Cultivate Mankato: March 2022 News

VOL. 22 MARCH 2022

This Month's News

Parent Resources

New Team Members & Partnerships, In the News, Professional Development Update

Parenting a strong-willed, sensitive child: This is what you need to know

NURTURE. GROW. EMPOWER.

March News Valentine Sensory Bin in Toddler 2

Index 03

2022 Center Closures

Workiversary, Tax Statements, Leave a Review & Coffee is on Us, Pizza Kits

04-05 06

Upcoming Study, February Guests, Requesting Key Fobs Celebrating 100 Days of School in Preschool 2

Message from Anissa, Giving Back to our Community Initiative

We are Hiring, COVID Policies

08

Upskill Parent Resources

09

Staff Professional Development Update,

Partnerships

10-11

Message from Samantha Laman

12-13

Infant Development Center

14-15

In the News, Community Room

16-17

Menus

18-19

Parent Resource Article

20-22

New Team Members, Internships &

Playing Veterinarian in Preschool 1

07

Learning in Infant 1

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www.cultivatemankato.com

g!

Upcomin

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CELEBRATING ONE YEAR WORK ANNIVERSARY Payton Merritt, Preschool Teacher

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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 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 laptop to do this

Build Your Own Pizza Kits We have partnered with River Rock to create

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.

LEAVE

A

GOOGLE

REVIEW

HERE!

Once you've left us a review, email us at info@cultivatemankato.com with your choice of coffee. Check out our website to decide which blend you would like: www.cultivatemankato.com/shop Note: Pick up only at Cultivate Mankato Administrative Office; 110 S. Broad Street (located right next to our center).

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PLACE YOUR PIZZA KIT ORDER HERE

Upcoming Study Within our education curriculum, we use studies to guide our lesson planning. Studies

Thank You to All of Our February Guests

are a broad concept that we focus on for 4-6

Dan White, a parent volunteer here at Cultivate

weeks. Currently our study has been all about

Mankato, visited a few of our classrooms last

Music. This month we will begin our

Friday morning. He then came back and joined

Recycle

Reduce Reuse Study. If you feel your family has something special to share in regards to our upcoming study, we would love family participation. Reach out!

us with his guitar in the Community Room during pick-up time. Thank you so much Dan! Special guest Anja Scheidel with Musikgarten was here visiting our toddler and preschooler classrooms! Last week she spent time with our toddlers. The children loved her and her music lessons! Anja is an Early Childhood Music & Movement Educator and offers many different classes for all ages! If you are interested in Musikgarten and want to learn more, visit www.makingmusik.com/anjamusikgarten One of our toddler teachers, Morgan Wiersma, brought in her violin! The children loved listening to the nursery rhymes Morgan played. They were so quiet watching her and gave her a huge round of applause when she was done!

Mr Zack did a virtual visit for our preschoolers at the Hub. He played a lot of different instruments for the class, having them guess what type of animal they sound like. The children had lots of fun guesses!

Need a New Keyfob?

If you need more than two key fobs or you have misplaced your key fob, you may request additional or replacement key fobs using this form. You will be charged a $15.00 fee to your Procare account.

Some pictures from our Music Study the last few weeks.

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Key Fob Request Form www.cultivatemankato.com

Message From Ms. Anissa I LOVE this time of year!

The days are getting longer and the air is getting warmer.

The wet, earthy smell of the ground thawing.

The birds singing from the tree tops, SPRING IS NEAR! COME OUTSIDE! And the puddles! BIG, GIGANTIC PUDDLES

Giving Back to Our Community Initiative During the month of March we will be collecting personal care items to be given out at the Project Community Connect Expo on April 19.

"Project Community Connect is a collaborative, one-stop resource expo to help reduce barriers and connect people to essential resources and services for a

just begging to be jumped in. Some of my

healthier, safer and more stable community.

favorite memories with my nephew are the

This free event raises awareness of hunger,

days we put on our rain boots and went out

homelessness and poverty in our region.

to search for the biggest puddles we could

By bringing more than 70 service providers

find. We got so wet and laughed so hard!

to one place, this event aims to provide ease

There is something so lovely about this time

of access to a broad variety of services and

of year as we come out of hibernation and

knowledgeable service providers to improve

reconnect with one another.

lives in our community."

