Wordless Wednesday: Day Nursery Indiana State Government Center

Day Nursery State Center two year olds weren’t quite sure what to make of Indy’s  first measurable snow of the season yesterday.

PNC Indianapolis elves share Christmas spirit with Day Nursery Northwest Center

‘Twas the week before Christmas and the elves at the PNC Financial Services Group  were busy collecting items to fill gift bags for Day Nursery children.  PNC Client & Community Relations Manager elf, Nicole Duncan sent a message that her co-workers at their downtown Indianapolis office had collected  64 bags filled with toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo, soap,  stuffed animals, blankets, hats, gloves and pajamas to share with the children at the center.  Day Nursery Northwest Center  Director Marla Segal and Assistant Director Deanna Saylor distributed the bags to several families including the center’s preschool and kindergarten classes before the Christmas break.  As you can see by the pictures, the children were delighted that Santa came early to their center.  Thanks to our friends at PNC who are always looking for new ways to help Day Nursery children “Grow Up Great!”

Celebrating Kwanzaa at Day Nursery Hendricks County

During a lesson of cultures and celebrations around the world, the two-year olds at Day Nursery in Avon made black-eyed pea salad while learning about Kwanzaa. 

Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture among African-American people as well as Africans throughout the world African community. The celebration lasts from December 26 through January 1.

The children were happy to share their recipe.

Ingredients:
2 15.8 oz black-eyed pea’s, rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 bottle balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
Rinse black eye peas and drain well.  In a large bowl, combine the peas, chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, and salad dressing.  Cover and refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Do we really need Legos just for girls?

Earlier this week I read a posting on Twitter that hit my hot button.

I “retweeted” it and apparently so did a lot of other people because the comments continued to flow.

The buzz started after the media reported the toy maker was launching a new line  called “Lego Friends” full of pink and purples and little girl figures.  Marsha Hearn Lindsey, Chief Operating Officer at Day Nursery Indianapolis said she wished Lego would do a better job of adding new products without giving the impression through the marketing campaign that the products are gender specific.  “Lego teaches young children so many things including hand-eye coordination, basic principles of science like cause and effect, and in the youngest children early skills like sorting and colors–all the colors.”

Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center

At Day Nursery, Lego blocks (or Duplo for the toddlers) can be found in every classroom. If  you Google the “educational value of Lego” the results scroll for pages.  Mitch Resnick,  Associate Professor and director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Laboratory, and a member of the Lego Builders of Tomorrow group believes that through play, children develop and refine their imagination, curiosity and creativity. His work is based on the idea that as children playfully explore and experiment, they develop new ideas and new ways of thinking about the world around them.  He even has a podcast about the importance of creative play in early childhood which can be found through this link to the Lego website.  It is a good interview with him and I especially was interested in his emphasis on the  importance of providing children with opportunities to do things that they care about deeply.

If your child enjoys playing with Lego blocks, drop us a line and share their favorite things to do with Legos.

PS–If you are a fan of Legos…and Year in Review postings, check out The Year in Legos by The Creators Project 

Lots of Words Wednesday: Day Nursery Northwest

Deanna Saylor

Deanna Saylor, Assistant Director of Day Nursery Northwest loves to talk about all the great things that happen in her center, located in the Park 100 area on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Today I challenged her to add some pictures to her words so instead of posting our usual “Wordless Wednesday” pictures, we can rename this post “Lots of Words Wednesday.”

I guess once I looked at the pictures and saw everything that was going on, I realized why I am so tired when I go home.   Today is PJ Day so you will notice teachers and children in the jammies!

Ms. Tamika’s Pre-K class had just came back from Crouching Tigers class when I arrived and they showed her how they learned to break the boards with their hands.  They were so proud. 

Mr. Aaron, a new teacher on our staff is doing arts and crafts with his NEW personalized smock Santa made for all of the staff.  He has been here just two weeks now and he has been having a blast with the children.  Cameron  (son of Ms. Karen, our Toddler 2 teacher) is in Ms. Tamika’s class and he was showing me how they all got their pictures taken in front of the fireplace for their parents.  He loves his jammies! 

Mrs. Robin’s kindergarten class was enjoying a special treat today.  They got to watch the “Polar Express” movie and wear their pj’s and have hot chocolate and popcorn with their special snowman they made that won’t melt inside.  Mrs. Eva and her children were going for a ride to show off their pajamas to the rest of the children.  Lillian, a student in our Toddler 2 classroom was enjoying playing with the new dog toy that Mrs. Marsha brought us.

And last but not least….there is Justin who is getting so many new teeth, he chews on everything.  He also loves the climber in Mrs. Chris’ room.

Thanks Deanna for sharing your morning with us.  Keep those pictures (and words!) coming.

8 Days of Hanukkah

Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center preschoolers learned about the menorah and Hanukkah from teacher Marti Gough during their morning circle time yesterday.  The eight-day Jewish holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights, began last night at sunset.

Day Nursery preschool teacher Marti Gough

Day Nursery Too Cute Tuesday-Coloring with Miss Sally

No matter what time of day you drop into the Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Center classroom of Sally Coombs, you will find her fully engaged with her two year-old students.  This morning I found her on her stomach on the floor coloring with the children.  It was a lesson in sharing, colors, shapes  and language disguised as fun.  Sally skillfully redirected a child to a new container of crayons when the color he wanted was unavailable and at the same time introduced the new color in both English and Spanish when she offered it to the child.   On January 27,  Sally will celebrate her 20 year anniversary as a Day Nursery teacher.

Day Nursery Forever Friends

These three beauties first met each other in the infant room at the Day Nursery Federal Center when they were three months old. Every fall they celebrate their birthdays back to back in October, November and December. This weekend they gathered together to celebrate their 12th birthdays and to keep their friendship going. Thank goodness the Moms have forged a friendship too because we are going to need all the support we can get when they turn into teenagers next year. Permit me a moment to brag a bit about three Day Nursery grads who are all excelling in 6th grade this year: my daughter Claire, and her Day Nursery forever friends Caroline and Morgan.

Frosty visits Day Nursery Indiana State Government Center

The “official” pictures aren’t available yet, but our staff in the center couldn’t help sharing this picture of Frosty the Snowman‘s visit to the Day Nursery Indiana State Government Center this morning.  We thank the parent volunteers who made this visit possible.  The children enjoyed interacting with Frosty and were full of questions.  State Center  Office Manager Tonia Wilkinson reported that she overheard a 3 year-old ask if Frosty’s snow would get on her pants when she sat down.

Day Nursery babies dream of a snowy December

The babies in the Day Nursery Northwest Center Infant 1 room did snow storm painting this morning.  They had a blast with teacher Ms. Amanda who herself was also covered in white paint!  Thanks to Deanna Saylor, Assistant Center Director for sharing her pictures.