Cultivate Mankato: February 2022 News

VOL. 21 FEB 2022

This Month's News

Parent Resources

NEW: Build Your Own Pizza Kits, Coffee Sale, Community Guests Climb2Feed Kids Sponsor

5 Exhausting Pressures Parents Can Let Go Of Forever

NURTURE. GROW. EMPOWER.

February News Fine Motor Activity in Infant 5

Getting Messy in Toddler 3

Index Cultivate Love Nomination Awards,

03-04

2022 Center Closures

05

Business Membership Tax Statements, Cultivate Love Valentine Gifts, Build Your Own Pizza Kits

07

Upcoming Study, January Guests Enrollment Dashboard, Climb2Feed Kids Storytime with Mr John in Preschool 2

Message from Anissa, COVID-Policies Upskill Parent Resources Infant Development Center Community Room Cultivate Coffee Sale Menus Parent Resource Article

06 08 09 10 11 12 13 14-15 16-17

Matching on Pajama Day in Preschool 1

CULTIVATE NEWS | 2

www.cultivatemankato.com

DO YOU KNOW AN EDUCATOR WHO GOES ABOVE & BEYOND?

CULTIVATE LOVE

Recognition Award!

Please Nominate them today: WHO QUALIFIES?

WHAT THEY WILL RECEIVE:

ANYBODY WHO WORKS WITHIN

RECOGNITION AWARD CERTIFICATE

THE EARLY EDUCATION FIELD CULTIVATEMN T-SHIRT TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF, PARAS ADMINISTRATORS, DIRECTORS, ETC

LETTER THANKING THEM FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD OF EARLY EDUCATION

NOMINATE TODAY www.cultivatemn.org

CULTIVATE NEWS | 3

www.cultivatemankato.com

g!

Upcomin

CULTIVATE NEWS | 4

PARENTS WE

NEED

YOUR

HELP

SPREADING

THE

WORD

ABOUT

THIS

MEMBERSHIP

BE THE CHANGE #supportyouremployees

CULTIVATE MANKATO CHILD CARE BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP

How to Retrieve Tax Statements We’ve had many requests for retrieving tax statements. Procare makes it pretty easy for families to get their own, but please let

Build Your Own Pizza Kits

me know if you have any questions. Please click the link below to view directions on how to do this. Please note, you may have to access your Procare account from a

We have partnered with River Rock to create

laptop to do this versus your phone.

pizza kits for our families!

Click Here for Instructions

Our Build Your Own Pizza Kits will be available to pick up every Friday at pick-up.

Each kit costs $14.95 and will includes mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, pizza sauce, and River Rock pizza dough.

O N L I N E

S T O R E

LOVE

ALL

PROCEEDS

SUPPORT

EARLY

EDUCATORS!

SPEND

$30+

GET $5 OFF

mix & match any product in our store

USE CODE: VALENTINESDAY2022 offer

valid:

CULTIVATE NEWS | 6

now

-

02/15/2022

PLACE YOUR PIZZA KIT ORDER HERE

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 all about Health. This month we will begin our

Music Study. If you feel your

Thank You to All of Our January Guests Liv Benson stopped by and met our toddlers and preschoolers and talked about different fruits and vegetables. They talked about the different colors and tried to guess what color

family has something special to share in

was inside the fruit or vegetable. No one

regards to our upcoming study, we would

guessed what the inside of the dragonfruit

love family participation. Reach out!

looked like. It was really fun to hear the children call out the fruits and vegetables they recognized from their Cultivate lunches.

Exciting news! Liv Benson will be joining the Cultivate Mankato team as the Central Kitchen Coordinator on February 7th. She will be working with Becky Fichter, our Kitchen & Food Coordinator, to continue providing nutritious and delicious meals for the children at Cultivate Mankato.

Nurse Nancy, came to visit to help teach the preschool classrooms about germs, washing our hands and keeping them clean. After reading the book, "I Don't Want to Wash My Hands," we practiced washing our hands and everyone received a 'hand washing champion' sticker.

