VOL. 15 AUGUST 2021
This Month's News
Parent Resources
Carnival, Community Cookbook Project, Mental Health Consulting
Subscribe to Upskill, Time-out vs. Time-In: Is There a Better Way?
NURTURE. GROW. EMPOWER.
August News Index Classroom obstacle course in Preschool 2
03-04
Upskill Parent Resources, Business Membership
05
Cultivate Mankato Family Carnival
Future Closures, Cultivate MN National Take Action Survey
Parachute fun & dance party
MoonDogs Game Photos and Reflection
in Toddler 3 Mental Health Consulting with Crystal Dubbelde, Community Cook Book Licensing Visit, Glimpse into our Infant Program, Community Love Project
Giving Back to Our Community - Fritz
Story time with Mr John with Preschool 3
07 08 09 10
Sensory Room - Donate Today
Fundraiser, Upcoming Study
06
11
Scholastic Book Order, Hiring
12
Community Room, Workiversaries
13-16
Meal Menus
17-18
Parent Resource
19-20
Beach Day and water games in Preschool 1
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Laura Walser, our Early Education Coordinator will be creating short parent resource videos called Upskill for $10/month.
Upcoming topics will be: Handling big emotions Emotion coaching Keeping yourself calm Bedtime routines Building independence
Some more topics that will be discussed in the future include: Biting Morning routine Teaching a skill vs consequences Multiple environments equals multiple expectations Childcare drop off and pick up routine
Click Here to Subscribe
Setting your child up for successful sleep at childcare Potty training The importance of sleep
TWO NEW VIDEOS NOW
AVAILABLE!
Knowing yourself as a parent Guiding your child’s behavior; positive discipline Language development If you have questions, please email Laura
laura.walser@cultivatemankato.com CULTIVATE NEWS | 3
www.cultivatemankato.com
PARENTS WE
NEED
YOUR
HELP
SPREADING
THE
WORD
ABOUT
THIS
MEMBERSHIP
BE THE CHANGE #supportyouremployees
OVERVIEW Cultivate Mankato's Child Care Business Membership is a low-risk membership program that provides tremendous value to employees and employers.
As a member, you will get the following:
ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT
55%
High quality child care options for your employees Discounted weekly child care rates for employees Company wide access to Cultivate Mankato’s Community Room
of parents would take a pay cut for a job that offers child care. Source: Harris Poll, 2019
IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
10%
Prioritized access to child care openings Tax write-off
How it works:
increase in work-life balance, employees with access to child care reported. Source: KCE Fortune 100 Client Survey
ENCOURAGE ENGAGEMENT
30%
Step 1: Business purchases the tier that best fits their needs Step 2: Business offers child care benefit to their employee Step 3: Employee enrolls their child at Cultivate Mankato Step 4: Employee pays a discounted rate of child care each week
reduction in employee absences by providing child care. Source: Child Care Council, 2014
PROVIDE SUPPORT
You choose the discount you want to offer your employee: Membership levels are structured to offer a low-cost, high value benefit
77%
of parents are looking to employers to offset the cost of child care. Source: KinderCare Education Works
to your employees. Membership dues are annual and are per employee.
TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
CUSTOM
10% DISCOUNT
15% DISCOUNT
25% DISCOUNT
YOU DECIDE
CULTIVATE MANKATO CHILD CARE BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Future Closures January 1st | New Year's Day
October 22nd | Teacher Appreciation
April 2nd | Teacher Appreciation
November 25th | Thanksgiving
May 31st |
November 26th | Thanksgiving
Memorial Day
July 2nd | Independence Day
December 24th | Christmas Eve
September 6th | Labor Day
December 31st | New Year's Day 2022
Take Action to Reduce Child Care Costs
Take our National Survey to help us TAKE ACTION to reduce child care costs! Also, please share this survey with your friends and family.
CULTIVATE NEWS | 6
www.cultivatemankato.com
Thank You for Joining us at the Moon Dogs Game Woo Hoo!!! We had SO. MUCH. FUN. at the MoonDogs game on July 23rd! Cultivate Mankato families, friends and team members packed the stands, purchasing 128 tickets for the game. We filled nearly TWO sections of the stadium. And we made sure our presence was known! Cultivate Mankato t-shirts were spotted everywhere. Pom poms and clackers in team colors and COWBELLS! MORE COWBELL! In all, we raised $640 for Partners for Housing. That is AWESOME!
