work.  Once the idea of young children coming together to socialize and learn became more popular, more and more researchers began to discover how the mind of young children form and develop.  This research set into motion the formation of many schools of thought into how to best shape these young minds in a group-care setting.  

As these programs started becoming more popular, they were often given the title "Mother's Day Out".  The name says it all.  The programs were geared toward the knowledge that moms work hard and need a break!  The children were cared for and given activities to keep them busy and safe until their moms came back to get them.  For the most part, these programs are not as prevalent as they used to be, as they are more along the lines of "babysitting" rather than creating a learning environment for young children.  

The Encyclopedia of Children's Health defines preschool as "an early childhood program in which children combine learning with play in a program run by professionally trained adults."  The majority of current early childhood education programs define themselves in this way.  While they often disagree on how best to prepare young children for their future education (play-based vs. academics focused), they all agree that early childhood education is an important part of creating life-long learners!  Planning purposeful activities, watching individual children's development and helping them to develop is the backbone of preschool today.  

So, which program is the correct choice for your family?  It all depends on what you are wanting to get out of it!  Does the parent staying home simply need a few hours to get things done?  Or are you looking for a program that uses a curriculum and creates specific goals for each child's development?  The choice ultimately comes down to exactly what you, as the parent, have in mind for your child. It is important to note, however, that there are many programs that can offer both.  They give you the comfort and security of knowing your children are safe while you have time to yourself as well as research based curriculum to help your child progress in all areas of development.  

At Children's Discovery Center, we truly advocate parents taking time for themselves as we engage their children in play-based learning.  For more information and a video tour of Children's Discovery Center in Plano, please click HERE for our website.  

Christmas Chapel Lesson

Last week was our December chapel time and we wanted to tell the Christmas story in a different way!  We wanted the focus to be on God sending us his unconditional love in the form of his son, Jesus Christ!  

To begin, the teachers walked up to find a gift wrapped that said

To: The world

From: God 

on a small table at the front of the chapel area. 
Teacher 1:  Ohhhh!  Look!  A Gift!  
It must be for Valentine's Day!
(looking at the kids) Both: Valentine's Day is the next holiday coming up, right?
(Allow kids to answer: No!  It's Christmas)
  

Both:  Oh!  That's right!!  It's Christmas that's coming up!  Should we open the gift and see what's inside?

(Allow kids to answer: YES!!!)

Teacher 2: (taking the tissue paper out of the box without showing the kids what's inside) 

Oh my goodness!!  It's God's love!!!

Teacher 1:  Whoa!!!  That's such a big deal!!  Are we we can handle this?

Teacher 2:  Well, it says it's for the whole world and we're part of that, so I think it's OK!  

Teacher 2: (To the children)  Do you want to see what God's love looks like?

(Allow the children to answer "Yes!")

Teacher 2 pulls a baby wrapped in a blanket out of the box.

Teacher 1: What a minute!!!!  That's a baby!  You said the gift was God's love?  

(Look at the children for guidance to see if anyone knows who this baby could be)

Teacher 2: Yes, remember, in the bible it says 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son...'

Teacher 1:  Whoa!  So that's baby Jesus?!?! This IS a big deal!!  Wait...should we hide it??  Maybe we should keep it to ourselves?

Teacher 2:  What do you think, kids?  Should we hide God's love?

Allow the children to answer "NO!  It's for the whole world!"

Teacher 2: That's right!  We need to share the good news with everyone!

Teacher 1:  Yes!  Let's tell everyone we meet that we're so excited about Christmas because we celebrate God sending us His son!  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

(Lead the children in signing Happy Birthday to Jesus)

The chapel closed in the following echo prayer:

Dear God,

Thank you for loving us so much that you sent us Jesus. 

We will share the good news with everyone!

Amen! 

What play based learning really looks like

When you think of preschool, what do you picture?  Finger paints?  Letter-writing worksheets?  Science experiments?  Memorization activities?  Building with blocks?  

There are a wide range of articles circling lately that discuss the difference between "play based" and "academic focused" curriculum in preschool.  Both philosophies are used all over the world and many could argue the advantages to each.  

Our mission statement at Children's Discovery Center reflects our belief in research showing that children learn best through play:  

As a ministry of Christ United Methodist Church, Children’s Discovery Center believes that each child is a child of God and should have the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually to his or her fullest potential. Children’s Discovery Center provides learning experiences through hands-on activities with small groups of children of the same age. Emphasis is placed on the needs of the individual child to develop self-confidence and independence in successful learning opportunities. As we plan to meet the educational needs of the young children of our school, specific kinds of learning experiences will be provided to reflect an awareness and sensitivity to their learning style. Research has shown that the first five years are critical to a child’s brain development. At CDC we make learning fun. Our goal for each child is to develop a healthy, positive feeling about himself/herself and develop a love for learning.

Hands-on activities, looking at the needs of each individual child, giving the children experiences and making it all fun are the main characteristics for a truly play-based, child-centered curriculum.  But, while the "play-based" label is becoming more and more the norm for preschools, not everyone fully understands the reasoning behind it nor the methods used in order to carry it out in an actual classroom.