One great way to connect is volunteering as a special guest at Cultivate Mankato! During the month of March, our study is Recycle, Reduce, Reuse. This encompasses so many different areas: recycled art, sorting, composting, science experiments, repurposing used materials… So many possibilities! If you would like to be a classroom guest, let me know! We would love to have you! anissa@cultivatemankato.com Thinking ahead…

April Study - Spring |

May Study - Water

Learn More About PCC CULTIVATE NEWS | 7

www.cultivatemankato.com

Staff Professional Development Update

Covid-19 Policies

Once a month we hold a program staff

Review and download MN Department

meeting in the evenings.

As a leader in the Early Education and Child

updated February 2022

of Health COVID-19 Decision Tree for People in Child Care Programs

Click Here

Care profession, Director Candice DealBartell been able to experience first-hand challenges that programs serving young children face. These challenges not only have tremendous impact on programs, but also on children, families, and employees within early education communities. She has made a choice to commit to working on these issues in various ways. One way that she is currently working on these deeply rooted issues is by taking the seat of a learner. Last November, she was accepted to Vanderbilt University's Doctor of Educational Leadership (Ed.D) program. Her objective in completing this program is to continue to help drive system change for the early education field, specifically redefining the model for community based child care programming. We will not give up until we see change for families, child care providers, and communities.

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: Teachers, Assistants and Supports in all programs

www.cultivatemankato.com/employment

Infant Program is currently going through a researched based observations that aligns with Pyramid Model, administered by our Early Education Coordinator. Laura has gone through certification to administer this research based tool. It's a two hour observation, half an hour interview, and wrapped up with a meeting to go over results and to set classroom goal.

By the end of our Professional Development Day on March 25th all teachers and assistants have to complete 20 hours of professional development curriculum. The 20 hours of training is through Teaching Strategies, this will cover the Creative Curriculum and GOLD assessment.

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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 Knowing yourself as a parent

HAVE YOU JOINED OUR FB GROUP?

IT'S FREE! CULTIVATE NEWS | 9

Guiding your child’s behavior; positive discipline Language development If you have questions, please email Laura

laura.walser@cultivatemankato.com www.cultivatemankato.com

Welcome to the Team!

Olivia Benson, Central Kitchen & Food Coordinator "Hello! My name is Olivia Benson and I am the Central Kitchen & Food Coordinator for Cultivate Mankato. Graduated culinary school at South Central College and in the culinary field for some years now as a pastry chef, baker and cook. I am a wife and new mother of one little boy. I enjoy gardening, biking, hiking and spending time with my family. I am very excited to become part of the Cultivate Team. This is a wonderful opportunity to help with building a healthy community by providing nutritional meals for your children."

Stephan Stangler, General Property Manager "I was born in Japan but was raised in Höhfröschen, Germany until 5th grade. After moving to America I spent the rest of my childhood in Bellevue, Nebraska. I was lucky enough to have grandparents who have a farm in Cleveland, Minnesota and I spent many summers visiting them and spending time with my large family. I eventually made the move to Minnesota in 2014 to work at Unimin and am so glad I did. In my time away from work I am a landlord and enjoy exploring parks with my girlfriend and Great Dane, cooking, hunting for fossils and agates, and traveling. I believe that having quality early childhood education is pivotal in developing a foundation of learning for years to come while also nurturing creativity, and forming values essential for children to become contributing members of society."

Megan Diedrich, Human Resource Coordinator Hello! My name is Megan and I am from Eagle Lake, where I live with my husband and 1.5 year old son, Silas. I am originally from Medford. I graduated in 2017 from Luther College in beautiful Decorah, Iowa with a degree in English. My passions have led me down many different trails, including working with Kindergarten through third grade building reading literacy skills, to a lead teacher in a toddler classroom, to being a paralegal.

I have always had a passion for sharing knowledge with others and I began to pursue a teaching license at Minnesota State University Mankato before taking a break. After having my son, my vision has focused on building a better world for him and all children. I realized I especially enjoyed digging into the fascinating amount of growth achieved by children in their first five years of life. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to join a team here at Cultivate Mankato that shares my vision and values! I cannot wait to help serve your family! In my free time, you can find me reading books on true crime, crocheting little hats, getting my hands dirty outside, or playing strategic board games.

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New Internships & Partnerships!

Kaity Dabney, CADA Internship Cultivate Mankato is now a qualified field experience for Social Work and we are starting our very first project between CADA and Cultivate. The project is being designed and implemented by Kaity Dabney, a Cultivate Mankato toddler assistant teacher since September 2019! More information coming soon!

