We have a lot of exciting things going on at coop this year of 2010. Along with our usual field trips to local farms for strawberry/blueberry picking and pumpkins, spring fundraising events, and potlucks, we are incorporating more in house opportunities for our children, staff, and families. Here are some updates.
Music-: We have offered Music Education for many years with Susan Burkeholder of Musicare (www.musicare-usa.com) and still have Ms. Susan coming weekly to teach us new songs and help move through music. Ms. Susan comes on Thursday mornings and offers music to infants and up. A small addition to tuition is paid for those who attend on Thursdays.
Creature Teacher:Starting this fall we also began to offer "Creature Teacher" classes (http://www.creatureteacher.org) and are continuing them for 2010. Creature Teacher comes usually the first Wednesday of the month and is open to one year and up with a small fee added to tuition for those who want to participate. Our coop kids love seeing/touching new animals and learning about their behavior. Also to top off the class, everyone gets a creature stamp and coloring sheet to help them go home and show their family what they learned. So far we've got to see Guinea pigs, a hedgehog, an opossum and just this month a skunk!
Yoga: Now starting in February, one of our own coop parents, Kymber Owens, will be offering yoga classes for ages 1 years and up. Kymber will also provide infant yoga workshops to teachers and parents. Kymber Owens received her children's yoga teacher certification at the Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, NC. She teaches several children's yoga classes per week at Triad Yoga on Spring Garden Street, and has also taught for local preschools and the public library. Her classes combine yoga postures with games, stories, music, art, and more. Research has proven that yoga makes for calmer, happier, healthier little ones, and is especially great for those children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit. While as parents we have been paying a small addition for Music and Creature Teacher, yoga will be offered without additional payment.
Other news:
-We will begin to incorporate American Sign Language into our infant - pre K curriculum thanks to a partnership with UNCG.
-North Carolina Theatre for Young People will bring their drama-in-education programming to all of our teachers and children.
-Planning and implementation are in place to start a pilot "Service oriented" after-school program.
-All of our feeding supplies (spoons, plates, bowls) are now BPA free!
*Stay tuned for further updates.
College Hill Childcare Cooperative, known as "Co-op" to our families, is the area's only parent-operated childcare center, one of only a few centers in North Carolina which utilize parental involvement to achieve superior care.
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