Peer Nominated Awards 2017

Peer Nominated Awards

In November of 2017, J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre staff participated in Peer Nominated Awards.  Each employee got the opportunity to nominate their coworkers for awards that they felt were well-deserved.  There were 8 award categories.  Please see below for the category name, description, and the winner for 2017: 

Category 1-Exceptional Caregiver: This person always provides the best care possible to each and every child, every single day.  They never hesitate to make decisions in the best interest of the children and are always working hard to make sure that the children feel safe, secure, and loved

Winner: Roberta

Category 2- Most Improved CCA: This person is a CCA at the centre and over the past year has shown improvement in all aspects of his or her job.  This person always puts in 100% and continually strives to improve themselves professionally. 

Winner: Haley

Category 3- Most Improved ECE: This person is an ECE at the centre and over the past year has shown improvement in all aspects of his or her job.  This person always puts in 100% and continually strives to improve themselves professionally. 

Winner: Heather
 

Category 4- Role Model Award: This person maintains professionalism at all times and upholds all centre policies and MELCC regulations.  This person is reliable, honest, positive, and always leads by example.  If you are inspired by someone in this workplace, this is where their name belongs! 

Winner: Sherry (2nd year in a row)
  

Category 5-Most Creative: This person isn’t only creative when it comes to providing and implementing activities, this person is able to think on the fly, come up with solutions to ongoing issues, and is able to turn every scenario into something positive for the children and families.  This person is someone who has an adventurous heart and an unlimited imagination.

Winner: Kerri
  

Category 6- “Pulls Their Weight” Award:  This person always ensures that they complete their opening and closing duties, follows the daily schedule and cleaning charts, helps where they are needed in the program, and takes initiative within the room.  This person in crucial in the day-to-day operations of the program.

Winner: Danielle
  

Category 7- Most Flexible: This person is able and willing to work in any program and give it their all.  This person is willing to change/switch shifts, cover for others, and learn about each program without any complaints.  We need this person on our team to help out wherever/whenever we need.

Winner: Stephanie
  

Category 8- Mrs./Miss/Mr. Congeniality:  This person has an admirable personality.  Their charisma and kindness is honest and true, and it becomes contagious within the workplace.  This person always leaves their stressors at the door and truly enjoys being a part of our team and working with the children and families in this community.

Winner: Devon

 

Congratulations to our award winners!  We sincerely appreciate all that you do here at the centre!  Keep up the great work!

 

November - Infant Room Update

Most of the children were surprised but excited by the snow this month.  Getting all bundled up to go outside has become the new routine!  With the awesome reward of playing out in the snow so it has been well worth the patience.

The children did some Remembrance Day crafts, sang lots of songs and read new books that were donated.  The children enjoyed "spirit week" and doing specific activities for each day.  They especially loved bringing their stuffy on Camp day and being able to wear their pajamas all day for pajama day!

We have lots of activities and fun stuff coming up in December!

We would also like to send a special thank you out to the Bunkowsky Family for donating story books and the Cockerill Insurance for donating drawing paper. 

Skate with Santa

J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc. is hosting a Skate With Santa holiday event on Sunday, December 10th, 2017 at the Sanford Rec Centre.

Skating: 9:00-10:00

Take your Photo with Santa: 10:00-10:30

Canteen open with coffee, hot chocolate, and other snacks available

Cost: $5.00 per child, adults are free!

Each child will get a treat bag after skating

At 10:30 on December 10th, the lovely Angie Yaskiw will be hosting an additional fundraising event upstairs at the Rec Centre called Essential Oils 101 and Make and Take. Join Angie to learn the basics of essential oil usage and make 4 essential oil based recipes to take home (Immunity Roller, Sweet Dreams Pillow Spray, Chest Rub, and Calming Bath Soak). RSVP to the Essential Oils workshop by December 8th to Angie at angyask@icloud.com or directly to the centre at jacuddy@mymts.net or 204-736-3289. Cost is $30.00 per person.

Can't wait to see you there!

Older Floor Preschool - October Update

Well, October flew by and very minimal snow fell!  Yay!  We have been fortunate that the weather has cooperated enough to allow us to get outside 2 times a day.  As long as the temp stays warmer than -25 we will be going outside so please remember to send snow pants,  jackets, mittens, hats, scarves or neck warmers.

We have been busy filling our room with colourful and creative art projects!  The children have enjoyed enjoy painting with different materials; Q-tips and popsicle sticks.  We are currently looking for scrap paper.  If you have any to donate that would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

We're excited for all of the snow that will be coming our way and hoping for some wonderful adventures!!

Infant Room - October Update

October has been a fun month in the Infant Room.  We were finally able to play outside in our play space again! YAY!!  The Children are loving it.  They absolutely love our new sandbox we have.  The weather has been fabulous with the exception of a few cool and windy days.

We have done many fall and Halloween themed activities with the kids.  They have enjoyed them all.  We have also done sensory activities with the water table!  We took advantage while the weather was still nice to do some outdoor activities exploring nature.  The children explored the different things around the play yard looking through a magnify glass, they made their own bird feeder and they loved touching/feeling and collection the many objects found outside; pine cones, branches, wood slices to name a few.

We said good-bye to Emilia and Lexi this month as they moved up to the Toddle Bots Program.  We welcome Hadyen and Sam into our Infant Pogram.  We look forward to watching them learn and grow with us! 

School Age Program - September Update

This month in school has been busy, busy, busy with all our new friends heading back to the classroom!

The transition from hot summer days to cool fall mornings/afternoons has been quite the adventure as we welcome 8 new friends to our room! Plus Devon, who is back with the children every day before school.

With this fall weather we are trying to squeeze in as much time outside before winter comes and it becomes too cold. Outside play has been a primary focus for us this month. It was so fun running around, enjoying the fresh air and exploring, and we are all very excited for our new play space to be 100% complete.

