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May 2009 CCC Newsletter

Thu, 04/30/2009 - 23:00 — admin

Spring Extravaganza

May 29

4:30 & 5:10 P.M. IN THE RPC SANCTUARY

The Holiday Program, I mean, the Spring Extravaganza is finally here. it begins with a musical parade of theInfants, Toddlers, Pre-scooters and Scooters into the Sanctuary at 4:30. At 5:10 the Bloomers,Delights and Fantastics perform a musical treat for all the families. The order of the day is to have fun.

Part II of the Extravaganza will conclude with the Fantastics Graduation in the Sanctuary A private, yes a private barbecue for the Fantastics and their families will follow.

Our music will focus on animals, Spring and Ecology. You will see all different kinds of animals entering the Sanctuary.

What do you need to bring: family, friends, a smile on your face and, of course, the family camera.

COMING SOON - BOOK FAIR

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair is scheduled for May 18 “ 22. There will be books available for everyone from the Infant room to the Fantastics. The Book Fair will be open selected afternoons. We will announce the specific days next month.

MEMORIAL DAY

The Center will be closed Monday, May 25. See you Tuesday.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

INFANT

We are almost halfway through the year. May is the month of flowers. We all know what is coming up; Mother's Day. We all honor Mother's and at the end of the month, Memorial Day.

We have been experiencing hot and windy days in April. They have been just right for our little ones to get outside for long periods of time. They have been able to enjoy outdoor activities. There have been stories read outside very day. The fresh air has been great.

Let us see what mischief our old babies are up to and what fun the little ones are having, too. Reece is busy pushing the toys outside on the sidewalk. He is on a œmission � so keep out of his way, or you might get run over. Tory is our climber. He loves to climb. He is a daredevil. Both Tory and Reese are our 'fashion icons.'

Declan has now mastered the art of crawling around the room. He has learned crawling by chasingMae around the room. He stands and plays with the new activity Center. Emma and Amanda enjoy it when it is time to go on a buggy ride. They both talk loudly during their play time.

Peter enjoys sing-a-long. He claps his hands.Lucas is our 'explorer.' He goes everywhere.Sierra and Ryan like hanging out together. Their favorite pastime is rolling off the mat.

Zoe talks to her mobile over her crib. She is making it very clear she does not like tummy time.Bella's grandparents were visiting for her brother's birthday.

To all our Mothers and staff Mothers, Happy Mother's Day.

CRUISER/TODDLERS

Welcome May. We are expecting many exciting happenings this month. We will start by preparing to honor all of the Mothers in our lives. We honor Mothers, Grandmothers. Godmothers and all that share their motherly love with us. May is also the month where flowers are blooming and kids can enjoy the sunny, breezy weather. We will celebrate Memorial Day. We have this year a new Holiday Program on May 29 th and it is going to focus on Green-Spring “ Summer- Animal, and maybe even some thoughts about Ecology. Toddler room is dressing up as animals and insects.

April was a busy month. We celebrated Easter and Passover. The children enjoyed coloring their own hard-boiled eggs, and everyone enjoyed our Spring Party too.

Julia, TJ, Trevor, Tripp, and Whitton celebrated their first birthdays. We congratulated and celebrated them for that milestone. They are almost sleeping on cots.

Evelyn and Jacob adjusted very well. They like pushing toys and exploring the entire classroom; they are trying to stand up and walk little steps.

TJ, Whitton, and Nicolas are our new walkers ™ babies. Congratulations to both of you. They are very happy exploring around the playground.

Mia and Jenna moving fast. They are exploring all the room. They enjoy seeing flash card in the activity area. They are sitting down for see the pictures.Alexander is now pushing toys in his room, and he enjoys playing in play area with Legos and blocks.Mia and Meaghan are playing with manipulative toys. They are playing in the little house in the playground and they are exploring everywhere.Yannick came back from his vacation. He likes to play in the Activity Area with assorted toys. He walks holding a table or crib with his arms. Tripp andTrevor enjoy playing with Barney. They play next to mirror with blocks, and Legos When Trevor arrives in the morning, he's always happy.

Parents, please start preparing for the summer months with sunscreen and mosquito repellent.

Happy Mother ™s Day.

See you next month.

