Cultivate Mankato: April 2021 News

VOL. 11 APRIL 2021

This Month's News

Parent Resources

CultivateMN

Future Closures, River Rock Bakery, Playground Update

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Meet our Podcast Guests, Rent Podcast Room

NURTURE. GROW. EMPOWER

April News New Dramatic Play Area "Science Lab" in Toddler 3

Index 02-03

Upskill Parent Resources, Business Membership

Future Closures, City Center Renovations Award, Reminders, Playground Updates

05 06

River Rock Bakery, Ordering Bread

Bubble Wrap Painting in Infant 1

Message from Anissa, Mix & Match Hat Sale, Cultivate Memory

Healthy Culture Coming Soon, New Cultivate MN Coffee, Sneak Peak: Justin

07 08

Ek Art, Scholastic Book Order

Cultivate Cafe Connect, Snack Pack, Upcoming Study

09

"Reading Buddies" in Toddler 1

Monthly Infant Development Focus

10

Giving Back to Our Community, Hiring

11 12

New T-Shirt Design, Toddler Shirt Interest?, Staff Training

Sensory Play in Infant 4

CULTIVATE NEWS | 2

Community Room, Workiversary, Menu, Cultivate MN Podcast

13-18

www.cultivatemankato.com

Laura has years of experience in the classroom as a preschool and kindergarten teacher and also brings a plethora of leadership experience. She works directly with our teachers to ensure they are supported in early

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childhood education.

“My name is Laura Walser and I am the Laura Walser, our Early Education Coordinator will be creating short parent resource videos called Upskill for $10/month.

Upcoming topics will be:

Early Education Coordinator at Cultivate Mankato. I am from Minnesota Lake. I graduated from Maple River Schools, then got my Early Childhood Education degree from Minnesota State University

Handling big emotions

Mankato. I worked at Maple River for 14

Emotion coaching

years as Kindergarten teacher and then

Keeping yourself calm

Early Childhood Director. Through my

Bedtime routines

experience in working with children and

Building independence

Some more topics that will be discussed in the future include:

being a parent, I have established a passion for social/emotional development and the important role it

Biting

plays in laying the foundation for a

Morning routine

child's life. It is so incredible to think of

Teaching a skill vs consequences

the impact we as early childhood care

Multiple environments equals multiple

providers can have on children...it's an

expectations

amazing feeling to know that our work

Childcare drop off and pick up routine

truly makes a difference! I am thrilled to

Setting your child up for successful sleep at childcare Potty training The importance of sleep Knowing yourself as a parent Guiding your child’s behavior; positive discipline Language development

be part of curriculum development and ensure best practices with the team at Cultivate Mankato. I strive to provide the staff with the competencies, support and confidence they need to create a positive learning environment! I also enjoy collaborating with families and the community to empower them as well, in

If you have questions, please email Laura

laura.walser@cultivatemankato.com CULTIVATE NEWS | 3

meeting the needs of young children.”

www.cultivatemankato.com

PARENTS WE

NEED

YOUR

HELP

SPREADING

THE

WORD

ABOUT

THIS

MEMBERSHIP

BE THE CHANGE #supportyouremployees

ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT

55%

of parents would take a pay cut for a job that offers child care.

Source: Harris Poll, 2019

ENCOURAGE ENGAGEMENT

30%

reduction in employee absences by providing child care.

Source: Child Care Council, 2014

IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

10%

increase in work-life balance, employees with access to child care reported.

Source: KCE Fortune 100 Client Survey

PROVIDE SUPPORT

77%

of parents are looking to employers to offset the cost of child care.

Source: KinderCare Education Works

CULTIVATING CONNECTIONS CHILD CARE BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP

Future Closures January 1st | New Year's Day

City Center Renovations Award

April 2nd | Teacher Appreciation May 31st |

Memorial Day

July 4th | Independence Day (or the Friday or Monday before if on a weekend)

September 3rd | Fall Readiness September 6th | Labor Day October 22nd | Teacher Appreciation November 25th | Thanksgiving November 26th | Thanksgiving December 24th | Christmas Eve December 25th | Christmas Day

Reminders Safety: If you park on Broad Street to drop off

Playground Update

or pick up, please be sure you pull forward PAST the BIKE LANE SIGN. This allows some space between your vehicle and the corner on Main Street. Sometimes cars come around that

All of the materials are trickling in and once we receive all of the materials we will schedule out a timeframe for construction!

corner really fast and we want there to be some time for them to see you and your vehicle.

Also, remember to make sure the side door leading out to Broad Street closes all the way.

Many families exit out of this door which is totally fine. However, sometimes the door gets swung open too far and gets stuck open, which brings in cold air and causes safety risks as well.

If you can please make sure to check behind you to ensure the door closes that would be deeply appreciated.