After school, some of the children chose to enjoy the outdoors while some others stayed inside. They have been using their imaginations with creating all sorts of different fuse bead creations and engaging in various process-based activities planned by the teachers.

Bay blades and Pokémon cards, the children can’t seem to get enough of it. With creating their own Pokémon cards to dueling with one another with their bay blades, it is all they want to do.

On days when it was too chilly or rainy to get outside we were kept busy by creating, and playing in the doctor’s office. I’m proud to say that many successful surgeries were performed.

We are sad to see September come and go but with all the excitement of Thanksgiving and Halloween we cannot wait to dive into October!

 

Older Floor Preschool - September Update

Hello Fall!

We have had a busy month around here getting to know everyone and our routine/schedules.  We hope you all get a chance to check out our art board and daily overview, which is near the lockers.

The Butterflies have been so excited about practicing to write the letters of their names.  We hear them say "my name starts with the letter ___"!

The Caterpillars have enjoyed singing songs in French.  We are lucky to have Nicole, who is able to share these new songs with us!  The kids are always asking her for more songs in French.

We enjoyed our many walks and playtime at the Rec Centre this month and we are so excited that our own play space is ready for us!!!  The kids have been having so much fun out in the yard and checking out the new changes.

Toddler Program

Where has the time gone?  This month has been busy with new staff starting and getting the Toddler Program up and running.  We are called the Toddle Bots.  We will be working together to develop simple tasks to prepare for Preschool.  We've already observed some children attempting to help others which displays signs of having/using prosocial skills. 
We are getting the hang of walking to the rec centre.  A few times, we took the parachute and we played some games and sang some songs.  We also gave them rides running around the field while holding the parachute and children sat on it.  The excitement on their faces was priceless!
As requested in the Toddle Bots letter, we are asking for family photos to be brought in so that we can make our family tree.  The Toddle Bots have been talking about their Mom's, Dad's and siblings, so it would be nice to allow them to see a picture while they are at the Centre.
Other than that, we are excited about what October will bring us!

Infant Room Update - September

Fall is in the air!  What a busy September we had.  We have enjoyed our walks to Ashland Park and saw so many squirrels collecting nuts and storing them in the tree's.  We were fascinated by their tree jumping and the high pitch noises they made when they talk to each other.  We also picked many acorns and had fun peeling them apart and checking them out!  We also were looking at the tree's and their bark to see what it felt like.  We examined the bright green moss at the bottom of the tree's.  It felt soft and some of us did not like the feeling 
Inside we loved doing all the fall crafts - gluing leaves on paper trees, gluing faces on scarecrows and coloring with crayons!

3rd Quarter Fundraiser

We hope you all had a fantastic summer!! We've enjoyed a nice break from fundraising for a couple of months, but now September has arrived and so has our 3rd Quarter Fundraiser! Before we dive into details on what we're selling, here's a quick breakdown of how we've done so far with fundraising in 2017:

1st Quarter Fundraiser (Tuffo Gear and Epicure) - $926

Paint Nite - $1,481

2nd Quarter Fundraiser (To-Le-Do Foodservice and Kernels popcorn) - $2,256

Popsicles at soccer - $595

TOTAL to date - $5,258

So we're just a little over half way to our $10,000 annual goal. Let's keep the momentum going!

As with previous quarterly fundraisers, in an effort to appeal to as many people as possible, we're presenting you with 2 options - you can choose to sell both or just one of the two. It's back to school and fall activities are starting up, so we thought we'd offer easy, convenient meals and treats to help you in this busy season. We've never done these 2 before and we're excited to try them and take advantage of their high profit potential!

(1) Spenst Bros Pizzas

Spenst Bros Premium Meats is located in Winkler and they use quality meats and Bothwell cheese on all of their pizzas. Pizzas are 12" 2-topping and cook from frozen in less than 20 minutes! There are 5 types to choose from: Pepperoni & Bacon, Ground Beef & Tomato, Ham & Pineapple, Double Pepperoni, and Triple Cheese. All pizzas are $12.00 each! Our profit is a superb 37.5% (or $4.50 per pizza)!

(2) Otis Spunkmeyer frozen pre-portioned cookie dough and gourmet muffins

These are the incredibly popular "Subway cookies"! These 'place-and-bake' cookies come 36 in a box and bake directly from frozen in just 13 minutes! They are premium quality and come in 6 delicious flavours - Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Double Chocolate Brownie, Oatmeal Raisin, Carnival M & M, and White Chunk Macadamia Nut. All flavours sell for $17.00 a box and our profit is an amazing 40% (or $6.80 per box)!! There's also a 15 gourmet muffin variety pack available, which includes individually wrapped Double Chocolate Chip, Banana Nut and Wild Blueberry muffins that are quite large and simply 'thaw-and-serve'. The tray sells for $20.00 and our profit is a whopping 40% (or $8.00 per tray)!

Order forms are attached and copies will be taped to your child's locker tomorrow. The 2-week selling period will run from Wednesday, September 6th to Wednesday, September 20th. Cash or cheque only (please make cheques payable to JA Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc). Order forms and cash/cheques can be handed in to the office.

We encourage you to stock up for yourselves, and to sell to family, friends, neighbours and coworkers! The greenspace is still under construction, so we'd like to bring some special guests and activities to the centre to entertain the kids!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you and good luck selling!!