--Love, Luz

PRE-SCOOTERS

We greet the beautiful month of May. This month is especially dedicated to all our Mommies and Grandmothers. We shall be talking about plants and transportation. This theme will make us travel by land, water, air and space. We shall be learning about everything that moves, goes and takes us places.

The Pre-Scooter class had a wonderful month of April. We celebrated Easter, Passover and the arrival of Spring with a party and an egg hunt. For some of our children, this was their first egg hunt. At the beginning, they did not know what they were doing. When we told them œpick up the eggs and put them in your bag � they got the idea and were great egg hunters. Brock and Alissa were very happy to share their egg hunt time with their Moms.

Well, let us see what else the Pre-Scooters have been doing this month. They all keep developing their language skills more and more. They are communicating using words more than before. Leila's favorite phrase is œHi � or œHello. � She greets everyone every morning when she gets to school.Marcelo listens very carefully when you speak to him and repeat it. Even if it is in Spanish or English, he repeats the words carefully: œleche, � œmilk, � œagua, � œwater. �

Evelyn is saying œHi � and calling œEli, Eli � all day. Sidney enjoys watching the domestic animal cards and imitating their sounds. She likes cats and dogs. Adam andDeclan enjoyed looking for lizards around the playground.

Indeah and Bridget had fun exploring the classroom. After breakfast they walk around from area to area looking, touching and playing with animals, toys, blocks or dolls. Lovie and Lulu liked music activities. They played with the musical instruments and clapped hands while we were singing.

Eli and Dylan share time together during playground time. They loved the small equipment.Izaac is a great helper when it is time to clean up the toys after play. He brings the plastic animals to the right shelf and the books to the Library. Marella enjoyed a Spring vacation going to Colombia to visit her family.

As you can see, the Pre-Scooters are a very busy group of children. They all enjoy every moment of their time here. We wish all the Mothers and Grandmothers a very happy day.

Love,

--The Pre-Scooters class

Scooters A & B

Let us start by saying hello and welcome to Spring. April was a month of celebration. We had a wonderful Spring Party with beautiful and colorful decorations, along with lots of yummy treats. Thank you to all our parents. Please let us not forget about our Egg Hunt. Moving right along, we want to wish our Moms a Happy Mother's Day. Now let us see what is on the calendar for May. We will observe Memorial Day, on which we will honor those who have died for their country.

Now let us check in with our little ones. Reese became fascinated with the color blue. He made his eggs the same color. Maddy and Sasha are our song birds when sitting on the potty.

When playing in Housekeeping, Jaylon talks to hisMommy and Daddy on the telephone.Cannon is able to complete the table puzzles with help. Liam likes finding hidden treasure on the playground.

Peter likes to play with colored blocks. He learns to call them circles when building a car. Stacey loves to play in the sandbox, as she learns to measure cups full of sand. Luciana likes to play in Housekeeping, cooking for the class and putting on a Doctor's coat.

Kimberly enjoys the puzzles and manipulative table toys. Cooper likes to play with the phones in Housekeeping. He calls Mom all the time. Kai loves running to the puzzle area and exchanging puzzle pieces until he gets them right.

Alejandro's favorite activity is music. He plays musical instruments, dances and sings with impeccable rhythm. Emily loves to play the name game in the book area.

While outdoors, Stefania and Yva have fun pushing toys on the playground. Andy spends time at home with his Mom working hard on his potty training. He is a big boy now. He is three years old.Gemma loves art work. She colors and paints beautifully. Maybe one day she could become a œmaster � painter.

Alvaro is becoming bilingual. As he adapts to the environment, he is speaking English, substituting the word œvale � for OK. On the playground, Julian loves to help out Stephanie, collecting the best piles of mulch. He can be considered the œDon of Mulch. �

Caitlin enjoys sitting in the tunnel withMarlena. They put their feet up as if they are at the beach. Stephanie is the friendly butterfly of the bunch. She loves to help all the children with picking up and tying shoes.

Leilani is great with colors. She can tell all the colors and animals in My Many Colored Days.Elena is the new Martha Stewart. She loves to water the plants with her pink water can.

One day the children were pretending to make strawberry milk, vanilla milk and chocolate milk. Jacob said he was going to make a different kind of milk. He was going to make œblue-berry milk. � Sean loves to read books in our Book Area. He relaxes while he reads his favorite book, Brown Bear What Do You See?

