Free Lunch in the Park

Did you know that there are location throughout Sonoma County where any child under the age of 18 can get a free lunch every Monday through Friday this summer? Breakfasts are also available at some sites!

These lunches are served to ANYONE who shows up regardless of income, race or where you live. No questions asked! This is the type of program that if not used this year may not be continued in the future. (I have to admit if we had this available at G park the kids and I would be walking down every day!)

 

Click here for locations with time, dates and hours

Summer Break

A quick reminder that we will be closed next week for summer break.

Have a wonderful time with your family!

Warmer Weather

Warmer weather may have finally arrived! 

We are looking forward to spending lots of time outside. 
Please help us to have an enjoyable time by making sure your child has appropriate attire.

Please bring in a large brimmed hat (no baseball caps) to keep the sun off their face and neck. The kids are really good about wearing them. We are lucky to have a fairly shaded yard so these are more important for the kids who play outside after nap but we ask that everyone bring them. 

REMINDER: Please apply sunscreen to your child before dressing him each morning. We are happy to re-apply sunscreen as needed, typically after nap. If you want to bring one for us please label the bottle with your child's name.

Target now has kids "Croc's" in stock. With water play being a main activity in the summer Crocs are a real necessity. Several of the kids have the same shoe, same size so please be sure to label them clearly with your child's name. If you would like you can bring a pair to stay here.

Reduce Reuse Recycle...if you have older pairs that no longer fit we would love to add them to our collection of "extras" or be able to give them to younger kids who could use them.

We have several children who are out or almost out of extra clothes. Please check your child's cubby to be sure he or she has summer appropriate changes of clothing. The summer months are filled with Ooey Gooey messy play and art and changing clothes may be come a daily event. 

Last but not least ... for those who stay for nap we ask that you bring in a lightweight blanket for the warm summer afternoons. Some kids still like to be covered up even on hot days.

Farm Fresh To You

In an effort to incorporate both good eating habits and an understanding of where out food comes from we had a box delivered from Farm Fresh To You.

To prepare we have been reading books about gardening, food and farmers markets. One of our favorite books is an oldie but goodie from 1943 Up Above and Down Below. Although a very simple book it introduces the kids to concepts and vocabulary such as tubers, stalk, roots and bulbs.

Our box arrived today and we were excited to see what we got. They then helped us decide if each food grew "up above" or "down below".

We are happy to report that the kids were able to identify almost all (white turnips were tricky) of the items in the box. 

Good eating habits begin when kids are young! What are you serving for dinner tonight?

Summer Bucket List

Summer vacation is here ... now what? 

It happens every year: we tell ourselves that the Summer two thousand-whatever is going to be the BEST summer ever and then before you know it it's August, and your family hasn't done much. We are all busy. Time flies by as days turn into weeks and weeks into months (I also know from experience that before you know it your preschoolers will be grown and gone). 

Summer outings and activities dont need to be camping in Yosemite or elaborate weeks at Disneyland. Nor do they need to break the bank. Melanie has told me she remembers hikes and picnics in Armstrong Woods, Saturday morning farmers market, ferry rides to Angel Island, family movie nights and trips to the zoo just as fondly as our big family trips.

The key is to plan these activities so that the summer doesn't slip away. Creating a list helps to be intentional with your time and do things you have always “talked” about, but never got around to.

A few ideas to get you started:

• Make juice popsicles or home made ice cream
• Feed the ducks
• Make play-doh
• Movie in the park
• Walk around Spring Lake
• Roller Skating
• Go camping at the KOA (we used to go to Cloverdale and the kids thought we were in the boonies)
• Bake cookies for a neighbor
• Fly a kite at the beach
• Take a before breakfast walk
• Create a cooperative family art piece and hand it up for everyone to see! 

 What fun things are your kids going to remember doing this summer?

Summer Reading & Last Scholastic Order

Summer is the perfect time to encourage reading... Trips to the library, painting and coloring pictures of what they have read in books, "writing" in a journal, copying book titles or words etc.. all instill an early love and passion for reading.

With so many books going electronic I have to say that although I would hate to see the day when books are no longer published in hard copy ... e-books and books on tape can be fun too. Listening to someone else read with the accompaniment of music is really exciting to kids.
The library has quite a few books on tape. They allow the kids the independence to listen and "turn the page" on their own when they hear the chime.




Going to story time is also fun. The Sonoma County library has lots of fun summer reading programs for all ages. http://www.sonomalibrary.org They even have a program where older kids can go and read to a dog (less intimidating than a judgmental adult).  Borders on Santa Rosa Ave is also doing a fun summer reading program http://www.borders.com.


June is also the last month to buy Scholastic books for this school year. June book orders can be submitted through next week.

We have been blessed to receive so many orders this year that we have almost 1,000 bonus points to buy new materials for next year. Thank you to everyone who has ordered.