The JA Cuddy Child Care Fundraising Committee

Preschool Room-August 2017

August was an exciting time for us in the Preschool program.  We had lots of special visitors come to teach us about animals, buildings, fire safety, and magic.  We would like to thank the following special guests for visiting us this summer:

-Petland
-Mr. Ken
-Spider Man (Heather's Pretty Parties)
-Prairie Exotics
-RM of Macdonald Fire Department
-Kurrent Motion Hula Hoop
-Bricks 4 Kidz
-Bouncers from Playworld Fun Rentals
-Fit Kids, Healthy Kids

Our renovations are finally getting close to being complete.  Older Floor got new locker cubbies and both side got new storage cupboards.  The layout, design, and simple style reflect the beauty of the children and their caregivers.  The children also loved watching the excavator work in our green space.  In about 7 more days, we will have a NEW green space to play in!  We can't wait!

Our new Kindergarten buddies moved up to School Age on September 5th, and we were able to make some changes to the children and their rooms.  The older preschoolers on Younger Floor were able to move up to the older floor, and the Younger Floor has been able to make room for our infants that are graduation to the Preschool program in the fall.

In September, we are excited to welcome Kerri, Brittany, Nicole, and Jordyn to our team of caregivers.  These new teachers bring lots of fresh ideas to our program.  We are thrilled to have them as a part of our team.

School Age Room- August 2017

Our play space was under renovation this month and we are all very excited for it to be done. Since we were unable to use our backyard, we made many trips to the Rec Centre, Ashland Park, the high school soccer field.  We also went on many walks through our beautiful town.

During Circus Week we had our faces painted like animals! We all tie dyed something white that we brought from home, and the outcome very colorful. The school agers created their own circus in the gym, involving a ring toss, a maze, acrobats on the mats and many other activities. We also all enjoyed some popcorn! Mr. Ken came and visited our Centre during Circus Week; he showed us many neat tricks that left us wondering how magicians do it!

We also traveled around the world to Norway, Africa, Egypt, and Ireland! We made Egyptian necklaces, African masks, and we talk about the different cultures in for each of the places. Kurrent Motion came and we had a blast with hula hoops! She taught us some tricks and did a show for us! She was so cool!

During Animal Planet week we started constructing our own bird houses. Between visits from Petland and Prairie Exotic, we were hard at work nailing, sanding and painting our houses.

Our last week of summer was Spirit Week and it was so much fun! We dressed up as princesses and super heroes and were busy playing all day! We sat down for an iced tea party with popcorn at the end of the day! On decade’s day, we dressed from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s and had root beer floats. We ended the day with a dance party! Toga day was on Wednesday; we dressed up in our togas and made leaf crowns! Thursday was Halloween Day; we went trick or treating in our daycare centre and had Bricks 4 Kidz join us.  Everyone was so involved and really enjoyed all of the Lego that was brought to us. To end our week, Spiderman stopped by the school Age room for a visit. We were all so excited and shocked that we were left speechless.  We finished off the week with a Pizza Party. 

The children are very excited to be back at school, and we are thrilled to see them learn and develop during the school year.

 

Infant Room - August 2017

The Infant Room had a busy, fun-filled August.  Every Wednesday was water day so lots of splashing and getting wet, which all of the children love!  We had outside day, where we got to stay outside all day, even to nap.  We had enjoyable days playing outside with play houses and going for nature walks.  It was hot but he made it!  The week Petland and Prairie Exotics came to visit was awesome.  We saw lots of different animals and even got to touch them if we wanted.  Ice cream day and popsicle day are probably the most favorite because we got to eat the treats to beat the heat.  We, also, welcomed a new friend Scarlett, to our room.  It is always nice to meet someone new! 

YOU'RE INVITED TO J.A. CUDDY CHILD CARE CENTRE'S OPEN HOUSE/RECRUITMENT EVENING

YOU'RE INVITED TO J.A. CUDDY CHILD CARE CENTRE'S OPEN HOUSE/RECRUITMENT EVENING

 

 

Where: J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre

5 Main Street

Sanford, MB

(10 minutes past the perimeter at Oak Bluff)

 

When: Wednesday, August 30^th, 2017 6:30-8:30 pm

Tour: 6:45pm, discussion to follow

Who is Invited:  Early Childhood Educators, ECEs in Training, and Child Care Assistants

Join us for an evening of discussion and connection with fellow ECEs and CCAs in our field.  We will be discussing the programs we offer at our Centre, our curriculum approach, what we offer to our employees, and the benefits of working in a rural community. 

You will have the opportunity to check out our newly renovated indoor space and our BRAND NEW Nature Play Space.

We can’t wait to see you!

There will be a Door Prize up for grabs, donated by our wonderful families.

Dainties and refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP by August 28^th, 2017 to jacuddy@mymts.net or call 204-736-3289 for more information.  Please ask for Sheena or Jana

School Age-July 2017

Hooray it’s summer! We have had a fantastic start to our summer break!  This has been a very busy month filled with so many different activities and games.

The School Agers and Preschoolers watched a movie together on our movie day. We also started our water days; we all get so soaked and muddy!

Our first field trip we went on was to Kildonan Park; even though it was raining we all had a blast. We did some exploring, playing on the structures, doing lots of games, and visited the ducks.

We brought in our bikes and helmets and had 2 bike days! MPI even came to the Centre and set up an obstacle course for us to use with our bikes; we also learned proper bike safety and the rules of the road.

We had summer games week in the School Age Room, so we created our own GIANT Candy Land board game. We had set it up so each square was a different exercise move; we all worked up a sweat. We also hosted a gym riot for the School Agers and Preschoolers, everyone got involved and had a blast.

The School Agers baked lots of different goodies and had a bake sale right outside the Centre. They did everything on their own! We raised 200 dollars for the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter! GO TEAM!

We had  Mad Science come to the Centre to show us science experiments. We watched what happens when hot and cold water is mixed with dry ice. We also got a special treat at the end.  It was great!

Preschool-July 2017

The Preschool Program had a blast in July.  We went on a school bus to Kildonan Park where we played lots of games and explored the beautiful forests and gardens surrounding the park.  It rained that day, but that didn't stop us from having the BEST time.

