Prescott YMCA Child Care Blog

Preschool Graduation Slide Show

2011-05-26T08:01:00.001-07:00

Announcement customized with Smilebox

2011 Preschool Graduation

2011-05-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

This free photo collage personalized with Smilebox

Harley's Visit

2011-05-05T07:11:00.001-07:00

In March 2011 the Preschoolers at the YMCA were fortunate enough to have a special visitor named Harley.

Harley is a Harlequin Great Dane and he travels around the area as a therapy dog and also as a Story Time Ambassador. The children were quite obviously enamored with him...and the feeling was mutual. The kids loved petting and hugging Harley, who is gentle, quiet and tolerant. His owner affirmed Harley's love for children. We hope that Harley can make a return appearance (and so do the kids).

Summer Program Information & Registration Available

2011-05-01T11:40:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year and our popular summer programs are open for registration! The Prescott YMCA Website has your online program guide.

Our programs will provide a safe, entertaining environment for your 2 - 14 year olds. (All Preschoolers must be non-diapered). The Y has loyal and well-trained Child Care Staff already getting their training for Summer Camps.

Parents that do not have children currently registered for programs should fill out our "Emergency Blue Card" Information and turn in that document with their $30 Annual Registration Fee (which is good through August 2011).

If your child is currently enrolled in our Child Care Programs (After School, Adventure C.O.R.P. or Preschool), simply include a $20 deposit with your next payment to hold your child's spot. If you are approved for YMCA Scholarship Assistance or D.E.S. for the summer months, your deposit is $5 per child.

We are gearing up for a great summer, so we look forward to your child having a wonderful and exciting experience, whether it is for one week of camp, or all 9 weeks.

Committed to Quality, article by Claire Louge, First Things First

2011-04-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

COMMITTED TO QUALITY
Prescott YMCA staff develop their professional skills at a Child Care Conference

On Saturday, April 9th, 54 child care professionals braved the unseasonably snowy weather to attend the Child Care Coalition Conference (CCCC) in Chino Valley. Conference participants were able to attend a variety of workshops on topics such as early childhood temperament, using recyclable resources in the classroom and teaching personal safety to young children. The conference was funded by First Things First, the statewide organization that works to ensure all young children are healthy and ready to succeed when they enter school. Many child care providers from the Prescott YMCA chose to attend the conference.
The CCCC provided early childhood educators with interesting workshops both to develop their professional skills and to fulfill training requirements. Kristi Summers, a child care provider at the Prescott YMCA who attended the conference, explained that the yearly training requirements for child care providers have increased from 12 hours to 18 hours. Though professional standards for early childhood educators have increased, it is sometimes difficult to find opportunities to fulfill these requirements. Attendees of the Child Care Coalition Conference were able to receive up to five credit hours for their participation.
“Working with children is a learning process” stated Alicia Craig, an early educator with the Prescott YMCA who attended the CCCC. The Prescott YMCA is enrolled in Quality First, a program funded by First Things First. Through Quality First, the YMCA receives regular visits from a consultant who provides support and guidance to improve the quality of their Child Care Center. “First Things First does a lot,” states Alicia, “Our consultant is very informative – she makes sure we know about child care trainings like these.”
Josh Taylor, also a child care professional with the Prescott YMCA, has attended past Child Care Coalition Conferences. “They’ve taught me a lot of neat tools,” he states. Josh has been able to put the information he’s learned into action- after he attended a workshop on music in the classroom at the CCCC last October, Josh was inspired to start a music program at the Prescott YMCA.
Quality Child Care is important. National research shows that children who are exposed to quality early education are 40% less likely to be held back a grade or to need special education, and are more likely to advance into college. Because quality child care starts with educated professionals, First Things First supports training opportunities such as the Child Care Coalition Conferences.
“It was great,” stated Alicia Craig after the conference was over. “It taught me age-appropriate activities, and how to help kids in our program succeed in school.” The Prescott YMCA staff has a commitment to creating a quality program for the young kids they serve. Through funding professional training opportunities like the CCCC, First Things First works to ensure all early educators have the tools they need to give all young children a quality early education.
To learn more about First Things First, who we are, why we do it, and why it’s important, please visit www.azftf.gov.

Did you know...?

2011-03-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the YMCA Preschool utilizes the High Reach Curriculum for Kindergarten Readiness?