At Children's Discovery Center, the teachers in every classroom, with children ranging in ages from 9 months to 5 years, put this into practice each and every day.  The activities planned are stimulating, engaging and work to develop the whole child, focusing on all areas of development, including social, emotional, language, spiritual and cognitive.  

Boasting a play-based philosophy is one thing, but what does it really look like in a classroom?  What kinds of activities fit into it?  

Featured below are just a few examples of how the amazing teachers at CDC Preschool implement this philosophy into their classrooms every day!  The children are learning and discovering with each of these child-focused activities to become engaged, active problem-solving learners, which will serve them well in school and through their entire lives.  

These girls are carrying out an experiment to see just how strong egg shells are.  They recorded their hypothesis on how many books the shells can hold up, then put their guesses to the test!

These children are given the space and opportunity to sit at a child-sized table together.  Toddlers are still typically practicing parallel play, but should be given chances to interact with their peers as often as possible.

This group of three year olds were given buckets of water and paint brushes on the playground.  With no direct instruction or given product to work toward, they are discovering all about the properties of water, what the cement looks like dry vs. wet and so many other things!

Learning can and should be messy at times!!!  Shaving cream with food coloring on the table top gives these kiddos a chance to get their hands dirty while exploring colors, textures and smells!

Given open ended materials and the opportunity to create, children can and will construct structures that require balance, symmetry and cooperative skills.

Children LOVE pretend play and thrive in an environment set up for them to be grown-ups!

These children have been given the chance to peel an apple, stretch out the peel and see how long it is while the other class got to watch popcorn pop!  Both of these meaningful experiences will develop their senses, which will in turn instill a sense of curiosity about the world around them! 

As a whole, early education should encourage children to wonder about things, teach them to communicate with others and more than anything, help them to be able to analyze situations, to independently problem solve and quite plainly...to think!  Letter sounds, handwriting, number values and all other things will fall into place eventually. Now is the time to develop their minds to be curious and able to think through anything that comes their way.  

If you teach a child to think, 

she can't help but to learn.  

Please visit www.cumc.com/cdc for more information about our program.

Family Fun Night: The Grinch!

We had a wonderful time at our Family Fun Night last night!  We had a great crowd enjoying games, Grinchy snacks, crafts and our storytime!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make the evening perfect!

*Brandon DeVaney (the Grinch!)

*Clara Trujillo (Cindy Lou Who)

*Drake Trujillo (Media)

*Hunter Brown (reindeer)

*Heather Mohr (photo opp board)

*CUMC Men's Ministry (games)

Craft and snack prep:

*Debbie Green

*Seema Moharir

*Sherri Zemanski

*Angela Miller

Enjoy a few pictures from the evening!

What Finland can teach us about early learning

A few days ago, one of our teachers shared an article with us entitled Finnish Kids Don't Learn To Read In Kindergarten. They Turn Out Great Anyway.  The philosophy we hold here at Children's Discovery Center is to provide a play-based environment in which children are encouraged to ask questions, problem solve and discover about the world around them through games, activities and an environment in which they are the 'drivers' of their learning.  Because of this, an article with this title immediately grabbed our attention.  

After reading it as well as another article discussed within it, we have really begun to realize just how important our philosophy is to the development of well-rounded individuals.  

Not only are we sharing this philosophy with parents both in and outside of our school community, I have even applied it to the way I look at my own Kindergarten daughter's learning.  My sweet 5 year old girl is creative, very social, inquisitive and one of the funniest people I have ever met in my life.  She is on the cusp of being a 'reader' and has been working hard on her own to develop her writing and math skills.  But, after reading the article about the Finland schools, I am finding myself not pressuring her to do more than she is ready for.  I've always wanted to let her be herself in every way possible, but fell victim to trying to get her to measure up with her school's standards for her grade level.  Now, I'm focusing more on what she loves (singing, dancing, talking, drawing) and less on what the school district says she should be able to do (memorize star words, write numbers, read independently).  We are keeping up with her homework, of course, and not letting her completely fall behind academically.  But, my approach is much more relaxed and it is showing in her confidence.  She is wanting to do more of her monthly 'homework' each evening.  She is choosing the things which are more academically focused and are not as natural for her.  The difference is that I realized that she was not going to go off to college not reading.  She will eventually be able to recognize "the" and "that" on sight.  One day, she will write every number and be able to manipulate them with ease to solve a problem.  That will all happen.  It doesn't have to happen now.  Her age (and younger!) is when children are deciding who they are.  It's when their personalities really become apparent.  It's the time when relationships are built, friendships are formed and communication skills are developed.  It's when they discover the world around them on their own terms and apply it for the rest of their lives.  Our job as early childhood educators and parents is to simply allow for opportunities for all of this to happen and let them go!  

Firefighters visit and chapel this week!

We've been busy the past few school days!  

Last Thursday and Friday, we had firefighters come visit!  Plus, this Monday and Tuesday, we had our first chapel time of the year!  Ms. Natalie talked to us about why we call the sanctuary "God's house" and how amazing and special it is that we get to visit it and praise God there!  What a wonderful way to start our school year!