We had water day at the Centre and the children had a blast running through the sprinklers.  We also got very muddy and we had to use the hose to clean us off before coming inside.  It was so much fun.

We have been focusing on learning our colours in July. We had a colour scavenger hunt around town and we saw all the colours that make our community beautiful.  We each had a bag and collected treasures along the way.

We made some pretty wonderful memories together in July and we cannot wait to see the fun August brings.

Infant Room- July 2017

This month we said good-bye to our friends, Eleanor and Lily, who moved up to the Preschool Program.  We would like to welcome three new friends to the program, Keaton, Bo, and Scarlett.  We are excited to have you in our room!

Thank you to Carissa and Kevin, Kristel and Kevin, and Lesley and Justin for the wonderful toy donations we have received for the Infant Program.  You kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated!

July was a fun month, with lots of exciting activities for our infants.  They enjoyed picnics, one at Ashland Park and another at the Rec Centre.  The children have been having a blast on our water days and they really enjoy when we set up the tent and pretend we are camping.  We also LOVED the bouncy castle that visited us in July. 

We can't wait for the excitement coming in August.  It should be a great month!

School-Age - June

Science, science, science in the school age room.  We did so many different science experiments and activities.  We did some activities that involved making our own launchers, lego zip lines and created our own slime.

We had to say farewell to one of our school age staff, Connie.  She will be missed dearly but before she left we made sure to throw her a fun party!  We made her a book we created ourselves and had lots of freezies on such a hot day!

Figet spinners have been the talk of the town!  A lot of children were creating their own out of different materials they found around the Centre.  It sure did keep them busy.

We spent a lot of our time in the outdoors, going for walks to Ashland Park, going to the Rec Centre to play games and going for adventures around the town.  The school agers definitely enjoy the outdoors!

We celebrated Canada day in our Centre on the same day as the first day of summer break - it made for quite the celebration!  We ate poutine, had games at the Rec Centre, did TONS of crafts and ended the day with a magic show by Mr. Richards.  It was a great start to our summer break!

Director's Corner

June was a BUSY month here at the centre.  We had lots going on, and there are still some exciting things to look forward to.  Take a look at the month in review:

Fundraising:

We had our 2nd quarter fundraiser (To-Le-Do Foodservice and Kernels Popcorn).  Both were a huge success!  Thank you for all of your Fundraising efforts!  We would also like to congratulate Candace B. and her family for selling the most product.  Candace won 2 Children's Cineplex passes for being our top seller. 

We hosted our first Paint Nite on June 2nd.  The day was sweltering hot, but the evening was calm, cool, and enjoyable for all.  Those who attended had a wonderful time.  Thank you to the following individuals/businesses for your Silent Auction prize donations:

Scott Anderson of Ideal Mortgage Solutions (Thermea Gift Certificate):
Email: scott@idealmtg.ca

Lori Anderson (Body Sugaring Services)

Lisa Lewko of Kick Start Health (Personal Training)
Email: lisagordon6@hotmail.com

Candace Boyd of ItWorks Canada (ItWorks Products)

Jody Watson of Fort Whyte Alive (1 Year Membership)

And all of our families for their Bath and Body works donations.

AGM:

We had a wonderful turnout at our AGM.  With the BBQ, Open House, and Bouncer, the evening was filled with fun (and of course, a little bit of Daycare Business).  It was great to see our families out to support the centre, learn how we run as a not-for-profit, and understand the role of our Board of Directors.  We would like to welcome Justin H., Lesley H., Kristel K-S., and Candace H. to our Board.  We are looking forward to working with them in the years to come.


Leasehold Improvements:

We are currently undergoing some renovations to the inside of our centre.  Last week we had the whole place painted (check out our facebook page for pictures).  Things are looking great.  The next step will be the window treatments, followed by the installation of new lockers and some new furniture.  We will be taking lots of photos of the transformation.  We can't wait to see it all finished!

We will be doing a complete green space overhaul this summer as well.  We have created a plan with the staff and Green Space Committee, worked with Kyle Taylor of Lawson Surveying and Consulting, got the stamp of approval from an Engineer, and we are now confirming the company that will be doing the work.  Once this has been confirmed, a start date for the work will be set and a plan for outdoor play will be sent to all families.  Stay tuned for more details! 

Staffing:

We said good-bye to Kaylene, Kyla, and Connie in July and Kristen will be leaving this month.  Amy's last day will be July 28th before she goes on Maternity Leave.  We will miss her dearly, but we are excited to watch her become a parent for the first time.  Jill is our new Summer Student in the School Age Room and Brooke is back from her tree-planting adventure to cover summer holidays in every program.

We are currently accepting resumes for ECE IIs (one permanent full time position in the Older Floor Preschool Program and one Maternity Leave position in the Younger Floor Preschool Program).

Preschool Room-June 2017

Here comes the sun!  Lots of changes have been happening at the centre, but we look forward to new opportunities and adventures as summer sets in.

We celebrated with Kaylene and Kyla and reminisced on some fun memories we made together at the centre before they moved on to their new adventures.  We will miss them!

The Older Floor preschool group has taken advantage of the beautiful weather by playing and eating outside as often as we can.  The children in this group are very creative, and they have enjoyed a lot of dramatic/imaginary play.  The room has been filled with pretend pirates, tourists, pilots, restaurant guests/staff, and many other interesting characters.  It is so wonderful to see where their imaginations can take them.

The Younger Floor preschool group has been focusing a lot on nature this month. They planted some "magic" beans and they have done many animal and nature-based art work.  They have also been going on lots of walks within our beautiful town and they have enjoyed many picnics together.

