VOL. 06 OCT 2020
This Month's News
Parent Resources
CultivateMN
COVID-19 Updates, Halloween, Hiring: Operations Coordinator
Why Parents Need to Understand Brain Development.
Stories Shared by Child Care Providers
NURTURE. GROW. EMPOWER
October News A walk to a swing with Infant 5
Painting with trucks in Toddler 3
Message from Candice Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time in reflection thinking about how to work toward doing better for the children of Mankato. As we crossed our one year anniversary on Sep. 9th, we have so much to be grateful for and we can see the progress we’ve made toward our vision, but we also Preschool 3 learning about different abilities
have so much more work to do. 2020 has brought many challenges that have shaken our organization in tremendous ways. We have all felt this in some capacity. What continues to be at the forefront of our mission are the children and being able to create a consistent, safe, nurturing, and fun environment for them. While we are facing unknown challenges through these times, you have our commitment to always strive for better. We look forward to moving into the Fall season with all of you and wish you health and happiness. All the best,
Reading, nurturing and connecting in Preschool 1
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CANDICE DEAL-BARTELL Executive Director www.cultivatemankato.com
COVID-19 Update As you know, we've seen a huge influx in positive COVID cases in September throughout
Halloween Celebrated Safely
the state (see below the chart). In fact, COVID
Halloween celebrations are still on! It may
numbers are the highest they've been since the
not look the same this year but we plan to still
pandemic started in March. This means that we
have fun, while being strategic in order to do it
will inevitably see more cases in the community
safely.
and around the Cultivate Community. We spent
Friday, October 30th as you pick up your child
this week reviewing all of our policies and ensuring they are above excellence in providing
at the end of the day, walk through our
a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment
different activity stations together. Stations will
for children and families. You should have
be set up in the outside play yard (weather
received an email with the revised policies but
permitting).
More details coming soon!
in case you missed it, you can find our revised COVID-19 policies below.
We will continue to do our part in ensuring that we: 1. Create the safest and healthiest
Upcoming Study
environment for children that also provides a developmentally appropriate early education
Within our education curriculum, we use
experience for them 2. Be transparent in our
studies to guide our lesson planning. Studies
communications to you 3. Be proactive and
are a broad concept that we focus on for 4-6
responsive to you 4. Take the health of our community seriously 5. Take the challenges head on and work through them with reason and persistence.
weeks. Currently our study has been all about the farm and in the next couple of weeks we
community with a focus on voting and choice study. will begin our
If you feel your family has something special to share in regards to our upcoming study, we would love family participation. Reach out!
Covid-19 Policies Review and download our COVID-19 Policy and Procedures
Click Here
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Our Story: Chapter One
Coming Soon: Cultivate Coffee
On 9-9-19 we opened our doors for the very first time. In celebration, we have created a 30 minute production telling our story.
New Rates: January 2021 We will be doing a center-wide rate change effective 01/01/2021 (please note new families entering our program are already on the new pricing schedule). We believe that we are offering a high quality program with qualified teaching staff, excellent food, educational resources, and other resources that best serve the needs of all children. A more comprehensive email will be sent by Candice in the coming weeks to describe the details of the center-wide change, but we wanted to ensure you had time to plan and budget for the pricing change.
Hiring: Operations Coodinator We are actively recruiting a new
Operations Coordinator.
Click here to view a job description.
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www.cultivatemankato.com
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR WORK ANNIVERSARY Gabby and Olivia
CULTIVATE NEWS | 5
Oct 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
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To place an order: Email us at info@cultivatemankato.com or send us a message in ProCare!
www.cultivatemankato.com
Parent Resource
happens after birth, with the majority of growth occurring before the age of 5 years, with the first 1000 days regarded
Why parents need to understand Brain development
as the most significant time of growth. Human brains develop from the bottom up, starting with the primitive part of the brain that really just keeps you
A great primer on children’s brain
alive, through to the Cortical part of
development and what parents can
the brain which is our logical problem-
expect their child to be able to do.
solving brain. But it takes years for this
Thanks to Krysten Taprell, Psychologist, @the_therapist_parent
development to happen which it why we can’t expect kids to think logically if they literally don’t have that part of
So often we as parents are frustrated
their brain functioning yet. It’s a bit like
by our child’s behaviour. The tantrums,
expecting a child to ride a bike before
wanting the same coloured cup, and
they have learnt to walk, they simply
generally being overly emotional can
haven’t reached that stage of
just be so infuriating. The problem is
development yet.
that all of these behaviours are exactly what our children should be doing for
I know graphics like the one below can
their development. When we
be a little overwhelming, but it is a
understand the basics of child brain
good visual to understand the
development and have some insight
progression of brain development.
into why our children are behaving this way, it can make a huge difference in how we see our children. We no longer see our children as being “naughty” or trying to deliberately drive us crazy, but that they are doing the best with what they have. Also if we help them calm and work through what has upset them, then we are actually supporting positive brain development.
When humans are born their brains are underdeveloped. The reason for this is that if we waited to be born when our brains were developed (like other mammals), then we would be giving
Click image to enlarge
birth to a baby with the head the size of a toddler, and nobody wants to do that! So a lot of the development
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Brain stem 0-6months:
The first part of
happens after birth, with the majority of
the brain is developed from birth till about
growth occurring before the age of 5
6 months of age. This is the part of the
years, with the first 1000 days regarded
brain that controls heart-rate, breathing
as the most significant time of growth.
and out fight, flight and freeze response. This part of the brain requires no “thinking” at all it is simply reactive. When we understand this it is easy to see why if children are exposed to trauma, even at a very young age, their fight, flight and
Human brains develop from the bottom up, starting with the primitive part of the brain that really just keeps you alive, through to the Cortical part of the brain which is our logical problemsolving brain. But it takes years for this
freeze response might be overly
development to happen which it why
developed.