CULTIVATE NEWS | 5

www.cultivatemankato.com

River Rock Bakery

Families are welcome to place an order for River Rock breads & can pick up at Cultivate Mankato

CLICK HERE TO ORDER “Similar to how coffee, wine, and chocolate have been differentiated over the last thirty years, I believe there’s room for that with wheat.” Montana adds, “Everyone knows a tomato picked ripe, still warm from the sun is better than a tomato picked green and shipped long distances. The same concept is true with wheat; it has the most complex, interesting,

Photo of Montana Rasmussen, River Rock Owner At 3am, when the world is taking its first breath, Montana Rasmussen and her team at

flavors. Fresh wheat is a whole different beast.”

www.minnesotacooks.org/river-rock-kitchenbakery-co-penner-farms/

River Rock Kitchen & Bakery in St. Peter begin

Supporting local and community based

their workday, hauling fifty-pound bags of

organizations has been an important part of

flour, mixing sourdough by hand, baking for

growing Cultivate and will continue to be as we

hours on end to create their luscious delights.

move forward. In order to ensure that we are

It’s a dream come true for Montana, who

providing children with quality grains rather

always wanted her own bakery. “I love food,”

than prepackaged and sugary grains, we have

she says. “What we eat and where we eat

partnered with River Rock Bakery to provide

matters, so I fully believe in being part of our

muffins, rolls, and their beloved Midwest

food system.”

Multigrain and sourdough breads.

Not only does Montana love the art of cooking

Muffins: Made with an organic flour from up

and baking, she excels at it. Each taste of her

in the twin cities, Bakersfield. They are doing

breads, pastries, soups, and quiches reveals the freshness, quality, and care both she and her farm partners take to deliver exceptional products. Ben Penner of Ben Penner Farms in

fantastic work with local farmers and mill the flour at their location in NE Minneapolis. We have many flavors -- Organic Apple Spice, Organic Blueberry, Organic Zucchini, Organic Peach, Organic Raspberry and Organic Cinnamon

Belle Plaine, is one of those farmers. His

Raisin (organic fruit, organic allspice, organic

wheat is grown, milled and distributed in

clove, organic cinnamon and organic nutmeg). All

Minnesota and usually reaches Montana

the fruit that we use is organic and we try to

within two weeks of being milled. It’s so fresh

source it from local farmers whenever possible.

Montana notices it sometimes varies from bag to bag, depending on which field it came from and when it was harvested.

Ben’s mission is to inspire human flourishing through agriculture. He grew up on a wheat farm in central Kansas, so wheat and farming are both in his blood. He grows spring wheat

Midwest Multigrain: This is the beloved sandwich bread. It starts by soaking the following overnight: organic oats, organic cornmeal, organic millet, organic sunflower seeds, organic wheat bran, organic flax, organic molasses and local honey. The next day it is all mixed with organic bread flour, local organic whole wheat flour, organic brown sugar, yeast and

and a hard heritage variety originally from

kosher salt. It is one of the most popular breads

Ukraine called Turkey Red. Ben hopes to

and is enjoyed by both kids and adults!

showcase wheat’s potential for variety in both flavor and milling characteristics. He says,

CULTIVATE NEWS | 6

Rolls: Made with organic flours from local farmer, Ben Penner.

www.cultivatemankato.com

Message from Anissa

Memory

It’s SPRING!!!

Two years ago we had our insulation install!

Spring fever is in full motion and we are all eager to spend more time outside enjoying the warmth and fresh air. This season, we have secured a community garden plot just a few blocks away from Cultivate Mankato.

What will we grow? I don’t know,...yet.

That’s where all of you get to help.

We are seeking ORGANIC seed donations for our 12x12 garden plot. Won’t it be fun to plant vegetables that we can eat for a snack? Carrots and cucumbers and bell peppers, oh my! The possibilities are endless!

Seed donations can be left with your child’s teacher. And if you and your family would like to volunteer some time and help with the garden, let me know! We would love to see you there!

P.S. Flower seeds would be lovely too!

ANISSA SANDLAND Culture & Community Coordinator anissa@cultivatemankato.com

ORDER HERE CULTIVATE NEWS | 7

www.cultivatemankato.com

Coming Fall 2021

Want to support teachers in early education?

Here is an easy way to do so! Purchase coffee through our non-profit, Cultivate MN, and support CONFERENCE

HOSTED

BY:

early education professionals!

Not a big coffee drinker? Purchase for your break room at work or as a gift! Only have a Keurig at home? Just purchase a reusable K cup!

Justin Ek Art Sneak Peak

Scholastic Book Orders Through the Scholastic Book Club, you have the

We have more amazing Justin Ek art coming to

choice to place an order each month. Your

Cultivate Mankato! Here is a sneak peak of the

orders will allow us to earn free books for our

outdoor fence coming soon!