Ivan cannot stop talking about his birthday party. He is asking all his friends if they will come to his bounce house and play with him. Morgan keeps reminding all her friends to step behind the red tape at the door. This is our new rule in the classroom andMorgan is very serious about it. Marlena andNishka like to play in Housekeeping Area. They pretend to cook for their friends. They also like to go shopping together.

Well, that is all our news for now.

--The Scooters.

Bloomers

Hello everybody. We are saying bye-bye to April after enjoying those beautiful days. During this month we talked about frogs. The Bloomers were very happy sining a Spanish song, œHabia Un Sapo � (There Was a Frog), jumping and jumping everywhere. Then we were happy to have our egg hunting time. We celebrated the Easter days. The kids know about why bunnies have long ears. In the third week we discussed butterflies. The last week we talked about the weather, umbrellas, eating our a.m. snack on a picnic under the tree on the courtyard.

The Bloomers are growing faster. The potty training has successfully finished. They are ready for that next step to the Delights and some to the Fantastics. That wonderful day will happen over the Summer.

Look what they did this month. Jayden was a leader with the music parade. He was followed byCole, Anthony, David and James playing the drums, sticks and brass cymbals around the classroom. In the library Alvaro, John,Colin and Victoria enjoyed the books and puppets.

The area most visited was Dramatic Play.Christopher, Daniela, James,Victoria, Rachael, Samantha,Anthony, Colin, Conlon andJayden (was there anyone not in the Dramatic Play Area?) had a very fun time wearing slippers, hats and costumes.

Samantha, Victoria, Jakk,James and Alvaro shared the sand area.Daniel, Brice, Conlon, Jakk andAdrian played and built a train track in the Block Area.

The whole group enjoyed manipulatives. We learned to play games like UNO, Bingo numbers, Candyland and Lottery.

We have to say good-bye to >Brice.> We wish him good luck, too. With the rain coming, we say Hi to the new month of May. We are ready to celebrate Mother's Day (Happy Mother's Day) and Mexican Independence Day (Cinco de Mayo). We are going to talk about farm animals and transportation.

We also want to express our thanks to the parents who have helped during our activities.

Love and smiles,

--Pilar, Marlene and the Bloomer Kids>

Delights

Welcome to the beautiful month of May. We will be celebrating Mother's Day and Memorial Day.

During the month of April, we celebrated Easter. We also had a beautiful spring Party. Shawna andSofia were busy making bunny hats. Alexia andTristan enjoyed coloring cotton outside in the water table.

Gabriel and Michael had fun dying eggs. They loved to see how they changed colors. Nicholas has been busy building planes with Daniel andIsaac using small Legos.

Emma and Landyn had a modeling show for their friends. They were showing off their cool moves. We are also working with the Weekly Reader. The kids love it. They have been busy learning about the human body.

We wish a beautiful Mother's Day to all Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts and anyone else who has a œmothering � role. We will be very busy doing projects and staying cool in this warm weather.

Love,

Licinia

Fantastics

Hi May. May is our last full month together and our last month of VPK. Hurray!!! We made it. During the Summer months, we will continue to review letters and numbers, reading book chapters and even having some fun. We are looking forward to water play days, movie days and maybe pajama parties. Some of us will go to Summer Camp, take vacations and/or stay with us until we close in August. Our friends will be leaving us at different times during the Summer. So I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our parents for sharing your children with us this past school year. We had a wonderful time together. Do not forget us. Come back from time to time to see us.

Happy graduation Day to all the Fantastics. On May 29th we will have a graduation ceremony at the end of our Spring/Ecology/Animal Extravaganza. More information will be forthcoming on both the Extravaganza and Graduation.

Ethan and Camille have been working on the monkey bars. Ethan can pull himself up and swing upside down holding on by his knees (NO HANDS).Camille is flipping forward and backward on the bars using her arms.

Christopher and Joseph have been working on building our new train set. Building bridges is their favorite part of the set. Henry has been busy reading in the Library Corner. He has been very œinto � How It Works. Discovering Prehistory is the name of the book that has peaked his interest. It is about dinosaurs, fossils, the building of mountains, ancient climates and finally early people.

