News for January 2010
Why We Like Our New School.
Leilani has been attending Millbrae Nursery School since July, and all of us love it.
Although our previous preschool, Glen Oaks Montessori was very expensive and prestigious, Leilani had cried often about not wanting to go, now it is the opposite, I have a hard time getting her home.
The playground is awesome. Indoors, additionally to the educational toys there are dolls, plastic dinosaurs and animals as well as trains; There is dressup and pretend play, free play, creative play, and after having had Leilani in a school for a year that did not have any of these makes me really appreciate the difference. Leilani loves the loft area, a special area that gets opened occasionally, they climb up on the ladder, and play with the “special” toys that are up there.
The teachers are all super nice. They know all the names of kids and family, and they work with kids socially and teach them not to only play with their friends and within their cliques, but also play with others. I am so impressed how they work with behaviorally challenged kids and integrate them within a short time, I could not believe the change in behavior I have seen in at least 2 kids within a short time.
Leilani made huge progress, her communication and conversation skills I find impressive, she shows much more empathy and is able to listen longer (unless of course we preach or lecture her…). She writes her name in upper and lower case letters, and now starts reading the regular way. She does beautiful artwork, drawing, painting, that was an area she had regressed so much in within the previous year, and I am so happy that she developed that interest again.
I was a little scared of the co-op experience at first, but it is a real community, and very enjoyable, and educational for the parents. Leilani loves my workday, then I am teacher Sonja, and I often get to do art projects with the kids, that’s a lot of fun for me almost as much as for the kids.
Edited: January 31st, 2010
Jicama Salad
by Priscilla Paras-Huerta Nutritionist
A recipe to try:
1 large jicama (peeled and julienne sliced)
1 cup finely diced peppers (I prefer red and yellow)
¼ cup diced red onion
1 cucumber, (peeled, seeded and chopped)
2 oranges (peeled, segmented and chopped)
¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/3 cup lime juice + juice of 1 orange
Salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients in large serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cayenne.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Toss and serve.
Edited: January 26th, 2010
We would like to hear your ideas and suggestions.
Our families are such a great resource for information on topics ranging from
- healthy recipes for fun foods to eat
- creative art projects
- kid activities
A list of our MNS Board Members is posted in the hallway at the entrance of the school. Share your ideas with one of them or with your teacher.
I ask that submissions for the next monthly newsletter be received by the 25th of the month.
Send an email to soozcap@hotmail.com for the newsletter and Sonja@wailuaweb.com to add it to this blog and enter in the subject line that it is for the following month’s newsletter / blog.
(or Miranda and / or Kass Pre-k file)
Edited: January 22nd, 2010
New Year – New Foods – New Recipes
Hello Families,
It is the new year and as many of you will be making resolutions, I would like to share mine with you. I try to make resolutions that I feel I can stick with as In the past I would break my resolutions by January’s end. So this year, my resolution is to try either a new food item or recipe so that I can expose both myself and my family to new foods and or ideas on how to cook our old “standbuy” ingredients.
With the flu season in full swing, I want to remind everyone on the importance of Vitamin C for our kids. Vitamin C is healthy for our immune system. (it is an anti-oxidant ) Since our bodies do not store Vitamin C it must be consumed daily.
Minimum requirements for kids is 30-45 mg. (this can be achieved with the recommended daily allowance of 5 servings of fruits/veggies).
Raw fruits and vegetables are preferred due to their high fiber and water content, although frozen can also be served.
Although we often think of oranges when talking about Vitamin C ; some other sources include:
Broccoli (1/2 cup = 45mg.)
Small tomato (25 mg.)
Jicama (1/2 cup= 45 mg.)
Kiwi (1 each= 55 mg)
Small baked potato (25 mg.)
Healthy Eating,
Priscilla Paras-Huerta
Nutritionist
Edited: January 21st, 2010
Board Members needed…
We will be searching for new board members for next year since many of our board is graduating.
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Publicity
- Fundraising
- Purchasing
- San Mateo Council Rep: ASAP
- Housekeeping
- Maintenance
Please read the descriptions of board member positions here
Edited: January 21st, 2010