Enjoying the High Holidays with Your Children

This is my favorite time of year.  You can smell fall in the air.  The temperature starts to lower (and yes; that means below 100 degrees in AZ and it feels good) and my favorite holidays come.
Recently we celebrated Rosh Hashanah.  I love this holiday cause it feels like a clean start.  One gets to reflect on the past year and declare that they are going to do better.
Things to do with young children for Rosh Hashanah:
1. Taste new foods
2. Look at pictures with them of all the things they have done in the past year and how much they have changed
3. Make round challah
4.  Taste sweet food (especially apples and honey)
5.  Before bed talk about your favorite part of the day and also what you might want to do better
Yom Kippur is an the next holiday.  It is another reflective and meaningful holiday.  This is a day we think and talk about all the things we have done wrong and ask for forgiveness.  You can do this with children as well.  They can talk about things did wrong like; not listen, hurt a friend, jumped on the bed, colored on the wall, etc.  They can ask for forgiveness or help them feel better.  As a parent you can also tell you children what you have done wrong.  You might even tell them that you are sorry and will do better.  This shows them that you are human too and make mistakes.  This action can make them feel more comfortable in doing the same thing.
Sukkot is another nice holiday and a great one to be with family.  This holiday is about the harvesting.  Here are a few things you can do with your family.
1.  Eat outside
2.  Go on a star hunt at night
3.  Go to a farm or a pumpkin patch
4.  Build a Sukkah out of a box
5.  Invite company over for dinner or a meal
I hope that you enjoy this time of year as much as I do.  I wish you are your family a happy and healthy new year.

Spanish Immersion

Immersion programs are becoming more and more popular.  You might wonder if this a just a trend or a trend with merit?  Research has shown that people are able to learn a second language easier when learned at a young age.  Arizona is increasingly becoming a bilingual state, as are many others.  More and more opportunities are available to people who are bilingual.  Learning a second language also increases communication skills and problem solving abilities.  People who know more than one language tend to have higher IQs.  Research also shows that learning a second language improves your understanding of your first language.  An added bonus is that being in an immersion program gives a child both an awareness of how diverse the world is and an appreciation for other cultures.

At the Olga and Bob Strauss Center for Early Childhood Education Center we have an exciting Spanish  Immersion program starting in August 2012.   This program will maintain our same philosophy, curriculum and NAEYC standards but will be taught 80 – 90% in Spanish.  Our program is available for children ages 3, 4 and 5. 

This is a great opportunity to give your child an amazing educational start.  Please call (520) 325-0390 for more information.

Summer At the Strauss ECE

The hot dreaded summer is coming; yet we don't dread the summer here at the Strauss ECE.  Our Summers are filled with excitement and lots of exploration.  This Summer we will be taking an imaginary trip to many places.  First we will discover all the different ways you can go; bus, train, plane, car and boat. Then we will visit places like China, The rain forest , Israel and even outer space.  The Summer will also be full of water play with sprinklers, water tables, bubbles and more.  We always love the Summer here at the Strauss ECE.  Take a peak of what the Summer will be like.

Strauss ECE Summer Program 2012

“My Summer Vacation”

Children will have a wonderful summer vacation at the ECE.  They will learn about different modes of transportation and visit places such as Israel, Mexico and even outer space.  This will be one summer vacation they will surely not forget.

May 30^th – June 8^th   Modes of Transportation

This week children will learn about all different types of transportation.  They will sing wheels on the bus, take an imaginary train and airplane ride and explore physics with wheels, gears and ramps.  They will drive trucks through sand and mud, make wheel prints with paint and fly paper airplanes!

June 11^th  - June 22^nd Trip to Israel

Children will take an imaginary trip to Israel.  They will taste glida (ice cream), learn about the Dead Sea through exploring with salt and water.  They will learn about desert life and climb Mount Sinai.  They will visit the Wailing Wall and build their own wall out of blocks.  Children will take a ‘visit’ to a shook (farmers market) and really know what it feels like to be in Israel.  They will sing and listen to Hebrew songs and even learn some Israeli dancing.