Claire Rasche, Recruiting and Onboarding Ambassador "Hello, my name is Claire Rasche! I grew up on a farm in Heron Lake, a small town in southwest Minnesota. I am currently a senior at MSU majoring in Human Resources. I have worked as a support staff and assistant teacher in the toddler classrooms for over a year and am now beginning a new journey at Cultivate as the Recruiting and Onboarding Ambassador! I have such a love for all the children in our care and have loved working with each and everyone one of them. I am so excited to start being able to help find others to work at Cultivate who have the same passion that I do!"

Sam Olsen, owner of Persist Therapy We are excited to announce a new community partnership with San Olsen from Persist Therapy. Sam Olsen specializes in occupational therapy for kids, family and sibling services and parent coaching. Sam already works with a some Cultivate families and is very familiar with the Cultivate community. She will also be contributing to our newsletter in the near future. More information to come!

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www.cultivatemankato.com

Message from Samantha Laman - Operations Coordinator

Butterfly Effect The butterfly effect: we’ve all heard the phrase, we all know the general idea. Even just the smallest of changes in a condition can lead to unpredictable, large-scale effects in the future.

It is a tired, old tagline that has been transformed and twisted into however the user understands it but I challenge you to view it in a very literal sense.

Butterflies are both some of the most fragile, and perplexing insects in the world. Sure, we have all seen a countless amount throughout our lifetime but how often do we actually stop, look, and think about the details of their existence? Stop and consider that we might not be as different?

Much like us, butterflies start their lives as tiny, fragile, helpless beings. Although their lives are vastly shorter than humans, they also go through periods of growth and transition that I can only imagine to be uncomfortable and painful. Through each stage that the caterpillar reaches, they outgrow and molt the exoskeleton that has become too small for them to fit in any longer. When it's time, most caterpillars then turn themselves into a chrysalis, which is a fancy name for a goo filled pod that they will eventually emerge from as a beautiful butterfly.

Although we stay in the same general form as we move through the phases of our lives as humans, many of us can relate to the feeling of outgrowing our “exoskeleton'' and the uncomfortable, sometimes painful emotions it brings about. Many of us can also relate to the feeling of being a goo-filled pod that has zero effect on the world around us while we are simply trying to survive (especially with the uncertainty of the world we have found ourselves living in).

Throughout my years of schooling I learned many things, some of which went in one ear and out the other, but others stuck into my brain like pine sap to bare hands. I was fortunate to not only be raised in a family that valued spending time with each other through outdoor activities and travel, but also got to experience earning an education through hands-on interaction with many facets of nature starting at a very young age. I have an incredibly clear memory of my 3rd grade teacher Mrs.Baker handing out a bag of various types of rocks to each student in the classroom. We spent time throughout the weeks learning about each type of rock, how they were created, and other basic things like how to test the hardness, color, and streak. That same year, we got to interact with monarch butterflies and learned how to care for them, and the steps to tracking them after they reached their final stage of growth and were ready to be released to embark on their cross-country trip to Mexico.

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Not unlike the monarch butterflies, we are also expected to go through our own stages of growth and develop into a beautiful, contributing member of society. Our route may not compare to their thousands of miles they travel but the hardships are comparable. These difficulties do not need to be so, though. We can do our duty to prepare the “caterpillars” in our lives for their journey. This is done by allowing them to explore their surroundings on their own accord. Learning can be messy, painful, and confusing but mother nature has tailored an environment that is perfect for brains young and old to enjoy and learn from.

It has become common practice to ensure that children are spending their time wisely by interacting with the community through sports or a specialized art such as dance or choir. Through research, we know that building skills such as these as a child can benefit not just them in the here and now, but also give them a leg-up on their peers later on in life if they stick with a skill they learned in childhood. What is commonly forgotten about though, are the benefits of Play. As an expert in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure services I will forever be a voice that advocates for children to be given the opportunity to interact with the natural world around them. Not only does familiarizing themselves with their surroundings help them feel like they are part of something larger, but also teaches them essential life lessons through experience.

In recent years there has been a movement called 1000 Hours Outside, operating along the same beliefs that children gain essential skills while interacting with, and in, nature. Their goal is to get people of all age groups away from their screens and into their environment for 1000 hours a year.

