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January

2013

Parent

The K-State Center for Child Development Center Mission Statement: The K-State Center for Child Development

provides a family-centered early childhood program in a professional and

nurturing environment that meets the developmental and educational

needs of children, incorporates the experiences and values of all families,

and encourages children to explore their diverse world.

Important

Dates

The CCD will

be CLOSED for

Martin Luther

King Jr. Day

January 21,

2013

In This Issue

Important CCD Dates

Parent Survey

Smart Start

Childhood Screening

Health Curriculum

January Updates

Winter Reading

Meet Our Faculty

Dear parents.

The CCD relies on parents to help us improve our services. Please

watch for our Annual Parent Survey coming to you soon. The results

of the anonymous parent surveys, along with staff surveys and other

data being collected, are used in our annual strategic planning. Your

answers and comments will be used to develop a plan with short and

long-range goals to improve our program. You will receive a survey

by the end of January. We know our parents are very busy and we

truly appreciate the time you take completing the survey.

Thank you,

KSU CCD Management Family

Parent Survey

For families receiving the smart start subsidy for the 2013

year, the grant has been fully funded. If you are not receiving

the subsidy and would like to or if you have any questions

please contact Mindy Robbins at 785-776-4779 ext. 273.

You can also pick up the application at out main front office.

Smart Start/Raising Riley Childcare Subsidy

BIRTH TO FIVE Early Childhood Screening

January 9, 2013 from 4:00—6:00 p.m.

Marlatt Elementary 2715 Hobbs, Manhattan

Would you like information on your child’s development? The screening

will include vision, hearing, general health and developmental milestones.

Please call 776-6363 on January 7th or 8th from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM,

to reserve a time. Transportation can be arranged if needed. Sponsored

by: Manhattan-Ogden Public Schools, Infant-Toddler Services, Parents As

Teachers, and Riley County Health Department.

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K-State Center for Child Development January

Supply Fees

A supply fee of

$15 per child

will be added to

January invoices.

Health Curriculum

From MyGarden to MyPlate

Connecting the world around us to health and well-being.

A curriculum for toddlers & preschoolers.

The winter theme of our health and well-being curriculum is

“healthy bodies”. Our Ones, Twos and Preschool classrooms will

all participate in age appropriate activities as follows.

January 7 – 11: “MyWater”: Classrooms will read “A Cool Drink of Water” and learn to recognize when their body is telling them its thirsty. We will also discuss that water is the most important and best drink for our bodies and remind the children that they can have a drink of water any time they’d like throughout the day. Preschool classrooms will discuss ways to prevent wasting water.

January 14 – 18: “A Rainbow on MyPlate”: Classrooms will read “I Can Eat a Rainbow” or “Eating the Rainbow” and will be exposed to the idea that in order to keep our bodies healthy we need to eat fruits and vegetables from all colors of the rainbow and will create artwork that illustrates this point.

January 21 – 25: “MyPlate”: Classrooms will read “MyPlate and You” and the “Berenstain Bears Eat Too Much Junk Food”. They will be introduced to the concept of grouping food and how much of each group they should eat using the “MyPlate” diagram and book. Preschool classrooms will learn how food affects our bodies. IE Carrots are good for our eyes.

Jan 28 – Feb 1: “MyBusy Body”. Classrooms will read “My Busy Body” or “My First Body Book”. Preschool classrooms will continue the discussion on how different foods help certain parts of their body to function. They will also discuss the four most important things the body needs to stay healthy and strong: air, water, sleep and food. Ones and Twos classrooms will focus on identifying parts of the body and talk what each part of the body does – for example legs – help us jump and run, eyes help us see, ears help us listen etc.

We encourage parents to be involved and join their child’s

classroom during the weekly lessons so that you can reinforce

what your child is learning at home. Your child’s teacher can tell

you when their lesson time is each week.

Semester

Update Forms

Semester update

forms will be sent

out Jan 22 and

will be due on

Jan 29.

KSU CCD

Website

Our website will

be updated weekly

with events,

newsletters, im-

portant dates, and

announcements.

Visit ksu.edu/ccd

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K-State Center for Child Development

Winter Reading

There’s something about winter that invites children and adults to

curl up and read. And the adventure starts with a great book. But

there are so many books—how do you select just the right one?

Reading Rockets (readingrockets.org) is a great place to begin. It’s

a huge site that includes everything from interviews with authors

to book lists according to age and interests.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz

“It’s snowing,” said boy with dog.

“It’s only a snowflake,” said

grandfather with beard. One or two

snowflakes won’t amount to

anything, right? People simply

aren’t paying attention to a snow

flake here and a snowflake there.

Except for one little boy and his

dog. They have faith that the

swirling flakes will add up to

something magical!

The Mitten, adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett. As

this beloved Ukrainian tale unfolds, Nicki drops the

white mitten his grandma has knitted in the snow. He

doesn’t know it’s missing, but the animals do, and one

by one, woodland animals crawl

in—among them, a mole, a rabbit, a badger, an owl,

and, finally, a huge brown bear and a tiny, tiny mouse.

What happens next is a loud surprise! Let children act

out this story by printing out adorable animal masks

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, by Jerry Pinkney. A

Caldecott Medal winner for The Lion & The Mouse, Jerry Pinkney knows how

to paint whimsical, magical pictures that stay in your mind long after the

book is closed. And this is exactly the result you want when you’re putting

your little one to bed. In this book, children follow a little chipmunk’s

travels from a bird’s nest to a lush pond as he sails through the soothing

starlit sky. When paging through this amazing book, you’ll notice a few

pages that have no words. This leaves a perfect opportunity for little ones to

gaze to their heart’s content at the exquisite artwork.

Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart, selected by Mary Ann Hoberman,

illustrated by Michael Emberley. This anthology, selected by a former children’s poet

laureate, will get you moving in the right direction if you love to hear your children

recite a poem or two. Favorite poems by Emily Dickinson, Shel Silverstein, Robert

Frost, Aileen Fisher, Ogden Nash, and others are included. Of course, you won’t be

able to resist “The Llama Who Had No Pajama” by Mary Ann Hoberman herself.

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The K-State Center for Child Development

Meet Our Faculty

Dear Parents,

Winter greetings! My name is Diane Fleming and I am the Infant and Toddler Program Director. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with you and the teaching staff to provide the best quality ser-vices possible for your children! I have already enjoyed getting to know some of your children as I am in the classrooms. I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I began working with infants and toddlers while in school and have worked primarily in the field of education since that time. My family and I moved to Manhattan in the fall of 1995. My husband and I have two grown children, a son and daughter. We have two dogs that we adopted from rescue organizations so our nest isn’t quite empty. I look forward to meeting you all over time and as we begin this new year! Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2013, Diane

My name is Cassandra Leiker. I am the Infant Specialist here at the K-State Center for Child Development. I will be working with the teachers and families in our infant classrooms. I am so pleased to have the opportunity to work with the amazing staff and families here, and look forward to meeting all of you!

My husband and I have been enjoying Manhattan for 6 years. We love the community, and are excited to be raising our four children here. I am also proud to have graduated from Kansas State University with my Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.

I have had 12 years of experience in the field of childcare with my focus on infants and toddlers. Infant care is very close to my heart, and I am dedicated to continuing and building on the exceptional care experience that the K-State Center for Child Development provides. I’m looking forward to an amazing year!