Garden Updates

Back in May, we wrote about the new exciting updates we were making this summer to the outside playground. We'd love to check in to let you all know how things are going and how the kids are loving their new playscape!

Being summer, our garden is the newest thing happening on the playground. As Ms. Melissa and Ms. Alexis provide the primary care of the garden, the children have really started to gain interest as they can see actual vegetables growing. We are growing cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, and cucumbers. In addition to these veggies we planted, three tomato plants have sprouted back up from last year's planting. So far, we've only picked two heads of cabbage which we'll be cooking and trying out during lunch time soon. The brussel sprouts are growing normally, the peppers are growing a bit slow, there's one tomato on the plants, and the cucumbers are about to start growing like crazy. All of the veggies we pick from our garden we will be eating once there's enough to go around for everyone to try.

At first, the children weren't too interested in the garden. But now that there's something physically growing from the garden, they are all over it! The children consistently check the garden to make sure it's growing properly, help the teachers water the plants, and pull weeks when it's not super muddy. Getting down in the dirt with the plants is where the children will learn best.

Apart from the garden, we have our flowers and trees that we planted. The kids love taking care of the flowers. They water them and pick off the dead petals from the flower to make sure they look their best. As for the trees, the kids are very protective of them. The kids have watched these trees grow this past year after they planted them themselves. They love to water them and make sure they're growing straight.

Talk to your child about what plants they see when they go outside for recess with their friends! They love to talk about it here; I'm sure they'd love to talk about it at home as well.

2015 Walk-A-Thon Results

First off, we would like to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in this fundraising event for Jellybean. It was very hot outside, but I think we all had fun despite the heat. Hopefully everyone was able to cool down in a pool or sprinkler afterwards. As you may recall, this year we were raising money for the new carpet, cubbies, vines for the tunnel, and new plants for the children to plant. With your help, we raised the money needed to cover those updates. In total, we raised... (drumroll please)... $2,761.74!

The winners of the raffle ticket drawings will be contacted if they haven't been already. The winner of the 50/50 raffle is a friend of one of our families and won $1,337.50! She gave 20% of her winnings back to Jellybean and we are so grateful. The winners of the other raffles won gifts from Mac's Seafood Shack, Candylouu Photography, Balance Massage Therapy, Gabriel's Cheesesteak Hoagies, Brewed Awakenings Café, Maplewood Lanes, & Bracchi's Boutique. A big thank you to all of those businesses for donating their gifts. Apart from the gifts from the raffle, we'd like to thank the additional sponsors that supported us during this fundraiser: Costco Wholesale, Pepsi, Dairy Queen, & Hungry Howie's Pizza.

Apart from the money we raised during and before the event, we had so much fun with everyone. Seeing the kids complete their walk, get a balloon animal, and get their faces painted made the heat bearable. We hope you all had as much fun as we did. Pictures taken by Kiki from around the Walk-A-Thon will be coming soon! Look out for them via Facebook, Twitter, and email.

We can't give our thanks enough for those who participated. Supporting your child's school means so much to us here at Jellybean. We can't wait to do it all again next year! 

Letter from Ms. Jenn: Fine Motor

Hey Parents, 

Just thought I would take a minute this month to talk to you about fine motor, or small motor, skills. You probably see these in our lesson plans we send out to you or your children may talk to you about what they did that day for fine/small motor.

What are fine motor skills?  Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, such as when doing up buttons, doing puzzles, or using pencils or scissors.  Fine motor skills will help your child learn how to write their own name or how to tie their own shoes.

Every day at Jellybean we do an activity to build these skills.  Ms. Tarah is the teacher that works with your child daily on improving and perfecting these skills.  I thought I would share with you some ideas of things you can do to help your child develop their fine motor skills at home. 

•Setting out different kinds of writing utensils and paper for your child to practice writing and holding a pencil properly.

•Cutting: just setting out an old magazine and scissors and helping your child go from opening and closing the scissors to cutting out a picture that they see.

•Helping dress themselves.  Helping your child learn to snap, button, zip, buckle, and tie.

•Doing all sorts of puzzles or building with blocks.

•Letting children help with dinner.  Stirring, cutting, setting the table, serving, and washing dishes.

•Putting money (or buttons) into a piggybank

•Lacing string or pipe cleaners in a colander.

The idea is to have fun with these activities while your child is strengthening their fine motor skills.  If you want more ideas to do with your child check out our I/T fine motor board and our preschool fine motor board on Pinterest!  

POTM: Parent Responsibilities

The following is taken directly out of our handbook on all the responsibilities that come with having a child here at Jellybean. Please read through to make sure you already cover all these bases.

In helping your child feel at home, we encourage you to bring in family photos for us to display. We will be taking pictures here so look for e-mails from Snapfish to see what your child is doing some days. Your child has two cubbies; one for personal belongings and one for all the things they do at Jellybean and parent notes. It is your responsibility to make sure their personal cubby is stocked and cleaned out weekly. In this cubby there should always be an extra set of clothes. It is very likely that your child will get messy here. We encourage them to have fun while they learn. Jellybean Daycare & Preschool will not be responsible for stained or ruined clothes so be sure to dress your child in play clothes. 

Please label all of your child’s belongings. This includes clothes, socks, shoes/boots, slippers, snow pants, mittens, hats, swimsuits, towels, coats, and bags. Many children end up with identical items and without names it is hard to tell what belongs to whom. If something is left here and we don’t know who it belongs to, it will be placed in the lost and found. The lost and found is located in a bin on the shelf in the front lobby. Please check this often. The lost and found will be emptied on the first Friday of every month. Parents need to also bring a water bottle to leave at Jellybean. We will wash this weekly for your child and it will be labeled in the refrigerator so they can get a drink whenever they are thirsty. 

Another parent responsibility is washing your child’s bedding weekly and returning it on Monday. Your child will have a sheet for their cot but you will need to supply their own pillow, blanket, or stuffed toy to keep with them during nap. 

We do our best to keep track of home items, but cannot be held responsible should they be misplaced or broken. We ask that children do not bring toys from home. 

Parents are responsible for picking up their child on time as stated in the contract. Your child will only be released to people listed on their emergency card. If someone different is picking up the child, a parent needs to sign a permission form and turn it into the director or call the director to make special arrangements. If the person picking up your child is unfamiliar to the Jellybean staff they will be required to show identification before the child will be released. This is to ensure the safety of your child.

Have any questions? Let us know.