Sophia is so happy it is Spring. She loves to look for flowers and snails with friends outdoors.Riley was cooking in the sandbox. He made pumpkin cake, pumpkin soup and pie for his Halloween Feast.

Brandon also has been cooking outdoors. He makes 'mac & cheese', birthday cakes, black beans and rice for Arleen. Sarah has been very busy coloring pictures in the Art Area of herself and her Mom, together. Anna has been building in the Block Area. She has been building castles for the ponies. She is coloring a lot in the Art Area.

We are reviewing letters, letter sounds, numbers, counting, patterns and more. We are learning sight words and blending sounds in our first steps to reading. Just a little push and we will be there. For the past two months we have been reading lots of books for our Book It Pizza. We all have our favorite books:

  • Nicole: Oliver & Co.
  • Aidan: Clifford
  • Brett: Brown Bear, Brown Bear
  • Ricky: Ms. Nelson Is Back
  • Gabriella: Ms. Nelson Is Back
  • Giovanna: The Spooky Old Tree
  • Luisa: The Spooky Old Tree
  • Roberto: Ms. Nelson Is Back
  • Valentina: Sam I Am
  • Isabella: Words

We like to read them over and over. Even Ms. Gladys has her favorite, The Spooky Old Tree. Reading is something we just love. We are also planning for our Summer; trips, camp, relaxing, movie, BBQ's and family visits, to name a few.

We have been learning new songs and finger plays. We have even been learning some new dancing steps.James, Kathryn, Gabriel, Enzo and JP voted for the Two Little Apples finger play as their favorite. Miranda and Zachary liked The Two Little Birds better. Fleur andChristian liked Left To the Window. Actually it is more of a whole body movement than a finger play.

We have also been working on writing numbers. The goal is that the children learn to write their phone number. Very Important!

The activity introduced in April is the Letter Book. During this activity the children get to follow the following directions: 1. Turn paper. 2. Fold it and match the corners. 3. Turn it and fold it again as a book. 4. Write your name on top of the black line. 5. Trace the block letters. 6. Turn the page. 7. Practice tracing the uppercase letter; then, write your own uppercases. 8. Practice tracing the lower case letter, then write your own lowercase. 9.a. Color the pictures. 9.b. Mention other pictures that begin with the same sound. 10. Look for words that begin with that letter in magazines. 11. Cut out the word and glue the word on the last page.

The computer game is called Lego. With this game, the kids get to explore letters, numbers, patterns, etc. the part that they get to paint by numbers and mix the colors to form new colors is Enzo, Zenia andJames' favorite. Zachary, Miranda andJP enjoy creating music as they click on different instruments. Kathryn, Fleur andChristian like to find letters as the letters float by in balloons.

During May, we will be practicing the Hello Song in English, Spanish, Chinese, French and we will be trying to learn it in Dutch. We will also be working on animal costumes for our Extravaganza for May 29th. Since the program is related to the planet earth and the environment, the children picked animal themes to work on their own animal costumes.

TWO LITTLE BIRDS

(finger play)

Two little birds sat on a hill,

One named Jack, one named Jill.

Fly away Jack! Fly away Jill!

Come back Jack! Come back Jill!

Fly away Jack! Fly away Jill!

Come back Jack! Come back Jill!

Have a fun month.

-- Fantastics I, II, III

Afternoon Programming

INFANTS “ April has hopped by us like the little rabbits looking for new adventures. The month of April was full of adventures for our infants. They enjoyed their wagon rides with the breezy warm weather. They loved spending time outside under the big tree in the courtyard.Reece, Tory and Declan love to explore around the classroom. Emma and Amanda have their own small conversations in the Activity Area.

Sierra's giggles are so adorable. Luke is such a happy baby. He is always giggling at everyoneRyan loves to be spoken to. Zoe loves to be under the aquarium mat as she pulls on the toys.

Little Miss Bella is so beautiful and looks like a little angel when she sleeps. Peter and Lucas enjoy playing in the Activity Area with a lot of toys surrounding them.

This upcoming month of May we are looking forward to our Spring Extravaganza and the celebration of Mothers Day to give thanks to all the wonderful Mother's that brought our beautiful infant family into the world.

Warm hugs to everyone from our infant family.

