Safe Sleep Guidelines

September 8, 2016September 9, 2016Leave a comment

Recently, The Tennessee Department of Human Services, which regulates rules for child care centers across the state, has issued new rules/guidelines regarding the care of infants and, specifically, safe sleeping. Effective October 2016, infants may only sleep in a crib with a tight fitted sheet. Blankets of all types are prohibited as are sleep sacks. Additionally, babies should be dressed lightly to avoid overheating. One-piece footed sleepers are an acceptable alternative for keeping infants warm without the use of potentially dangerous loose bedding.

Other Safe Sleep Tips

Always place babies on their backs to sleep at night and at nap time. Babies who sleep on their backs are less likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Babies should always sleep in a crib. The safest place for a baby is in the same room as the parents but alone in a separate sleep area.
Keep loose objects, soft toys, and bedding out of the baby’s sleep area. Do not use pillows and blankets in a baby’s sleeping area. A baby should sleep in a crib with only a tight fitting sheet.
Avoid letting your baby overheat during the night. A baby should be dressed lightly for sleep. Set the room temperature in a range that is comfortable for a lightly clothed adult.
Do not use crib bumpers. These do not reduce injuries and can cause suffocation.
Avoid smoking. Both maternal smoking during pregnancy and secondhand smoke after birth should be avoided.
Breastfeeding is recommended for at least the first six months of life. Breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.

– See more at: https://www.tn.gov/health/article/safe-sleep-tips#sthash.NsFQlhbQ.dpuf

Saving Work

September 2, 2016Leave a comment

Think about the effort required to build a rocket ship with Legos, or to create mosaic tile patterns that fill half a tabletop. Children engage daily in purposeful play and work that takes a great investment of their time, intellect, and effort. When it is “clean up time”, often it is expected that the work be dismantled and all of the parts put back into their proper places. Imagine how frustrating this scenario might be. What might happen if children could SAVE the “work in progress” to finish later? At McKendree, we have found that encouraging kids to save work supports their learning experience and sends a strong message: “You and the work that you do are important!” Children often return to the project with new insights and energy, and demonstrate more complex understandings. Opportunities to encourage “pratical writing” also develop when work is saved — signs that tell the custodian to “please don’t move the blocks” to labels of ownership with first efforts at name writing.

Taking Art Outdoors

September 1, 2016Leave a comment

Art is a JOYFUL experience

We offer lots of art indoors and even have a studio designed specifically to support creative art experiences. But, we also like to take our creative activities to the roof where we can work BIG and work MESSY. Our outdoor classroom is the perfect space for open-ended, process-focused art and play. There are no step-by-step directions; the art is focused on the experience and on exploration rather than on a product; and there is not a right or wrong way to create. And who doesn’t want to paint wearing a bathing suit?

“No Weapons Allowed”

August 29, 2016August 30, 2016Leave a comment

“The Batman Building is filled with bats.” and, “Batman lives in the Batman Building.”

These were a few preschooler assumptions that led to a hands-on investigation of the AT&T Building. Charlie was certain that the iconic downtown Nashville building was a dangerous place. One afternoon, she, along with her friend, Reegan, and our director, Cindy, set out to learn more. As they approached the building, the girls became cautious and asked to watch passersby for a bit. After seeing lots of people (and zero bats or super heroes) come and go from the building, they bravely headed toward the door. A sign on the glass stopped them in their tracks. “What does that say?” Charlie asked, noticing the gun with a line drawn through it. Cindy read the no weapons ordinance to which both girls literally CHEERED! “If there are no guns, there are no bad guys,” Reegan declared. After drawing the sign as part of their investigative data gathering, the girls enthusiastically entered the building. The sign was reassuring to the girls and they entered ready to learn more about the “Batman Building”.

Entomologists in the Making

July 5, 2016Leave a comment

The children from our Pre-K class, the Constructivists, recently made an astonishing discovery. Small insects were seen crawling from inside a painted tree branch that has adorned the art center for much of the year. Immediately, the young scientists began to speculate – “Are these stinging bugs?”, “They look like ants, but aren’t, are they?”, “How did they get in our branch?” “Will they hurt us?” Sam presented one theory: “They spray people and the spray will kill you.”

Heeding Sam’s warning, the children carefully gave the bugs some space but continued to wonder about them and how they came to McKendree. With Anthony’s guidance, the kids searched photos of similarly shaped insects online. The group was elated to learn that the visitors are termites. For most of a day, the children watched, asked questions, threw their ideas back and forth, and then began to form conclusions about the bugs.

entomologists 4 “I think they were first eggs when we got the stick.”, “Yeah, they were eggs and then they climbed up.” “There are a lot in the stick because it is a big stick.” “That one is a female, see the wings?” “Do they have babies?”, “They have strong jaws to chew wood.” “They eat wood, that is why they are in our stick” “There are workers and soldiers.” “Be careful, the soldiers can spray you.” (back to Sam’s erroneous earlier statement). Although the adult/teacher/parent instinct might be to ditch the stick as quickly as possible, the possibilities for learning are so great that Anthony decided to wait and let the children do more observing, investigating, researching, and reflection before finding a more suitable home for the termites.

Thankfully, we have a wonderful “insect laboratory” on the roof where this kind of scientific inquiry can continue to nurture the children’s natural curiosity and innate desire to learn.