Summer Camp Tuition Discount Deadline

The deadline for discounted tuition for our Summer Camp (SCamp) programs is rapidly approaching...May 2nd! Take a few minutes to start mapping out your summer plans and take advantage of this $5 per day or $25 per week savings...a considerable amount of money whether your child plans to attend two weeks or all ten!

Program information and registration paperwork is here.

-- Admin

M.O.Y.C.

We celebrate the Month of the Young Child every April with special events for children, parents, and staff. Activities include serving parents breakfast, displaying children's art at local businesses, and creating crafts and special snacks. Parents often ask how they can participate--we've listed a few options on this printable flyer.

--Admin

Let them eat cake -- at home

An article about a New Zealand school district that banned birthday cake caught my eye for a couple of reasons.

1. It was filed under "Odd News." What's so odd about school districts taking steps to encourage healthful habits?
2. The article doesn't mention another important health-related reason to ban birthday cakes and other outside foods: life-threatening food allergies. Policing food from home is a burden on both parents and teachers in allergy-aware programs. Parents must find and make recipes that fit the specific criteria (i.e., no peanut products, wheat, gluten, eggs, etc.) and document this fact to teachers. Teachers must remind parents of the policies and try to ensure that nothing slips through; if a child has an allergic reaction to food from home, the teachers must sleuth out the source and deal with that crisis.
3. Birthday parties (at home and school) can quickly become a contest of parenting prowess, with families increasingly upping the ante with more extravagant treats or other celebrations at school in addition to whatever they do at home. What about the kids whose parents can't or don't buy into that rigamarole?

The Gretchen's House Foo0d From Home Policy was developed with input from physicians, teachers, and parents with all of the above concerns in mind. You can read all about it here.

--H.V.

Read All About It!

Please note: this is not a solicitation for book donations.

However, parents occasionally ask us if there are classroom materials they can donate. Books, because they are relatively fragile and get so much use, are something that we often need to replenish. Parents also ask us for book recommendations when they're looking to build home libraries. We've compiled lists of some of our favorites, grouped by approximate age.

There are some perennial favorites not included here: Where The Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, for example. We figure you'll find those on your own. Our selections include lesser-known award-winning title, books on developmental issues, and some of our personal favorites.

Great Reads:

• Books for Infants and Toddlers (0-3 yrs.)
• Books for Preschoolers (~2.5-5 yrs.)
• Books for 4K Children (4-6 years)

Sometimes parents want kids to stop reading "baby" books (anything younger than their age or technical reading ability) but that shortchanges them. Older kids who continue to read younger picture books practice reading skills by using context, rhythm, and rhyme to scaffold their burgeoning decoding skills. Did you know that older kids benefit tremendously from reading aloud (even if they've memorized the text or are making it up as they go) to younger siblings. Plus, the younger kids eat it up!

Need more suggestions?

Bank Street College recommends 30 Picture Books You Don't Want to Miss

-- Admin