Toddle Towne

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Homework Alert – October

Food Group Week
October 29 – November 2. Good food makes healthy bodies! This is an opportunity to teach the children that healthy foods can be special. Please plan to participate by signing up and sending a treat from the designated food group at least once during the week. Please … no cookies, cake, or candy.

Halloween Celebration
Not all of our children come every day so rather than a traditional Halloween party, we will have special but appropriate and productive holiday-related activities spread throughout the week. Some of the special activities will include, face painting, Halloween learning games, carving a pumpkin, Halloween songs, cooking with pumpkins, and designing our own costumes. We would appreciate the donation of any old hats, purses or “dress-up” type clothes for our activities.

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Important Bits & Pieces – OCTOBER

Concerned?
If you would like to talk to your child’s teacher but your schedules do not match, feel free to call and talk with her at nap-time (12:00 – 2:00). Please identify yourself as a parent when you call.

Halloween Celebration
Not all of our children come every day so rather than a traditional Halloween party, we will have special but appropriate and productive holiday-related activities spread throughout the week. Some of the special activities will include, face painting, Halloween learning games, carving a pumpkin, Halloween songs, cooking with pumpkins, and designing our own costumes. We would appreciate the donation of any old hats, purses or “dress-up” type clothes for our activities.

Food Group Week
October 29 – November 2. Good food makes healthy bodies! This is an opportunity to teach the children that healthy foods can be special. Please plan to participate by signing up and sending a treat from the designated food group at least once during the week. Please … no cookies, cake, or candy.0 –

At the Library
The Witch has an Itch by Donna Guthrie illustrated by Katy Keck Arnsteen mixes a child’s fascination with spooky creatures with their delight for repetitive phrases. Gromelda was a wicked witch and proud of it but when she becomes allergic to evil magic….”The Witch has an itch! Oh, where does the witch have an itch?” In the end, her only choice is to change her reputation – starting from scratch.

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In The Kitchen – OCTOBER

Pumpkin is more than just something to make jack-o-lanterns with; it is a great source of vitamin A. You can of course take the easy way out and just buy a can of pumpkin, but it is so much more fun and educational too, to make a pumpkin pie from scratch – starting with a real pumpkin. I can guarantee that this is not something you will want to do often, but if you look at it as an educational activity to do with your kids, it would be fun to do just once. Start with one of the small pumpkins; they have been developed to be meatier with less moisture just for pie making. Cut off the top and dig out all those seeds along with the rest of the gooey stuff inside. The seeds can be dried on layers of newspapers for planting, feeding birds this winter, roasting with seasonings for a tasty snack, or…you can just wrap the whole mess up in the newspaper and throw it away. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and put it in a roaster with just a little bit of water, then bake at 350 until the flesh of the pumpkin is soft. Let it cool and then scrape it from the rind and run it through the food processor. Now you have pumpkin pulp just like in a can – only better! Two cups equals one can in any of your favorite pumpkin recipes…pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cakes…don’t forget all that great vitamin A you will be getting!

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Family Fun – OCTOBER

Every fall my family took a ride up to Calhoun County to see the leaves, ride the ferry, and get apples. It has such pleasant memories for me that I continue to go year after year with my children and now my grandchildren. Depending upon your location, you might want to substitute a different orchard, but looking at the colored leaves and picking apples is a great day regardless of where you do it. To avoid the traffic jams, make your trip a week before the scheduled “peak” on a Saturday or a weekday instead of Sunday. Eat before you go, take a picnic (Marquette Park has playground equipment and lots of scenic picnic spots), or stop at a restaurant along the way.

Take the Great River Road (Rt. 100) to Grafton. Stop at any of the many roadside stands or turn right onto Rt. 109 and follow the signs to Eckert’s, or any other local orchard, and pick your own apples. While you are there, pick up a pumpkin and lots of freshly harvested vegetables.   Retrace your way back to the Great River Road and continue on to Marquette Park where you can stop and stretch your legs, have your picnic or just drive through to look at the leaves. Children will enjoy trying to find a leaf of every color. Take a magazine along to press the leaves in. When you get home, cover them with clear contact paper or iron them between two sheets of waxed paper to preserve them. Continue up the River Road (Rt. 100) to Hardin, make a left turn as soon as you come off the bridge and follow that road through Brussels to the public ferry. Take a free boat ride across the river, turn right on the River Road (Rt. 100) and you’re headed back home again. Hopefully the children are asleep in the back seat and you have had a great day!

