We believe teaching & living with Aloha & in Pono encourages the best from caregivers, teachers, children, families and community members.
Open Normal Hours Today
Oahu To Begin Feeling Impact of Storm @ 6pm
Center Closure Due To Hazardous Weather Brought by TS Flossie
2013 Calendar Reminders
JULY
- We are currently interviewing for Fall 2013 enrollment and that finishes upon Sunday July 28th. Most of these families have been on Ka Hana Pono's waitlist since March-June of 2012.
- Anyone with friends with young children, you may want to give them the heads up that options for childcare / preschool / daycare programs are so limited that now really is the time to start planning and applying for next year (not just speaking for Ka Hana Pono, this is in general).
- Niko, Laken, Avea & Naia will be graduating from Ka Hana Pono*;August 1st will be their last day.
- *We will not be filling their places in our program until October of 2013
- KHP is open on August 16thStatehood Day (Friday)
SEPTEMBER
- KHP is open on September 2nd Labor Day (Monday)
- KHP is closed from Thursday September 12th thru Friday September 20th.
- Please plan ahead keeping in mind that the monthly fee is not discounted / pro-rated nor will makeup days be available for the time that Ka Hana Pono is closed during the month of September. Note that we pay a set rent and utility bill at the WCAregardless of days closed and we pay a set rate for the organic & locally grownfoods consumed at Ka Hana Pono as we are part of a co-op of childcare providers buying in bulk together to encourage vendors like Lanakila Kitchen to work with us to create amindful menu. Also the curriculum we use from Fun Steps & from Bright Start Learning have to be purchased for each full month. While we always try to offer makeup days and pro-rate fees when we can, this closure in September is not a time when that's possible. Thank you for understanding.
OCTOBER
- We will be staggering in the new keikis, starting them off a week at a time.
- KHP is open on October 14thColumbus Day (Monday)
- KHP will be closing on October 31st at 1:00PM for Halloween
NOVEMBER
- KHP is open on Nov 5 Election Day (Tues) and on Nov 11 Veterans Day (Monday)
- KHP is closed on Nov 28 (Thurs) & Nov 29th (Fri) for Thanksgiving
DECEMBER
- KHP is closed on Tues Dec 24, Wed Dec 25 & Thurs Dec 26 for Christmas
- KHP is closed on Dec 31st (Tues) & on Jan 1st (Wed) for New Years
Here's to an awesome remainder of 2013 at Ka Hana Pono!! Thank you!!
Book Recommendation for Parents, Childcare Providers & Teachers
The following scenario illustrates the essence of a Spirit Whisperer. The day it occurred was not among my favorites. It involved attending the funeral and reception for Bill, a former colleague and friend who had died unexpectedly in what seemed like the prime of his life. I wanted to be there, and I didn't want to be there. My desire was to say goodbye to Bill one final time and be supportive of his family and other colleagues, but my attendance felt more like an obligation than an uplifting way to spend an afternoon.
I dressed slowly, thinking of this fifteen-year teaching veteran. He had taught math in the high school and coached the boy's basketball team. He had served on the negotiating committee and took his professional practice seriously.
As I drove from the funeral to the reception, I noticed I was in a slight depression. My head was down as I walked up the sidewalk to the hall the family had rented for the event. That decision turned out to be a wise one. An inordinate number of people showed up -- more than would normally be expected at an event of this nature. Friends, relatives, colleagues, and students attended to pay their last respects. Many of Bill's current students were present. So were former students, representing this man's entire teaching career.
As I moved into the crowd, I acknowledge acquaintances politely, but I didn't feel like talking. Food was in abundance, but I didn't feel like eating. I found a chair in the corner and slumped into it. From that perch I watched and listened, and I confirmed what I already suspected. Bill had been a Spirit Whisperer.
From my spot in the corner I began to eavesdrop. I sat and listened as many of Bill's current and former students discussed the impact he had and was still having on their lives. The comments I was hearing moved me emotionally. They also moved me physically, and I began to walk around the room to gain a wider perspective and to grasp more clearly the flavor of the conversations. Not trusting my memory, and knowing I was hearing something important, I recorded what I overheard on the only recording material I could find -- napkins.
What I heard was indeed impressive. What I didn't hear was equally impressive. I heard no one say, "He was a good math teacher. He taught me a lot of math." I did hear, "He was a good man. He taught me to believe in myself."
Not one former student who came to honor my friend that day said, "He helped me learn about ratio and isosceles triangles." Some did say, "He taught me I could do anything I set my mind on."
A nineteen-year-old college student remarked, "He saw in me something I didn't see in myself at the time. He helped me look at that and acknowledge it."
