We love that our students get exposed to so many cultures and in so many engaging and meaningful ways. This week our parents from various Hispanic backgrounds went above and beyond! When parents come and share, children make a deeper connection with the culture. We had a couple from Peru perform a traditional dance in costume. We had a parent bring in delicious sweet treat called Obleas from Colombia. Another parent also brought in maracas for the children to decorate and then taught them how to dance Merengue. And there were others that made this a special celebration!

Teachers also added to the celebration! All classrooms made quesadillas with the children. One classroom also made arepas which involved mixing flour and water and kneading the dough. There were all kinds of arts and crafts like Mexican hats and maracas. The week was rich with related stories as well. Our library of Hispanic cultural books is growing, but recommendations are welcome!

We finished out the week with a special guest Flamenco Dancer from the https://www.alboradadance.org/. The children were mesmerized as they watched her dance. She taught them some Spanish words like shouting “Olay!” at the end of the performance. She taught them how to make flowers or flores with circular hand motions. And she got them stomping their feet and dancing. The whole show was beautiful and age appropriate!

International Day of Peace is celebrated around the world on September 21st.

At Jin-A we celebrated on Monday on the playground all together. Ms. Nora led the children in singing about peace. Then the children went as a class to different stations where they got to blow and pop bubbles with Ms. Josette, participate in yoga with Ms. Hiromi, crawl through tunnels with Ms. Evelyn, listen to a peace story with Ms. Alba, paint our peace banner with Mr. Sunjo, and decorate doves with heart stickers with Ms. Jacquie (because peace starts with love). We ended by gathering to make wishes for peace as we watched our balloon float up into the blue sky.

Peace!

This is the time of year when some of our toddlers and preschoolers give us a hard time about putting on a jacket. Here are some possible reasons and solutions:

• Is it because your child is sensitive to texture and doesn't like the feel?

  • Then find something they will like

  • Use layers

• Is it because your child needs to be in control?

  • Then give them a choice of two reasonable options (Do you want to wear the red sweater or the blue jacket?)

  • Let them get cold and then offer the jacket.

• Is it because it's a new routine and your child has a hard time with changes?

  • Give them a heads up before it's time. (In 5 min we need to get our shoes on and today we need a jacket...)

• Is it because your child just woke up and is cranky?

  • Bring the jacket with you and try again later

• Other possible solutions:

  • Let your child help pick out the jacket

  • Put something special in the pocket that's only for when they wear it.

  • Our teachers are experts at working wonders. Ask them for help.

While we hope that there will be no emergencies, all our staff at Jin-A are now prepared. We went through the training this August to review the signs, symptoms and responses for first aid. We also brushed up on our CPR skills, practicing alongside partners on a dummy. The allergy training included using a practice EpiPen on each other. Our facility has an AED and we were re-trained in how to use it.

Tickets will be randomly selected on Friday, June 13. The more tickets you buy, the better chance you have of getting one of these amazing prizes. Click to see the list.