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Cultivate Community Cookbook Project
Mental Health Consulting with Crystal Dubbelde Crystal Dubbelde
Dear Cultivate Mankato Families,
brings a unique lens to
Growing up, one of my favorite dishes was
Cultivate Mankato by
my mom’s tacos. I remember her cooking the ground beef in cast iron skillets that
offering support to the
were handed down to her by her
staff as a mental
grandmother. She made fresh homemade
health consultant.
salsa, chopped avocados (from our
Early childhood well-
avocado tree), hand shredded cheese and
being and
lettuce, she would fry the corn tortillas (1
development are a
shell at a time) in a tiny cast iron skillet
passion of hers. Crystal
and as they began to harden she would
graduated from MSU-
fold one side over the other to form a taco shell and cook a little longer until they were hard and crunchy. While this may sound simple enough it was a process that
Mankato with an undergraduate degree in Social Work. Upon graduation, she moved to Boston to obtain her
would take hours of love and included a
graduate degree in Clinical Social Work from
secret ingredient as well as a memory that
Boston University; graduating in 2007. Crystal
would be with me forever.
obtained a certificate in Infant and Early
Some of our Cultivate Families have asked
Childhood Mental Health from the University
for recipes of foods we make here at CM
of Minnesota, focusing on child development,
so we thought why not create a Cultivate
social emotion needs of children and
Mankato Community Cookbook. It will
understanding service delivery for children
feature recipes of foods made here as
ages 0-5. She has been practicing
well as recipes from local restaurants in and around Mankato and artwork done by the children at CM. Perhaps you have
psychotherapy as a clinical social work for the past 14 years.
some favorite family recipes you would love to share with us. If you would like to submit your favorite recipe for the cookbook, you can email your recipes to me
becky@cultivatemankato.com.
At Cultivate, we believe that supporting teachers who work with young children is critical to their professional and personal development and helps to promote longevity in the field of early education.
Please submit your recipe before August 13. Make sure to include your name and a brief story if there is one to go with your recipe.
Thank you, Becky Fichter
CULTIVATE NEWS | 8
www.cultivatemankato.com
A Glimpse into our Infant Program Our infant team doesn't just rock babies all day. It's a fast paced, busy job that requires patience, professionalism, organization, communication and problem-solving skills. Our staffs' day consists of multi-tasking, remembering schedules, keeping up with meals, bottles, diaper changes, and naps, facilitating monthly focuses, communicating with parents, teaching social/emotional skills, consoling cries, making decisions, playing, cleaning, and more cleaning, participating in ongoing professional development training, nurturing and loving, and more!
#valueinfantteachers #thankyourinfantteacher #itshardwork
Community Love Wall Project Licensing Visit
RESCHEDULED
for August 26th 5-7pm
This event will now conveniently take place at the same time as our family carnival!
Our annual DHS licensor visit has been scheduled for August 3. Our leadership team and teachers have been working hard to ensure that all DHS requirements are in order. But rest assured, we're not worried in the least bit about this visit, as we pride ourselves in following all DHS requirements and guidelines every day.
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www.cultivatemankato.com
We are currently working on opening a new sensory room for CultivateMN. This room will include different items such as large motor items, sensory books, and a few different sensory table top activities that help children with high sensory needs, sensory processing disorders, and sensory diets.
This will be available to all children that attend Cultivate Mankato. The items are mobile and can transfer from building to building. We are asking for your help in funding this project. We have a great need at Cultivate for these resources to support children with various sensory needs. The estimated cost of the project is around $5,000. If you are interested and able to donate,
CLICK HERE. All donations will also be tax
deductible! Any contributions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you,
Cultivate MN
What is a sensory room and who benefits? A sensory room—a therapeutic space with a variety of equipment that helps children with sensory issues calm and focus themselves so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others. Sensory issues occur when a child has a difficult time receiving and responding to information from their senses. Children who have sensory issues may have an aversion to anything that triggers their senses, such as light, sound, touch, taste, or smell. Symptoms of sensory processing issues may depend on the way in which a child processes sensations. Children who are easily stimulated may have hypersensitivity. Children who aren’t as easily stimulated experience fewer sensations and have hyposensitivity. Sensory spaces in schools have been shown to decrease negative behaviors and improve student engagement. The benefits of sensory rooms in schools have led some educators to begin using sensory rooms for groups of students beyond those with a diagnosed sensory processing disorder or developmental disability. Having sensory rooms within a school can also reduce the need to send students out of the school for additional services. For students who need to work with occupational or physical therapists, these professionals can be brought into the school, rather than students being taken out of class and the school to have these appointments. This maintains consistency in a student’s day and reduces the amount of time they have to be away from school.
