There will be orientation meetings on Thursday January 26th and Tuesday February 28th at 5:30 pm at the preschool. This meeting is for parents who have already toured the school and are interested in learning more as well as to receive an application for Summer or Fall 2012 enrollment.

Applications are due by March 2nd; decisions will be sent by mid- March. If there are any remaining spaces, applications will continue to be taken. A small waiting list will be maintained in case there are changes by parents before their child’s enrollment.

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DOWNTOWN ON ICE

Right across from the Biltmore Hotel in Pershing Square

http://laparks.org/pershingsquare/doi.html

532 South Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Skating Session $6; Skate Rental $2

HOURS OF OPERATION
General Schedule: November 17, 2011 – January 16, 2012

Monday – Thursday: 12:00pm to 10:00pm
Friday – Sunday: 10:00am to 10:00pm

*Special Extended Holiday Hours
December 19 – January 2 from 10:00am to 10:00pm daily

Parking in the lot underneath.

TRAIN RIDE TO SANTA ( GRIFFITH PARK)

http://www.griffithparktrainrides.com/content/travel-town-santa-train

The Travel Town Museum has a magical Holiday Train Ride and Visit with Santa.  Santa, himself, will be on hand and each child will receive a candy cane and a special little gift.  Mrs. Claus will also be there to greet you and talk about life at the North Pole. If you wish, Santa’s helpers will happily take your picture with Santa for purchase as a keepsake of your visit. After visiting Santa you can board the Santa Express at Travel Town Station for a trip through a wonderland of holiday lights and scenery. If you prefer, you can get into the Holiday spirit by riding the Santa Express before you visit Santa.

The ride will continue on December 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and December 14th through December 23rd.  The first train leaves about 5 pm each night and the last train will leave at about 8 pm, unless it sells out, in which case they may close earlier.

BILTMORE MILLENIUM HOTEL – Holiday Tea for Children

In conjunction with the City Ballet of Los Angeles’ annual performance of this time-honored classic, the Biltmore hosts a special tea for children and parents with holiday sandwiches and cupcakes! Event will feature special performances throughout the tea by real ballet dancers from the production, including the Sugar Plum Fairy herself!

Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 2009 from 11:00am – 1:00pm in the Rendezvous Court

$38 per person

 Please call Smeraldi’s Restaurant at (213) 612-1562 for reservations.

LOS FELIZ 3 THEATERS 

Mommy and me Wednesday matinee at 10:30 am at 1822 N. Vermont Ave. Great to do when the kids are out of school.

Beautiful Holiday Lights

Los Feliz is the perfect place to view holiday lights and decorations.  When my daughter was young, we used to gather together as a family in my mom and dad’s camper with its big windows and drive the streets.  Armed with hot chocolate in Thermoses, we  drove the streets, oohing and aahing at the sparkling and colorful lights and inventive decorations.

Los Feliz  usually has the  DWP  Lights Festival but this year, due to prolonged construction, it is not open.   Hopefully the construction will be complete by next year.

Relatives in town/ Children Off from School

 TRY GEOCACHING

Geocaching  is a new way for family and friends to have fun and explore the Los Feliz area. It is  a fabulous blend of an old-fashioned treasure hunt and modern day technology. In our family, it appeals to my husband’s love of computers, his Iphone, and technology in general,  to my love of treasure hunts that take me back to childhood and college days, and to our children and grandchildren’s love of the hunt.

Here is how geocaching works. All over the world, people have hidden small boxes and other containers that contain a log for recording the finder’s name and often, little trinkets and trackers. Trackers are the official geocaching item that has a tracking number that keeps track of the travels of these items.

In order to find these caches, you go online to geocaching.com and look up an area where you want to search for a cache. I looked up 90027 and found many interesting possibilities. You make note of the area and the GPS coordinates, then off you go in search of the cache. Now these hiders are quite clever so you have to use the clues the other cache finders have left to solve the puzzle and locate the cache.