In addition to all of the opportunities for physical growth in fine and gross motor skills at the Y (such as swimming, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor play) we are also working hard to enrich your child's learning.

Teachers in all of our 5 classrooms are instructing children about numbers, letters, shapes, colors, patterns, sequencing, science, and more!

If you have any questions about what your child is learning, check in the classroom for clues on the whiteboard, talk to your child's teacher and read the "what did we do today..." board on your way out the door.

It is important that you have things to talk about with your child about his / her day at school. Reinforcing their learning at home, at the grocery store, at the park, etc. is wonderful as well.

March draws near and the Leprechaun looms....

2011-02-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Preschool is once again decorated for St. Patrick's Day...and there is already talk of that mischievous leprechaun coming back to fool us again. Stay tuned to see what his antics will include this year...

Holiday Camp for President's Day 02/21

2011-02-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

Is your child's school closed in honor of President's Day on Monday, February 21st?
Do you need to go to work that day?

The Prescott YMCA Preschool and School Age Programs will be open from 6:30am to 6:00pm for the working families that need their children to be in a fun, safe and well-supervised program.

Contact the YMCA directly for further information.

See you on President's Day!

Mid-Winter fun at the Preschool

2011-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is winter in Arizona. But after all the snow melted and the temperatures started to rise, our clever teachers started bringing on the fun.

Ms. Sara & Ms. Cindy's class had a special Teaddy Bear Picnic on a Friday in January.

Ms. Cindy even brought in a teddy bear that was bigger than Ms. Stephanie! It was a big hit with all the kids for sure.

Christmas Program Videos

2011-01-06T05:45:00.000-08:00

Ms. Sara Ms. Cindy's Class performing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
Ms. Juliet's Class performing "Jingle Bells"
Ms. Lindsey's Class performing "Feliz Navidad"
Ms.Jen's Class performs "S-A-N-T-A" and "I'm A Little Snowman"
"A Good Thing About Christmas" performed by After School Kids
"Frosty the Snowman" sung by the Pirate and Ninja schoolage groups

Te Adventure C.O.R.P. Dragon Drill Team, preforming their salute to Allan Klinikowski.

Holiday Hours

2010-12-23T06:46:00.001-08:00

The Prescott YMCA Child Care Department is offering full Day Camps for Kindergarten through 14 years of age. Operating hours are 6:30am-6:00pm Monday through Friday from December 20-31, 2010 (except Christmas Eve, see below). Daily rates are $18 for YMCA Members and $20 for Community. An annual $30 Registration Fee also applies. Please contact #777-9277 for more details.

Please note the following holiday closure for Christmas Eve, 12/24 (Friday).
Child Watch closed
Preschool closes early, at 1:00pm
School Age Day Camps close early, at 1:00pm

For New Years Eve, 12/31 (Friday) we will be open for regular hours.

Please enjoy a safe and cheery holiday with your family.

Seasons Greetings from your Prescott YMCA Child Care Staff

Prescott Resort Gingerbread Village

2010-12-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Have you been to the Prescott Resort lately? Well, gather the family and drive up the hill to see the "World's Largest Gingerbread Village"!

The Prescott YMCA After School groups worked hard creating their addition to the village which is their version of Rapunzel's Castle from the new Disney release, "Tangled". The gingerbread castle was the brain child of one of our youngest children, Ryder. It is fitting that Rapunzel's hair is made from red licorice, as Ryder is a red head himself.

If you've not had a chance, please go and visit Prescott Resort to see Rapunzel's Castle made by YMCA kids as well as all of the other impressive creations!
The Resort's display will continue through January 2, 2011. Click here for further details. Prescott Resort Gingerbread Village.
Happy Holidays!

Child Watch Spotlight

2010-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can participate in "free babysitting" at the YMCA 5 days a week, 12 months of the year?

If you are a Prescott YMCA Member and have a child / children that is between the ages of 1-9, you are able to utilize our complimentary Child Watch Services. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will make sure your child is happy and safe in the Child Watch room, while you are just feet away participating in a fitness class, or just hitting the weights and treadmill for the day.

Child Watch is open from 8:15am - 12:00noon Mondays through Thursdays, and on Fridays from 8:15am - 11:15am. All participating families must have an active family membership at the Prescott YMCA. Parents are required to stay on the YMCA campus at all times that children are in Child Watch, and children may stay a maximum of 2 hours per day.

Stop by, check out Child Watch and sign up for your Family Membership at the YMCA today!

