WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
Summer 2016
What’s up at
Seeds
&
Sprouts?
INDOOR PLAY CAN HAPPEN OUTSIDE TOO!
IN THIS ISSUE
Message from the Directors
Summer is here! This is my favorite season.
There are so many opportunities to play in so
many different environments. There are new
life cycles to witness (from bugs to wildlife),
gardens are in bloom, the grass is soft, and
the mud kitchens are overflowing!
If you are new to the program, let me
introduce myself. My Name is Ashleigh, and
I am the Executive Director for both our
Edmonton (this one) and our Beaumont
locations. I had been working as an Early
Childhood Educator, primarily with infants
and young toddlers for 7 years before having
the opportunity to open my own program!
It’s been great so far and we are so excited to
see what the future brings us!
I hope you are having a great summer!
My name is Tiffany and I am the Assistant
Director of the program.
I love my profession and what we do at Seeds
& Sprouts!
Working with children gives me so much joy.
Watching them explore and discover new
things, and knowing that I had a part is so
rewarding! Becoming a mom couple years
ago is was a whole new experience. Now
raising a toddler, I face my own challenges
and pleasures of being a mom, and have
been able to further relate to the families
who attend our program.
A warm welcome to all of our new families,
and huge thanks to the families and the
children at our program now for helping
make it so great !
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Directors Message
Nursery says HI!
Jr. Toddler says HI!
Sr. Toddler says HI!
Preschool says HI!
Letter from Play
Our Staff Team
Jul
Reminders
1.
Please remember to dress your
child appropriately for the
weather! Pack extra –
Edmonton weather can change
with a moment’s notice.
2.
We are a nut free center
(including peanuts)
3.
We have worked very hard to
become a candy free program.
We feel that it causes more
problems than successes –
please help us keep it this way
by sending your child with
healthy snack options!
4.
Our doors are locked at
9:30am and reopen at 3:30pm.
Please arrive by 9:30 as we are
not always able to open the
doors for you.
WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
Nursery
| SUMMER 2016
- July/ August 2016
This month the Nursery welcomes Wren and Brooklynne
to our room! We also wish Torren the best of luck and learning as he
moves up into the Junior Toddler Room, and Avery a happy transition
as she moves into a new house and starts at a new program! We will
miss both of them 
We have also said “see yah later” to teacher Sara (she has moved into
our Sr. Toddler room), and welcomed our new teacher Rhea! Rhea
comes to us with experience and passion – we are so excited to have her
join our team!
In the month of July we learned about stars and flowers! We have been
really working on using our signs as well; please, thank you, more,
drink and all done are all signs that we have nearly perfected!
Communicating is hard at our age, we just can’t quite figure out why
the adults have such a hard time understanding our words  we have
also become very interested in climbing and moving! We got a peek-aboo tent and a tunnel in our room this month and it has been so much
fun learning how to move through these new spaces!
- Cassie & Rhea
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WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
| SUMMER 2016
Jr. toddler
- July/ August 2016
This month the Junior Toddlers welcome Toren to our room! We
also wish Oscar the best of luck and learning as he moves up into
the Senior Toddler Room.
In the month of July we learned about our body, movement,
scooping and dumping and most recently our new interest is food.
July was a busy month for us we spent a lot of time outside! We
went on one of our biggest walks yet! All the way to and around
the pond and back to daycare holding our friends hands the whole
time! When we finally got back to daycare we were exhausted. In
the month of July we also had a lady from the Edmonton Public
Library come out and read books to us. We can’t wait to welcome
her again in August and see what books and activities she brings
this time.
As we move into the month of August we are going to be learning
about food. We are seeing some developing interests in babies,
climbing, and cars, we can’t wait to see where our learning is going
to take us this month. In the month of August as we plan around the
children’s interests we incorporate things such as colors and
numbers, enhancing our vocabulary, social and emotional
development, and also fine and large motor skills. Our educators
are always finding new ways for us to learn without us even
knowing, and we thought we were just playing!
-Megan & Sandeep
3
WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
| SUMMER 2016
sr. toddler
- July/ August 2016
This month in Sr. Toddler, we said goodbye to Rayel as
she will be embarking on a new adventure in
Grande Prairie! In turn, welcome to Sara who is our new
room teacher, who transferred to our room from Nursery.
