Even the little ones can help make this treat. Let the child roll or press out a canned biscuit and put a tablespoon of cherry pie filling in the middle. Fold the biscuit over, seal edges with a fork, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 -10 minutes until golden brown. Don't help too much, and remember that if they cook, they should help with the clean-up before eating the treat.

Take a trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens at 2101 Tower Grove Ave. St. Louis Mo., and bask in the warm steamy rain forest climate of the Climatron, the hot desert, or the sunny Mediterranean climate, The Botanical Garden, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1859 by Henry Shaw. Orchids will be featured during February, and the Camellias will reach full winter bloom. The Gardens are open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm throughout the winter. Admission is only $5.00 for adults; children 12 and under are free. The Garden Gate restaurant has sandwiches and meals... a little more than McDonald's but still reasonable. You can call 314-577-9400 for more information or visit their website at www.mobot.org.

We are required, by law, to report injuries that are consistent with abusive treatment. Our sole responsibility is to factually report the presence of an injury with no presumption of parental guilt. Toddle Towne Learning Center and every teacher in the center are mandated reporters of "suspected child abuse." We are required, by law, to report injuries that are consistent with abusive treatment. It is not our job to investigate, make judgments, or assign guilt. Our sole responsibility is to factually report the presence of an injury with no presumption of parental guilt. Some of the injuries we are specifically required to report include: handprint marks, adult human bite marks, pattern bruises, "glove" burns, and cigarette burns. Other circumstances which would indicate our responsibility for reporting would be inconsistencies between the reported cause of the injury and the actual injury, conflicting stories from the child and other family members, similar and repeated injuries, or a pattern of injuries. Do not worry about everyday bumps and bruises or scrapes and scratches. Healthy, active children will acquire a variety of minor injuries on knees, shins, foreheads, and chins. If there is an unusual birthmark or severe injury, please discuss it with us when you bring the child in; this will allow us to be more accurate in assessing our responsibility to report. We have no desire to embarrass or upset our parents. If a report is made, the family will be contacted; there will be no further contact or interference if a reasonable explanation is given. We are not allowed to keep any records of unfounded reports. Stresses of today's fast-paced life can push any parent into inappropriate parenting. For these parents, relief is offered in auxiliary child care, counseling, or even financial resources. It is not the aim of the Department of Children and Family Services or Toddle Towne to punish the parents but rather to protect the child. Fulfilling our role as a mandated reporter is not easy or comfortable for us; however, if we do not report, Toddle Towne may be denied a license to operate, and individual teachers may lose their certification and the right to work with young children. We ask for your cooperation and understanding as we carry out our responsibilities as advocates for young children.

The week of Valentine's Day will be FOOD GROUP TREATS. Check the calendar to see which food group will be represented on each day and help us teach the children to make healthy food choices by letting them select and share an appropriate treat with their friends. PLEASE! NO COOKIES, CUPCAKES, OR CANDY. ALL FOOD MUST BE PURCHASED COMMERCIALLY AND BE IN THE ORIGINAL UNOPENED PACKAGING Monday 2/14 = DAIRY Tuesday 2/15 = GRAIN Wednesday 2/16 = FRUIT Thursday 2/17 = VEGETABLE Friday 2/18 = MEATS