Infant Room-June 2017

What an exciting month we had in June!  Roberta's dog had a litter of puppies, and last month they were finally ready to come for a visit.  The children loved giving them hugs and kisses and watching them play and run around.  They were fascinated by how soft their fur was.  Some were very sad to see the puppies go, but we are so happy that we got the opportunity to meet them.  Thanks Roberta!

We had some beautiful weather last month and we spent a lot of time outside in the play yard.  We had many picnics outside and we enjoyed the warm sun on our faces.  We also did a lot of exploration of the nature all around us.  We picked dandelions and smelled them, we found rocks and named the colours we saw on the rocks, and we gathered sticks and practiced counting 1-10.

We used our gross motor skills and practiced running and climbing everywhere.  We really like climbing over the ladybug hill in our play space and jumping off of it!  We can't wait to get a natural hill when our play space gets renovated in the coming months!

We hope to have nice weather throughout July so that we can keep on playing and learning outside.

School-Age Room

In May, we spent most of our days enjoying the nice beautiful weather.  We were very interested in the bugs!  Anytime spent outside, the children were finding dozens of worms and beetles.

Yay, for Spring!  We did a spring cleaning in our room and all the children participated by cleaning lockers and organizing the room.

Some of the girls created their own real estate they called it J.A. Homes.  They were all agents who were selling homes and businesses.  They involved all the other children in their new business and they had a great time!

Everyone potted their own flower for Mother's Day for a gift.  They nurtured their flowers by watering it and making sure it gets sunlight.

Preschool Room

During the month of May, we tried our hardest to keep the tadpoles alive and thriving!  Both younger floor and older floor started out with 30 plus tadpoles in a large jar.  Each day the kids would help clean out the water and feed them.  To get a closer look the kids used magnify glasses to see if their legs had popped out yet.  In the end, all the rough love the kids had for the tadpoles was too much for them to survive.  After this, the kids moved on to exploring birds nests, sticks, twigs and bee hives. 

On the younger floor, the children are loving the interactive stories.  "Check out the Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" and "3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf" art the kids did that are up on the walls of younger floor!  The children have also been really busy building, constructing and hammering.  Caution it's a construction zone -  if you notice a pile of blocks or bricks on the floor, it is actually buildings! 

Infant Room

Welcome to May!  It has been wonderful and exciting to see green grass and leaves pop up everywhere.  The weather has been great so you'll find us outside every morning and some afternoons.  We have even had the opportunity to have lunch outside.  Woohoo!  We have been busy exploring the yard by playing in the dirt and grass, smelling the flowers and dandelions and finding out how leaves and the tree seeds feel.  We have learned about Africa, China and Chili; by doing some jewelry, fans, lanterns and a play dough stonehedge - Easter Island.  We also tried some food from each country.  It was all very yummy.  We always love to sing and read.  Some favorites this month are "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Potty Book", one for boys and one for girls.  We are also learning to be gentle with our pets with the book "Tails Are Not for Pulling".  We are looking forward to many more days of warm , sunny weather and the opportunity to explore more.      

Paint Nite Reminder!

We are hosting a Paint Nite fundraiser! Let's raise our glasses and raise funds for a great cause - special events and guests for the kids in 2017!

Friday, June 2nd, 2017

 

Upstairs at the rec centre (174 Mandan Drive, Sanford, Manitoba)

Doors open at 7:15 pm, painting starts at 8:00 pm

Cash bar

Snacks provided

Prizes include:

- a personal training session (Lisa Lewko)

- a portable BBQ set (Aaron Schlichting)

- Thermea passes (donated by Scott Anderson of Ideal Mortgage Solutions)

- a certificate for body sugaring services (Lori Anderson)

- a 1 year membership to Fort Whyte Alive (Jody Watson)

- ItWorks Products (Candace Boyd)

- Bath & Body Works products and gift cards

A local artist will assist and inspire us - all while we socialize and sip cocktails for a great cause. No art experience needed! 

Paint Nite will donate a portion of ticket sales to the daycare.

Let's get together and get painting! Please RSVP and register here: https://www.paintnite.com/events/_1185468  There are only 80 tickets available, so get yours today!

The featured painting is L.O.V.E. and you can get a sneak peak of it on the link above.

We hope to see you on Friday, June 2nd!

Thank you,

The JA Cuddy Child Care Centre Fundraising Committee

To-Le-Do Foodservice & Kernels Popcorn Fundraiser

1) To-Le-Do Foodservice is a Manitoba company that sells top quality, portion controlled products, including Certified Angus Beef steaks and burgers, a variety of chicken (fingers, breasts, skewers and specialty items), AA/AAA beef and pork (steaks, burgers, chops and ground), perogies, cabbage rolls and meatballs! Get your freezer stocked for BBQ season, backyard get-togethers, and camping! (The prices are comparable to that in the grocery store - we checked!)

2) Kernels Popcorn is produced in a peanut/nut-free environment and is free of trans fat, high in fibre and gluten free! There are 8 delicious flavours available - white cheese, salt & vinegar, dill pickle, buttersalt, jalapeno jack, cheddar cheese, ketchup, and low fat caramel. Popcorn makes a great summertime snack and is perfect for sharing.

Please email jacuddy@mymts.net for electronic versions of order forms, or stop by and pick up a hard copy.

Orders are due Wednesday, May 31st. 

As always, thank you for your fundraising efforts!!

School-Age - March

Spring break was a blast!  We started the week of with all kinds of camping activities, setting up camp and cooking a hotdog lunch. The kids all enjoyed this area and had fun all week "camping!"

Wednesday we had planned to do some baking and boy, did it turn out to be one awesome baking day!  The kids decided to hold a bake sale and donate all the proceeds to The Frosting Foundation.  The kids raised $176.00 which was enough to purchase 7 birthday boxes for kids at the Children's Hospital.  Thank you to everyone for their support!!  

We created a spa for the kids.  Everything from hair, massages, nail painting and giving the boys a "shave" were offered!

