THIS MONTH AT KIDS' PLACE

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1 THIS MONTH AT KIDS' PLACE March 25, 2016 Dear Parents, So far, March has been a continuation of all the fun and excitement we've had over the last few months down in Kids' Place. Next week is Spring Break for public schools. We have a host of field trips, activities and games for both kids grades K-4 & those in middle school. Also, we celebrated Purim yesterday. Everyone loved the Purim-themed activities we had. Homework and extra-curriculum classes ran as usual. Something to know: we are continuing to receive registrations for the upcoming school year. April 18th is when we will be opening registration to the public as we have had a waiting list since September. After April 18th we cannot guarantee our current families a spot, so if you are planning to return to Kids' Place, please turn in your registration soon! Thanks again for your continued interest in Kids' Place, because You Belong Here. LaVenus Kids' Place Director In This Issue Letter to Parents Important Note Upcoming Dates/Events Kids' Place Happenings Middle School at Kids' Place Reading Caravan Staff Highlight PJ's Recipe Corner Pottery with Val Science with Renesha Contact Information Gardening with Amanda The children have been getting the garden ready for Spring by weeding, seeding all different veggies & herbs in the

2 greenhouse, transplanting plants outside, and putting seedlings in larger pots so they can continue to grow! Important Notes Please remember that the Kids' Place After-School Program provides care on days that school is in session only. Childcare on School's Out Days (holidays, teacher workdays, snow days) is available for Kids' Place participants on days that Kids' Place is open. The cost per day varies depending on the nature of the School's Out Day, and registration is subject to availability. Please contact the Kids' Place office to inquire about pricing and availability for specific days. Children enrolled in the 12 Month Program or the School's Out Package are pre-enrolled for all School's Out Days and do not need to register. Upcoming Dates/Events March 28 - April 1: Kids' Place Spring Break April 9: Kids' Night Out Kids' Place Happenings Classroom Activities In the Yellow Room, Shanei and Stephen have continued to work on any pottery projects that the kids haven't finished in addition to making masks for Purim. During cooking time, everyone made fruit kabobs and lemon pepper string beans with PJ. In gardening, they picked weeds and tried some leafy vegetables. When it was time for gym, the children really enjoyed playing Oscar the Grouch. During their free time, they played limbo, made pot holders with a loom and built with Legos.

3 The Orange Room has had an awesome few weeks! In the garden, they have been busy taking lettuce plants grown from seed from their flats and transplanting (moving) them to their permanent growing spot in the garden. It will be cool to start eating salads soon with fresh vegetables from the garden! In gym, the Orange Room played bulldozers and builders. The object of the game is people who are bulldozers knock down cones and people who are builders put them back up. The goal is to do that until the whistle gets blown and then the standing cones are counted. In art, the kids made masks for Purim and glazed their clay objects. They are looking forward to spring break activities next week! During free time, the kids enjoyed coloring, talking and playing 500 alive football. Sarah, Anthony, Rachel and Lauren have been super busy in the Red Room. The kids really enjoyed their art time with Val this past week. They decorated masks with glitter, finger paint and markers as well as making groggers (shakers) with plastic cups, beans and colorful duck tape all for Purim. During their science enrichment time, they did animal tracking through an invisible wilderness and found real animal fur and scat. During their free time, the Red Room has been doing a lot of coloring, playing Candy Land and going outside to enjoy the great weather as much as they can. The Green Room, along with Jasmine and David, has had a great two weeks. In art class, they made cups, bowls and anything else that the kids wanted to make. The kids were also able to paint their finished pottery. During their cooking time with PJ, everyone made fruit kabobs and lemon pepper green beans. In gardening, the kids were moving bigger plants into much bigger containers. The Green Room has really been enjoying their science enrichment time. They tracked foot prints and were able to touch a variety of real animal furs. During free time, they played a lot of chess, Go Fish, Uno and built with Legos. The Blue Room with Zach and Kaleigh have been super busy with gym and outside time. The kids have played floor hockey, basketball, Capture the Flag, Man on the Moon and football! They have been joining the Purple Room for a lot of these activities. For gardening, they have been cleaning up the garden for spring by weeding. Art has been so much fun since the kids have been working with clay and glazing their finished clay items. This past week in art, the kids have been decorating masks for Purim. A lot of the kids' free time has been outside, since it has been so nice out!! The kids have also been learning new card games and playing Apples to Apples.

