Mother's Day Tea! 

On Friday, May 8, 2015, we celebrated Mother's Day! Each of the children had a special gift they made for their mom to open. The mother's enjoyed Sweet Tea, Pink Lemonade, cookies, danishes, and muffin's. We love celebrating our parent's any chance that we get! We can not wait till next time! 

A mom enjoyed reading a book with her daughter. After they finished a book the mom opened her gift that her daughter had made. 

This Mom enjoyed reading also! Her little boy and another friend sat close to hear the story. 

In Preschool 2 some mom's enjoyed sitting at the children's table, while other's sat a the adult table with their child on their lap. 

All the mom's had a really great time hanging out in their child's classroom. Some also enjoyed playing and reading to the children. 

We even had a couple of our nursery mom's stop in to celebrate! 

For more information about our program, please visist us at: www.hollytreechildcare.com

ANNUAL GREEN OUR SCENE FAMILY PICNIC!

On Friday, May 1, 2015, Our classrooms enjoyed a beautiful picnic lunch outside with our families! The weather was perfect! Our children enjoyed turkey and cheese rolls and fruit. Our parent's enjoyed chicken wraps and chips. We were so happy that there were several parent's that were able to take their lunch break with us, and play with their children after they ate!

Our Preschool one class enjoying their lunch! 

One of our toddler and her parents! She was one very happy little girl to have her parents spend lunch time with her.

Another toddler friend enjoyed eating his mom's chips! 

Ms. Kaye and Ms. Jessica were also enjoying the picnic with two of the toddler friends! After the children were finished eating they got up and played. 

Ms. Shanice and a couple of her friends played after lunch on the merry-go-round after they finished their lunch! 

Pre-K friend enjoyed the beautiful day, along with the class pet...Oreo! All of the back building friends thought it was so cool to eat lunch outside!

For more information about our program, please visit us at: www.hollytreechildcare.com 

 What Does a Healthy Plate Look Like?!

Nutrition is an important part of  keeping our bodies healthy and strong. Research shows that eating habits in adolescence tend to carry over to adulthood. At Holly Tree, we encourage our children to eat nutrient rich foods and teach them about how to make healthy food choices. During our Cooking and Nutrition class, we have been talking about food groups, recognizing healthy options and how to make a "healthy plate." We have focused on recognizing fruits, veggies, dairy, and meats as healthy options. 

The focus of our cooking and nutrition program is centered around the Golden Sneaker Initiative, a certification that we hold at Holly Tree. What is the Gold Sneaker Certification and how does it benefit your child? It not only ensures that your child will receive healthy meals while at school, but also ensures that children are given the recommended amount of daily exercise. Specific meal, movement, and physical facility guidelines are implemented in order to maintain our certification.  

Here are our friends in Preschool 3 are constructing a "healthy plate" book to take home. They are excited to show their parents what a healthy plate looks like and the components that are needed from each food group to make a "healthy plate!"

Two friends helped each other out by taking turns gluing and pasting each pieces to their plates. 

Preschool 3 was excited to show off their plate when they were finished!

In Preschool 2, the children enjoyed getting to glue and paste each food on their plate. They also enjoyed picking out which foods would make up their "healthy plate."

 What could you find on this Pre-K friend's "healthy plate?" Chicken, corn, beans, apples, and a glass of milk. What's on your plate? 

For more information about the Gold Sneaker Initiative, please visit:

http://health.state.tn.us/Goldsneaker/index.htm

For more information about our program, please visit us at: www.hollytreechildcare.com

MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES SNACK WITH MRS. SANDRA

Our JAM (Jesus And Me) program is a faith based enrichment program that we provide our families to enhance our curriculum at Holly Tree. Mrs. Sandra teaches our JAM program and provides the children with hands-on learning experiences to bring our Bible Focuses and Bible stories to life! This week, we learned all about Moses in the Bulrushes and on Thursday, April 23rd, Mrs. Sandra stopped by Holly Tree to make a special snack with our friends! The children learned about how baby Moses journeyed down the river in a basket. The children enjoyed bringing this special story to life in a yummy way!

Mrs. Sandra had everything set up for the children to make baby Moses comfy is his basket! First, we used cupcake liners for the baskets. Secondly, we used coconut shavings to make a soft bed for Moses. Then, we used a gummy bear as a representation of Moses. Lastly, we covered up baby Moses with a "sweet" blanket!  

 Mrs. Sandra and a friend from Preschool Three enjoy a retell of the story of Moses and then get to work!

Our friend from PreK doesn't want to forget to cover up baby Moses so he can "stay warm." :)

All of our friends were very eager to participate in making this special treat!

This friend from Preschool Three was super careful about building their bed for Moses!

Even our Preschool Two friends joined in on the fun!


For more information about our program, please visit us at: http://www.hollytreechildcare.com

Holly Tree Staff Attends: 

The National Association for the Education of the Young Children (NAEYC) Conference

On Saturday, April 11, 2015 the Holly Tree staff attended the NAEYC conference. We all learned some very exciting new things to bring to our classrooms. Some of us enjoyed music, art, yoga, different ways to tell stories, and new strategies to implement into our classrooms. 

Early Saturday morning, and look at those eager, smiling faces ready to learn new things! 

Ms. Shanice, was very excited to help one of the speakers out and walk around with a big smile on her face! Just to show how a smile can bring laughter into your life! 

One of the music classes, that a few of the teachers enjoyed was given by Mr. Sayer. He talked about how to move with the music, and how to let the children explore new or different musical toys before, during, and after the songs are completed. 

Another music class was taught by Ms. Debbie! She talked about using music in math, writing, and emphasized "if you can't sing good, sing loud!" 

In Ms. Debbie's class, she talked about bringing silly moves to different songs, like acting like a robot! Ms. Shanice is enjoying this song and showing us her robot moves! 

 One of the new songs we learned was  "Top, to Bottom, Left to Right." Ms. Makeyna and Ms. Samantha loved this song! This song is designed to help children remember that they start their letters at the top and write left to right. 

In Our last meeting of the day, we learned new ways to make story telling fun and exciting for the children. We learned how to tell stories using "peepers". "Peepers" are two little eyes that can be mounted on your fingers. They are used in story-telling. "Peepers" can be decorated with hair, gloves, hair bows, and anything else that you would like to use to enhance your story. Just slip "peepers" over your fingers and let the story telling begin!  

For more information about NAEYC, please visit their website at: http://www.naeyc.org

For more information about our program, visit us at: www.hollytreechildcare.com