Day Nursery Lilly Center Kwanzaa celebration

Everyone in the center joined together to make a Kwanzaa mural to demonstrate unity and cooperation.

The Pre-K class read the book My First Kwanzaa and then they used it as a reference to help see what candle to light first on their handmade kinara.

Thankful Thursday: Day Nursery preschoolers learn about giving

As parents and educators, we are always looking for “teachable moments” when it comes to raising young children.  Christmas time gives us an opportunity to teach our young ones the value of graciously giving and receiving gifts.  Shannon Garrity, Center Director at the Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center sent me these pictures of her preschoolers working on both giving and receiving gifts.  The children were asked to bring a gift valued at no more than $2 for an anonymous gift exchange.  Shannon shared a cute story that illustrates how much children do care about each other.  When a three-year old boy in Ms. Caroline and Ms. Sara’s classroom unwrapped his gift, he discovered it was a toy typically thought of as a “girl’s” gift.  When asked by another child if he wanted to exchange it with someone for another gift, he replied “No, one of my friends bought this for me and I love it!”  Wouldn’t it be nice if all the adults on our holiday list were so understanding?  Happy Holidays!

After patiently waiting until everyone selected a gift, it was finally time to open them!

The three year olds made yummy holiday treats to give to their family.

The children selected numbers to see which gift they would receive.

Holiday greetings from Day Nursery Executive Director

Dear Friends,
The holiday season has been a very active one here at Day Nursery Indianapolis!  Santa has pulled out all the stops at the centers—even coming back twice on Saturday, the 11^th and the 18^th, for Breakfast with Santa Family Events at our Clarian and Northwest centers for about 100 parents and children.  Crafts, food, lots of fun time spent together—and don’t forget photos with Santa—all added up to a great time as well as dollars raised for our Tuition Assistance Scholarship Program (TAP).  We think this event might just have to become a Day Nursery tradition!

Additionally, we reached out to our families who need a little help providing Christmas memories for their little ones.  It has been our tradition to participate in United Christmas Service, an assistance program managed by United Way of Central Indiana, as well as Christmas Benevolence, an assistance program run by Second Presbyterian Church.  Eighteen of our voucher families got help from United Christmas Service and nineteen from Second Church.  This year, we traded in our management staff gift exchange and selected stockings from our Christmas tree, labeled with 37 of our Tuition Assistance children’s names.  In all these ways combined, we saw to it that over 100 Day Nursery children and families had a brighter celebration.

We also ran a pilot “Family Meals to Go” Program at two of our centers during the holiday season to see if sending home a healthy meal for our families’ evening meal might be valuable to them both in time saving, better eating, and reduced stress.  The side benefit is to develop a new revenue stream to support our Tuition Assistance Program.  A participant survey is coming right after New Year’s which will help us determine next steps.

From all of us at Day Nursery, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you and yours!!  I have to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your incredible support and leadership this past year, as we could not do what we do without you!  I look forward to a wonderful 2012 for our children and families, as well as for you and yours.

Best,

Carolyn Dederer, Executive Director

Day Nursery Association of Indianapolis

Too Cute Tuesday: Santa visits Day Nursery Ruth A Lilly Center

Carter wanted to know how Santa got to his school

Day Nursery preschoolers take quick trip to North Pole

Today was pajama day at the Day Nursery Hendricks County Early Care and Education Center in Avon.  The preschoolers got a special afternoon snack while they watched the holiday movie The Polar Express.  All the children were invited to wear pajamas and many of the staff members couldn’t resist wearing theirs too.  Thanks to Center Director Joy McCall for sharing these pictures.

Ms. Miriam and the preschoolers enjoyed the movie

Day Nursery Friday Faces

Today’s featured faces were captured earlier this week at the Day Nursery Start Smart 4 Children Center at Ft. Harrison.  Parents and grandparents were invited to a holiday “ThanksMas” lunch.  When quizzed by one of the center’s preschoolers, Center Director Debra Ballard admitted she invented this special event which earned its name by falling on a day somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Indiana Pacer player takes a Time Out to read to Day Nursery children

The Indiana Pacers recently welcomed a small group of Day Nursery students and their families to a special Reading Time Out event in the Pacer locker room at Conseco Fieldhouse.  Pacer player T.J. Ford hosted the event December 9.  After reading several stories, the families enjoyed a light dinner.  Thanks to the Pacers for inviting us to this great event.

Making bedtime a gentle time

Looking for quiet activities to enjoy with your kids? Try Kiss Good Night, by Amy Hest, a gentle bedtime story for 3 to 6 year olds, reviewed by Elizabeth Kennedy, the About.com Guide to Children’s Books.  In addition to the sweet story, I have always been drawn to this book by the beautiful colors in the illustrations by Anita Jeram.

She also has great advice about Raising a Reader. Subscribe to her newsletter to learn about some of the things you can do to encourage a love of books and reading and about some of the books and online resources available to assist you.

Day Nursery Indianapolis has a new video!

Why parents should pay attention to what’s happening in Congress

Action Alert! Some policymakers don’t get it. Parents need child care in order to get a job and keep a job. But child care is expensive. In the next few days, Members of Congress will make decisions about funding for federal programs. Let your Members of Congress know that getting the economy back on track hinges on parents being able to find child care that is both safe and affordable.

Background Checks for Child Care Providers Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program: The House passed a bill requiring child care providers to undergo a criminal background check to be eligible to receive federal funding under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The bill will now move on to the Senate for consideration. Click here to learn more about the bill and to send an email to your Senators.

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (child nutrition programs): The House passed legislation to strengthen federal child nutrition programs. These programs include the School  Breakfast, School Lunch, Summer Food programs, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. For more information, click here.

 

Middle Class Tax Relief: The House passed the Middle Class Tax Relief Act to make tax cuts permanent for individuals making under $200,000 and for married couples in incomes totaling under $250,000. Additional information can be found here.

Find out about what Indiana requires for licensed child care centers like Day Nursery by clicking here.

Join the Child Care Aware Parent Network by clicking here.