Friday ended with a bang and we had a bouncer which the kids really enjoyed!!

Older Floor - March and April

In March, we added a show and tell to our routine.  The children have the opportunity to bring in something from home every Wednesday.  Everyone is able to ask questions and learn about each others special item.  We also started doing circle time.  It ususally takes place after snack or before lunch.  We do letter of the day, number of the day for our caterpillar.  We practiced sounds and found different things that start with the same letter. 

Many different activities have been going on, on Older Floor.  We set up a Doctor's office/Hospital so the children are able to learn and act out the many different roles and scenarios.  They had lots of fun with this!  Each day we try to have a dance party.  The kids have been so interested in the "Gummy Bear" song and pretty much any song from Frozen.  With the nice weather, we've had the chance to walk to Ashland Park.  With so many puddles all the children enjoy going outside and testing out their rubber boots and splashing around!  All of the children have been interested in learning different things from around the world.  We've explored looking at the flags and their national anthems.

In April we planned an Easter hunt and it turned out to be such a great experience for our newer staff and the kids!  Kristina set up a huge Easter egg hunt in the play yard for our preschool children.  There were 56 plastic eggs hidden around the yard with candy in them.  Each child was able to find 2.  There was a lot of smiles and excitement from everyone!

The ZOO field trip was a lot of fun!  Getting on the big yellow bus is always so exciting for the kids and arriving at the Zoo was great as well.  Seeing all the animals and the polar bears swimming around left lots of the children in mouth dropping stares!

Younger Floor - March and April

In March, we planned a dino day and the kids are had so much fun!   Lots of kids came in wearing their dino shirt and we did some dino painting.  We stomped around the room like big dinosaurs and roared to our fellow dinosaur friends!  We had a tea party this month as well and baked a cake and cookies for it.  All of the kids really enjoyed the party!  Another activity that is always a hit, is making paper airplanes!  We had races to see who's plane is the fastest!

Lots of fun was had in April!  We made edible finger paint and it tasted awful...but we loved watching it change colors, squishing it between our fingers and on the paper.  Unfortunately the consistency made it break apart on the paper as it dried so we will try a different recipe in May!

The field at the Rec Center was one of the main places out walks took us this past month.  Checking to see how dry the fields were and running around the bases took quite a bit of energy, especially out of the teachers!!  With the warmer weather we have been learning about nature and answering a lot of "why"questions, especially when it came to the day we found worms outside; where do they live?  What do they eat?  Can they swim? Why are they slippery?  These were just a few questions! We reminded the kids to be very gentle with the worms and their bodies are very fragile. 

Easter was such a great experience for our newer staff and the kids!  Kristina set up a huge Easter egg hunt in the play yard for all the preschool children.  There were 56 plastic eggs with candy in them and each child was able to find 2.  We had so many excited faces and smiles as we were telling them that the Easter bunny had come while they were sleeping.  It was an amazing experience to watch all the children's excitement!!

The biggest highlight of the month was of course, the ZOO field trip.  Most of the kids were just excited to be on a school bus  but arriving at the zoo was great as well!  Seeing all the animals and the polar bears swimming around left lots of the children in mouth cropping stares!

Infant Room - March and April

In March, we welcomed Ben to our Program.  We are so excited to have him a part of our group!
With the weather not cooperating, we spent a lot of time indoors this month.  We did a lot of gross motor activities; playing on and with the mats.  We did rolling, climbing and hopping on the mats.  We love moving our bodies, it makes us feel so good!  We also played a few games and made a tent.  We crawled inside and played peek-a-boo.  We are so happy it is spring and can't wait to play in our yard!

April was bug month in our room!  We had pictures of different bugs and posted them on our wall for the children to see.  We went outside with bug nets and cages to see what bugs we could catch!  Inside, we saw a bug crawling and used our net to catch (with help from the teacher of course!)  The kids were able to really watch and see how the bug moved around.  We ate 'worms in dirt' (chocolate pudding, crushed cookies and gummy worms) for snack one day...boy, did it taste good!!!  We expanded on their interest of bugs by playing "Where is the bug" and crawled around pretending to be bugs. 

We had an Easter egg hunt and the kids had so much finding the eggs that were hiding around the room!

We said good-bye to Logan who moved up to the Preschool Room.  We'll miss your big smile in the room, Logan,  but are excited to see you learning out in Preschool! 

Welcome back to the Program Emma.  It is wonderful having you back! 

We said good-bye to Sharon as well this month and wish her all the best on her retirement.  We will definitely miss you but look forward to seeing you out and about on our walks!  Roberta has joined the Infant Program!

Paint Nite: June 2nd, 2017

Inviting all creative spirits! Explore your inner artist while raising money for Special Events and Visitors at J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc.

We are hosting a Paint Nite, where a local artist will assist and inspire us while we mix and mingle

Let’s get together for a night of creativity and cocktails for a great cause– please RSVP and register now- click the link below.
...

Can't wait to see you there!

Cash Bar
Snacks Provided
Doors open at 7:15, painting begins at 8:00
Prizes to be won

 https://www.paintnite.com/events/_1185468 

New Sign!

We LOVE our new sign from John Henry Creations Inc.

Curling

On March 22nd, 2017, the Preschool and Kindergarten groups had the unique opportunity of visiting the Sanford Rec Centre.  They brought their helmets and were ready to curl!  They each had the chance to send the curling rocks down the ice and they realized a few things:

1. The rocks are HEAVY
2. Curling is hard, and it takes some skill
3. Curling is SOOOOO much fun

We would like to thank the Sanford Rec Centre for letting us use your space!  We had a blast!



Spring Fundraiser Success!

We just finished our first fundraiser of the year, and we are very pleased to say that it was a success!! We want to thank each and every one of you for your fundraising efforts!! We appreciate your support so much!!!