We're for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

Parent Appreciation Night

2010-12-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents,

As our way of thanking you for choosing the Prescott YMCA for your child care needs, we are offering, once again, a FREE! night of child care for your kiddos!

On Friday, December 17th from 6:30pm-11:30pm your kids will have dinner provided plus swimming, crafts and other activities to keep them entertained while you enjoy an evening of shopping, having date night or just on your own for a change.

In order to participate, your child must be currently enrolled in our licensed child care programs (After School, Adventure C.O.R.P. or Preschool) and all payments up to date.

For questions or sign ups please see Alicia for School Age and / or Stephanie for Preschool.

We are looking forward to it. Check your calendar and sign up now!

Thanks again for bringing your kids to the Prescott YMCA.

Adventure C.O.R.P. Certification Update

2010-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Our Adventure C.O.R.P. program, which is for young adults ages 10-14, has been incorporating new curriculum in to their days since the school year has begun. Mr. Josh has been proactive in making sure that the leadership training and survival skills continue throughout the academic year.

The last few months Adventure C.O.R.P. took on a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training course which was largely successful. They learned Disaster Preparedness, Emergency First Aid and Fire Extinguisher 101. The C.O.R.P. had fun learning to create evacuation plans, applying first aid and learning how to triage someone. Most of all they learned how to extinguish, not play with fire. In the end they earned their CERT shirts and vest which are only given to those who completed the course.

A big thanks to Ms. Crystal Macari and the Central Yavapai Fire Department for brining this opportunity to our Adventure C.O.R.P.!

Annual Christmas Program Invitation

2010-11-23T09:29:00.001-08:00

This digital invite personalized with Smilebox

Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful way to spend the day. Thank you to all of the families that participated and contributed food for our annual Thanksgiving Feast. Once again it was a great success and lovely way for us to all spend time together and show our love and support for the Preschoolers.

Scrapbook design generated with Smilebox

Newsworthy!

2010-11-18T19:44:00.001-08:00

Our Lights on Afterschool Event (finally) made it to the press!

Please click this link for the Prescott Daily Courier to read the article and see the photos.

Thanks again to all that contributed in making our event special! Afterschool programs are hugely important in our communities. We appreciate your support in keeping kids active, healthy and well supervised.

Community Reception Invitation

2010-11-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

Please join us!
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16th
5:00-7:00pm
Prescott YMCA Lobby
Help us prepare for 2011 with a community reception!

Meet the Y Board, our caring staff and our valued Members

Learn about the exciting things that we are doing at
the Y today and share your great ideas for the future!

Annual Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

We can hardly believe that it is that time of year again...our Annual Thanksgiving Feast is scheduled for next week! Be sure to make time to join your child or grandchild for the best potluck in town!

The kids will be in costume and the food will be a'plenty. So pencil us in for your lunch break next week and bring a dish to share! We are looking forward to this very special day.

2010-10-30T05:27:00.001-07:00

This scrapbook personalized with Smilebox

We kept the Lights on Afterschool

2010-10-22T05:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all that helped (especially the YMCA School Age Staff) with our Lights on Afterschool Event! It was wonderul.
Despite the wet weather, the kids enjoyed games and colored their Lightbulbs indoors. We then had sub sandwiches as well and enjoyed parents and other community members visiting with us. Stay tuned to the Prescott Daily Courier, where the event will likely be featured.
See you next year for Lights on Afterschool.

Lights on Afterschool

2010-10-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Help the Prescott YMCA Celebrate Lights on Afteschool on Thursday, October 21st from 4:00-6:00pm in the After School Building. We will have a potluck, bring a friend day, games, special snacks and more!

Afterschool programs are a vital support for youth, families & communities. They keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. The engaging, hands-on experiences provided by afterschool program help youth develop the skills they need to succeed.

The Lights on Afterschool program helps to highlight the importance of these programs for kids.