Cultivate library and will be used throughout all of our classrooms. Books will be delivered to Cultivate and sent home with your child. Orders will be due on the 2nd Friday of each month.

Use the link below to order.

Order will be due on Friday, March 12th.

Any questions about ordering can be emailed to Ms. Tera at

tera.vankeulen@cultivatemankato.com

Link to order: https://orders.scholastic.com/R76H7

Class Code: R76H7 CULTIVATE NEWS | 8

www.cultivatemankato.com

Upcoming Study Within our education curriculum, we use studies to

C U L T I V A T E N U R T U R E .

C A F E

G R O W .

E M P O W E R .

guide our lesson planning. Studies are a broad concept that we focus on for 4-6 weeks.

Currently our study has been about music. This month we will begin our

Cultivate Cafe Connect Stop by the Cultivate Cafe for a cup of coffee with Candice!

Once

a

month,

Candice

will

Spring study. If you feel

your family has something special to share in regards to our upcoming study, we would love family participation. Reach out!

be

offering parents an opportunity to connect with her. Parents can stop by

the

Cultivate

Cafe

cart

where

Candice will be serving coffee. The Cultivate Cafe cart will be located at either one of our entrances.

CCC Hour with Candice One Friday a Month 7:30-8:30am **will be announced the monday before**

Snack Cart Did you know we have a snack cart for children to take a snack home at pick up? Our snack cart is next to the island in our community room and it is stocked with healthier snack options; apples, bananas, fruit snacks, pretzels, crackers, etc.

Some pictures of our recycling study over the last few weeks CULTIVATE NEWS | 9

www.cultivatemankato.com

Monthly Infant Development Focus We are excited to let you know a little bit about how we have been implementing developmental focuses in the infant program. We implement lesson plans and studies in our other programs here at cultivate, and are continuing to do so even

"Today we explored

"For today's activity we

different balls! We rolled

explored bubble wrap and

them, threw them and

paint. The kids loved feeling

bounced on them. This

the bubbles and making the

program is a monthly focus. This is a little different

moved our arms and

paint spread! This activity

than a traditional lesson plan as infants are

worked on our balance."

involves more than just art! It

in the infant program with our youngest kiddos.

One of the things we implement in the infant

developing so fast and have so many skills to learn

also worked on our fine

within their first year. Our infant staff have created

motor skills and colors."

a unique approach to infant lesson planning where teachers will take one skill or area of infant development to focus on and complete planned activities to do with the infants for a month long period of time. This approach allows for longer exposure in that particular area and gives the teachers the opportunity to really work on the skill with the infants.

Some of the areas of focus include: fine motor

"This month we are exploring different art materials. For today's

skills, large motor skills, language, communication,

exploration we crumped,

music and movement and so much more. How it

ripped and tried to eat

works is teachers plan two activities per week that

wrapping paper. The kids

incorporate that month's focus. For example: if the monthly focus is large motor skills a teacher might

loved the sounds of the paper ripping."

"Today for our gross motor activity we did some tummy time while splashing in some water with toys! The kids really enjoyed splashing away and working on their core muscles."

plan an activity involving reaching for and throwing balls one day. Then later in the week they may plan to do an activity where they loosely tie a balloon to the child's wrist or ankle and encourage them to move their arms and legs to make the balloon move up and down. Both activities encourage large motor development in a way that is fun for the infants and age appropriate!

Going forward we will continue to pick different skills and areas of development to focus on each

"For today's activity we

month to create fun learning opportunities for the

looked and played with a

"For today's activity we

children in our infant program. We are committed

ribbon box. The kids

looked at ourselves in the

really enjoyed looking at

mirror and made silly faces."

to providing the best care possible and further develop and grow the skills of even the littlest

all the colors!"

minds here at Cultivate Mankato!

CULTIVATE NEWS | 10

www.cultivatemankato.com

We Are Hiring For the following positions: Human Resource Assistant: Part-time. Assist with scheduling and policy.

Must have experience.

Submit an application to employment@cultivatemankato.com

Assistant & Lead Teachers:

April Giving Back to our Community During the month of April we will be collecting items for MY PLACE - Mankato Youth Center!

Must meet qualifications and be able to work full-time.

For more information and to apply visit www.cultivatemankato.com/employment

Employment Package includes: health, dental & vision insurance, child care

“MY Place” Mankato Youth Place, opened in

benefits, retirement plan, professional

October 2018 as Boys & Girls Club of Mankato to

development stipend and other

be: a safe place for kids to learn and grow,

employment perks.

staffed with caring, adult professionals who develop ongoing relationships with members, life-

Please share this information to help us find

enhancing programs and character development

an outstanding, caring and qualified

experiences, hope and opportunity.

individual to join our team!