When you find the container, sign in on the log. If there is a tracker, you can take it and place it in a new cache that you find next time.  At the end of your caching day, whether you have one or several, log on and record what you have done at geocache.com.  It is nice to leave a clue on the computer record if you found that a cache was tricky to find. We ended up eating in a great restaurant right next to a cache, an added bonus to the experience.

So if you find yourself with family and friends looking for something fun to do that can take 20 minutes or several hours or you need everyone out of the house so you can cook or wrap packages, try geocaching. We have found that we learn something new about our Los Feliz neighborhood every time.

Happy Hunting!

Holiday Shopping for Chanukah and Stocking Treats

Holiday shopping is truly upon us.  I was raised in a traditional manner here in Los Angeles; Christmas shopping only began after Thanksgiving.  There were no early holiday purchases, decorations or holiday music. While times have changed now that I have grandchildren, I still leave the stocking presents for close to the holiday. In Los Feliz, there are many delightful places to buy great holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.

For the coffee or tea drinker:

• (Starbucks on Vermont and Prospect (http://www.starbucks.com/store/15113),
• Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Hillhurst (http://coffeebean.com/location.aspx?UserID=38650288&SessionID=iqKCsPjuBOLdZnkvRAld),
• Intelligentsia on W. Sunset (http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/locations/view/)

• A new book by a favorite or new author plus an interesting selection of books you might not find everywhere ( Skylight Books on N. Vermont (http://www.skylightbooks.com/))
• Theater tickets are a nice treat  at Los Feliz 3 on 1822 N. Vermont Ave.

When our grown children come with the grandchildren, it opens the door to much more shopping. Great toys and children’s clothes can be purchased at:

• Dragonfly Dulou on Hillhurst Ave. (http://www.dragonflydulou.com/contact)
• La La Ling on N. Vermont ) http://www.lalaling.com/e-store/cnt_store.asp).

Farmer’s Markets

• The Farmer’s Market on Hollywood just west of Vermont at Barnsdall Park on Wednesday from noon to 6 pm is a great source of food goodies and handmade items.

Los Feliz Library- A Jewel in the Crown

Remember the library; Los Feliz has a great one.

Los Feliz library (http://www.lapl.org/branches/Branch.php?bID=36) is one of the jewels in the crown of the Los Angeles Public Library system.  Located at the corner of Franklin and Hillhurst Ave, it is a community center for much more than books. We are so lucky to have a beautiful building with natural light and wonderful spaces to enjoy many neighborly experiences.

As a preschool, we regularly uses this library to get books that  reflect  activities in the classroom and  children’s interests. The book collection offers so much to choose from; the  56,000 books is very thoughtfully  and well put together. This collection is loaded with current titles and excellent breadth of subjects. The librarians are very knowledge,  always able to guide with great suggestions. There are movies to rent and books on tape. They have a program that allows interlibrary

The library is much more than books. It offers a wide variety of programs such ascomputer classes, author program, architectural lectures, monthly book discussions, music performances, chess, and a quilting circle.

One of the lesser known treasures of the library that I have been wanting to try is the Scrabble Club. I love Scrabble but I am part of a family who are not enthusiasts. On Saturday morning, people with all levels of skills put their Scrabble boards under their arms and come to the community room to find a similarly skilled partner. I loved the friendships and goodwill that were evident the day I visited.

The children’s story hours are always lovely and many of the preschool families have enjoyed many hours with well-chosen books.

A library card and the Los Feliz Library are definitely a passport to hours of enjoyment.

For Last Minute Boxing and Shipping Needs

No matter how we try and how careful we are in our planning, there is always something that needs to ship at the last minute. Box Brothers on Hillhurst Ave (http://www.boxbrosla.com/boxtest/store-locations/box-bros-los-feliz-village) has everything you need. They can do any kind of shipping from electronics to antiques and also provide a valet boxing pick-up service if you aren’t able to get to the store (or want to avoid long lines).  They will also assist you in helping to find the exact size box you need so you can pay for only what you need. They have loads of packing materials as well. They save us every year.