--Martha

TODDLERS

April was a great month for the Toddlers. They enjoyed the Spring Party and egg hunt. We welcome the beautiful month of May. With the arrival of May, the time to celebrate our Mom's has come. The Toddlers will make special things for their Mommies. Do not miss our Extravaganza and Memorial Day. Enjoy this wonderful month of May. Happy Mother's Day.

-- Love, Dalia

PRE-SCOOTERS

Hello everyone. We say good-bye, so long and farewell to the beautiful month of April until next year. As we welcome the month of May full of excitement and happiness, we hope everyone is enjoying their Spring season so far. During the month of April the Pre-Scooters had a blast at the Spring Party and the Big Easter Egg Hunt. They loved the tasteful snacks at the party and all the sweets that filled their baskets.

Shante">celebrated her 22nd birthday on the 26. Happy birthday girl. We hope you had a fantastic day.Shante will be sailing out on the seas and cruising to the Bahamas on May 7 “ 11. We hope her trip is a safe one.

In May we will celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the 5">th. We would like to send out a special Happy Mother's Day to all our wonderful Mommies. We will have a day off for Memorial Day to honor all the people who have served and are serving in the armed forces. On May 29th we will celebrate our Spring Extravaganza and say congratulations to the Fantastics as they graduate. We would like to wish them good luck in kindergarten and in their years that follow.

The Pre-Scooters are having such a good time in the classroom with the variety of toys they have to play with. They also enjoy singing along with the Barney CD. They are having so much fun in the sun on the playground.

--Rosy">and Shante are signing off until next month. Love ya.

SCOOTERS

Hello Scooters families. Now is the time to say good-bye to the month of April which included April showers, our GREAT Easter (Spring) Bash with all the beautiful colors of Spring, children enjoying coloring eggs, pictures and the big parties, which parents enjoy with the teachers and children.

Get set for May, which brings May flowers, Mother's Day, our Extravaganza on May 29">th and the best for last, the graduation of our Fantastics. The children are looking forward to making beautiful gifts and cards for their Mothers with their teachers help.

Parents, continue to support your children. They will love you for it. We, as teachers, love you and need you.

Always,

Phonda">

BLOOMERS

April was an exciting time for the Bloomers class. They celebrated Easter with an array of activities. They celebrated with their families and friends. They also had an Easter (Spring) party with tons of goodies and treats. To top it all off, they even had an egg hunt.

April also brought about the beginning of Spring. May is going to be another exciting time for the Bloomers class. It brings about the start of Summer and new flowers. At the end of this month will be our Spring Extravaganza. All the children will participate. I am excited for what new things the Summer will bring. I am also looking forward to the many adventures the Bloomers class will experience.

All my love,

--Patti

DELIGHTS

Hello again everyone! April has been such a great month for us Delights and Fantastics III. Easter was a very exciting holiday and brought up many projects and ideas.Alexia, Enzo, Gabriel D, Sofia, andJames made beautiful bunny puppets out of paper bags. They were given Q-Tips, foam pieces and construction paper to use at their discretion. It was amazing to see how creative they got. Enzo used the Q-Tips as whiskers.Sofia and Gabriel D used the foam stickers as buttons. They all turned out great.

A special thanks to Gabriela's Mom from the Fantastics I & II class for her donation of toys.Sofia's Mom also made a very generous donation of items for our treasure box. Thanks to both of you for your generosity.

Apart from Easter, the class enjoyed making œme � dolls. They used Styrofoam balls and paper cups to re-create themselves. Alexia made herself a princess.

Finally! We finished our Thomas the Train. I am happy to say it was a big hit with the school. The Bloomers, Delights and Fantastics had a great time playing on it.James was very excited. He took the opportunity to be driver any chance he got. This project was done with him in mind. Once the train came to an end, the class and I quickly started on another box project. Alexia,Landyn, Emma, Sofia, Shawna andFleur wanted to bake a house. With the help ofArturo and Licinia, we made a house that lasted for about a day and a half. Unfortunately that did not go so well. Not to worry, we Delights never give up. The next day we began working on our Rocket Ship.Enzo enjoyed that the most. Thank you Thom and Vivian for thinking of our class and saving us the boxes. Our imaginations have no limits.Lianne.