June 25^th – 29^th China

Children will explore China by learning all about their culture.  They will mimic Chinese writing and learn some Chinese words.  They will strengthen their fine motor skills by picking things up with chopsticks.  They will also learn the art of folding paper by doing origami.   Children will visit the Great Wall of China and create their own wall with boxes and blocks.

July 2^nd – 6^th Mexico

Children will experience Mexico through speaking and learning the Spanish language.  They will have a fiesta with Mexican food, piñatas and music.  Children will make maracas and learn about the Hispanic culture.

July 9^th – 13^th Rain Forest

Children will learn all about the rain forest.  They will learn about the different animals and plants that live there.  They will enjoy the sounds of the rain forest by creating a rain stick.  They will taste different local foods and make a rain forest trail mix.  They will learn about the different layers of the rain forest and how rain is created.  Children will enjoy making beautiful butterflies out of watercolors while learning about the cycle of a butterfly.  They will enjoy exploring the rain forest and all of its beauty.

July 16^th – 25^th Outer Space

Children will take an imaginary trip to space.  They will learn about astronauts and space ships.  They will learn about planets, moons and stars.  They will sing twinkle, twinkle little star and create their own constellations.  They will explore with moon sand and learn about the phases of the moon.  Children will have the opportunity to look into space through telescopes and create their own space pictures.

Teacher in-service days will be held July 26^th – 31^st and the 2012 school year will start Aug. 1^st 2012. 

Child Friendly Passover Lunch Ideas

You might be thinking here we go again.  Passover is coming up and I don't know what to serve my child for lunch.  I have complied a list of ideas .  I hope this takes some of the stress away so you can enjoy this symbolic holiday.

- Yogurt (you can even put fresh fruit or chocolate chips in it)
- cottage cheese
- tuna salad (roll it up in lettuce like a lettuce wrap)
- Hard boiled eggs
- egg salad (on matzah or wrapped in lettuce)
- olives
- nuts (no legumes like peanuts)
- veggie sticks (carrots, celery, bell peppers)
- fresh fruit (or fruit cup in juice)
- tahini (you can dip matzah or veggies in it)
- potatoes (sweet, baked, mashed, hash browns, fries, etc)
- smoothies
- apple sauce
- Cheese sticks or cube cheese
- Celery with cream cheese or almond butter
- cucumbers
- quinoa
- quinoa or egg pasta

and of course there is Matzah
 - Matzah with almond butter, cream cheese, hazelnut spread, butter
- Matzah pizza (tomato sauce, cheese and toppings such as pineapple, olives, peppers, etc)
- Matzah Cheese sandwich
- Matzah with cream cheese and jelly sandwich
- Matzah ball soup

and there are many items you can find in the Kosher for passover section of your grocery store, such as chips, cookies, matzah, matzah crackers, soups and more.

Physical Activity for a lifetime....Start them young!

In a society of video games and obese children it is important to instill physical activity in children at a young age.  Here at the Strauss ECE we provide many opportunities for children to have movement activities.  We provide  PE, Dance and Creative Movement.  All classrooms also have multiple outside opportunities as well.  Teachers are constantly taking children for walks, teaching skipping in the hallway and preforming songs like, 'head, shoulder, knees and toes' while waiting for the next activity.  Our teachers are also wonderful role models by taking walks with the children and eating healthy.  It is one of our goals to help provide a lifestyle of physical activity.
Here is what you can do to create an active lifestyle for your family:
 - Limit TV/ Computer time
 - Be a role model for your children
 - Go on walks
 - play at the park
 - get involved in a sport league and or exercise program, bring your child to watch
 - make these things part of your daily or nightly routines

Be on the look out for our ECE walking program starting in Spring!