Cultivate Mankato Family Carnival

from Cultivate Mankato: September 2021 News

Two Year Anniversary Slideshow

Thank You for joining us at the Carnival!

Thank you to all of our family and friends for joining us at our first annual Cultivate Family Carnival! We had so much fun AND we raised more than $2,125 for the Fritz Family! View more photos here

CULTIVATE

Family Carnival

Double Decker Bus! Mask Reminder

Our team was invited to travel London-style, in a double-decker bus, up to the Infant Development Center (coming January 2022). We toured our new space and then hopped back on the bus for a ride around Mankato! A little over a month ago, Candice wrote a message to each of you saying that we were going to " pause " the mask requirement at Cultivate. We anticipated that we may have to reinstate it based on how the Delta Variant was progressing. We have been watching the data and increase in COVID numbers over the last several weeks and, a little over a week ago there was 3,044 reported new cases in a day. Considering the increase, we have made the decision to go back to temporarily requiring masks inside Cultivate Mankato. All staff and parents (even if fully vaccinated) will be asked to wear masks. We will continue to watch trends and pull in experts to help us understand the best course of action moving forward and, like many of you, we certainly hope this is temporary. We realize that we cannot please everyone, but please know that we are doing the best we can with the information we have and we would rather error on the side of caution. Effective Monday, 8/23 masks will be required inside Cultivate Mankato. Masks will no longer be provided inside the doors.

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.

Giving Back to Our Community Upcoming Study

THIS MONTH'S ORGANIZATION

For our Giving Back to the Community event in September our leadership team will be participating in She Nailed It organized by Habitat for Humanity. Our leadership team will volunteer for a day to help raise a roof, raise some money for Habitat, and help other women raise their families in safe and affordable homes.

Last year, more than 50 female volunteers— who were supported by 22 sponsors and 12 businesses who provided lunch—sawed, nailed, constructed walls, and installed flooring at two houses in Nicollet and St. Peter. The progress they made on the houses was simply amazing! From September 13th through October 1st, you can host a team of five women to work on one of their construction sites for a fivehour shift (9 am to 2 pm). Help them "hammer it home!"

No experience is needed.

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 diversity. This month we 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!