They offer free resources including tracking sheets and information packets for those who participate and continuously share articles and blog posts that help participants keep making their goals a reality. Through this model, they have created a community of people from a vast array of backgrounds but have one thing in common- they place value in spending time outdoors. 1000 hours outside seems daunting at first, but when you look at the statistics of children spending an average of 1,200 hours behind a screen every year it doesn't seem as extreme does it? If we break it down a bit more, 1,000 hours a year ends up being just short of 20 hours a week, which equals just short of 3 hours being spent outside every day. You may be thinking “3 hours a day? Where am I going to magically pull extra time out of my life to place more importance on essentially doing nothing?. This may seem a little harder to do between work, family, cooking meals, and every other hiccup that interrupts our daily lives but we need to change our perspective. Instead of thinking of time spent at a local park, or even walking around your neighborhood a waste of time, we need to think of leisure and play as an essential part of our lives that slowly gets left by the wayside as soon as we enter the working world. With the growing number of stressors and other various things pulling us into different directions every day, we need to reshape how we live our lives and put more importance on the things that will benefit us and our families on a deeper level.

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www.cultivatemankato.com

CULTIVATE MANKATO INFANT

DEVELOPMENT

CENTER

SAME PROGRAM SAME VALUES SECOND

LOCATION

RENOVATION

NOW

ENROLLING

&

HIRING

|

UPDATE

COMING SPRING 2022

w w w . c u l t i v a t e m a n k a t o . c o m Paint and flooring are complete! 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

DO

ARE

YOU

THEY

IN

KNOW

NEED

OF

A

NURSE?

CHILD

CARE?

Located a block from the Mayo Hospital & Mankato Clinic Families who enroll at the Infant Development Center, automatically have a spot available at our Main Street location once their child enters the toddler program. Our Infant Development Center is located right next to the Mayo Hospital and Mankato Clinic, and our Main Street location is only 5 minutes from our Infant Development Center.

Natural modern design: lots of wood and

Rooms will have furniture and toys appropriate

natural elements that corresponds

for the development of infants

beautifully with the courtyard Many windows allowing for lots of natural light A warm environment that is welcoming

Its own secured and controlled entrance On-site parking Access to a commercial kitchen on-site which allows us to make our own baby foods

and safe

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www.cultivatemankato.com

In the News.....

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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

March 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 | 19

To place an order: Visit our Cultivate Mankato shop!

Questions? Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com

www.cultivatemankato.com

Parent Resource

In the classroom, her whirlwind of excitement came to a screeching halt as she saw another girl crying.

My daughter’s desire to leave me in the dust

Parenting a strong-willed, sensitive child: This is what you need to know Written by: Alana Pace Link to Article Parenting a strong-willed, sensitive child is challenging. We want to preserve their spirit while

tapered. Her big brown eyes got even darker as the empathy she felt for the girl washed over her.

“She’s sad, Mama.”

My daughter didn’t know how to make sense of her dissonant emotions. She was excited to leave me while another child was brokenhearted that her mom had left.

Thankfully, this situation acted as an opportunity for both girls to make a friend before class started.

(They left the cloakroom holding hands and were best friends for the rest of the school year.)

effectively parenting them. This is how to work with

This juxtaposition of my daughter’s strong-will and

your child’s temperament, improve cooperation and

sensitivity was one of my earliest memories of

celebrate who they are.

many.

Let me explain the difference.

Go figure, my son is also highly sensitive and willful.

My first strong-willed, sensitive child was my

Because of this, our days are punctuated by headstrong, emotional reactions.

daughter. Shortly after she was born, many described my baby girl as an old soul. As an infant, her eyes were wide with curiosity. With a serious expression on her face, it was as if she was

For example, when a soccer game got too rough, my son made his way to the sidelines, crossed his arms, and refused to get back on the field.

analyzing everything.

The other day, when my two oldest kids set up a As an infant, she was a happy baby. However, she got overstimulated easily and was quick to let me know when I needed to take her out of a crowded room.

Her first day of preschool was another example of how her personality plays out.

She had her backpack ready days before the first day of school. Once she was packed, she was furious she couldn’t go to school that instant. When the first day of school came, she lept with joy. When

lemonade stand they argued about the best place to set up the stand and whether or not lemonade stands can have drinks other than lemonade.

Finally, when no one came to their sale, they were both crestfallen.

Parenting a strong-willed, sensitive child is challenging.

If you can relate to examples like these, chances are you find parenting your child to be dynamic and, at times, exhausting.

we pulled into the parking lot, she told me to wait in the car and let her walk in on her own.

There is no autopilot for parenting these spirited, emotional souls. This is because strong-willed

Considering the fact she was three and not thirteen, the answer to that demand was a definite no.

children take nothing at face value. They are forever trying to determine what the boundaries

I did my best to keep with my two-year-old son on

are and will always try to negotiate. Then, because

my hip as my little girl burst through the rusty red

these kiddos are sensitive, they are acutely aware

school doors.

of changes in their environment, have big hearts, and equally big reactions.