Fun Fact: Nurse Nancy is Samantha Laman's mother! (Samantha is our Operations Coordinator).

Katie Kendhammer, AuD, visited our preschool classrooms and talked about keeping our ears healthy. She told us the rule about not putting anything smaller than an elbow in our ears. We also learned about the role hair cells play in helping us hear. Dr. Katie had a fun pipe cleaner activity to demonstrate what happens when we experience loud music and loud noises. We learned that we can lessen our exposure to loud

Some pictures from our Health Study the last few weeks.

CULTIVATE NEWS | 7

noises by walking away, asking to turn down the volume, or using noise-blocking headphones.

www.cultivatemankato.com

Proud Sponsor Cultivate Mankato was a proud sponsor of this year's BackPack Food Program annual CLIMB 2 FEED KIDS event. Many participants took to the slopes at Mount Kato to climb & slide to feed kids! This team-focused event rallied team captains to secure teams with a goal of raising $1000 per team and culminate with 3 exciting participations options! The event gathers people of all fitness levels to climb and raise dollars for the BackPack Food Program. Anissa Sandland, our Community and Culture Coordinator, organized children's activities for this event on behalf of Cultivate Mankato.

CULTIVATE NEWS | 8

www.cultivatemankato.com

Message From Ms. Anissa

Covid-19 Policies updated February 2022

Review and download MN Department of Health COVID-19 Decision Tree for

Love can look like many different

People in Child Care Programs

things.

Click Here

Hugs & Kisses A text or an email Holding the door A pat on the back Flowers on a random Tuesday Waving hello Your undivided attention Having grace with someone Taking the time to listen to the answer Dancing in the living room Holding hands Snuggling on the couch

We Are Hiring Employment Package includes: health, dental & vision insurance, retirement plan, professional development stipend, child care benefits, and other employment perks. ​Please share this information to help us find caring, outstanding and qualified individual to join our team!

Open Positions: Preschool Co-Lead Assistants and Supports in all programs

Clearing the snow from the sidewalk Remembering someone’s favorite treat

www.cultivatemankato.com/employment

Warming the car on a cold winter’s day Doing the dishes Folding the laundry Sharing laughs (and tears too)

Weather Reminder As the snow has already fallen this month, we want to remind you of our weather policy.

And…

Cultivate Mankato does not follow the district 77 weather closings. However, we may have to

How do you define love?

close if it is deemed unsafe for families and

How do you share love?

employees getting to and from Cultivate. We

How do you receive love?

Love, Ms Anissa

CULTIVATE NEWS | 9

have only had to close early once last year so hopefully early closures will be minimal.

Also, please remember to bring snow boots, snow pants, hats, mittens and a coat every day. We do have some extras but our extras are limited. 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 | 10

www.cultivatemankato.com

Paint and flooring will be completed by the end of the week! We are actively enrolling AND hiring for our Infant Development Center. If interested in enrollment, your first step is to fill out our enrollment contact form.

Our Infant Development Center, coming Spring 2022:

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Conveniently located near Mayo Hospital & Mankato Clinic Space is designed specifically for infants 3-16 months Brand new facility with the same stellar infant program Exceeds policies & procedures expectations Detailed parent communication throughout the day Infant development checklists, lesson planning & activities Staff on-site training & professional development

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ENROLLMENT CONTACT FORM JOIN OUR TEAM APPLY HERE MORE INFO 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

Beans Coffee Company Locally roasted, Mankato, MN Net Weight 12 oz.

Fair Trade Certified

ORDER

HERE

Also available in 8 oz bags and in 4-packs

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!

Feb 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 | 15

To place an order: Visit our Cultivate Mankato shop!