CULTIVATE NEWS | 10
www.cultivatemankato.com
Giving Back to Our Community
Upcoming Study Within our education curriculum, we use studies to guide our lesson planning. Studies are a broad concept that we focus on for 4-6 weeks. Currently our study has been about art. This month we will begin our
diversity study. If you
feel your family has something special to share in regards to our upcoming study, we would love Our Giving Back to the Community event for August
family participation. Reach out!
This month Cultivate MN is teaming up with Cultivate Mankato. is going to be a special one.
At the Cultivate Mankato Carnival on Thursday, August 26, we will be doing a DUNK THE STAFF fundraiser for 9 year-old Fritz Urban and his family. $10 per ball for a chance to dunk your favorite Cultivate Mankato team member (example: $50 donation = 5 balls thrown at the staff member of your choosing). The Urban Family’s story could be any of our stories.
From Fritz and the Uninvited Guest: Fritz was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. He has a large tumor in his mandible that his parents originally mistook for a severely abscessed tooth. He is getting medical care from Mayo Clinic in Rochester and is charming the oncology and surgical departments already. His treatment will involve 14-17 rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and there will also be an extremely intense surgery to remove the tumor (about the size of an egg) along with a good amount of his mandible, which will be rebuilt using bone from his leg. His chemo will be delivered inpatient in Rochester, so we will be getting to know this world renowned medical resource that is just down the road from our home. We are very fortunate.
Click Here to Learn More.
Updates on Fritz can be found on their FB page
Fritz and the Uninvited Guest.
PLEDGE NOW CULTIVATE NEWS | 11
Some pictures from our Art Study the last few weeks. www.cultivatemankato.com
Scholastic Book Orders Through the Scholastic Book Club, you have the choice to place an order each month. Your orders will allow us to earn free books for our 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, May 14th. Any questions about ordering can be emailed to Ms. Tera at
tera.vankeulen@cultivatemankato.com
Link to order: https://orders.scholastic.com/R76H7
We Are Hiring We are always looking for top performers to join our team! Employment Package includes: health, dental & vision insurance, child care benefits, retirement plan, professional development stipend and other employment perks. Please share this information to help us find an outstanding, caring and qualified individual to join our team!
Open Positions: Assistants
Class Code: R76H7
Mon-Fri 1:30-6:30pm or 10:30-6:30pm www.cultivatemankato.com/employment
Toddler Sizes Now Available: Order Today!
SAVE $5
when you purchase
Adult & Toddler Matching Shirts
ORDER HERE CULTIVATE NEWS | 12
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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 two YEARS WORK ANNIVERSARY Laura Walser, Early Education Coordinator (July 29th) Abbey Weilage, Toddler 3 Lead Teacher (August 12th)
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GUESS WHAT? It's Megan's last day August 3. She is off to start her MA and teaching program. We are going to miss her!
CELEBRATING two YEARS WORK ANNIVERSARY Megan Reed, Preschool 1 Teacher (August 29) Maddie Kuchenmeister, Infant Assistant Teacher (August 26) Kaity Dabney, Toddler 3 Assistant Teacher (August 26)
CULTIVATE NEWS | 15
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR WORK ANNIVERSARY Lexi Leichtnam-Fitting, Infant 4 Co-Lead Teacher (August 5) Kesha Carter, Infant Support Staff (August 5) Jada Johnson, Preschool 1 Assistant Teacher (August 12) Krystal Paulson, Assistant Teacher (August 26)
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Aug Menus
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 at Cultivate in 1-2 business days.
Click the menu to download a pdf
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To place an order: Visit our Cultivate Mankato shop! Questions? Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com
www.cultivatemankato.com
We would like to give families the opportunity to order snack packs for your child(ren) or upcoming event. Choose between a meat or vegetarian option or send us a message to create a custom order. Pick up at Cultivate in 1-2 business days.
Click the menu to download a pdf
CULTIVATE NEWS | 18
To place an order: Visit our Cultivate Mankato shop! Questions? Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com
www.cultivatemankato.com
Parent Resource Time-out vs. Time-In: Is There a Better Way? Why You Need the Flexibility of a Feeling-Break Written by Ashley Soderlund Ph.D. https://nurtureandthriveblog.com/feeling-break-time-in/
Time-outs in the traditional sense are not recommended as an effective way to discipline or as a way to help your child to develop better regulation skills.
