March News from Especially for Children

MARCH 2019

MENU/CALENDAR | SPANISH NEWSLETTER | PHOTO GALLERY

Greetings!

“MARCH…IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A LAMB”

Spring will be here before we know it!! We can almost smell the mud in the air. We have a fun-packed month in store for you, with the first day of spring, St. Patrick’s Day, daylight savings, and much more.

MINNESOTA SPRING

Mud, slush and water… Oh My. The first day of spring is March 20, and with that comes the thaw. With this thaw comes lots of puddles and wet snow. The children will get wet all the way through their snow pants and sometimes through boots too! Please make sure your child has at least two changes of clothing at school, including extra socks, and mittens. We want to make sure that the children can play outside every day and still come in and be able to learn and play in comfort. This is also a great time to double check your child’s bin of extra clothes to ensure they have the proper sizes! Thank you .

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY FUN!

On Friday, March 15 , we will be celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day at our center. This is a day to celebrate Irish history, ancestry,

traditions and customs. We ask that children wear green this day, as everyone has a little Irish in them on Saint Patrick’s

Day! Over 34 million Americans are of Irish descent, almost nine times the population of Ireland.

In the past, the leprechaun has been known to get into some mischief by hiding his gold, and has even turned our milk green! We may need to come up with some ideas on how to capture the leprechaun. Parents are welcome to join us to celebrate with “Groovy Green Smoothies” at snack time on Friday, March 15, at 3:30 p.m.

WHAT YOUR CHILD IS LEARNING

“LIBRARY"

Library offers many opportunities for learning through play, including concepts of literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts and technology. Here are some examples for each content area:

LITERACY: expands children’s vocabulary and language as you introduce them to new words in books; develops children’s phonological awareness by reading stories that play with language (rhyming); enhances children’s understanding of books and other texts by drawing their attention to different forms of print in their environment; increases their knowledge of print by sweeping your hand under the words as you read; develops their comprehension skills by using open-ended questions during storybook reading; encourages children to view literacy as a source of enjoyment by reading and re-reading favorite stories.

MATHEMATICS: guides children’s understanding of number concepts by including counting books; calls children’s attention to various patterns and relationships found in books; teaches children about geometry and spatial sense in their world by talking about photographs; promotes understanding of measurement by pointing out comparative works in books.

SCIENCE: encourages learning of life topics such as plants and animals; helps children learn about physical science by sharing informational books about how things work.

SOCIAL STUDIES: promotes an understanding of people and how they live by reading stories from other lands or about different occupations; helps support understanding of spaces and geography by hearing vocabulary words such as above, below, around, forward, backward; enhances understanding of people and the past by sharing books about life long ago.

ARTS: develops appreciation for visual arts by talking about the illustrations; nourish children’s interest in music by reading picture books based on songs such as “Down by the Bay.” Encourage children to explore drama and dance by dramatizing familiar stories.

TECHNOLOGY: helps children develop technology awareness by pointing out phones, computers and other technology tools in books.

*The Creative Curriculum by Diane Trister Dodge

STAR WELLNESS

STAR WELLNESS RECIPE: GROOVY GREEN SMOOTHIE

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Here is a great way to get your children to eat some greens! This is what we will be serving on our Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration. Feel free to experiment with different amounts or types of fruit.

What you will need:

1 banana cut into chunks
6oz Greek yogurt
½ apple, chopped up
1 ½ cup fresh spinach leaves

Combine items in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into glass and enjoy!

ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

THE HUMBLING BUT IMPORTANT WORDS, I’M SORRY

Last week as my husband and I were preparing dinner, our 6-year-old brought me her latest artistic creation. It was a baby momento that she had discovered in the scrapbook paper box and colored on. I was upset and disappointed, and my response to her reflected those emotions. Even as I was initially responding to her, I knew that it really wasn’t her fault. I was the one who left the momento in the wrong place, and she should not have been expected to know what it was or what it meant.

A few minutes later, I issued her an apology that acknowledged my overreaction but did not totally absolve her of responsibility. My husband, in his wisdom, called me out on my incomplete apology, and so again I went back to my daughter and let her know that she had done nothing wrong, it was my fault the item was not put away in its proper place, and my reaction to the whole situation was not right or fair.

As a parent, it can be hard and humbling to apologize to your child. We can usually find reasons to justify how we handle or react to something, especially if we’ve come to the point of a charged response after so much rationality has not worked.

And yet, as I experienced last week, it’s important to fully face up to my mistakes so that I am providing an example for our children, helping them understand social and emotional situations and how to examine and repair them when things go wrong. A sincere apology also reestablishes a bond and a sense of trust that may be splintered when a child feels unjustly accused.

An article from Positive Parenting Solutions provides seven helpful steps to consider when apologizing to your child:

1. Own your feelings and take responsibility for them.

2. Connect the feeling to the action.

3. Apologize for the action.

4. Recognize your child’s feelings.

5. Share how you plan to avoid this situation in the future.

6. Ask for forgiveness.

7. Focus on amends and solutions.

You can read more about these steps here:

https://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/parenting/apologizing-to-your-child

Reflecting on what transpired with my daughter has helped me consider new strategies to employ both in my initial reaction to difficult situations as well as when I make a mistake. I hope that my process of apologizing and acknowledging my shortcomings will also help her. As the end of the article referenced above states:

“Kids who don’t experience much failure have trouble knowing what to do when problems do arise – they don’t have the confidence to take risks, they won’t courageously face their problems head-on or roll with the punches. In the long run, making mistakes and learning from them gives our kids more self-confidence and resiliency . And one way they can learn this is by watching their parents take responsibility for their own mistakes and learning from them.”