We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving break, we loved hearing the kids talk about their family gatherings and all the delicious food. We had a great time at our Kidsgiving celebration. The children helped prep the food all day and learned about cooking a turkey, made cornbread and even churned their own home made butter! They were surprised how much work they had to do to get the cream to turn into butter, but they never gave up! Well, we'd love to say that the kids devoured our Kidsgiving meal and ate everything on their plates....but we all know that wouldn't be true. They did do a great job at least trying one bite of everything and everyone found at least one thing they loved. Santa's Little HelpersFor the month of December our little munchkins will be filling in for Santa's Elves in our Holiday dramatic play center. There are boxes for the children to "wrap and deliver" an interactive board where they can light the Hanukkah Menorah and Kwanzaa Kinara and even give our snowman a face. They can decorate the Christmas tree with ornaments and garland and they can hang the stockings with care. They are loving the center and especially find it amusing to pretend to sleep as one of them places the presents under the tree for them to wake up and discover. We love seeing their imaginations take flight.
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Our little munchkins have been talking a lot this month about all the reasons they have to be Thankful this year. We are thankful for our moms, and dads, and brothers, and sisters, our pets, and our toys, and our warm comfy beds. But one thing that has come up many times amongst the kids is that they are thankful for each other. This warms our hearts here at The Giving Tree. The children both young and old have formed such wonderful bonds with each other that they think of themselves as family to each other. What a huge message this sends us, especially now with the world as it is at the moment. These small gestures of love and kindness they show each other give hope to the generation growing up to be the next leaders and teachers of this world. It reminds us that judgement is taught and not born. So many "teachable moments" happen throughout our day in child care. Having mixed age groups is definitely challenging at some points throughout the day but yet also so rewarding. Our older children not only teach so much to our younger babies, but they learn just as much. They learn to share with the younger kids, to have empathy and understanding, patience and kindness. They learn to teach and to listen and in a sense they learn how to be a big brother/sister. They learn that family isn't made up of just blood, but formed through friendships as well. These little lessons and moments are what we, as staff, are most thankful for. It makes our job rewarding and fulfilling. For us, hearing that they went home talking about Cornucopias and Bridget starts with "B" is absolutely amazing, but these moments like the one below are what we are most thankful for. Next week we will be holding our very first KidsGiving Celebration. The children will be helping to prepare a Thanksgiving lunch complete with Roast Turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. We will be cooking with them as much as possible and they will help us make homemade butter and rolls. We will make sure to take lots of pictures and share them with you. In the meantime from our Giving Tree Family to yours we hope you all have a wonderful, and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.
Well Halloween has come and gone and we at The Giving Tree celebrated in style! Our little munchkins looked amazing in their costumes and had a blast marching around the backyard in our mini parade. They were so proud of their fantastic costumes. We have some of the cutest kids here at The Giving Tree. Don't believe us? See for yourself! Not only did we have a super fun parade, halloween snacks, and arts and crafts to celebrate the day, but also a FIRETRUCK! The Scotia fire department helped us end Fire Safety month by visiting with one of their trucks. The children got to see the gear firefighters use to help put out fires, the inside of the truck and also got great hats and goodie bags to take home with them. What a super awesome day! November's Weekly ThemesNov. 7-11th : Scarecrows Letter: H
Nov. 14-18th: Cornucopia of Fun Letter I Nov. 20-25th: Let's Talk Turkey Letter J Nov. 27- 1st: The Giving Tree Letter K (Shel Silverstein Week) Center Closed: November 11th November 24th & 25th |