The Tuffo Gear was quite popular. We sold 57 items in total - 22 blankets, 25 muddy buddies, 4 rain jackets and 6 rain pants. These items are due to arrive at the centre on Wednesday or Thursday of next week. There were 35 Epicure trio dip sets sold and $205.61 worth of other Epicure food items. And we also received $70 in cash donations in lieu of selling.

Our total net profit is going to be just shy of $1,000!! The Room Leaders have already begun planning some field trips - one is set for April 21st (details to come soon!), and the FunQuest Amusement rental on March 31st has been upgraded to a 65 foot inflatable obstacle course - so much FUN! And there are several other special events and activities that will be planned using these fundraising dollars.

THANK YOU again so much for your help in fundraising! Our next fundraiser will be taking place in early June.

If you ever have any fundraising ideas for us, please let us know!!

Thank you again,

The JA Cuddy Child Care Fundraising Committee

Spring Fundraiser

It's time for our first fundraiser of 2017! The daycare would like to do some fun and educational field trips this year and bring in some special guests for the kids, and as you know - these things cost money. The Room Leaders have already developed a 'wish list' and it includes field trips to splash pads, the zoo, Great Big Adventure, bowling lanes, Fort Whyte Alive, the Children's museum, parks and playgrounds, and special guests such as Mr. Ken, Petland, Lego Lady, Car Town, Prairie Exotic, inflatable bouncers and much more! All fundraising dollars will be put towards expenses relating to these field trips and special guests. Let's make 2017 a super fun and memorable year for the kids!

We will be fundraising once per quarter. Each fundraiser will provide two options for you. You can choose to sell both OR just one of the two. It's difficult to find a single fundraiser that suits everyone, so we hope that by offering two, at least one of the two will appeal to you, and your family, friends and/or coworkers. And if both appeal to you - that's awesome!! You'll be a fundraising rock star! We just want to stress that you do not need to sell both - the choice is yours!

We are excited about our first fundraiser of the year. We have Tuffo gear and Epicure dips!

1) Tuffo gear: Muddy Buddy rain suits, water resistant outdoor blankets, and adventure rain jackets and pants. Please find attached a catalogue outlining their features, colours, sizes and uses. Muddy Buddies are perfect for spring and allow your little ones to have fun in the puddles and mud while staying clean, dry and comfortable! They are available in 5 fun colours and size 12 months to 5T. The blankets are amazing for picnics, swimming lessons, afternoons at the splash pad, the sidelines of the soccer field, in your backyard, the beach, camping and more. The rain jackets and pants are perfect for those who don't want the one-piece coverall. The wind and water proof jackets come in red and blue and size 6X to 12, and the matching pants are black and available in size 2T to 12. These products will be delivered to the centre at the end of March - just in time for spring! Tax is already included in the price, and in appreciation for supporting this fundraiser, JA Cuddy Child Care will be covering the cost of shipping.

2) Epicure: 3 top-quality Epicure dip mixes (3 onion, lemon dilly, and cheese, chives & bacon). This popular trio dip set comes in a reusable bag and with a recipe booklet for $20. Please find attached an information and order form sheet. These dip mixes are great to have in the pantry for quick and easy snacks and delicious meals, and they make great gifts - for Mother's Day, or for a teacher, party hostess or friend!

*Please pay by cash or cheque only*

Please make all cheques payable to JA Cuddy Child Care Centre, and return all forms and money to the office on or before Wednesday, March 22nd.  The forms are attached.  Sheena also has extra copies in the office if you need.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you and happy selling!!

The JA Cuddy Child Care Fundraising Committee

 

Muddy Buddy Picture:

 

School Age Kinder Update March 2017

February was a busy month in the School Age Room. 

Kindergarten:

The Kindergarten children spent a lot of time outside, exploring town to find the biggest snow hills.  They love to walk to the high school and play on the big hills in the field. 

The Kindergarten children spent quite a bit of time experimenting with a variety or art materials and created numerous different Valentines day creations.  They definitely filled the room with love this month.

The Kindergartens were able to enjoy a musical guest a couple of time in February.  The children had the opportunity to try out some instruments and sing their favourite songs.

Before & After:

After school, some children choose to enjoy the great outdoors while others choose to stay inside.  They have been using their imaginations in the daily living area, making fuse bead creations, and engaging in various process-based activities implemented by the staff.

We had 2 inservices last month.  The first inservice (Feb 3rd) was Pirate Day.  We dressed up as pirates, sent messages in a bottle, ate an ocean snack, did some face painting, and some children even walked the plank!

On our second inservice, we had Rocks and Rings come to the centre.  The children had the opportunity to learn about the sport of curling.  They also got to play a game of indoor curling together with the instructor.  It was fantastic!

The children also created their own marshmallow structures and made chocolate covered pretzels as a sweet treat.

We are very excited about March.  Spring Break is just around the corner and it is going to be a blast!

March 2017 Calendars

We are taking a bit of a different approach to program planning for the next little while.  Please read below (from our curriculum statement):

 

The children at J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc. are celebrated as unique individuals who deserve a variety of opportunities to grow and develop to their fullest potential. We believe that children learn best through play, and we place great emphasis on a child-centred curriculum. Play is unlimited, open-ended, and spontaneous, stimulating imagination and expanding intelligence. Play has no extrinsic goals, and is often a testing ground for language and reasoning. Children’s play is based on their interests and ideas, and is often self-directed. Children are active learners who are curious about the world around them. As educators, we feel that it is important to offer a child-based curriculum that supports and extends children’s play.

            Our role is to enhance existing play situations by providing materials and opportunities for learning and growth. The curriculum at J.A. Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc. is based on goals for children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development while understanding each individual child’s needs, abilities, and interests. The main components contributing to our curriculum are the interactions and relationships between children and staff, the surrounding environment, and the implementation of planned and spontaneous experiences.

