Students make volcanos during Hawaiian Week

Students in Tim Tegarden’s Preschool 5 class at the Day Nursery State Government Center got a hands-on lesson about the geography of Hawaii last week.  Using plaster of paris, bowls and toilet paper rolls they created volcanos after discussing what life is like on the islands.  This project was a lesson in  3D art as well as a science project. 

Weekend Wander: I Spy an Eye

IMA lobby by Hanneorla on Flickr

Looking for something to do this weekend with your young child?  Why don’t you visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art and play I Spy an Eye.  I recently stumbled onto a website of a business called Birdcage Press.  They specialize in games that make learning fun for children.  What caught my eye (and lead to today’s post) is their Go Fish for Art card games. Their website said they have sold over 150,000 sets of this beautiful series which has been honored with Parents’ Choice Gold Medals.  Their products can be found in many museums (locally at the IMA and The Children’s Museum) and toy stores or you can always ask an independent bookstore to order it for you. These would make a great gift for a teacher!

Getting back to my reason for sending you and your child to the IMA this weekend…I Spy an Eye.  The Birdcage Press website has a learning center with a wealth of ideas for fun games to play at museums.  Here’s why they suggest playing the I Spy game with your child: Nothing is as fascinating as eyes. They can say so many different things. Even very young children are captivated by a person’s eyes. Make a game of finding the paintings with the best eyes and hunt for as many different kinds of eyes as you can find. When children select a painting, ask them what the eyes tell them about the person. Or notice how many brush strokes it took to paint the eye. 

If you need one more reason to wander the Indianapolis Museum of Art with your family this weekend…admission is free!

Happy to Hula-part II

Miss Candice tries to get these two-year-olds in the party spirit

Lots of hula dancing, fresh fruit and fun at the Day Nursery Federal Center luau this afternoon.  Center Director Sarah Parks reported man parents, grandparents, and even family friends came for the fun. Children made grass skirts and leis to wear at the luau today. Miss Gayle, the cook, made special fruit bowls out of watermelon to make the event look even more festive.

PreK students enjoy the party

Selena's Mom made sure she was dressed for the occasion

Preschool teachers Diane Taylor and Brittany Walton spread out fresh fruit for a snack

Hula Week was a hit at Day Nursery Ft. Harrison

Making a lei

Thanks to the staff at the Day Nursery Start Smart 4 Children for sending me these fun pictures of Hula Week at their center.  Several centers are having a family luau this Friday. Guess I will have to go dig out my grass skirt.

We've got it now

Hula lessons in the Preschool 5 classroom

Ashylnn was surprised when given a coconut and a pineapple to play with

FC Tucker volunteers help with Luau preparation

FC Tucker volunteers at the Day Nursery center in Avon

This week, corporations and individuals across our city are holding a Day of Caring in conjunction with United Way of Central Indiana.  At our Day Nursery Avon Center in Hendricks County, we were fortunate enough to have several volunteers from FC Tucker help us prepare the decorations for the family luau this Friday.  Teacher Matt Millerand the FC Tucker volunteers did a great job with the artwork on this fishing game.

First day at Day Nursery Northwest was a success

The children loved it, the parents loved it, the staff loved it.  Yesterday was a great opening day at our new Day Nursery Northwest Center in Pike Township. Here are a few pictures from our ribbon cutting and open house.

The Day Nursery Association Board of Directors combined a regularly scheduled meeting with the open house

This mom said all her children had a great day

At the end of the day, many students lead their parents on a tour of the building

The children discover a new learning center in their classroom

The ribbon cutting

Day Nursery will be on WRTV6 tonight

Look for Marsha Lindsey, Day Nursery Director of Operations on WRTV6 (ABC) tonight on the early evening news.  She will be talking with reporter Derrik Thomas about  preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus in child care settings. Marsha tells me that they got a lot of great footage at our Day Nursery Clarian Center showing the procedures we use every day to prevent the spread of germs (including singing “Happy Birthday” during handwashing to make sure children wash long enough). Here is a great resource on what parents should do to protect their child from the flu from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Today’s the Day

Here are a few pictures I snapped at the end of the day yesterday at our new Northwest Center.  As I post this at almost 7am this morning, our new center is open.  Can’t wait to see it full of children when I go to the ribbon cutting this afternoon.  See you there!

Pre K room

Infant room

Three year old room

One day to go

Tomorrow is opening day at the Day Nursery Northwest Center, 5735 W. 73rd Street.  Over the weekend a lot of people worked very hard to set up the classrooms and get everything ready for Tuesday.  Although I am not afraid to use power tools, the Operations team told me that I could do the most help by staying out of their way and working on the advertising, press releases, photos, blog and tweets that the marketing dept. does best. I didn’t take it personally.  This afternoon I will be out around our neighborhood in Park 100 putting up some temporary signs directing people to the center.  Tomorrow afternoon I hope to see you at our Open House from 3:30-6:00 pm.  We will officially cut the ribbon at 4:00 pm, however the center will be open and full of children starting at 6:30 tomorrow morning.  If you can make it to the open house tomorrow, look me up.  If you mention you read our blog, I will give you a free set of four Day Nursery greeting cards which feature the artwork of Candice Hartsough McDonald.  Here are a few pictures I took last Thursday when the Day Nursery management staff from all our locations had a little preview.

The moving trucks are rolling

The moving vans leaving the Day Nursery at 56th and Guion are heading to our new location

The moving trucks are rolling today and thanks to Patty Fisher, our Director of Center Administration. we have the picture to prove it.  The Day Nursery center at 56th and Guion Road is officially closed and on Tuesday, August 25 we will reopen with our same friendly staff at our new location at 5735 W. 73rd Street. I visited the new location two days this week to snap a few pictures.  Click on the pictures below to see a larger version.  It will be a very busy weekend at Day Nursery Northwest.  I hope to see you Tuesday, August 25 between 3:30 and 6:00 pm at our open house.

The moving vans leaving the Day Nursery at 56th and Guion are heading to our new location

These “cubbies” built especially for car seat storage make it easy for parents of infants to stow their seats during the day.

When the dust finally settles, all the floors will be polished so they will be bright and shiny on Tuesday.

When all the boxes are moving out of here, this will be a nice gym.

This kitchen is SO much bigger than our old center, our cook might faint when she sees it.

Lots of wires for phone and computers.

This sensory table makes me want to be a kid again.

This playground equipment is a fun way to learn cause and effect.

I promised this carpenter I would post his picture so he could prove to his wife that he really does work hard all day.

This is the xylophone I said will be on the preschool playground

We promised a colorful center. Check out the color of this utility room.

These guys were installing ceiling tiles. Cool stilts!

Window blinds have been installed to make nap time easier on a sunny day