I wish you a wonderful holiday and a great new year.

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I selected the favorites for children this year by going from learning area to learning area in the classroom. At the preschool, we want our “toys” to have lots of play value, room for imaginative and creative expression, and chances for exploring and discovery.  I hope these ideas add inspiration and joy to your holiday season.

1. Magna- tiles. The  favorite manipulative. Magnet-edged squares and rectangles that can create a wonderful variety of structures. Add animals and people to increase range of play.  Tinkertoys are also very hot right now in the Yellow Room. Amazon.com has the best prices.
2. The Barn and Castle- The children’s favorite additions to the block area this year have been the Melissa and Doug Fold N Go Barn and Castle. They invite hours of play. We bought lots of castle horses and people as well as a big set of barnyard animals.  Melissa and Doug are an excellent source of  a wide range of excellent quality toys.
3. Dress up box. My mother-in-law put together a fabulous dress up box for our kids. It was filled with capes, scarves, dresses, coats, shoes, jewelry, hats, and specialty accessories.  Use your imagination. Thrift shops such as St. Vincent du Paul are a great source of supplies.  Decorating the box is a nice extra touch.  Hearthsong catalog is a great children’s catalog and has some excellent items.
4. Sensory Materials- First the basics- playdough, flubber, flome., bubber with you can get at Discount School Supply or Lakeshore or recipes on this website., Add small rolling pins, cookie cutters, popsicle sticks of different colors,  garlic presses, dull knives  etc.  A Special Treat- Gray clay is fabulous and a big bag will last you a long time. I love going to KitKraft in Studio City and cruising the  aisles for the clay and wonderful tools. This store is loaded with kid friendly ideas.
5. Bookstores are my idea of heaven and so books are a major item on any buying list. We have the holiday and winter favorites, Jan Brett’s The Mitten and The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Robert Sabuda’s The Twelve Days of Christmas, Debbie Martinez’s Celebrating Chanukah, Tomie de Paola’s The Nights of Las Posadas, and Alexandra Day’s Carl’s Christmas. And then there are the children’s current favorites and the classics. Right now, The Dairy of a Worm, Diary of a Spider,and Diary of a Fly by    are very popular. Mo Willems series, Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny, Too and Knuffle Bunny Free are fabulous. Henry the Explorer, Caps for Sale, If You Guve a Mouse a Cookie and other Felicia Bond books. and Loving are  wonderful.  There is Grandfather Twilight, Stellaluna, The Patchwork Quilt, and Rosemary Wells’ series about Max and Ruby. Amazon.com
6. Music is one place where I represent the favorites of my children’s childhood and the teachers reflect the more current tastes. We overlap with Hap Palmer  ( all are wonderful) and Raffi .  For me, it is Ella Jenkins ( all albums are great) , Patty Zeitlin and Marcia Berman ( Spin, Spider, Spin, Chanukah songs, and I am not Small, Raffi, Burl Ives  (Christmas and Favorites for Children), For the teachers, it is Dan Zane, and Greg and Steve. Some of the musicals have been very popular with our kids i.e Lion King and Sound of Music. Again, Amazon.com carries the full range.
7. Art Boxes- Start with the basics: scissors, with regular and  fun cutting edges, mystic tape, and a hole punch, then add drawing materials: colored pencils, marking pens,  and crayons. Then, over time,  you can enrich the supplies with  oil pastels, glitter pens, pastel chalks. Stamp pads and rubber stamps are great as are watercolor sets and tempura pads. Dot art is very popular right now. We use Discount School Supply. 
8.  A children’s cookbook, i.e. DK Children’s Cookbook, an apron, and some cooking supplies: a medium sized good bowl with a handle and a  non-skid bottom,  a  wooden spoon, a spatula, a small sifter, a small grater,  a plastic one-cup measuring cup with pouring spout.
9.  Games- Target has a very good selection of games. Eric Carles, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has several games that go with his books.  There are the classics- HiHo Cheerio,  Connect Four, Chutes and Ladders, and Candyland. There is also  Brown Bear, What Do  You See? and  Sequence for Kids. Card games include  Go Fish, Uno, and regular cards for the game of WAR.
10.  Stocking presents-  a number of the above ideas are great for stockings, i.e. a CD, a book, or a box of pastel chalks. Science items from Lakeshore Learning Materials make good choices.  A magnifying glass, color paddles, a set of magnets,  a few packets of seeds to plant a winter garden ( lettuce, sugar snap peas, radishes).  Lakeshore is the other wonderful teacher store from which we buy.

