Mother Hubbards Newsletter
November 2010
Look who has a birthday this month:
Georgia in Montessori who turned 4
Ronale in Montessori who turned 3
Andrius in Montessori who turned 4
Daniel in Pre-Montessori who turned 2
James in Toddlers who turned 2
Armin in Montessori who will be 4
Welcome
We would like to welcome Natalia to Mother Hubbards and their parents. We hope you are all very happy here with us.
We would like to welcome back Letitia our area manager from her maternity leave, her daughter Juliet has started in the baby room. We hope you both settle in very well.
And say good buy to Fiona in after school and Edward in the Toddler Room.
Reminder of Christmas Holidays
The sessional Montessori children (9.00-12.00) will finish up on Thursday 23rd December at 12.00 and will return on Monday 10th January 2011 at 9.00am.
For all other children the centre will close on Thursday 23rd December at 6.30pm and will re-open on Tuesday 4th January 2011.
Weather
As the weather is getting colder could all parents please send in a suitable coat and a hat, scarf and gloves for their child for outdoor play. Wellies and raincoats should be provided for wet days. You can label these items and leave them in the centre if you wish to do so.
Hand Sanitiser
We would like to remind all parents to use the hand sanitiser in the hallway (located at the entrance) when entering and exiting the building to help stop the spread of infection in the centre especially that is winter time and parents who go to Baby room and Wobbler room please use the shoe cover to prevent infection around.
Parent’s Notice board
We have a parent’s notice board located in the hallway (on the left). We would like to remind parents to check these regularly for notices and updates about activities, parties and goings on in the centre.
Smile
We are in the process of organising our photographer Dermot Ward to come to the centre in the coming weeks to take photos of the children. Parents are under no obligation to buy these photos and only do so if they wish after seeing the photos. Look out for signs in the centre with details of dates, prices etc.
Gymboree/Speech&Drama
The Gymboree class is going very well the children are enjoying the class every Wednesday.
Speech and drama class is also in full swing at this moment in the Montessori class children love it.
Thank you to all parents who make this to happen.
Christmas
The children are making some Christmas decorations to help decorate the Centre Christmas Tree. On the 2nd December at 10.30am the Christmas tree lights will be switched on by all the children in the centre and beautiful decorations!
As parents we sometimes feel pressurised into filling our children’s lunchboxes with the latest gimmicky foods.
Make no mistake; we are targeted in a big way by the food industry. Pre-packaged lunchbox “foods”, high in salt, fat, sugar and additives, are pushed by slick advertising campaigns. Cheap to produce and profitable, these unhealthy products use every trick in the book to get into your child’s lunchbox. Adverts often don’t tell the whole story, and ad-campaigns are designed to get kids nagging their parents. We think that it is about time that parents took the power back!
To keep your child healthy – to prevent obesity and the future risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer – it’s important to provide wholesome grub for your child’s lunch. Good lunchtime food will also help your children to perform well at school.
According to the World Health Organisation, Low intake of fruit and vegetables causes about 19% of gastrointestinal cancer, 31% of ischemic heart disease and 11% of stroke.
Help your child to be healthy, and include fruit when you can! If you don’t have fresh fruit to hand, include some dried fruit like raisins, sultanas, dates or apricots
Lunchbox guidelines
· Include a piece of fresh fruit in every lunch if you can - as an alternative, you could include a portion of dried fruit (raisins, sultanas or apricots, wrapped in greaseproof paper)
· Try to include at least one vegetable - many children enjoy scrubbed carrots at lunch
· For added fibre, choose whole-grain bread for sandwiches – if your children don’t like brown bread, choose a white bread that has some seeds in it
· If you can, include some salad or fruit in the sandwich - for example peanut butter and banana, ham and tomato, or chicken and lettuce
· Don’t include fizzy drinks, fruit drinks or sports drinks with lunches - choose water, milk or 100% fruit juice as healthier alternatives
· Avoid salted, oily foods like crisps (even the “healthy” versions)
· Stay away from cakes, chocolate and sweets
Making a Difference...
Sometimes we all need that extra bit of encouragement to try new things. It can help to involve your children in lunch box planning and/or shopping.
If that still doesn't tempt them, then try a sticker reward system. Each time your child tries a new, healthier lunch box food or drink, give them a star or sticker (on a wall chart or special notebook). Once they collect five stars, give them a small reward, like a comic, family walk or outing. It’s best to make it a non-food reward and agree what it will be at the beginning. Linking a new food to a positive experience can help to establish new tastes and habits.
Keep things positive and don’t force your child to eat anything...this is probably the worst thing you could do.
Make sure your school has a healthy eating policy.
No 6 The Avenue
Ongar Village Phone: 01-8260055
Dublin 15
E-Mail: ongar@motherhubbardschildcare.ie
www.motherhubbardschildcare.ie