FANTASTICS

We have been really busy this past week talking about Earth Day and how we can take care of our planet. Together we made a poster of Earth with our hand prints to show how we protect our planet. We also had a recycling day, where we had the chance to pick up our playground and put our recycled materials into recycling bins. We had a lot of fun learning about how we can make our planet Earth healthy and greener.

The month of May is right around the corner and filled with many educational and rewarding activities for The Fantastics I & II. We will begin the month by learning a Mother ™s day song and poem, which will be incorporated into different activities for Mother ™s Day. The Fantastics I & II will also be learning a number of new songs and doing different creative activities.

Soon enough we will be getting ready for our graduation. Hooray to all Fantastics I & II! You have made it!  Good luck to all of you on your journey, and we wish you all the best!     

Thank you,

 Ms. Jennifer & Ms. Joelle

FROM THE DIRECTORS DESK

WHEN A CHILD LASHES OUT “ USE AN œI-MESSAGE � from EASY TO LOVE, DIFFICULT TO DISCIPLINE, The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation, Becky Bailey, Harper, 2000. Pp. 91 “ 03.

œI-messages � tell your child that you believe she has infringed upon you. Remember, children are not born knowing the difference between respect and disrespect.

Four-year-old Nathan and his mom were in a restaurant. Mom was reading the menu while Nathan played with a brochure. Suddenly, he took the brochure and hit her with it. She said, œWhy did you hit me? What was that for? � he made a growling sound, balled up his fist, and punched her arm. She responded, œDoes Mommy hit you? � he said no and began to cry. As he cried, she asked, œWhy are you acting like this? �

This mother forfeited a teaching opportunity. She asked irrelevant questions and failed to offer any usable information. Nathan had been hurtful, and she needed to assertively set a limit by saying something like, œIt hurts when you hit me. If you want my attention, say, "Mommy, I have something to say." If Nathan hits her again, she could restrain his hands and tell him, œYou may not hit me or anyone else. I will hold you until I think you are safe and I am safe. � if this was too much for her to remember, she simply could have said, œI don't like it when you hit me. Stop! �

Imagine trying to learn division but, still not understanding it, making a mistake, and hearing someone say, œThat's wrong, Stupid. Be ashamed. Make another division mistake and you are grounded. � This type of response would not help you master division. You still would not see your mistakes, nor would you know how to correct them, and your feelings about math would likely be negative. It works the same way with behavior. When you have been treated with disrespect, you need to respond assertively. If you respond aggressively, you are simply treating your child with disrespect while trying to teach respect. The œsoccer mom � could say in an assertive voice, œI do not like it when you speak to me like that. If you disagree with me, you must say, 'Mom, I disagree.' If you say that now, I will listen. If not, I am leaving the room. I will not be treated with disrespect. �

Remember, learning useful new skills will not eliminate conflict. Conflict is simply part of life. Embrace it.

œHE HIT ME! �

TEACHING ASSERTIVENESS TO CHILDREN

œHe pushed me. � œI had it first. � :She said I'm stupid. � œHe started it. � Sound familiar? Children regularly struggle to establish boundaries with other children. If you are passive or aggressive with your children when setting limits, they will be passive or aggressive with each other. You must assertively set limits for your children and teach them to do so with others.

SUMMER WATER PLAY (UNDER WATER RESTRICTIONS)

Due to the water restrictions this year, water play will be drastically different. Water play will be centered on the water tables. Use of the sprinklers or garden hose to get wet will be very limited.

We plan to start this limited water play on June 8 (Monday). Each class has their own day for water play. The schedule will be in the June newsletter. (Infants and Cruisers get to pick and choose when ever they want to get wet.) We will still use bathing suits, so we will not have to worry about getting a little wet at the water tables.

It is very important that you label your child ™s swim things and towel. It is very easy to get clothing mixed up if it is not labeled. Some classes send the water play clothes home each day, and others keep them here all week. Details will appear in the June newsletter. Check with your child ™s teachers for the specifics.

Hey, have you heard ...

Arleen, and I, along with my grandson,Gage, are going on a mission trip to Kenya in July! We will leave Miami July 2 and arrive in Nairobi July 3. From there, we will travel to a school that is being supported by Riviera Church, for an opportunity to work with the children. The school is for children aged 3-18. Our plans are to do music, craft, and sports activities with them, and to paint their dining hall. The church has already supported installing solar panels which provide much needed lights for their dorms, bathrooms and classrooms.