Welcome to Oscar who has moved up from Jr. Toddler room this month.
We also say goodbye to Maya who is moving up to the preschool room and Devanshi
who leaving and embarking on new adventures !
This month the toddlers have shown an immense interest in cooking, baking and eating
food. We have engaged in many activities that help with learning the concept of healthy
vs. junk foods, and have read many books that involve food in different cultures. In our
room we are also focusing our attention on the alphabet by learning about a new letter
each week. The children’s interest is moving into more of a family dynamic and we
believe that we will be merging this into our curriculum very soon!
Don’t forget to check the schedule for your child’s special day! This means your child
has the opportunity to bring in a toy or special item to show and share, be the line leader
and participate and help with daily tasks around the room.
Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, as it is very
unpredictable this time of year! This means sunscreen, hats, sweaters and rain jackets are
all appropriate attire.
We are looking to create a large family tree with all of our children’s family’s! Please
bring in family photo so we can ensure that all children are involved.
-Jessica & Sara
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WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
| SUMMER 2016
Preschool
- July/ August 2016
July was a fun and busy month for the Preschool Room, we got really
into bugs and colouring! The kids have been so into drawing pictures
and colouring, and in the last few weeks their pictures have gone from
scribbles to actual concrete drawings. They are all becoming little Picasso’s and it’s
so exciting to watch them grow. The use of colour has expanded immensely as well, we went
from using one marker and scribbling all over, to using all sorts of colours and drawing
scenes. They have access to the markers and paper all day and are able to go over any time
and create a master piece!
As August rolls around we would like to keep with our interests of bugs and do more
exploring in and around the centre. We enjoy going outside and looking for different kinds of
insects all the time (we’re working on “looking” at the insects and not squishing them!). We
are hoping to take a trip to the zoo and also going back to magic space before the end of
summer as well!
Princess Rayel’s Great Adventure
Once upon a time there was a very funny princess named Rayel, and one day she decided to go for
a walk in the SCARY jungle! As she was walking through the spooky trees she heard noises that sounded
like scratching and growling. Rayel got scared and wondered what it could be; as she was imagining what
was making the awful noises a giant dragon jumped out of the trees, followed by a bear, a sea horse and a
zombie! Before anything bad could happen she turned around and started running to her castle. But on her
way back she saw a huge crocodile and a wolf. “Oh no!” screamed the Princess “What am I going to do now?”
right then she remembered that she had packed her bow and arrow. Her pink and flashy magical bow and
arrow. Quickly she took it out of her pocket and aimed the arrow at the crocodile, she pulled back the string
and released it…….. the arrow went flying into the air and landed on the crocodile turning him into a
cricket. She turned around as the wolf was running away and aimed her bow and arrow at him too, she shot
and it got him right in the face. This turned him into a very friendly giant robot. Finally Princess Rayel
was safe, so she decided to head home for the day. Back at the castle Rayel thought she should probably have
a nap after having such a crazy morning. So she went into her bedroom and crawled into bed just as she
was closing her eyes to fall asleep she noticed there was a vampire in her bed. “Oh my gosh, how did you get
in here?” asked Rayel. “This is my haunted house Princess, you must have mixed it up with your own
castle.” The Vampire replied “and now I’m going to have to call my zombie friends to come and get you out
of my room!” Princess Rayel was so afraid that she tried to jump out of the bed, but instead she ended up
kissing the vampire on the cheek! All of a sudden there was a loud BOOM!!! The Princess closed her eyes
and when she reopened them, standing in front of her was a handsome prince. “Your kiss saved me from
being a scary vampire and turned me into a really nice Prince. Thank you Princess Rayel!” said the
handsome Prince. The Princess and Prince got married the very next day. They had the most BEAUTIFUL
wedding that anyone had ever seen. And for their honeymoon they decided to take a trip to outer space,
where they met a Clone Trooper. While talking with the Clone Trooper they got attacked by the Rebels and
Darth Vader. But luckily for them Luke Skywalker flew in and saved them in the Millennium Falcon.
They lived happily ever after.
Written by: Seeds & Sprouts Preschool Children, July 2016
Dedicated to: S&S Past Teacher, Rayel (Sr.Toddler)
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WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
| SUMMER 2016
Dear Parents,
IT’S ME, PLAY.
