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Note from the Director
The staff here at Koala-T-Kare can’t believe how fast this year
is going. Summer is already here! We’ve enjoyed your participation
in helping the Owls class, especially during their Everyday
Heroes week. It was so nice to have you here during the day.
Anyone (even if your child is in a baby group) is welcome to
join our classes. If there’s a theme that interests you or a skill
that you would like to share with any of the classes, we certainly
would love to have you visit our center.
As we move into the summer months/holidays, I anticipate
many staff and families will be taking vacations. If you plan to
take a summer vacation, remember to send your vacation request
(2-week notice please) to me and Jill, so we can schedule
the daycare staff accordingly. Please check the holiday schedule
which can be found posted on the Koala-T-Kare doors. See me
if you need an updated Policy Book or if you have questions
about our vacation/days off policies.
Our Love & Logic Classes are going extremely well. Many
of the teachers have reported that the children are responding
positively the first time they are asked to comply with teachers’
requests versus repeating requests over and over. Feel free to
ask your child’s teacher what phrases/words they are using with
their group, so we can carry over the positive behavior, not just
at school, but at home as well!
Sue Schneider
Koala-T-Kare Director |
Baby Chicks:
We will be welcoming Chance
and Claire to our growing Baby Chick group this month.
Congratulations to Daphne, who will be moving up to the
Penguins! We’re sad to say that Andreas will be leaving us.
We wish him and his family good luck as they make their
move up north. Remember to send hats for our outdoor
walks. Summer is coming and we want to get out and
enjoy the nice weather!
Penguins:
We are so happy to finally have warm
weather, so we can venture outside more. We had to say
good-bye to our friends Nathan and Katelyn who graduated
to the Parrots. We sure miss them and hope that they
visit us often. Good luck guys. Avri will be spending the
summer with mom - we sure will miss her. We will soon
be welcoming our new friend Jack and Daphne from the
Baby Chicks will also be moving up shortly. She is beginning
to get around some already. We are so excited to
have them join our group! We would like to wish a Happy
Father’s Day to all of our daddies. As always, remember to
have sun hats and sun block for our outdoor time. Thank
you and enjoy your summer!
Parrots:
The Parrots have been having lots of fun
outside this month, compliments to the beautiful weather
we’ve been having. We also enjoyed making flowers for
our moms and even snuck in a few walks around the
neighborhood. We said goodbye to Autumn this month
and also to Maggie and Oliver who are beginning their
new adventures with the Peacocks. We welcome Katelyn
and Nathan who are moving up from the Penguins. We
will continue to play and learn lots outside in June. We’re
also excited to make a special gift for our dads this month.
Peacocks:
We welcome Maggie and Oliver to the
Peacock class. We say good-bye to Mari and Gretta who
both move on to the Owl class. We are planning a field
trip to the Madison Zoo with our Owl friends! The
Peacocks continue to review the A, B, C s and they LOVE
to work on puzzles. Our June themes are Dairy/Cows,
Robert Munsch (author), the Zoo, Summer Safety, and
Paul Bunyan. We have started to use the Love & Logic
techniques in our class and it has worked extremely well
– especially at lunch time!
Owls:
The preschoolers (Owls) are really looking
forward to summer and being able to spend LOTS of time
outside and going to the park! Please make sure you have
sunscreen and the signed forms here for your child! Also,
as we will do lots of walks, it is a good idea to have an extra
pair of tennis shoes to keep at school. We also would like
to welcome Mari and soon Gretta to our room. We are so
excited our classroom is growing! Sadly, Emma F. will be
graduating from preschool to enjoy the fun things with the
school-agers this summer! Also, Mari and Katya will be
spending the summer with mom, and we’ll look forward to
seeing them again in the fall! The themes for this month are
Dairy/ Cows, Robert Munch, the Zoo, Summer Safety, and
Paul Bunyan. If anyone is interested in coming in to talk to
the kids about any of these themes, please let us know.
 A little girl form the Owls was changing her clothes in the bathroom.
Last week when we had a visitor, we were encouraging the kids to ask why questions. One child
asked a man, who has a grandkid here, why he wanted to be a grandpa.
While a teacher in the Preschool was helping a child in the big bathroom she asked “Help me
flush.” The teacher said to push the handle down and the child then asked, “Should I use 2 or 3
hands?” The teacher asked how many she had and the child replied, “2.” Teacher - there’s your
answer!!
When a speaker came to talk about Outer Space, a child asked him if Mars was further than Africa!
One of the preschoolers asked their teacher if SHE was potty trained!
A little boy in the Owls group asked his teacher, “Is Trenton expensive?” to which she simply
replied, “Yes.”
A little girl in the Owls class asked the teacher,
“When we were
a baby, mom and
dad buyed us?” The
teacher responded
with,
“Ask your mom.”
With some easy-to-learn tips from the Love and Logic Institute, parents can get their
young children to brush their teeth, pick up their toys, use the potty, or just about anything
else. How?
I witnessed some clues, watching a three-year-old, picking up trash in a large auditorium.
My audience had left for lunch. I stayed behind to marvel at this tiny dynamo. Toddling
from aisle to aisle, he picked up empty coffee cups, gum wrappers, scraps of paper, and other
refuse.
How could such a small child be motivated to work so hard?
The answer walked just a few steps ahead. There she was...his wonderful and wise grandma,
smiling back at him as they worked together. Grandma volunteered in that auditorium almost
every day, making it gleam for all to enjoy. Most days, little Cory came along to “help”
for an hour or two.
Grandma learned long ago that little kids want to be big like their parents. She also learned
that little kids who have fun doing “big people chores” with their parents and grandparents
grow into teenagers and adults who don’t bicker and complain about helping around the
house.
While Grandma never studied the research on modeling, she “knew”
that kids are much more likely to copy adults who are:
Loving
Kids copy the people they love and respect.
Patient
When parents show impatience, anger, or frustration because their
little children are moving too slow or making mistakes, they destroy
the natural love of helping.
Powerful
Kids copy people they view as caring yet strong. Parents who set firmyet-
loving limits have youngsters who become firm-yet-loving adults.
Seen by the child as being rewarded by the behavior performed
While no one was handing Grandma goodies for tidying the room, she was smiling and
saying things like, “This is so much fun! I love cleaning. It makes me feel so proud!”
Grandma was rewarding herself, and her little grandson was soaking it up too.
Less than perfect but always improving
The key is to show your kids that you are always learning from your mistakes.
Never underestimate the power of modeling.
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