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www.cultivatemankato.com

So often my kids would overreact to things like: being served big carrots you cut for them instead of mini carrots, suggesting they wear a pair of pants that “feel

Children who have strong-willed temperaments tend to: be prone to power struggles, question authority and rules,

funny,”

be bright and persistent,

a change in plans, like having to wait to go to

frequently test authority figures (parents,

the aquarium because the baby hasn’t woken

babysitters, substitute teachers, extended

from his nap.

family) to see determine what the boundaries

The good news.

are,

Strong-willed, sensitive children are naturally

carry arguments on for longer and farther than

equipped with some of the greatest predictors of

one would anticipate (3).

lifelong success. For one, they are naturally tenacious. When a strong-willed child doesn’t get her way, she brainstorms, negotiates, and presses the issue. For instance, when their lemonade stand failed, my children eventually decided to add more items, a price list, and find a higher traffic location (they set up right near a construction site.) As a result, they both came home happy, clenching about $3 in change each.

In addition to being gritty, these children are more

protest readily when expectations seem unfair,

Children who are highly sensitive tend to: be very intuitive, learn better with gentle correction rather than harsh punishment, notice when others are bothered or upset, feel emotions deeply, picks up on subtle changes (such as the “slightest unusual odour”) asks a lot of questions, is very sensitive to pain.

inclined to be leaders and stand up for what’s right.

Laura Markham, clinical psychologist at Columbia

You can take the Highly Sensitive Child test,

University explains,

developed based Dr Elaine Aron’s research, here.

[Strong-willed children] are usually self-motivated

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying

and inner-directed, and often grow into leaders as

purchases.

adults. They are more impervious to peer pressure and go after what they want with more gusto. They want to “learn things for themselves rather than accepting what others say, so they test the limits over and over,” and this relates to relationships as well. Such discernment involves not only when they cut their hair, eat vegetables, or choose to wear a coat, but also in whom they decide to trust and in

Parenting a strong-willed, sensitive child is challenging. We want to preserve their spirit while effectively parenting them. This is how to work with your child’s temperament and improve cooperation.

5 key strategies that make parenting a strongwilled, sensitive child easier.

whom they choose to follow or who they allow themselves to be influenced by.

Finally, emotionally intelligent people tend to have better job performance (1). And, highly sensitive people tend to be empathetic, smart, and conscientious (2).

How do you know you have a strong-willed, sensitive child?

CULTIVATE NEWS | 21

1. Frame your child’s behaviour. By understanding your strong-willed, sensitive child, you have context for your child’s behaviour and are better equipped to coach it.

2. Work with your child’s personality by establishing the family rules together. Call a family meeting and discuss problems as well as goals. Prompt your children to talk about

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what rules they think are reasonable as well as how they should be reminded when mistakes are made.

In this situation, you are still the parent and you are guiding the discussion while collaborating to accomplish peace and cooperation in your household.

3. Frontload as often as possible. This means to look for every chance to give your child a heads-up before disappointment strikes, plans change, or the going gets tough. This will make it so much easier for her to be resilient when she feels challenged.

4. Make boundaries firm and discipline gentle.

Strong-willed children need to know what rules are non-negotiable. This minimizes power struggles and also facilitates confidence in a child. Research shows that sensitive children feel the most vulnerable when boundaries aren’t clear. Equally, discipline must be calm and gentle. Studies on sensitive children show that they hold themselves highly accountable for their mistakes. In cases of misbehaviour, the best approach is a subtle reminder or in more extreme cases a timeout where you’re with your child.

5. When appropriate and with your child’s permission, explain your child’s temperament to others. Some may mistakenly think your child is intentionally being too sensitive or strong-willed.

Others may not know how to make sense of your child’s nature. By giving context to who your child is, the adults in your child’s life will be better equipped to take care of and guide him.

A final note on sensitive and strong-willed children Strong-willed, sensitive children require patience and consideration. They aren’t easy to raise, but their temperament gives them the innate capacity to become compassionate and meaningful leaders.

The key is to work with their personality while increasing cooperation. To do so, the adults in their lives must work with them instead of against them, be clear with their expectations but gentle with their discipline, and act as their advocate where appropriate. In doing so, adults are able to guide the child in a way that celebrates who she is. This then gives the child to truly become the person she is meant to be.”

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