In the fall of 2019 they began a transition to MY Place. The name is a reflection of community and youth engagement and ownership of the space.

Mankato Youth Place is committed to providing a nurturing environment that empowers youth to build the confidence, knowledge and skills needed to reach their full potential. MY Place provides youth with programs to support success in school, a healthy lifestyle and character and leadership skills to prepare them to become contributing community members. Our mission to empower all young people to reach their full potential will continue.

Thank you for your continued support and living the Cultivate Mankato values.

Wish list coming soon!

CULTIVATE NEWS | 11

www.cultivatemankato.com

New T-Shirt Design Coming Soon!

Staff Trainings Research has shown that the most important skills your child needs to be

Is There Interest in Toddler Shirts?

successful in the future are social and

Before we order toddler t-shirt sizes, we

Since this is so important for your child,

wanted to check and see if there was

we use the Pyramid Model in our program

enough interest first. If you would

to support social/emotional development.

purchase one of the below t-shirt designs

The Pyramid Model is a framework for the

for your child, please send a message on

adults to use in their work with children to

procare letting us know that you are

support social/emotional and challenging

interested. Thanks!

behaviors. It focuses on the environment,

emotional skills!

The more social skills children have, the more likely they are to succeed in school.

relationships and targeted strategies.

How do we at Cultivate Mankato Child Development Center ensure the Pyramid Model is being used? The leadership team has the full 4 day training for Infants through Preschool, our Early Education coordinator Laura Walser is a certified trainer for Pyramid Model, provide coaching, on-the-spot modeling and

Please note: t-shirt & text color will change.

CULTIVATE NEWS | 12

trainings for full-time staff!

www.cultivatemankato.com

s& U r e off Ref 0 2 ve $ on i e c Re uiti t r you

Community Room BEAUTIFUL EVENT SPACE FOR YOUR UPCOMING PARTY OUR COMMUNITY ROOM PROVIDES: • A large kitchen island with bar stools

• A kitchenette with a refrigerator, freezer, sink & microwave

• Tables, table clothes & matching chairs

• Access to a preschool room or an extra meeting room

• Three large windows for lots of natural lighting

• Access to bathrooms

• Beautiful artwork

ENROLLED CULTIVATE FAMILIES RECEIVE A FREE COMMUNITY ROOM RESERVATION

To reserve visit:

CULTIVATE NEWS | 9

www.cultivatemankato.com/community-room

www.cultivatemankato.com

CELEBRATING ONE YEAR WORK ANNIVERSARY Gerri Williamson - Toddler 1 Lead Teacher

CULTIVATE NEWS | 14

April Menu

We would like to give families the opportunity to order the bread that River Rock makes for our children. There are two different options to choose from: Sourdough and Midwest Multigrain.

Pick up is at Cultivate. Payment is added to your tuition.

Click the menu to download a pdf

CULTIVATE NEWS | 15

To place an order: Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com or send us a message in ProCare!

www.cultivatemankato.com

Cultivate MN has a new private podcast studio available to rent ‣

$25 per hour private podcast recording room

for each microphone

‣

Audio interface

‣

‣

Two dynamic microphones

‣

Mic boom

System designed to be compatible on MacBook

All you need is your own computer! And we will help you install audio interface software. Don't want to edit your podcast? We partnered with Nulifestyle Co: Meraki Marketing to offer podcast editing for an additional cost. To book our podcast studio, contact us at info@cultivatemn.org

What is Cultivate MN? CultivateMN is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to promoting awareness within early childhood programs, family services organizations, and child welfare programs. We believe sharing stories promotes awareness and cultivates connection.

CULTIVATE NEWS | 17

www.cultivatemankato.com

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CultivateMN is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to promoting awareness within early childhood programs, family services organizations, and child CULTIVATE NEWS | 18 w e l f a r e p r o g r a m s . W e b e l i e v e s h a r i n g s t owww.cultivatemankato.com ries promotes

COMING

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MEET OUR PODCAST GUEST

CultivateMN is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to promoting awareness within early childhood programs, family services organizations, and child CULTIVATE NEWS | 19 w e l f a r e p r o g r a m s . W e b e l i e v e s h a r i n g s t owww.cultivatemankato.com ries promotes

COMING

SOON

MEET OUR PODCAST GUEST

CultivateMN is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to promoting awareness within early childhood programs, family services organizations, and child CULTIVATE NEWS | 20 w e l f a r e p r o g r a m s . W e b e l i e v e s h a r i n g s t owww.cultivatemankato.com ries promotes

COMING

SOON

MEET OUR PODCAST GUEST

CultivateMN is a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to promoting awareness within early childhood programs, family services organizations, and child CULTIVATE NEWS | 21 w e l f a r e p r o g r a m s . W e b e l i e v e s h a r i n g s t owww.cultivatemankato.com ries promotes