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I think this is true for the families of CCP. Especially at Thanksgiving, we want to give to our communities, to say thanks and to extend a hand. We can help our children to be thoughtful of our communities during this time by including them in our holiday outreach.

The book,  Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, offers a personal way for children to understand the concept of giving thanks and be aware of what they have to be thankful for. It is easier then to take the next step with them and look beyond their family.

Over the years, I have been involved with some excellent organizations that provide care, food, and other necessities all year to the many neighbors who need help.

Here are a few that may work for your family.

Firstly, you can bring canned food to the school and contribute to the ongoing food drive conducted through Temple Knesset Israel, the temple from whom we rent. They work with SOVA, a community food and resource program that is part of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. SOVA cares for 10, 000 people per month of all religions, ages,  and ethnicities.

Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles is one of our closest neighbors and provides many services to children beyond health care. The Red Wagon Program, Toy donations, food, and money are welcome contributions. This link is to their “Giving” page, both for the holidays and all year.

Los Feliz Hope-Net is an interfaith and community effort to eliminate hunger and homelessness. Its founding premise is that ” none of our neighbors should go hungry”. It maintains food pantries and food deliveries as well as many other services.

Angel Harvest , is especially valuable to know about if you are in the Hollywood entertainment business or have dealings with companies that give  catered events. They have established an experienced organization that  picks up  leftover food  from events, cafeterias, and other catering venues and immediately distributes it to centers who feed hungry.

Los Angeles Regional Food Banks have a interesting way to donate that can include your family and friends. Virtual Food Drives are a great way to support the Foodbank’s hunger relief efforts. The Foodbank’s new website makes it easier to create and customize a Virtual Food Drive page to get your friends and family involved in the fight against hunger.

Silverlake MOM’s Club has Operation Sleep Tight that provides 150 backpacks filled with sleepwear, small stuffed animals, small toys,  and special treasure for young children.

We wish you all a happy holiday.Tweet

The preschool is having a round of colds and fevers affecting a number of children during the beginning ofthis cold and flu season. With no school Friday, Veteran’s Day, I hope everyone gets healthier.

Illness poses a parent’s dilemma best summed up by a dad who said, “My boss doesn’t like it when I miss three days of work, but I understand she needs to be at home”. Many of you have busy schedules, traveling spouses, and meetings that are important. I remember this well;  I have four grown children. Unfortunately, sick and recovering children need to be cared for outside of the preschool.

I want to share with you some resources and “before need” coping strategies to think and plan about over the 3 day holiday to help with the dilemma. The three main obstacles seem to be the ” morning of” illness, the “getting sick at school” illness,  and the “getting well but not ready for school” recovery period. We have a policy of a child returning to school when they are healthy and fever-free for at least 24 hours. Children can cope with more at home than they can at school when they are recovering. The illness policies for the school are in the parent handbook, online at www.kidslovepreschool.com.

1. Relatives- talk to family who are close by and see how and when they might be available  to cover you.

2. Other parent/friend- as with a babysitting coop, some families make arrangements to cover each other in the case of illness. Not hours and hours, but the caring for or picking up of a child until your  crucial work need  is over.