We will be accompanied by 5 other members of the church, including Pastor Laurie. We intend to take a back pack filled with school supplies to each of the 85 students. We have to carry it all with us in our allowable luggage ”2 suitcases each weighing no more than 50 pounds. The backpacks are being supplied by one of our fellow travelers, and our intent is to fill them with supplies.

So..., Arleen and I are appealing to you to help us fill those bags. We will be looking forcrayons, washable markers, glue stiks, erasers, and sidewalk chalk (no paper, because it is too heavy).

My grandson, Gage, is hoping to fill one of his suitcases with uninflated soccer balls, volleyballs, a volleyball net, and a bicycle pump with stems to inflate the balls. He is asking his friends in St. Pete to support him, but any help he could get here would also be appreciated.

We will also be holding a silent auction to help raise funds for our transportation costs. We would appreciate anyone ™s donation of an item or service that we can auction. So far we have a week ™s stay at a privately owned house that sleeps 6-8 in Hopetown, Bahamas valued at $2800 (minimum bid $500), and a gift certificate from Myra ™s Spa, and 3 beautiful blown glass pieces from local artist Kathy Stultz (samples of her creations may be seen in the sanctuary). Ideas are dinner for two at a local restaurant, gift certificates to your place of business, tickets to a sports event or the theater, legal services....the more we have the more fun we can have. Bidding on the items will take place over a couple of weeks.

When we finish our mission work we will go on safari for 3 days to see the African wildlife. We hope to bring back lots of stories and pictures to share.

--Vivian

HEALTH ALERT

HOW SAFE ARE CHILDREN'S TOILETRIES?

CHILD HEALT ALERT, APRIL 2009.

a study released recently by the consumer group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that two toxic chemicals were found in children's bath and personal care products. The chemicals, 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, were found in trace amounts in children's shampoos, bath gels, lotions and wipes.

Of 48 products studied by the groups 2/3 contained 1,4-dioxane, and in 28 products tested for formaldehyde, that chemical was found in 80%. Neither of the chemicals is listed as an ingredient in the products. (Formaldehyde is a breakdown product of preservatives used in the liquids, and the 1,4-dioxane is a trace contaminant left from the manufacturing process).

However, federal health experts urged caution in interpreting the findings. While both chemicals, in large enough amounts, can be harmful when they are inhaled or swallowed, it is not at all clear whether they pose health risks when they only come in contact with skin. Further, the products are typically washed off shortly after they are used. That, together with the low doses found, are some of the reasons the ingredients are not required to be listed on the product labels.

Further, while these chemicals pose a theoretical concern, it is not clear that people actually absorb any of them through their skin. A scientist from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has looked at blood levels of 2,4-dioxane in about 2000 Americans age 12 and older, and found no detectable amounts. (Brown D: Washington Post, March 14, 2009.)

COMMENTS: This report is a good example of a common dilemma “ tiny amounts of a wide range of chemicals are found in all sorts of consumer products, ranging from preservatives in foods to plasticizers in plastic bottles to 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde in children's shampoos.

In struggling to evaluate the potential risks, scientists (and consumers) need to know first whether the chemicals are actually dangerous to humans and if they are, is there enough exposure to worry about? A further question that is fortunately being given more attention lately is whether something that may not be dangerous in older children or adults might in fact be dangerous to infants and young children.

The problem we face is that it is relatively easy to detect extremely tiny amounts of various chemicals in all sorts of foods and consumer products, but it is usually terribly difficult to answer the question that matters most “ do they cause harm?

In the current example, those who know most about these chemicals believe that the amounts are so small and contact with the skin is so brief that there is little likelihood that they pose any health risks. That is reassuring, of course, but it would be preferable if we could work to assure that such chemicals stay out of these products in the first place.