We have not spent much time together lately. When you were a kid, we were together all the time: riding Big Wheels, sculpting
stuff out of play dough, building moon bases out of blocks, and squishing mud.
Heck, we were together all the time.
Remember when you were told to “quit playing with your vegetables and eat them”?
How about all the times you heard someone yell that “goofing around with those toys is not going to get that pigsty-of-a-mess
you call a bedroom cleaned up!”
Or how we had so much fun on car trips—until the order to “stop the silliness back there!” boomed from the front seat? Back
then, all you wanted to do was hang out with me. Those were good times. Remember how that big slide burnt your legs, but
you could just not stop going down over and over again?
Anyway, I’m not writing to relive old times (although it would be great to get together some time). I’m writing about your
kids. I don’t see them that much and I’m worried. They’re MIA. From what I hear, their days are full of adult-led activities,
screen time, and academics. They don’t even play in the back seat like you used to—they’re plugged into a DVR watching
something “educational”.
I know you want the best for them—you want them to get ahead in life and be ready for whatever it tosses at them. You’re
scared that if you don’t push them a bit they will not “be ready”. You feel there is learning to be done and that there is not time
for your old buddy, Play.
You’re also under a lot of peer pressure to do what other parents are doing. If the kid down the street can’t climb trees or get
messy and is shuttled between academic preschool, dance, karate, a traveling soccer team, and a foreign language class you’d
look like a bad parent if your kid just ran the neighborhood half naked and covered in mud having adventures the way you did
back in the day.
I get the Fear and the Pressure, but it’s getting a bit intense. You’re expecting things out of your kids that are not
developmentally appropriate—things most of them are not cognitively or physiologically ready for. You’re expecting them to
do things at the age of 3 that you did not learn to do until the age of 5 or 6.
The thing is, I’m the answer. If you want your kids to be ready for whatever life throws in their path, if you want them to be
able to thrive in an ever-changing world, if you want them to be creative, and knowledgeable, and well-adjusted– I’m the
answer. Me, your old buddy, Play.
I don’t want to brag, but the fact is I’m an evolutionary strategy that lots of creatures use to learn about, and survive in, their
worlds. Puppies, chimps, whales, elephants, tigers—the list is huge. They all use me, Play, as a strategy for gathering
information about their surroundings, sorting things out, gaining understanding, and so much more.
Don’t take my word for it; there is plenty of research showing that I’m a better choice for young kids than learning videos,
flashcards, worksheets, and adult-led academic settings.
Right now, I’m just asking you to relax a bit. Let them play. Let them enjoy their childhoods. Stop rushing them. Stop pushing
them.
And you…you could use some more of me too. How about right now? Go on, grab that big fluffy towel from the bathroom, tie
it around your neck, and see if you can still fly off the third step the way you used to. It’ll be fun.
Hope to see you (and your kids) soon!
Your Buddy, PLAY
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WHAT’S UP AT
SEEDS
&
SPROUTS?
| SUMMER 2016
Seeds & Sprouts educators: who are we?
Executive director: Ashleigh
Assistant director: tiffany
Nursery: Cassie & Rhea
Jr. Toddler: Megan & Sandeep
Sr. Toddler: Jessica & sara
Preschool: Jen
Support team: Amanda & Skye
Room support: Leslie
Cover team: Maikki & Casey
There is no job more important than yours,
no job anywhere else in the land.
You are the keepers of the future;
... ... you hold the smallest of hands.
Into your care you are trusted
to nurture and care for the young,
and for all of your everyday heroics,
your talents and skills go unsung.
You wipe tears from the eyes of the injured.
You rock babies brand new in your arms.
You encourage the shy and unsure child.
You make sure they are safe from all harm.
You foster the bonds of friendships,
letting no child go away mad.
You respect and you honor their emotions.
You give hugs to each child when they're sad.
You have more impact than does a professor,
a child's mind is molded by four;
so whatever you lay on the table
is whatever the child will explore.
Give each child the tools for adventure,
let them be artists and writers and more;
let them fly on the wind and dance on the stars
and build castles of sand on the shore.
It is true that you don't make enough money
and you may not get a whole lot of praise,
but when one small child says "I love you",
you're reminded of how this job pays?
Author Unknown
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