Mid Brain 6 months – 2 years: The
we can’t expect kids to think logically if mid
brain is responsible for movement and coordination. It makes sense then that this is the stage when children are learning to roll, crawl and walk. This is when your baby is discovering what their body can do.
Limbic 2- 7 years: This
they literally don’t have that part of their brain functioning yet. It’s a bit like expecting a child to ride a bike before they have learnt to walk, they simply haven’t reached that stage of development yet.
is the part of the
brain that we seem to have the most
What does this mean? What all this
difficulty with. This is why we have terms
information means is that we need to
like “terrible twos” and “three-nagers”. This is the development of the emotional brain. This is where kids are beginning to experience big emotions but they don’t have the language and thinking part of the brain to express this emotion and deal with it. Even when they have more language,
recognise where our child is in their development and trying to reason with them when they are in their Limbic brain is not going to help. We need to be patient and compassionate with them. It doesn’t matter how smart you think
children will mostly be in this limbic part of
your 3 year is, they are not capable of
the brain.
rationally talking about why the blue
Cortical 7- adult:
cup is just the same as the pink cup. The thinking part of the
brain really doesn’t start to be the focus of development until 7 years of age although there is some development from about 4 years. So if we stop and think about this for a minute, we can see that our expectations on our 5 and 6 year old may
They can’t think about the fact that the cups are the same, they have the same purpose and they can drink out of both. All they know is that they wanted the pink cup and you gave them the blue one and it feels like their world just fell
really be unfair. The prefrontal cortex is
apart. Being in this emotional brain also
the part of our brain that helps us regulate
means that they are more reactive to
emotions, control social behaviour,
new events and why they are comforted
problem-solve, and reason. It is helpful to
by continuity such as the same coloured
know that this part of the brain is still
cup. When things change, it can feel
developing well into our 20’s, so there is
like something is wrong and they can’t
no way that a child can reason the same
predict what will happen.
as an adult.
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www.cultivatemankato.com
Before the thinking brain develops, a
logic, it simply won’t work. You have to
child can’t say “I’m feeling a bit worried
meet them in their emotions. Let them
about…” or “I’m really disappointed
see that you understand their feelings
about….. Their behaviour is their
and help them calm. When they are
communication that something is
calm and only then, will they be able to
wrong. It is our job to help them calm so
talk through the problem in a logical
that we can be their thinking brain and
way.
we can give them the language for their feelings. They literally can’t do this
As parents we don’t need to know the
alone, they need us to use our thinking
ins and outs of neuro-psychology but
brain to guide them. Lot of hugs,
having a basic knowledge of brain
reassuring and when they are calm
development can free our kids from our
name their feeling for them, “you were
expectations. It also helps us to see our
really disappointed that you didn’t get
children’s behaviour as normal and let
the pink cup”. When they feel
us see that they need us to help them
understood you can start with some
develop these skills not punish them for
logical thinking, “the pink cup was dirty,
responding in a normal stage of
that’s why I gave you the blue cup”.
development. We can’t expect children
Now I know that this may sound
to think with an adult brain, they simply
unrealistic, who has time for this? But
don’t have these skills. Their emotions
fighting with our kids and trying to
are far too intense for them to manage
reason when they can’t reason can take
and they physically can’t regulate them
a long time and usually doesn’t work.
alone. They need us to help them calm
That’s why we have to make sure we
and guide them through to be able to
stay in control and don’t get into our
develop these skills effectively.
limbic brain too.
Remember, it isn’t just toddlers that are in their limbic brain. Whenever we are
Why parents need to understand Brain development | Child Therapy by Krysten Taprell
stressed or anxious, our thinking brain is switched off and we are responding out of instinct and emotions. I’m sure we have all had moments when we have lost it. In that moment if someone came up to you and said “now that’s not logical, stop crying and get on with it” would that help? I’m guessing it would only add fuel to the fire. Kids are the same, the only difference is that their tolerance for stress and anxiety is lower than ours so they are MORE likely to be in their emotional limbic brain. You can’t meet the emotional brain with
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www.cultivatemankato.com
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.
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www.cultivatemankato.com
“I always wanted a houseful of kids. In my mind, kids equal love. But as each year passed, that dream slipped away and I had to accept that the Universe had different plans for me.I have spent my career working with children and families. I spend my days moving in and out of different classrooms loving and being loved by other people’s children. I get to rock babies and change diapers and sing songs and read stories. I get to wipe tears and give hugs. And laugh. So. Much. Laughter. I leave my adult agenda at the door and I let the children lead the way. Children are smart and funny. They have a lot to say when you are willing to listen.I can still tell you the names of the children in my first group of kindergarteners. Many of them are married with children of their own now. I think back over the years and wonder if I have had an impact on the children and families I served. My hope is that someone, somewhere, thinks of me once and awhile and smiles as they remember Ms. Anissa.It’s not just the children I get to love and care for each day, it’s the care providers too. A big part of my job is to provide care and support to our classroom team so they can be the best version of themselves for their class. I listen. I cheer. I console and hold space. I cry. I open my heart to hearing what they need to say. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to. I get to be that person for them. I witness the successes and the challenges of everyday life. Another precious opportunity to share my love with others.I don’t know what kind of mother I would have been, but what I do know is that I have loved hundreds of children. THAT is a beautiful legacy.”
Anissa Sandland CULTIVATE NEWS | 11
www.cultivatemankato.com