3. Babysitters- they often have flexible daytime schedules. Other parents may have a person you would  trust;  they could spend some time with your child before you need them.

4. Nannies- some of you have talk about “underutilized” nannies. Perhaps they can step in and be paid while they are not caring for their usual child.

5. Neighbors- some of you have spoken of a good neighbor/ friend.  Are they available for recovery care or pick up at school and short term care?

6. Friends- is there someone who would be willing to be on call?

7.  College students- We are fortunate to have Los Angeles City College nearby.  Ty  and Marilyn went there. Check and see if they have a way of putting you together with students available for childcare.

Developing ” before need” care arrangements will hopefully ease some of the stress of caring for a sick child. Please make sure that I have the names of the people you choose written in my file. You can stipulate the circumstance under which they can pick up your child, i.e. sick-child care only. I will ask for ID if we don’t know them.

I CANNOT release a child without a written note from a parent if the pick up person is not on the list; in the moment of need that can be a real hassle.

I hope these ideas help and I wish you a happy and healthy Veteran’s Day holiday.Tweet

Natural History Museum Spider Pavilion,  www.nhm.org/site.

COOL THINGS

Spider Pavilion Nighttime Flashlight Tours

October 21 & 28

We‘re keeping the Spider Pavilion open late for exciting nighttime exploration and guided tours by flashlight. Complimentary flashlight and commemorative Spider Pavilion 2011 pin while supplies last.A great experience on Oct. 21 and 28th.  

Ivanhoe Public Elementary School- Fall HoeDown- Oct 29th- at 1 pm.- 2828 Herkimer St Los Angeles, CA 90039-4103 - (323) 664-0051

Larchmont Family Fair- Sunday, October 23, 12-5 pm. Larchmont Blvd.  between First and Third.

Self- Realization Center Halloween Festival  in Mt. Washington. It is always the Friday before Halloween. This year will be October 28th and it usually goes from 6-8, or around that time. It is open to the public. Kids can come dressed up. They have all kinds of wonderful Jack O’ Lanterns, lots of activities for the kids, a Halloween queen and several acts (singing, magician, dancers, performers, etc.) Highly recommended by some of our parents. 

Los Angeles Zoo- Boo at the Zoo

The 9thAnnual Rose Scharlin Halloween Hullabaloo is October 29th  from 4pm- 8pm. 2414 Lake View Ave. Los Angeles, Ca. 90039

Los Angeles Charter School of the Arts-

On Saturday, October 22, the annual LFCSA Halloween Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Come join the fun as we help raise needed funds for our school. Activities include a petting zoo, giant slides, a haunted house, dunk-your-teacher booth, great food, bake sale, Stewies shaved ice, facepainting, spray tattoos, games, crafts and some new surprises. Admission is free.

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This started me thinking about the difference between pressure and expectations. This is a common concern among parents who are trying to raise children thoughtfully but who also have goals they would like their children to reach.

Erik Erikson in his seminal book, Childhood and Society, talks about the stage of childhood between roughly 1 1/2 and 3 year old as the stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt. We can influence the way children feel about themselves and their capabilities by the way we handle these kinds of normal childhood steps.

One of the first things to think about with children and expectations  is the difference between internally derived child development, which occurs as a result of a child’s own drive to complete a task,  and the expectations we set for children to help them become part of our family and community.

Some behaviors are grounded in normal child development. From the time a child is born, he or she is biologically programmed to nurse, crawl, walk, run, and talk. We, as parents and teachers, just need to support them with opportunity and positive experiences. These are innate skills that will emerge although the timetable for each child is individual.

Other behaviors are decided by the family, the culture, society, and laws. Children learn to eat food rather than throw it,  to hold our hand when crossing the street, and to use words rather than biting,  because we set behavioral expectations and goals for them and teach them how to achieve them.

Both the innate and the learned  forms of behavior are vital for a child to develop in a physically, socially and emotionally healthy way .