No one said, "Boy, I sure learned a lot of chapter terms from that guy." No one said, "Man, could he ever cover content!" But I heard a recent college graduate remark, "He helped me learn to look within for my own answers. Remember how he used to say, 'The important answers aren't in the book. They are within you.'" One young woman, a few years out of school, remarked, "What I learned from him was that all conditions are temporary. How they change depends on me."
Nobody said, "He taught me how to sink free throws and play defense." What I did hear was, "He taught me that ethics are more important than rules. What I learned from him is that integrity is a choice I make. He was a wonderful coach."
Not one athlete commented on the number of games they had won. And most of them had won a lot of games. But one former basketball player remarked, "He taught me to take pride in wearing the uniform. I think he'd like to know I still show that same pride today with my business suit."
My friend was truly a Spirit Whisperer. The evidence is in the legacy he left in the hearts and minds of his former students. He touched their spirit and helped them to reach in and touch it as well.
Don't misinterpret what I'm saying here. It's not that Spirit Whisperers don't care about math, history, art, technology, music, language arts, literature, spelling, and music. They do! And they do a good job of teaching the subjects of their choice. It's just that they don't see the delivery of content as their main objective.
Spirit Whisperers do not lose sight of the fact that they are really teaching students to swim. They see math, history, and science as merely the water they are splashing around in. Science teachers let students splash around in science. Literature teacher structure their lessons so their students splash around in literature. Music teachers allow students to get wet with music. It is during the splashing around in the waters of science, math, and music that Spirit Whisperers teach their students to swim.
Environments for Discovering Nature
Creating A Dialogue With Nature
What is Conscious or Positive Parenting
4 Ways to Start Kids Meditating
Bug, Spider and Insect Jokes and Riddles
Two flies are on the porch. Which one is an actor?
(The one on the screen!)
What is the biggest ant in the world?
(An eleph-ant!)
Why was the baby ant confused?
(Because all of his uncles were ants!)
What do you get when you cross a sheep and a honey bee?
(Bah-humbug!)
How do bees get to school?
(By school buzz!)
Why do bees have sticky hair?
(Because they have honeycombs!)
What do you get when you cross a walrus with a bee?
(A wallaby!)
Why did the bee go to the doctor?
(Because she had hives!)
What do you get if you cross a centipede and a parrot?
(A walkie-talkie!)
How do fleas travel from place to place?
(By itch-hiking!)
What are caterpillars afraid of?
(Doger-pillars!)
Why didn't the butterfly go to the dance?
(Because it was a moth ball!)
Two silk worms were in a race. Who won?
(It was a tie!)
What do you get if you cross a tarantula and a rose?
(I'm not sure, but I wouldn't try smelling it!)
Why are spiders good swimmers?
(They have webbed feet!)
What did the spider say when he broke his new web?
(Darn it!)
Why are frogs so happy?
(Because they eat what bugs them!)
What did one frog say to the other?
(Time's sure fun when you're having flies!)
Why was the mother firefly unhappy?
(Because her children weren't that bright!)
Raising Chickens Teaches Kids So Much
Learning how to care for and rear chickens is a great way for children to learn responsibility and to see how things really work- watch the animals grow and learn how many eggs a chicken can actually produce in a day or a week.
Raising chickens is educational for kids, lets you know that your eggs are actually fresh and organic, and can offer you some food in an emergency situations.
Sensory Integration And Swinging
Swinging helps with sensory integration. Two sensing systems we have (and no I am not just talking about taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight) are our vestibular system and proprioception. All of our systems intertwine so we can move with ease and experience our environment. These two senses are vital to be able to do this.
1. Vestibular System
Our vestibular system is in our inner ear and helps us know if we are moving and which direction we are going. It is essential to balance. It is the reason we get motion sickness or feel like the room is spinning if you are every diagnosed with vertigo. We actually have three loops in our inner ear and the direction of the fluid inside tells our brain how we are moving. If you apply this to swinging, you are moving in multiple directions and having to balance on the seat, all integrating our vestibular system to figure out what in the world is going on.
2. Proprioception
Proprioception is our sense of knowing our body and where our different parts are located in relation to each other and how they are moving. It can be described as body awareness. There are constant messages being sent from our peripheral body (through proprioceptors and nerves) to our brain and ears telling them where these parts are located and what they are doing. Again apply this to swinging, and the body has to figure out where you are in space and how to control a moving object.
Movement involves so many different messages from our body and swinging is just one tool used to help our little guys figure out how to interpret those messages and use their bodies to the best of their ability.