Questions? Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com

www.cultivatemankato.com

Parent Resource

Parenthood felt heavy

5 Exhausting Pressures Parents Can Let Go Of Forever

When my first child was born I was wrapping

Written by: Erica Layne

Like every mother, I had the best of intentions.

up a doctorate in Child Development and had already spent several years doing child and family therapy. As a result, I knew a lot about what children need to grow and develop.

I had all the research. I read all the books. I knew all the parenting philosophies. I was basically a walking resource library filled with

Link to Article Prior to becoming a parent myself, I was a Know-It-All. Shortly after joining the ranks of motherhood, I quickly became a Do-It-All. Let me explain the difference.

A Know-It-All simply believes they know

facts, tools, and theoretical frameworks.

But once I got my footing as a mother, I was able to sort out the content of this overflowing bag. The harsh reality was that I was carrying a whole lot of weight that I needed to hand back over to my children.

That weight was actually essential for them to grow, learn, and develop.

everything. A Do-It-All actually attempts to act

I know sometimes it can be hard to know what

on everything they know. You know, the kind of

to take out and leave behind. It can be hard

mother that reads her kid a dozen books a day,

to know what we don’t need. So I’m going to

builds her career, grows her own organic food,

tell you. (Disclaimer: I am not a Do-It-All

never “needs” a break, and has children who

anymore, but I’m still kind of a Know-It-All).

are beaming with constant smiles. It didn’t take long until I realized that as a Do-It-All, I was

It’s all good news for those of you who are

trying to be everything and do everything for

bearing a heavy burden in parenthood. Less is

my children and this came at a cost.

more. I am going to tell you exactly what to

The cost?

I was taking away important opportunities for my children to grow and develop.

take out of your suitcase. Because you’ll want leave some extra space in there for the surprises and lessons that your children are going to bring you along the way.

I was trying to be the perfect mother to the detriment of my children.

My brain and life looked like an overflowing suitcase. The kind of suitcase you have to sit on to get zipped up—that was me. I could barely get it closed and it was certainly over the legal weight limit. I found myself carrying that bag full of obligations, duties, and expectations around with me everywhere I went.

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www.cultivatemankato.com

5 Exhausting Pressures Parents Can Let Go Of Forever Now take five deep breaths—five sighs of relief—because what our children truly need from us will actually make our journey lighter.

Sigh #1: Let go of the pressure to buy all.the.things to keep your kids happy.

Sigh #4: Let go of the pressure to solve sibling squabbles Don’t be a referee. Sibling relationships are the practice ground for managing intimacy in later life. When it’s safe, let’s remove ourselves from the equation and give our children a chance to have hands on practice with problem solving and conflict

Surely children will light up with (fleeting) joy

management. Giving them that practice is a

when they receive new toys. But when we

gift.

stop using “stuff” to make our kids happy, we

Sigh #5: Let go of the pressure to hover over your kids

are giving them an opportunity to focus on finding joy through the intangible: new adventures and relationships with people they love.

Sigh #2: Let go of the pressure to constantly entertain your kid

It’s natural to fear for our children’s safety and well-being. But when we hover, we send our children the message that they aren’t capable. When we step back and let them take moderate risks, we show them that we

You are not an entertainer. In fact, when we

are confident in their abilities. And that

provide fewer structured activities and

confidence is contagious. They will start

sources of entertainment, we are gifting our

believing in themselves.

children opportunities to create and innovate their own joy. When you step back on your entertaining, your children will step up and

Once you let go of all the extra baggage, you will see that your children will thrive. Because less is more, even when it comes to parenting.

learn how to do it themselves. But they need practice.

Sigh #3: Let go of the pressure to be “on” every moment you are together with family Last I checked, you were human. And as humans we need the space to breathe. As parents, we can find small ways to delight in our children everyday, but we will never delight in them all day. Set the bar low and focus on quality time over quantity of time.

Give yourself permission to engage your mind in things unrelated to your family. If you aim to be “present + perfect” all day, every day then you will always fall short.

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www.cultivatemankato.com