In early childhood, we deal with expectations that are  fairly consistent throughout different cultures. Children learn to feed themselves, go to the bathroom in a predetermined place, dress themselves, and fall asleep at night. They learn how to socialize with their family and then others in their world. At school, they widen that experience to include children and grown-ups new to their family. They learn to play and to problem solve. Each step is invaluable for their development.

Children want to gain mastery over their own care and skill building and therefore can be willing participants in their own development.  Mastery is an important source of a human’s self-esteem and feelings of success in coping with the world. I don’t think that anyone disagrees with the benefits  of a a child developing mastery but the question sometimes becomes how to help them achieve it.

We help children develop mastery and self-esteem when we have age-appropriate expectations of our children. When we work together with our children to set goals to develop a new skill, we are helping them with self-care and mastery. They learn that they are capable people.

Pressure, on the other hand,  takes away from these goals. When we blame or scold children, we tell them we doubt their desire or their capability.  Instead of supporting autonomy, we are using shame or doubt to try and make them do what we want. This behavior removes the locus of control from the child to the parent. When we as parents becomes overly involved in the child’s experience, it makes it our agenda rather than theirs. When we as parents make our happiness with our child based on their performance, we create a lot of pressure for a child.

So, in toilet training or any other childhood growth step we have for our children, expectations and support help them to grow into the capable people we know they can be. And while it can be tempting in the moment, pressure is best left to the side so that children can feel the personal satisfaction of mastery and self- control.

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We are very happy to be  a participant in the Jumpstart’s Read for the Record.  Our children love the whole Llama Llama Series and we look forward to being together with our children and their parents as the nation reads  in unison. We also plan on asking our children to invite the children they know to participate with us. We will keep track of where those children live so we can mark it on our US map.

The purpose of the nation-wide reading is to highlight and to receive support for the more than six million children who live in poverty and don’t not have access to quality early childhood care . These children are at risk for school failure before they even start kindergarten. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record®, presented in conjunction with the Pearson Foundation, allows Americans to demand that all children receive the quality early education they deserve.

You can be involved  by going to Jumpstarts’ Read for the Record and pledging to read on Oct. 6th. You can also make a donation towards the improvement of early education for children in poverty.

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Last week at the morning coffee, the question was “How do I talk to my child about death?”.  At school, we talk about death regularly, usually in the context of life cycle. For example, in the garden, we plant seeds, watch them grow, enjoy the harvest or the flowers, and then see how the seed pods develop before the plants wither and die. Last week, we pulled out the dead tomato vines, depleted cilantro, and shriveled squash plant out of the ground. They are making way for the fall crop of vegetables and flowers who will repeat the cycle.

Death recently came to the Yellow Room in a different, but not uncommon way. A child’s cat died.  While I talked about coping strategies with the family, we also got our favorite books that talk about death. Mister Roger’s Tender Topic Series includes When a Pet Dies, a really caring and thoughtful discussion of death and the child’s feelings about it.  We also read The Tenth Good Thing About Barney.  In it, a little boy has a cat die and he goes through the feelings and questions that come with that experience. In an intimate way, the boy and his family address his feelings, the goodbye process, mourning, and his memories.

We also discussed the cat’s death at morning meeting, the way we do with many things important to the children’s life. The child told the story of her cat, shared pictures, and talked about how they said their goodbyes as a family. The other children then shared their experiences. They told stories of wrapping an animal in a scarf, of funerals, of singing a goodbye song, of markers and flowers. Some talked about heaven. We listened and supported. The shared stories and feelings help all of the children to cope with loss and to develop coping strategies and increased awareness of one of life’s significant events.

In the life of the school, there will be fish, lizards, spiders, frogs, and other creatures to mourn. We will bury them in our garden where they will have their last job of helping making our garden grow, just like Barney. We will talk about feelings and realities. We will help them learn that death and sleep are not the same.  It is a process.

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