Preschool vs. Daycare

Similarities

Differences

Same requirements for licensing and accreditation. You can always evaluate each using the same criteria. Cost roughly the same. Good quality preschools and daycare centers will offer activities designed to stimulate your child's physical, social and cognitive development.

Preschool is specifically designed for children between the ages of 2 and ½ and 5 or 6; Daycare is aimed at children of many different ages (infant to elementary school age). Preschools have more limited hours (typically 3 hours at a time, 2 to 5 times a week). On the other hand, some daycares offer their services during the full working day, making it a desirable choice for working moms. Curriculum: most preschool organized around a specific educational approach (i.e. Montessori, Waldorf), whereas most daycares are viewed as being more custodial than educational.

Teaching Gentleness

One of the best ways to teach gentleness is to be gentle. Resolve conflicts with words, not physical contact or force. If you catch your children physically fighting, talk with them about how else they could have taken care of their differences without hitting each other.

Refrain from spanking children. Spanking only teaches children that when adults get angered or feel pressured, it's okay to resort to physical force. Instead, take disciplinary tactics that do not involve spanking such as restricting privileges, a "time out," or making the "wrong" right, for example, having the child pay for a broken window.

Another way to model gentleness is to speak softly and use gentle words such as "use soft hands" instead of "don't touch" when talking to a young child. Encourage older children to listen to others, respect their differences, and not judge or criticize their words or actions. Involve them in doing little acts of kindness, perhaps by sharing a snack with a sibling or bringing a get-well gift to a sick friend.

Children also will learn gentleness through storybooks with kind, caring characters, especially ones who solve their problems without violence or aggressive actions. Or teach them to nurture and to care by providing them with a pet or plant. Encourage them to treat their siblings as well as adults with love.

A pet can help children learn to be gentle and patient, and how to care for a animal.

In this aggressive world, you may think you won't make a difference. However, your actions are like a pebble thrown in a pond. The circle will keep getting bigger and bigger, reaching more and more people as it grows.

Aloha,
Aunty Gel
www.KaHanaPonoDaycare.com

Trees in a Broccoli Forest Recipe

Trees in a Broccoli Forest

2 carrots, peeled

3 cups broccoli florets

4 cherry tomatoes

3 Tbsp parsley leaves

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

1. To prepare dipping sauce, combine yogurt, sour cream, honey, and mustard in a small bowl.

2. Hold carrots against cutting board and trim off ends.

3. Cut each carrot in half, crosswise, then lengthwise to make four pieces.

4. Arrange each plate by putting two carrot pieces side-by-side in the center.

5. Arrange broccoli around the carrots forming a cluster.

6. Arrange the tomatoes at the top of the plate.

7. Spoon dip around the base of carrots and sprinkle with parsley.

Gardening Makes Us Smile

We were very happy to start a garden of wildflowers at home AND to take the uprooted grass plugs to Ka Hana Pono Daycare and re-plant the grass with our own two hands...it was a wonderful process to experience with the children.

Finger Foods: Cherry Tomatoes & Blueberries :)

This has become the favorite spot in the yard for our little ones at home in Pupukea. They've got water, cherry tomatoes and blueberries all right there!...yumyumyum...smart kids!!

Mermaid Bananarama

Here's another HEALTHY & FUN food idea...

Need:

• Banana
• Mozarella Cheese Stick
• Handful of Dried Apricots
• Handful of Dried Cranberries
• Raisin (optional)

What To Do:

1. Make a slice 3/4 of the way up the stick. Then pull or slice several thinner strips from each side of the mozarella stick.

2. Cut the banana into 3 sections. Take a slice off of the bottom of each section of the banana so each section lays flat.

3. Place the banana sections on a plate to make the lower body, torso and head of the mermaid. Now take the sliced off banana and cut two strips for arms and 2 triangles for the tail fin.

4. Set the mozarella hair on top of the mermaid's head. Cut the raisin in half and place on the mermaid for the eyes.

5. Cut several dried apricots in half lengthwise and cut a small silver for the mouth and nose.

6. Cover the mermaid's torso with apricots in the shape of a bathing suit top.

7. Cover the lower body (tail and fin) with cranberries. Now eat and enjoy!

What Do Children Learn From Water Play?

Water play is good for children’s physical, mental (cognitive), and social-emotional growth. In sensory play there is no right or wrong way to play. When children pour water, they are improving their physical dexterity and eye-hand coordination. By playing with others in blowing bubbles or washing baby dolls, they develop social skills. At the same time, they use their minds as they explore why certain objects sink in water and others float. Children learn concepts such as empty/full, before/after, shallow/deep, and heavy/light in a hands-on way. Children learn new words that go along with water play, such as funnel, surface, float, and strain.

Imagine putting your hands into cool water on a hot day, feeling it drip from your fingers, the heavy feel of a container with water sloshing around. Water play delights the senses and is far more than simply pleasurable for young children. This type of sensory play is important for the development of the young child.

This list describes some of the many ways that water play helps development:

Physical Development

• Improves fine motor skills - lifting containers with water
• Improves eye-hand coordination - pouring water

Cognitive Development

• Shows math and science concepts: sinking and floating, volume
• Shows that the same amount of water may appear to be different when poured into different sized and shaped containers
• Increases vocabulary - wet, dry, sopping, sink, float

Social-emotional Development

• Provides opportunities to imitate the play of others - children wash baby dolls
• Provides opportunities for imaginative play
• Helps dramatic play - together children develop social skills

Aloha,
Aunty Gel
www.KaHanaPonoDaycare.com

Salad People Recipe

Ingredients you could use are below (it’s totally up to you, as you can see in the above photos, not all of the listed ingredients were used) - play with it and base it on what your children would love most.

- Cored pear halves, peel optional
- Raisins
- Fresh & ripe or canned & drained Dried cherries as well as pitted cherries
- Cottage cheese or very firm yogurt
- Strips of cheese (cut wide and thin, to be limbs)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Sliced bananas (cut into vertical spears as well as rounds)
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupe or honeydew (cut into 4-inch slices)
- Peas
- Celery sticks (plain or stuffed with nut butter)
- Cooked angel hair pasta, or a “curly” variety
- Sliced radishes
- Shredded carrots
- Parsley sprigs
- Sliced strawberries
- Small spinach leaves
- Sliced black olives

1. Place a pear half in the center of each plate, flat side down.

2. Arrange a round scoop of cottage cheese or very firm yogurt above the narrow top of the pear, so that the cheese or yogurt looks like a head and the pear looks like a torso.

3. Create arms and legs from strips of cheese, banana spears, melon slices, or celery sticks (stuffed or plain).

4. Create hair, facial features, hands, feet, buttons, zippers, hats and so forth from any combination of the remaining ingredients.

5. Name it and eat!