Did you know?
15.1 million school age children--more than a quarter of all youth--are alone and unsupervised after school. That's an increase of nearly 1 million children in the past five years. (America After 3 PM, 2009)

The hours between 3p.m. and 6p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex. (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002)

Currently, the federal government contributes only 11 percent of the cost of afterschool, while 29 percent of the children in afterschool meet the federal government’s definition of low-income and in need of federal assistance. (Afterschool Alliance, 2009)

We hope that you will join us for our special event! Please contact Jessica Leary, Child Care Services Director for more information. 928 445 7221 ext 36
(E) childcare@prescottymca.org (W) http://www.prescottymca.org

The Y: We're for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

Fire Department Visit & PHS Pep Rally

2010-10-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

I must say we are lucky to live in a community like Prescott where Preschoolers at the YMCA can enjoy a special safety visit from the Fire Department and a field trip to the high school all in one week! It was lovely to see the support from the F.D. and PHS students and faculty in taking the time to enrich the days of our Preschoolers. Thanks also to the parents that assisted us in the Fire Department presentation and the field trip too. The children behaved so nicely, practicing their best manners and walking safely all the way to the high school. I encourage you to follow up with a conversation about the week's events with your child. Perhaps they can show you how to "Stop. Drop. and Roll" or demonstrate the cheers they used to encourage the Badgers.

The SPOT Children's Museum

2010-09-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

This summer we had the pleasure of experiencing the SPOT Children's Museum Field Trips with both Preschoolers and our young Summer Campers. The SPOT is a new museum for exploration and experimentation with art for our young Prescottonians. The YMCA kids had a blast making collages and playing with all of the magical manipulatives at the SPOT! Located at the Gateway Mall in Prescott, this is a convenient and economical way to spend the afternoon with your kids too.

Quality First Funding at Work in our Preschool

2010-09-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the Prescott YMCA Early Childhood Center (Preschool) is participating in Quality First?

Quality First is a statewide system created by the Arizona Early Childhood Development & Health Board, knows as First Things First. Quality First is designed to increase access for Arizona families to quality early childhood developmental and educational programs. Through financial grants, academic scholarships for Child Care Staff and individualized coaching, our Preschool is receiving wonderful support…and it shows!

In the upcoming weeks you will notice new material (rubberized mulch in addition to sand) on the Preschool Playground area to improve the safety for the little ones playing. We are excited to be receiving the funding from Quality First to enable us to execute this project. Later in the year new furnishings, dramatic play items and learning tools will also be purchased using our grant monies. In addition to these visible changes in our Early Childhood Center, there are “invisible” improvements too in the way of additional training for our staff in the areas of allergies and sun safety, courtesy of our Child Care Health Consultant as well as topics such as supervision, maximizing classroom arrangements and incorporating Arizona’s Early Learning Standards.

Our Preschool is AZ State Licensed and DES Approved and currently accepting children ages 2-5, that are non-diapered, to join our active, dynamic program.

Volcano Project

2010-09-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

In May of 2010 the After School group worked on a special Volcano Project. They designed, constructed and engineered a functional volcano made of pvc pipe, paper mache and a wooden base. Candy and soda were the secret ingredients for the eruption, but the mechanism had to allow for distance between the volcano and the person(s) releasing the candy / soda mixture. The video is attached of the eruption and below are the credits for those responsible for this project, which we hope to duplicate again in the 2010-2011 school year. The kids (and parents, leaders, etc.) talked about it for weeks following. It was a blast! (pun intended).

Lead by: Mr. Josh
Eruption Crew: Max F. Dalila G.Caleb M. Brianna B.
Eruption Design: Max F.
Eruption Assembly Crew: Max F. Olivia B. Brianna B. Chris S.
Volcano Crew: Shelby D. Max F. Dakotah L. Zeke A. Skylar A. Madison L. Jewell A. Ashley V. Taylor H. Caleb M. Brianna B. Dalila G.

Summer at the YMCA = busy days for Child Care!

2010-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

So, if you are a follower of this relatively new blog, you may have noticed a lack of recent postings for the last several months. My explanation boils down to one word: SUMMER. Summer is a busy time around the YMCA. With the kids being out of school, we are the place to be for young and old. This year, with the addition of several new programs such as Adventure C.O.R.P., Snack Shack, and Enrichment Camps the summer was busier than usual. We are happy to provide exciting opportunities for the kids here in the Quad-City area. Field trips were another point of success for our Child Care Programs. We are extremely grateful to the community agencies and businesses that contributed to our summer programs.

I will attempt to highlight many of our summer happenings at the YMCA. Better late than never, as they say. The pictures alone are worth a thousand words. I am sure you will agree.

Dramatic Play, Painting and Show and Tell

2010-07-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Dramatic Play (i.e. dressing up, pretending and acting out real life situations) is very important for the development of children. At the YMCA we try to offer various levels of dramatic play opportunities that are age appropriate and long enough in duration to satiate these needs for the kids. Boys and girls alike enjoy dressing up and playing "house" or "teacher" and sometimes more unique fantastical situations are created by their imaginations as well.