TICKLER

REMOVING A SICK CHILD FROM SCHOOL. In light of the Swine flu we want to remind you on the importance of responding quickly to our call that your child may be ill. We cannot diagnose your child. But we will describe to you the symptoms we are seeing. It is your pediatricians responsibility to diagnose

It is imperative to remove a sick child from school as quickly as possible. Under normal conditions, we like to call a parent with what is known as an œearly warning call. � Its purpose is to let you know your child is not their usual self. Your child may have vomited, had diarrhea or show the signs of the beginning of a fever. The œearly warning call � does not mean come get your child (although you may decide to do so). It does mean something is not right with your child. We are watching it. This is the time to get your desk in order, get the most urgent things done at work, even decide what you will take home with you. When we call you again, you will definitely need to come, quickly. The second phone call is the œcome get your child call. � Your child definitely has a fever, or other symptoms have clearly manifested themselves and need medical attention. Once you have visited your child ™s pediatrician, please give us a call to let us know with what we are dealing.

BALLET RECITAL

It is time for the end of the year ballet recital with all our wonderful ballerinas. All parents and families are welcome. Scooter families are welcome to come to the recital as well to get an idea of what Ballet At Your School has to offer your child next year in Bloomers.

  • DATE: Wednesday, May 6
  • TIME: 10:30 a.m.
  • PLACE: Fellowship Hall (Northeast part of Riviera Church)

We thank Miss Yara for joining us this year and helping our ballerinas to grow.

MAY/JUNE CALENDAR

05/04
Parent Conferences begin
05/05
Compukidz
05/06
Ballet At Your School “
Spring Recital “ Fellowship Hall “ 10:30
05/07
Soaring Eagles Yoga
05/10 Sunday
Mother's Day
05/12 Tues.
Compukidz
05/14
Soaring Eagles Yoga
05/19
Compukidz
05/18
Scholastic Book Fair “ 3:00 “ 6:00
Last day for Parent Conferences
05/19
Scholastic Book Fair “ 3:00 “ 6:00
05/20
Scholastic Book Fair “ 3:00 “ 6:00
05/21
Soaring Eagles Yoga
Scholastic Book Fair “ 3:00 “ 6:00
05/25
Memorial Day, center closed
05/26
Compukidz
05/28
Soaring Eagles Yoga
05/29
Spring Program/Graduation “ Sanctuary & Courtyard 4:30
06/08
Water Play begins
Fantastics “ Art Day
06/09
Fantastics “ Drama/Cooking Day
06/10
Fantastics “ Movement Day
06/11
Fantastics “ Science Day
Soccer Shots, 3:30
06/12
Fantastics “ Movie Day
06/14
Flag Day
06/15
Fantastics “ Art Day
06/16
Fantastics “ Drama/Cooking Day
06/17
Fantastics “ Movement Day
06/18
Fantastics “ Science Day
Soccer Shots, 3:30
06/19
Fantastics “ Movie Day
06/21
Father's Day
Summer begins
06/22
Fantastics “ Art Day
06/23
Fantastics “ Drama/Cooking Day
06/24
Fantastics “ Movement Day
06/25
Fantastics “ Science Day
Soccer Shots, 3:30
06/26
Fantastics “ Movie Day
06/29
Fantastics “ Art Day
06/30
Fantastics “ Drama/Cooking Day
08/17-21
Center closed “ Annual Training and Cleaning Week

. . . . AND THE FOURTH OF JULY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

We will be having our 4th of July barbecue complete with fireworks. FIREWORKS?!?! For those of you who were with us last year, you will recall our œfireworks. � We want to cover the sidewalk once again with bubble wrap (you know, that lovely packing material you just love to pop). As part of our 4th of July parade we will have the children line up all around the sidewalk. On the count of three, everyone will jump on the bubble wrap. POP!!!!! In order to make this happen, we will need LOTS of bubble wrap. Please bring in any bubble wrap you receive at home or at work by June 30th. No piece is too small. Thanks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

05/08 Ivan

05/09 Evelyn

Martha Davila

05/10 Victoria

05/16 Luciana

05/18 Brandon

Christian

05/21 Reece

05/22 Eliza

05/23 Jacob

05/26 Cannon

05/27 Emma

05/31 Adrian

06/01 Jaylon

Alejandro

06/06 Marlene Acosta

06/10 Pilar Jimenez

06/11 Tory

06/14 Lucas

06/21 Roberto

06/22 Peter

06/30 Licinia Sierra

We wish all of you a very Happy Birthday.

The Child Care Center does not discriminate among applicants and participants on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation or color.

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