4 Homework Room and Homework Club with Little Scholars In the Homework Room, Mercedes was busy as always helping the children with their school work. Children typically stay for a half hour maximum in the Homework Room; however, if your child needs or wants more time, please contact Melanie or LaVenus. Our Homework Club is doing great and working hard with Little Scholars. Little Scholars provide assistance with homework in addition to providing personalized, private tutoring for children. These tutors are classroom teachers who are aware of local independent schools' curriculum and the Virginia SOLs. This service is an additional charge and can be done Monday- Thursday during Kids' Place hours of operation. If you would like to sign your child up for this service, please contact Melanie Marks at mmarks@weinsteinjcc.org. Middle School at Kids' Place In the last two weeks, we have played flag football, Capture the Flag, Spud, pillow hockey and soccer. Our goal last week was to play as many different sports in the gym as we could. In art, we finished our pottery and are now preparing for a new activity--we are really excited. In cooking, we made some yummy fruit kabobs. During our free time, we played Bananagrams and everybody's new favorite game, Phase 10. Reading Caravan

5 This program allows our preschool children and our Kids' Place children to learn, grow, explore and have fun together. The children from the four and five-year-old programs in the Preschool take an adventure down to Kids' Place every Monday. When they arrive, they are greeted by our staff in Kids' Place and then taken to the Yellow or Orange Room to hear a story. These stories are being read by a different child from Kids' Place each week-it's a very big honor for the Kids' Place kid who's chosen to read each week. Berkeley Crane and Shira Gottleib did a fantastic job reading the past few weeks! Staff Highlight Anthony Davis Hands down I make it my mission to match the energy of every child I work with. I've been working at the Weinstein JCC for 2 years now, and it has been nothing but an honor! I graduated roughly two years ago from Virginia Union University, and honestly, the last place I thought I would be is working with kids. But, because of my time at the Weinstein JCC, I think I've discovered a new passion in helping youth!

6 PJ's Recipe Corner Fruit Kabobs Ingredients -Banana -Strawberry -Kiwi -Canteloupe Directions 1. Wash all of your fruit and then cut it into the size you want. 2. Place the fruit in the order that you want onto the skewer 3. Eat and enjoy! Lemon Pepper String Beans Ingredients -1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed -2 tablespoons butter -1/4 cup sliced almonds -2 teaspoons lemon pepper Directions 1. Place green beans in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover, and cook until tender but still firm, about 10 minutes; drain. 2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute almonds until lightly browned. Season with lemon pepper. Stir in green beans, and toss to coat. Pottery with Val

7 We took a break from our pottery last week to make crafts for Purim. We used mask-shaped sponges for printing on paper, beans, cups and duck tape to make groggers. We also used sharpie markers on masks and lots and lots of glitter. As much fun as Purim can be, all groups were motivated to continue glazing pottery this week. They've worked so hard on their creations and can't wait to show you! Science with Renesha K-1st grade dove right into their first week with tadpole origami meets ecology. They made and decorated tadpoles and examined our tadpole's habitat and ecosystem. 2nd grade and up began their first week of (Environmental) Science Enrichment by discovering the remarkable world of pollinators and the crucial role they play in our everyday life. They looked at what our food choices would look like without the presents of bees, butterflies, moths, bats and beetles. After an introduction to different habitats and necessities to survive in week 1, students kicked off week 2 with a bit of imagination. Students were given paper and were instructed to create their own river front property with a design that best suited them. Students completed the activity by connecting each of their properties to form a riverfront community, where we examined each landowner's personal decisions and how those decisions may affect their neighbors both on land and in the river. Contact Information: LaVenus Harried, Kids' Place Director lharried@weinsteinjcc.org, (804)

8 Melanie Marks, Kids' Place Operations Manager (804) Melissa Bunce, Director of Inclusion and Support Services & Kids' Place Supervisor (804) Kids' Place Lobby (to reach Kids' Place between 4:00-6:00PM) (804) Please ask the front desk to page the Kids' Place Lobby Forward this STAY CONNECTED