Painting is an obvious choice of activities for children and adults alike. For our preschoolers it allows them to practice fine motor skills, express creativity and experiment with color combining (blue and red make purple!), etc.

Show and Tell, which is done at the Preschool on Fridays, is a wonderful way for children to develop verbal skills and confidence speaking in front of a group. Are you fearful to address large crowds? Perhaps you did not have enough opportunities for success when speaking to groups as a child. Practice, practice, practice in a safe environment makes for a less stressful experience as an adult.

Look at our Garden Grow

2010-05-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

In an effort to give kids the chance to learn about how our food grows, we have started incorporating a children's garden in to our ongoing curriculum and experiences here in our YMCA Child Care Programs.

One of their first steps was to release some worms in the ground. Ms. Sara explained how the worms would help by making "air tunnels" in the dirt and also that their droppings would fertilize our young plants. The kids sure found that last bit entertaining...and talked about it at length for the rest of the day. The children had made pinecone bird feeders made of pinecones rolled in peanut butter and dipped in bird seed the week prior. They hung them with care to attract the birds to our garden area also. The finches flocked there for a couple of weeks until the bird seed was all eaten up. They were fun to watch from the playground.

These photos show of some of our Pre-K classes planting seedlings that they started indoors in the early spring. They were planted in early May and now surely look different! Stay tuned for photos upcoming of the current state of our wonderful Children's Garden.

Preschool Graduation and Open House

2010-05-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Once a year we like to take the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of even our littlest scholars. The Prescott YMCA Preschool holds an annual "Graduation" where parents and family members come and celebrate the growth in the children over the last academic year. This year, our School Age Director, Alicia and Group Leader, Josh learned to play Pomp and Circumstance to add some special bits of ceremony to our event. It was wonderful.

Following the Graduation event, we held and Open House for all of the soon-to-be Kindergarteners and their families in the School Age Building. All of the School Age kids and their families were also invited. Jessica, a group leader barbequed, we had a celebratory cake, and other snacks contributed by parents as well. The School Age children were awarded merit badges based on their improvements throughout the school year. The group leaders also provided fun with water baloon toss and other games to keep the kids smiling.

Although the Open House was an inaguaral event, we will surely include it in the future. The families seemed to really enjoy the festivities. Stay tuned for the date next year, in early May.

Healthy Kids Day was a great success!

2010-04-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of the families that came out for the fun and the opportunity to register for summer programming last Saturday! We had a nice turnout and all of the staff had a nice time entertaining the kids while the parents got summer plans worked out!

Healthy Kids Day is this Saturday!

2010-04-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

Be sure to join us this Saturday from 9am-12noon for all the fun of Healthy Kids Day and Super Summer Sign Ups all rolled up into one big day!

Who: All current and prospective Child Care participants & their families

What: Registration for Summer Programs (save your child's spot), Face Painting, Games, Popcorn, Crafts, Meet & Greet your summer staff & YMCA Directors (get all your questions asked).

When: 9:00am -12:00 noon on Saturday, April 17th. Member registration 9-11am, Community 11am-noon.

Where:Prescott YMCA, 750 Whipple Street

Why: Give parents a chance to get summer plans for their children worked out while the kids play and enjoy the day's activities. Reserve your child's place at our poplular Summer Camp, Adventure C.O.R.P., swim lessons, gymnastics camps, fishing camp, basketball camp, and MORE!!!!

How:Just show up, choose your summer programs and make a deposit for each. Child Care is as follows; $20 deposit per child (you choose which week during the summer to apply the deposit to). If you have an approved summer scholarship or are pre-qualified for DES, your deposit is $10.

We can't wait to see all of you there! Remember your bathing suits for Wacky Water Fun for the whole family from 11:15am-12noon in the pool.

Signed,

Your faithful YMCA Child Care Staff

Kid-Friendly Recipe for April, Chicken Curry Salad

2010-04-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

This dish is a bit exotic, but not spicy. We enjoy it served on lettuce, bread or in a tortilla. It is wonderful for a picnic or hike (just make sure you keep it chilled). For us vegetarians, I have given a meat-free ingredient substitution.

