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Sign Language

11/29/2018

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Sign language with babies & toddlers! While the concept can be intimidating for many parents, the benefits of learning even a few simple signs with your child outweigh any insecurities you may hold about trying it out. Lynx staff have a series of core signs that they try to use as much as they can with the children. Your child might know a few without you even knowing! If your family already signs at home please share with our team which signs you use so we can continue the practice with your child during their time in daycare!
There are many benefits to children learning sign language at an early age.
Practical- Less fussing, more fun. All of our children are still developing their abilities to communicate with us. Sign language is a stepping stone of communicating and can ease children’s frustrations by providing them a way to say what they’re thinking before they can say it! Parents/children who learn sign language have less moments of frustration throughout the day.
  • Creates a closer parental/caregiver bond- Children are social creatures and being able to communicate with you- their favourite people- creates a stronger bond between you. Parents who learn signs with their children often report higher confidence in their parenting skills because they feel more in-tune with their children’s needs.
  • Cognitive- Learning to sign at an early age helps children develop their language and reasoning skills. Children who learn early in life often have greater success with reading and develop larger vocabularies.

Here are a few to get you started! Ask your Primary which ones they use the most at daycare!

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Lunch Time Inspiration

11/29/2018

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Are you burning out from packing lunches, or do you just want to pack a little variety into your child's lunch? Here are some easy ideas, tried and true from the Lynx Team.

Toddler eating habits. A common anxiety among parents & staff alike. It is School House policy that we do not re-heat any of our children’s lunches. The main reasons for this being that we do not have the means to safely reheat each child’s lunch in a timely manner. Staff would also be required to utilize our kitchen to do so, which would take them out of the classroom at the busiest time of our daily routine. Thus, thermos lunches! Packing a thermos lunch takes a bit of finesse. A quality thermos will come with instructions to pre-heat with hot water, then after preheating you add your piping hot food. The most common mistake when packing a thermos lunch is to add the food when it is at a comfortable eating temp. Food needs to be piping hot, inedible hot, before sealing in a preheated thermos.  If the thermos is packed properly there is little to no risk of your child’s food cooling to a ‘danger zone’ temperature after 4-5 hours. In fact, our staff often have to cool thermos lunches for our little ones to eat when it is lunchtime!

Deli Meat Roll-Ups
Think outside the bun! Rolling sliced deli turkey, ham, or roast beef around cheese sticks, cream cheese, and even greens can change the way your kiddos think about lunch meat. Pack with: Veggie crisps, celery (optional sunflower butter filling), cinnamon-sprinkled apple slices. Mix the meats, cheeses and veggies your kids like into plain quinoa and dress lightly with basic vinaigrette. Pack with: mini muffin & choice of seasonal fresh fruit  & cubed avocado.


 Hummus and Pita Plate
9 out of 10 kids love a good smear of hummus. Why not make it the star of the show? Pack with: sliced cherry tomatoes, snap peas & sliced pepper/carrot sticks.
 
​Quinoa Salad

Mix the meats, cheeses and veggies your kids like into plain quinoa and dress lightly with basic vinaigrette. Pack with: mini muffin & choice of seasonal fresh fruit  & cubed avocado.

 
Simple Cheese, Crackers & Sliced Sausage

Sometimes going simple is the best thing you can do for picky eaters. Finger foods such as this are easy for self feeding practice. Pack with: seasonal fresh fruit, yogurt, or sliced cucumber.


Cold Pasta & Bean Salad
The trick with this one is to pack each thing separately. Do not commit the cardinal sin of combining items! The horror! Canned/rinsed beans & chick peas, cold cooked pasta noodles, chopped peppers/broccoli, cubed tomato & shredded Parmesan cheese. Children can choose to mix them or enjoy these finger foods separately. If you know your child won’t mind combining, add a dash of lemon juice/olive oil dressing to the mix. Pack with: fresh seasonal fruit, unsweetened applesauce &/or boiled egg.

A good rule of thumb when trying to pack a healthy lunch for a child of any age is to make sure their food has at least three colors represented. A beige meal neither looks appetizing, nor it is usually all that nutritious. Also make sure you offer at least a couple choices; however over packing a lunch with too many choices often is overwhelming for our littlest of people.
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    This & That

    This page is for little extras that we'd like to share.
    ​Recipes, guidance strategies, or simply links to important content related to fostering a rich learning environment for your child.

    Important Links

    Universal Childcare Prototype Site Information
    Ministry of Children & Family Development
    Affordable Childcare Benefit
    West Kootenay Childcare Resource & Referral Center

    Resources

    BC Early Learning Framework
    Loris Malaguzzi Int' Center
    NA Reggio Emilia Alliance

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  • HOME
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