 

So, what does all this mean?? Basically, our talented staff at the centre plan their program around the children's interests.  Sometimes the children love the activities we implement, other times they don't.  We strive to provide as many learning opportunities as possible for the children throughout their day.  We often hear parents ask their children what they did at daycare today, the children say "played" or "I don't know."  We document our activities on white boards in the rooms, and on the chart in the front foyer, but at the end of the day when you are just trying to get out the door, an activity chart is the last thing you want to look at!  We decided that we want to let parents know what is coming up in each program in order to keep everyone well informed about what is going on. 

 

Take a look at our plans for the month of March.  Let us know what you think!  If you have any ideas to add, or any materials to bring in to enhance their learning, let the staff know. 

 

Please note, the Infant Program will be continuing to provide activities based on their children's interests, needs, and abilities.  They will not be doing a monthly calendar, with the exception of Spring Break & Summer.  If you have any questions about their programming, please see Sherry.

 

 

 

Infant Room Program Update March 2017

With some nicer weather in February, the Infant Program was able to get outside more, either to play in the yard or to go for a walk.  February is the month of love and to celebrate Valentine's Day, the children made Valentine's for their parents, did Valentine's crafts, played games, and enjoyed heart-shaped brownies with berries as a sweet treat on Valentine's Day.

Last month was also filled with lots of other activities, like water table play, playing on the mats and in the tunnels, and playing with the new baby prop box.

The children love to learn, and some of their recent favourites have been learning about animals and their sounds, counting, and learning their body parts.  We love to sing "Head and Shoulders" and read the book called, "About Me."

We are excited to have Eleanor join us in the infant room.  She has made some friends within our room and she is a great addition to the group. 

Preschool Update March 2017

February was a fantastic month in Preschool.  The Younger Floor children are interested in dinosaurs.  We have been talking about the names of each dinosaur and facts about each one.  The love to pretend they are dinosaurs and chase each other around.  Check out the window on Younger Floor-the children made their very own dinosaur eggs to spruce up the space.

The Younger Floor children love sensory play, so we introduced a twist on play dough and made "Snow Dough" with cornstarch and conditioner.  It was messy, but the children had a blast!

We were lucky to have some beautiful weather in February.  We spent lots of time outside in our play space and on walks in our community.

The Older Floor children have started to do a circle time each day.  They take time to sit and talk about whatever the children are interested in.  They have also been doing "Letter of the Day" and "Show & Tell" during circle time.

The Older Floor children have also been interested in dramatic play.  The staff have set up a baby area with baby clothes, food, high chairs, etc.  The children love taking care of their baby dolls.  They have also been putting on concerts for each other (singing and dancing).  Can you guess what the song of choice is for this group??  It's "Oh Canada!"

Along with dancing, the children are also into exercising and moving their bodies.  You will often find them in the block area making their very own "gym" or "play structure" or playing hopscotch.  We love to see the children interested in being physically active, and we are excited to see what the month of March will bring!

Check us out on Facebook!

If you are connected to the Facebook world, check out our Facebook Page!  Search JA Cuddy Child Care Centre Inc.  Like our page so that you can follow us!  Please note, we will not be posting pictures of children, or releasing any confidential information online.  Let us know what you think!!

Infant Program Update

It's hard to believe that January is already over!  This month we did a lot of dramatic play.  We made a train with cube chairs and pretended we were passengers.  We made train sounds, sung some train songs, and called out "all aboard" as we were playing.  Our favourite is "A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track."

We also did some pretend play with baby dolls.  We wrapped them up in blankets, fed them, diapered them, and gave them lots of big hugs. 

The weather did warm up for us at the end of the month and we were able to get outside and play in the snow.  We also enjoyed some morning stroller rides and even a sled ride.  We listened for the birds and tried to spot them in the trees as well as in the sky.  We are excited for the fun that February will bring!

Preschool

January has been a crazy month. Weather was freezing cold and we were stuck indoors, but we made the most of it with lots of activities to keep the children and staff all happy! We were lucky enough to use the school gym to play a few of our favorite games like 'Red Rover' and 'What time is it Mr Wolf'.

As soon as the milder temperatures came around we spent as much time outside as we could, using the hills to slide down and the making tunnels through the snow. We even used spray paint to mark targets in the snow and throw snow balls at them.

One of the favorite activities was playing with Kinetic sand, snow dough, play dough and making molds. Anything to keep their hands dirty and busy was a hit!

Preschool Program Update

We ended 2016 with fun activities and LOTS of holiday spirit.  Both preschool rooms were rearranged, giving the children (and staff) a fresh, new environment. 

The children made lots of holiday themed art to decorate the rooms.  Don't forget to take home your child's artwork from their locker!

Lots of sensory play has been happening as well, like scented playdough, bubbles, and shaving cream "snow."

When it's not too cold to go outside, the younger preschoolers have had a blast in our winter wonderland backyard while our older preschoolers have explored the town on long walks in the fresh air.

Infant Program Update

December was all about Christmas!  We made gingerbread playdough and enjoyed the wonderful smell of spices.  We made a lot of pretend gingerbread cookies and cakes using the rolling pin to roll out the dough.

We also made many crafts, like melting snowmen, Santas, stars, and candy canes, just to name a few.  We used our fine motor skills to stick stickers on and glue the pieces together to make our masterpieces.

Last month we said goodbye to Prestley and we welcomed Aqua into our program. 

We got to have our first experience with snow in December as well!  Most of us were not happy to dress up in our outdoor clothes and to have to walk through the snow on the ground.  The next time we went out, the infants realized that it wasn't so bad!  We played with cars outside, driving them along the bench and making tire tracks in the snow.  Each time we are able to go outside, it keeps getting easier. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!