If we believe our folk history, George Washington could not tell a lie even to escape punishment, and Honest Abe Lincoln would walk miles to return a penny that wasn't his. Honesty and truthfulness are values that we adults hold in high esteem. We also assume that children share our views about truthfulness. Because lying is seen as detestable, no parent wants to accept that their child would lie. Every parent sees their child as truthful as George and as honest as Abe. But, to tell the truth...kids don't know much about the truth or honesty! Children don't perceive truth and honesty in the same way adults do. As adults, we have agreed that our society will operate more productively if we tell the truth and count on honesty from others. Children aren't farsighted enough to see the value of these or any other rules. They don't know the importance of conforming to agreed-upon standards of behavior for the good of all. Children tell lies because it looks like the smart way out. If you ask them if they are the culprit in a situation and are pretty sure that punishment will follow, then lying seems smart. Sometimes the lack of truth is even more fundamental. Children see any incident only from their point of view. From that perspective, the other kid is always the one that started it, and punishment is always unfair and undeserved. Children aren't always aware that they are lying. If you have ever tried to convince a child that monsters and nightmares aren't real, then you know how difficult it is for them to separate fact from fantasy. Things they are worried about sometimes become real in their minds, even if they never really happened. Yet another difficulty is the fact that children have not yet mastered the logic of cause and affect. If two things happen simultaneously, children assume that one caused the other. A child once told me that his mom had caused the burn on his hand. During questioning, he agreed that he had climbed up and put his hand on the stove in defiance of his mother. The burn, however, didn't start hurting until mom rubbed ointment on it. In the child's mind, the mom had caused the pain. Children earnestly look you in the eye and tell you that they didn't make the mess even when they are the only ones in the room. They swear that an object is theirs even though you know it couldn't be. They look so angelic and innocent that even though you know better, you swear they must be telling the truth. Children don't look guilty because they don't feel guilty. Piaget, Kohlberg, and other child theorists who studied the moral development of children agree that children are not born with a conscience that tells them what is right and wrong. It must be developed and nurtured throughout childhood. Most religions also recognize this fact and identify seven as the "age of accountability," when children can be expected to know right from wrong and take responsibility for their actions. Does all this mean that children cannot be expected to be truthful? Well...yes and no! Parents should be realistic in acknowledging that all children (even "good" children) tell lies. It is unrealistic to expect young children always to know the truth or tell the truth. Instead, as responsible parents, it is our job to teach children to tell the truth by emphasizing the value that we place upon truthfulness, fair play, and the wrong inherent in telling a lie to escape consequences. They need to know that although we don't stop loving them, we are disappointed when they do not tell the truth. As we do this, we help them develop a conscience and become responsible, truthful adults. *

This is for fun not for eating! Home-made Slime will provide lots of fun and entertainment on a snowy Sunday afternoon. Mix equal parts liquid laundry starch and Elmer's Glue. Food coloring and flavoring extract may be added to the laundry starch for variety. This also makes an inexpensive party favor. It will keep for some time in the refrigerator.

Employed parents spend a lot of time in the car with their children going from home to childcare, work, and back again. This time can be a frustrating hassle or a valuable and enjoyable part of your routine. If you give the kids all of your attention during this time, maybe, just maybe, when you get home, they’ll let you relax for a minute or two before you start dinner. If you tape a copy of the school newsletter on the dash, then on the way to school, you can help your children anticipate the events of the day. On the way home, try starting a conversation with leading questions like, “How was the spaghetti today?” or “What did you see on your field trip to the parking lot?” You can also save a bit of early morning hassle by looking ahead to see if you need to get that transportation toy ready to take to school tomorrow. Please put it in the car now, so you don’t forget! Travel time can enhance learning by pointing out numbers, shapes, and letters found in signs and license plates. With each change in the speed limit, have them check to tell you if you need to slow down or go faster. Look out the window and talk! Explain what the service vehicles or repair crews are doing point out changes in weather and conditions. Count the number of dogs, red cars, or anything else you see. See how many store signs they can recognize and “read.” Ask them, “Which way will we turn next?” “What kind of a store should we go to to buy milk? Gas? Etc.?” Pick one or two new words each week. Tape them to the dashboard of the car. Use the word with a definition, (That truck is enormous, it is very big.) at least twice a day until you hear them using it in a conversation. Tell them about your day, explain what you did at work. Explain the function of all of the car’s gauges and dials, let them check to see if you need gas, watch the odometer change, and operate the radio and heater buttons. Teach them to be safe passengers and (future) safe drivers by explaining why you stop and why they must use their seatbelts. If your child is still too young for these activities, hang a mobile in front of the car seat or tape pictures of single objects they are learning to name, shapes, or colors on the back of the front seat, so they have something to look at. Position a suction mirror on the dash so you can see and talk to your child in the back seat. Sing silly songs. It will increase vocabulary and calm a fussy child. Include the child’s name in made-up songs to familiar tunes. (Where or where is dear little Lauren? Way back there in the back seat!). Have fun and drive carefully