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From Ms Peggy – OCTOBER

SLEEP TIGHT

It seems impossible that fall is here, but the changes are all around us. Leaves are turning color. Birds are flying south and many animals are going into hibernation for the winter. We like to think that humans are the most intelligent of all species, but their attitudes towards sleep make me wonder.

Animals instinctively go into the deep sleep of hibernation to make it through the long cold winter. Humans also have specific sleep needs but they aren’t quite as good about meeting these needs. At birth, infants sleep 18 – 20 hours a day. Their sleeping and waking behaviors are much alike and they usually sleep for only about two hours at a time. As children grow their sleep behaviors change. They are more alert during their wakeful periods and they sleep sounder during their rest periods. By pre-school age they should be sleeping through the night. Their need for sleep has decreased, but emotional and physical health still requires 10 hours of sleep at night and an additional 2 hours during the day. Children, not having the instincts of a bear, may resist going to sleep for reasons which have nothing to do with need. Serious sleep problems should never be ignored as they are frequently a symptom of a problem in some other area of a child’s life. It is more likely, however, that sleep problems are just a result of adult attitudes and expectations.

Sleep problems start on that first night home from the hospital. New parents frequently assume that every night cry requires food and attention. Legitimate needs should never go unmet but night time fussing may just be practice of self-comforting skills. Parents frequently go to great lengths to keep infants up during the day hoping for an early bedtime but infants increase their sleep periods gradually during both day and night. Shortening daytime sleep periods also keeps them from extending their night time sleep periods. Unnaturally long periods of wakefulness over stimulate the infant so that relaxation and falling to sleep are difficult.

When older children refuse to go to bed, or to stay in their bed, it is not usually a special problem needing a special solution. It is the same challenge to authority and routine that is repeated by the child in other areas throughout the day. Tired parents, however, feel they just don’t have the energy to handle this pint-sized rebellion and they give in to tantrums. A firmly enforced bedtime is necessary for both children and parents to get the rest needed to cope with life.

A commonly held myth among parents is that refusal to sleep is proof of a very bright or exceptionally mature child. Parents brag that their child hasn’t taken a nap since he was a toddler. They worry that school time is being “wasted” on naps and use boredom as an excuse for naptime misbehavior. Learning to rest is as important a skill as anything else learned throughout the day. Rested children play and learn better. Lack of sleep is in fact related to lower grades. In a survey of 3000 high school students, those getting mostly A’s and B’s got 7 hours, 21 minutes of sleep. Students getting mostly C’s were getting 7 hours, 4 minutes and those getting mostly D’s or lower were getting only 6 hours, 48 minutes. Every parent is aware that tired children have more behavior problems and scientists are now researching a link between too little sleep and Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity.

A quiet non-intrusive naptime provides time for children to mentally rehearse all the things experienced throughout the day, increasing the probability that the child will retain concepts. There is no excuse for boredom – a quiet, darkened room is the perfect setting for creative thinking and daydreaming.

With all the emotional baggage that sleep brings with it, it is not too surprising that naptime is not the most popular activity in the preschool schedule. Naptime, like every other part of the school day has rules and expectations which must be followed. Children are not required to sleep, but they must rest quietly and respect the rest of others. Even the child who doesn’t need to sleep does need time to emotionally recharge.

Naptime not only provides a time for rest but also encourages children to relax, let go of the day’s stimulation, and enjoy a time of quiet contemplation. If all adults had learned this lesson as children, doctors and drug companies might go out of business. Sleeping pills are the most frequently prescribed drug. The cost of doctor consultations for sleep-related problems just might pay off the national debt!

Why not move bedtime up a few minutes for everyone and see what happens?

 

MsPeggy