This week’s topic is Getting Dad’s In the Door (Mike Hall with Rae Pica and Chuck Saylors). Find out how to encourage involvement of fathers in school.
“We must all recognize that we play an important role in the education of our state’s youngest citizens and in the vitality of the future of our state.” Representative Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood)
*On March 1, 2010 at 10am nearly 1000 parents, legislators, business leaders, early childhood educators, children, and early care and education advocacy groups will unite at the State Capitol for the ninth annual “Voices for Children” rally. This group will gather to urge the Legislature and Governor to make greater investments in early childhood care and education. A morning of activities including the rally, performances by the Teddy Bear Band and interactive music and story time are planned to engage attendees of all ages.
*Volunteers are needed and much appreciated for the event. Volunteers will welcome attendees and answer questions. Volunteer commitment is 8:30am to 11:30am. Sign up at the Voices website: www.voicesforchildrenmn.org.
*Please join us at Voices for Children Advocacy Day as parents, teachers, early care and education professionals, concerned citizens and others from across the state take a stand to provide a voice for all Minnesota children.
*If you cannot make it to St Paul on that day, your voice can still be heard! In your local community, encourage children to create art projects that reflect the Voices theme Plant the Seeds, Help Children Bloom, such as a flower with a child’s picture or name. Write letters to your legislators to encourage them to invest in our youngest Minnesotans. Send the letters and art projects to your legislator the week of March 1. Also, take a minute to call your legislator on that day to remind them of the importance of high quality early care and education.
Textbook returns will begin March 16th for any classes that had a start date of Feb. 5th or before. If a student needs to purchase a book after we’ve returned our stock to the publisher, the student will need to pre-pay for the book and pay the shipping charges. Students will then be notified when the book(s) arrive.
~DCTC Bookstore Staff
www.zingerbug.com/
With my son’s 7th birthday soon approaching…the pressure is on to plan the party. Now, I have to admit, I’m not one of those mom’s that spends a fortune for the biggest and best party. I don’t top last year’s party with an even larger party this year. If you go so grand when they are young, you’ve always got to out-do it. What will you do when they are older? I know someone who hired a clown, magician, AND live animals for her 3 year old’s birthday party! Is that really necessary?
I simply look for something that my son and his friends will enjoy, even if it’s simplistic. We’ve hosted most parties here at our home. We plan games and activities, open presents, and have cake/ice cream. It may be low key, but we have a blast and don’t break the bank doing it.
Last year, we decided that he could pick two friends to take to Chuck-E-Cheese’s. We ate pizza/pop and played until we were too tired to go on. It was a fun-filled evening! I have to admit that it was sort of nice to have it somewhere else…no mess, no clean-up.
So that brings me to this year. Where should we have it or what should we do? I’d like to stay in the low price range, but having it somewhere other than my house has it’s perks too. People have suggested the local community center, Science Museum of MN, MN Children’s Museum, Grand Slam, Foss Swim School, Edinborough Park, Pump It Up, Mad Science, etc.
What’s YOUR opinion? What should we do that would be a lot of fun, but yet maintain low costs? Tell me about some of the experiences you have had. Help me plan this party! Comment below.
One of the classes I’m facilitating this spring is Profiles of the Exceptional Child. I’d like to share with you this video by United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida. Children with disabilities are children first and loving nuture, play, and support can work wonders in their lives.
When thinking about crafts for children, don’t forget about recycled materials. They are great for art projects! My mom had a book when I was young called Trash to Treasure (or something like that) that basically suggested creative activities with items that some would probably discard without reusing.
It’s great because number one, it’s a money saver. You’re re-using the items that you’ve already purchased. Second, the objects are probably different (size, shape, etc) than objects the child may be used to using so that can spark a child’s creativity. Plus, you’re doing something great for the planet buy teaching the child to recycle and reuse.
It’s SUPER EASY! Here’s a geat video to help you get started:
DCTC was awarded a grant this year and part of that grant is to be fulfilled through our Child Development program. We need a team of students to work together to develop a waste management/recycling curriculum (with our leadership) AND to implement it this spring at the Rosemount Head Start.
We’ll have a few planning and practice sessions. Then we’ll take the program into Head Start on April 12th, 2010 to implement it with the children. We’ll have a morning (9-10) and afternoon (1-2) session. If we have enough students, you’ll be in one session. If not, we’ll all do both. We’ll break into groups with the children and read stories, sing songs, play games, etc. all while teaching them about waste management and recycling.
This is a great opportunity for service-learning that would make a nice addition to your resume!! Contact me ASAP if you’re able to join the team. Even if you won’t be able to actually implement the program with us, but would be able to assist with planning and creating materials, please contact me! THANK YOU.
Students in the Profiles of the Exceptional Child class will be participating in this project. Any other Child Development students that would like to commit to particpating are welcomed to for extra credit. If you are interested, please contact me (Dawn) right away by emailing me or commenting to this post.
I received an email from http://www.ready4k.org/ regarding the MN caucus. I’ve included it below:
This evening, Minnesotans across the state will gather with their neighbors to participate in the political process and discuss issues important to them. You can join them at your Precinct Caucus. Precinct caucuses are the beginning of the process that Minnesota’s major political parties use for choosing the candidates and the issues they will support in elections. Caucuses are hosted by the major political parties and are open to the public. You can find your Precinct Caucus though the Caucus Finder on the Secretary of State website.
Go to http://www.ready4k.org/ for more info. BE HEARD!
So you’re wondering what may be next after DCTC? It may be the beginning of a new career, a job switch, or even continuing on for more education. All of these are exciting opportunities since you’ve completed the first part of your journey at DCTC!
If you are considering continuing your education after DCTC, you may be interested to know that we have articulation (transfer) agreements with various colleges, each offering something unique for students. You’ll want to research each program to see which is the best match for your individual needs. Click HERE to find out which colleges we are articulated with.