I collect words like other people collect buttons or baseball cards and "resolution", as in New Year's resolution, is one of the best in my collection. It is derived from the Latin root "resolvere" which means to again loosen up, dissolve, or melt away. That is what we do each New Year. We try, by making a New Year's resolution, to once again make our problems melt away! Resolve can be used as a noun or a verb and has as many as 17 different meanings depending upon the context in which it is used! Each year at this time we resolve (analyze) our lives looking for some change we can make that will make us better people. We resolve (solve again) the problems which confront us. We resolve (reach a decision) to concentrate on our resolve (fixed intention or settled purpose) to make changes that we hope will resolve (transform) our life. If we stick to that resolve (fixed intention or settled purpose) with resolve (determination) then maybe ... just maybe we can make some real changes in our lives. Although emphasis upon change and improvement is increased at the beginning of the year, productive and emotionally healthy people make it an ongoing process not limited to New Year's Eve. A worthwhile resolution for this New Year would be to teach our children how to resolve (bring to a conclusion) their own problems. As a child, when I was faced with a tough problem, my mother would sit back, fold her arms and firmly remind me that, "every tub must sit on its own bottom!" At the time, I didn't think much of her advice! I didn't realize that by stepping back and insisting that I solve my own problems she was helping me to accept that I, and only I was responsible for my life. As much as we would like to...we can't solve problems for our children. If we attempt to do so, in the long run, we only make life more difficult for them. Although I didn't appreciate her then, I have since been thankful that I had such a wise mother. Although as a parent you can't resolve (determine or decide) life for your children, you can help them learn how to resolve (break up into separate parts and analyze) their problems so that they can resolve (make clear and understand) the best course of action to take. When your children come to you with complaints about life's (or their friends') unfairness, remain calm...don't be overcome with sympathy! Help them to retell what happened. What actions did they take? What actions did others take? How did their actions affect others? How could they have changed their own behavior? How would that have affected the situation? What are possible courses of action to prevent or deal with another occurrence? What course will they choose? What do they think will be the outcome? That's the easy part...now you must insist that they implement their solution with resolve (firm determination). The first try might not resolve (melt away) the problem, they might have to try again and again. As they become adults, the ability to resolve (analyze and bring to a conclusion) their problems with resolve (determination) will take them further in life than all the help, assistance, relief, succor, support, aid, consolation, or solace, you can give them. Happy New Year!

Visions of sugarplums More than 100 years ago, my great-grandmother excitedly recorded in her diary that she had found oyster crackers to purchase as a surprise for the Christmas stockings. She was delighted as she anticipated the pleasure of her children when they discovered this special treat. Today's children would certainly not consider oyster crackers a memorable holiday surprise! Expectations of both children and their parents have multiplied since my great-grandmother’s time. Children expect to have every toy advertised and parents take it as their responsibility to see that their children have a perfect life. Children are exposed, through TV, to an array of toys that my great-grandmother could not have imagined. Parents, wanting to make the holidays a perfect time, free of any disappointment or frustration, buy for their children every toy they request. They shop until they are exhausted, do without themselves, and overspend their budget so badly that they must spend the rest of the year worrying about how to pay the bills. If they cannot find or afford a requested toy they worry that they have ruined their child's life forever. This Christmas attitude does not make children happy. It makes them greedy and prevents them from learning to deal appropriately with the disappointments and frustrations that are inevitable in life. It makes parents so tired and stressed that they can't enjoy their children. The holidays become a time of lost tempers, harsh words, stress, and worry. It is important for parents to remember that it is part of their job to say "no" when children have unrealistic expectations. As adults, we are lucky if we get even a small percentage of the material things we want and yet we try to give our children everything they ask for. Is it wise or loving to raise our children with unrealistic expectations for the adult world? This holiday, instead of focusing upon extravagant gifts and flawless decorations, concentrate on spending time working together as a family. Children would really rather have family times than perfection. If the children really can't help in some part of the preparations, then talking with them and including them in the planning makes them feel a part of things. As adults, they will recall times spent together not Hokey Pokey Elmo or Kasey the Kinderbot. Make sure that these memories are filled with hugs and laughter, not worries and harsh words. When WRAPPING PRESENTS, choosing the correct size box or paper can be a real challenge to the youngsters. Give them scraps of paper or the Sunday funnies, blunt scissors, and lots of tape, and they can wrap the gifts for home exchange or they can wrap and decorate an empty box for grandma ... grandmas like anything! If you are BAKING COOKIES, give them a small amount of dough to roll and cut out. A soup can with the label torn off makes an extra rolling pin. The results aren't important, it's the process that counts. Let them do it their way. If you have other kitchen work and need to keep them occupied, a squirt of shaving cream or dishwashing soap on a cookie sheet on a newspaper-covered floor will keep them busy for a long time. The results are very washable. When it is time to DECORATE THE TREE, if you really can't stand junior grade creativity, cut off a branch, stick it in a flowerpot of sand and let them do it all themselves. They can make decorations, or use old or unbreakable ones. I would like to wish each Toddle Towne family a very individual Season's Greetings. Thank you for being a part of our lives. I hope that your holiday celebration is a very special time for you and your family and that you build memories that will last for a lifetime!