CURRY CHICKEN SALAD

4 Chicken* breasts, brushed with olive oil, cooked, chopped and cooled
(*vegetarians use Quorn brand 'Naked Cutlets' available at Safeway & New Frontiers in the frozen section)
1 cup red seedles grapes, sliced in half
1 cup chopped nuts (maple coated walnuts are my favorite)
1/2 cup lite mayo or veganaise
1 tsp. Garam Masala (Spice mix)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Turmeric
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix together in a bowl and enjoy!

Get OUT and live life - with your kids

2010-04-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

What makes childhood special? Isn't it the memories - the quality family time and the special things that you do together? I was at the Grand Canyon this week with my mother and 15 year old brother and it reminded me that getting out and doing something novel together is what cements those family memories.

While the weather is beautiful, I encourage you to take the kids for a bike ride, a hike or even down to the Courthouse Square for a picnic. Savor the moments and make some memories...together.

Did You Know?

2010-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Did You Know...?

The Prescott YMCA Preschool and School Age Programs are AZ State Licensed & DES Certified?

Did you know that the Child Care Staff are required to take at least 12 hours of traning per year?

Did you know that the staff that care for your children are CPR and First Aid Certified (that includes infant CPR too).

Did you know that we offer Financial Aid for families that qualify for assistance with Membership Fees and / or Child Care Services?

Did you know that we provide healthy snacks during our licensed Child Care Programs that include at least 2 different food groups?

Did you know that our Preschool is part of the First Things First Program?

Did you know that our School Age Program has supplementary activities in the afternoon where kids are learning to read and play music?!

Did you know that YMCAs represent the largest providers of Child Care across the country?

2010-04-02T16:04:00.001-07:00

Slideshow design personalized with Smilebox

2010-04-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

Make your own slideshow design

Something's growing at the YMCA

2010-03-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the big pile of dirt and the enlarged garden space between the YMCA pool, the Preschool and Lindquist Park? Well, the YMCA Community Garden group has been hard at work getting the soil ready for planting. The new Children's Garden area is along the fence for the Preschool Playground.

The YMCA Community Garden is all about builidng a group of gardeners that enjoy working together on growing food for the needy in our area and also to educate children about growing things! The kids enrolled in our programs will be starting seeds and planting soon!

We have an enrichment camp early this summer for kids age 10-14 titled, "Junior Gardeners" during the week of June 7-11. The cost is $45 for YMCA Members and $65 got Community Members. Materials and instruction for the week are included. The time will be 4:15pm-6:00pm Monday through Friday. Registration begins April 17th.

Stay tuned for other Enrichment Camp themes!

March is YOUTH ART MONTH!

2010-03-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Art is one of our favorite activities in the Preschool! In this case we used some donated ketchup and mustard containers as a new twist in creating 3-D painted butterflies in Ms. Lindsey's Class.

Get inspired and create with your child! Our School Age kids are painting cardboard boxes with designs and graffitti style "tags" to express themselves. The sky is the limit when it comes to creating art with kids. Let them guide YOU!

DID YOU KNOW?
We have a rotating art displayed in the main building to showcase some of our talented young friends. Check it out next time you are in to use the pool or fitness center!

Incorporating Math into your Child's Day

2010-03-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

You may think that it is difficult to show your child the basics of math around the house or in your every day activities. Or perhaps you think that your child is too young to work out addition, let alone long division. Well, math is more than adding and subtracting numbers. Math includes sorting, sequencing and measurements too! Young children begin understanding mathematic concepts based upon sequencing. Learning how to use key words like "first", "next", "then" and "last" can be the building blocks of this sequencing concept.

Activity Ideas
How about washing the car?
(Take a couple of pictures with your cell phone to review the concept later.)
When you finish with the FUN part of washing it in the nice weather....
Talk to your child about the sequence of events while you review the pictures.
Examples:
"First the car was dirty and dusty"
"Then what happened?"
"What did we do next?"
"What did we do last?"
"Now how does the car look and feel?"

Grocery shopping and cooking can also be wonderful exercises in your child's learning process. Although most parents dread the aisle 3 tantrums, if you approach your outing as a learning experience where your child can participate, it may change your experiences. Sorting can take place while you are shopping and while you are at home unloading the groceries.
Examples:
"Can we put all the fruits and vegetables on this side of the cart?"
"Let's put all of the things that come in boxes together on the table."
"Can you find two things that are red?"