Positive Discipline: What is a Time-In? The time-in is the positive/gentle parenting answer to time-out. Instead of leaving your child alone with their very big and hard-to-control emotions, you sit with them and scaffold self-
Disciplining Your Child: What is a Time-Out? The classic time-out is used as a punishment or at
regulation, while at the same time reinforcing limits.
best, negative-reinforcement. Most simply put, a
Here is a typical scenario: Your child is playing
child does something they shouldn’t — hit, push,
with a friend and the friend grabs away the toy
kick, or scream and the parent sends their child to
your child was playing with. Your child grabs it
the time-out chair or to their room to “think about
back. The friend grabs it back again and your
what they did” and to “calm down.”
child pushes the friend over. Tears all around.
Parents often think that it is best to ignore their
You approach your child and remind them it is not
child while they are in time-out, so they do not
okay to use their hands when they are upset, you
accidentally reinforce bad behavior by giving their
remove your child from the situation and ask your
child any attention.
child to sit with you. Then you help your child work
Parents have the best intentions using these
through some big feelings and repair the situation.
strategies — they want to teach their child that
“Wow, did you feel really frustrated when your
their behaviors are unacceptable and they don’t
friend grabbed the toy? (Help your child name
want to use harsher punishment.
and notice the emotion). What are some ways we
However, consistently leaving children to figure out what they did wrong and not acknowledging their very real emotions can have unintended consequences. At best, we miss out on a chance to build emotion-regulation skills, and at worst, we set the stage for later emotional dysregulation and behavior problems. We all want children to learn limits and understand that certain behaviors are not acceptable, and we also want children to learn to regulate their emotions and ‘calm down.’ Unfortunately, time-outs don’t often accomplish
can show our frustration? (Say it aloud, tell me, stomp your feet like a dinosaur). Remember, we cannot use our hands to show our frustration. Let’s see if we can take turns with the toy – I can set a timer (This begins to repair the social situation, building the foundation for empathy and social repair).” The big difference from a time-out is that in a time-in rather than leave the child alone, the caregiver sits with the child and helps co-regulate big emotions and helps to guide the repair of the situation.
those objectives long-term. Instead, children learn
There are three things a Time-In must include to
to stuff impulses and emotions deep inside in
be effective: Acknowledging Emotion, Setting
order to fit into a rigid set of rules.
Limits on Behavior, and Repair/Redirection.
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Acknowledging how your child feels helps to
There were also times when a time-in just didn’t
diffuse their inappropriate behavior. Once children
work:
feel understood, so much of the behavior melts
He needed a break.
away. Often the behavior is just an immature attempt of trying to express emotion. Time-ins allow your child to grow and learn about feelings and relationships.
Away from the activity, away from the stress of the situation, and even away from me. The activity was so over-stimulating that a quiet break was the only thing that let him sort through his big
Sitting with your child in that emotion also
feelings. We all feel like that sometimes don’t we?
reinforces the feeling of connection to you, erasing
When you are upset and you just need a minute to
the need for “attention-getting behavior,” which is
catch your breath — to just feel what you are
often just a bid for connection.
feeling.
Sometimes, however, time-ins just don’t work.
I needed a break.
There is actually minimal research support for
Let’s face it — sometimes you just don’t have it in
time-ins. There is quite a debate in the clinical
you for a time-in right at that moment. If you are
world because there is evidence that time-outs
close to blowing your fuse it is okay to say you
are effective, especially for children with ADHD or
need a break. You are modeling self-regulation to
disruptive and aggressive behavior, however, I
your child in that moment. And that’s a positive in
believe newer paradigms prioritizing neuroceptive
my book.
safety will show that this research was flawed.
The Time-In isn’t changing behavior.
There is also research (Stelter & Halberstadt, 2011) (Wong et al., 2008) (Hurrell et al., 2015) showing that parents who value and accept their children’s emotions, including negative emotions, had children who:
Sometimes your child knows better, yet they may have trouble doing better in the midst of big emotions. They need help regulating impulses, and a break to pause and reflect can be a powerful tool to help develop regulation.
Felt More Secure
Eventually, that can translate to thinking before
Showed Greater Peer Competence
acting — thereby reducing impulsive behavior.
Have lower Anxiety Bottom line? A time-in is a good choice. But it doesn’t always work and sometime children resist it
Want to learn how to do a Feeling Break In in a positive way that supports development?
because of the different types of emotions they are feeling. So, what do you do if time-ins don’t work?
The Time-in with a Twist: Introducing The Feeling-Break
Continue reading the full article here:
Positive Discipline 101: Here is how to do a Feeling-Break in a positive way that supports development
When my son was younger and was really upset I would sit with him, offer a hug, acknowledge his emotions, and guide him to a better response. Many times this type of time-in would instantly soothe tantrums and we'd move on about our day.
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