When you are cooking, measurements and quantities are all points of reference. Whether you are making a basic cake mix or a fruit salad, your child can help you and learn math skills in the process.
Examples:
"We need 2 cups of water. Can you find the '2' on the measuring cup?"
"The recipe says we need 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Let's count. 1...2"
"How many grapes should we put in the fruit salad?"
"If we put in one cup of apples, how many cups of pineapple should we put in?"

Click below for more ideas, no matter the age of your child
www.mathcats.com
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html

Spring Break Camp

2010-03-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

Our School Age Program offers full day camps during PUSD (Prescott Unified School District) breaks. For all of you working parents that are not taking time off that coincides with the district, we have a variety of activities across the campus taking place for the kids so that they can still have a fun Spring Break.

Our School Age Campers are swimming 5 days a week, playing games outdoors including badminton and crab soccer, and having fun playing board games, etc. Our dedicated and well trained staff are opening the camps at 6:30 am for all of you parents that need to be to work early. We close at 6:00pm in the evenings so that you have time to pick up the kids on your way home. Of course, kids can be dropped off and picked up anywhere inbetween those hours as well. We keep our rates very competitive and really strive to make the kids happy and keep the parents pleased with our programming and safety standards.

If you have not checked out our School Age Building since it was remeodeled this fall, please stop by to take a look!

The Leprechaun learns a thing or two from the kids...

2010-03-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

After nap time, the children awoke to treats and notes that the "pesky" little green friend had left behind. The Leprechaun wanted the children to know that he peeked in on them cleaning up his messes earlier in the day and after seeing what wonderful manners and kind gestures the children had, he learned from them how to be nice too!

The kids enjoyed finding coins he scattered around the playground and of course found it delightful that there were treats under their pillows or taffies in their shoes when they awoke from nap.

It was such an enjoyable day at the YMCA. Time just flew by! Be sure to ask your YMCA Preschooler about the Leprechaun's antics today.

Your friends,

There's a Mischievous Leprechaun on the loose!

2010-03-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today our preschoolers returned from their activities in the gymnasium to find that someone had clearly snuck in to our school and made a mess in our classrooms! There were trails of green confetti and little "puffs" of green colored glitter sand all around the school! Some children found green feathers on the floor or tables, which they attributed to the leprechaun's hat. Ms. Alicia and some of the School Age kids came down to the Preschool to investigate as well. They said that nothing like this occurs in the School Age Building. We will see...

Ms. Juliet's class came back to find their rugs upside down, chairs tipped over and many things were put in the wrong place! Ms. Lindsey's class came back to find out that he had turned her radio up and it was all static! Her dress-up clothes were all strewn over the room. Ms. Kristi's class reported that their toy bins were toppled over, their radios were also turned up to static and things were "willy nilly". Ms. Sara's class was outside enjoying their St. Patrick's Day picnic at Lindquist Park and were the last to come in to discover the disarray. Chance B., age 4 found 2 leprechaun footprints outside of the school. Ms. Sara's class will be searching for further clues later after lunch.

2010-03-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

We (those of us working in child care) have often joked that if they installed cameras in our buildings, we would surely have the makings of a hit reality television show on our hands. (Not that this is what we are striving for by any means. It just gives levity to situations with which we deal when we joke about it.)

The day to day workings of child care programs that last 11.5 hours per day, can be quite varied. From the humorous to the harrowing, we will indeed have some fascinating and funny stories to share with you. Please stay tuned.

Thanks for following,

St. Patrick's Day in the Preschool!

2010-03-16T14:00:00.001-07:00

Be sure to wear your green tomorrow! The Preschool children will be making all sorts of shamrocks and some classes will be requesting that parents bring some green foods to share with the class. (Ms. Sara's & Ms. Kristi's).

Our Facilities

2010-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Preschool Preschool, Lobby & Classrooms

___________________________________________________________________

School Age Building & Playground

__________________________________________________________________

Lindquist Family Park

____________________________________________________________________

Gymnasium

Welcome!

2010-03-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the YMCA Child Care Blog!

Why did we decide to start a blog?

We know that with the busy lives of parents these days, it is not always easy to read all of the material we have on site for you regarding your child. WIth the growing use of technology, we wanted to give you the opportunity to check on the happenings of your kids at your convenience at home or on the go via your smart phone.

What kind of information will be posted on the blog?

We hope to provide information such as newsletters, upcoming events, pictures or quotes of the day for you. If you have a request for other things to be listed, just let us know!