May Newsletter

Vrrrroooom! This month’s topic is transportation. Whether by land, by sea or by air our munchkins will learn about all different means of transportation. We will sing songs, read stories and learn finger-plays with cars, trucks, trains, planes and boats as our theme. On show and tell days please have your child bring in items that deal with transportation, for example their favorite race car, a picture of their favorite vehicle or a book.

Dates to Know

Friday, May 22nd – Center open 6:30am – 4:00pm

Monday, May 25th – Center closed for Memorial Day

Don’t Freak Out - Top 10 Tips for Surviving a Disaster in Your Vehicle

You are your own best friend when it comes to surviving a disaster especially during those first few hours or days. But even dedicated survivalists who stock their homes with 100 gallons of water, enough MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for the 82nd Airborne and 500 rounds of ammo have long periods when they are completely vulnerable: When they're in their cars. In your car, is there even a flashlight? A survival blanket? A first aid kit? Water or a way to collect and purify it? Answer "no" to any of those and you join the vast majority of motorists who are totally unprepared for even basic trouble. Here, we'll offer a few tips that may elevate you from helpless victim to thankful survivor.

Know that help is not on the way: The first step is to accept that you can depend on no one but yourself. In a real disaster -- an earthquake, terrorist attack, tsunami or blizzard -- help will not be on the way. Don't believe it? Dial 911 and say that there's a big, scary-looking dude pounding on your back door. Then call Domino's, and order a large pepperoni. Where I live, the pizza will be cold when, and if, the cops arrive. Now imagine a disaster where 10,000 people -- or 100,000 -- are calling for help. If you still think your cell phone will bring help in a timely manner, tattoo your Social Security number on your arm so your body can be identified later.

Don't be your own worst enemy: While fleeing Hurricane Sandy hundreds became stranded because they began their evacuation with near empty fuel tanks. With a full load of gas, a car will idle for an incredibly long time (don't ask how I know), so these people turned an urgent situation into a potential disaster. If your ride constantly breaks down, your gas gauge regularly hovers around "E," or you defer basic maintenance (such as replacing timing and fan belts, radiator and heater hoses, and rubber fuel lines), it's time to reallocate your priorities. Need we say "Wear your seatbelt" Don't begin a survival experience with a spurting artery.

Prepare appropriately: The less hospitable the environment, the more preparation is required. Comparing the surface of the moon to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in February or Arizona's Sonoran desert in August creates distinctions without differences. But don't think you're off the hook because you live in a Sun Belt city: Even there you can die of exposure if forced to spend a cold March night (or a couple of nights!) in a car.

Keep warm and dry: Along with injury and dehydration, exposure to the cold is a major threat. Those who spend little time outdoors will discover that even when the days are warm, it gets very chilly at 4 A.M. An aluminum-coated Mylar (aka Space-brand) blanket costs $3, is about the size of cell phone, and will help retain body heat in cool weather and reflect sunlight in hot weather. In chilly climates, step up to the slightly bulkier Mylar emergency sleeping . Chemical hand- and body-warmers -- often used by skiers -- make brutal conditions tolerable. Also include a plastic pocket poncho.

Your car can act as a tent to protect you from the elements unless a vehicle wreck breaks your window. Mend that with a roll of duct tape and super-thick (3mm) "contractor" trash . (Duct tape and trash bags have a myriad of other uses.)

Water is critical: Without water, death can come within a few days, perhaps in a few hours in very hot weather. But water is heavy and bulky: One gallon -- the subsistence level for two people for one day -- weighs about 8 pounds. When driving in arid areas, carry water in robust : Grocery-store gallon will break and ruin the rest of your kit. Several companies -- Mainstay, Retort, Mayday -- produce Coast Guard-approved emergency water in kids' juicebox-style pouches. For most of the U.S., it's OK to rely on ground water (or snow). But unless you pack your own water, you must have two lightweight containers (one for collecting water, the other for filtering the water into), a filter (cone-shaped coffee filter works), iodine water treatment crystals and, for snow, a heat source. Thusly equipped, you can make stream water safe in a half hour.

Light the darkness: Emergencies and darkness seem to go together. A flashlight is a critical element of a survival kit, but one of the new xenon-bulb, lithium-battery units (one brand is Surefire) produce such a powerful beam that it can double as a self-defense device: A blinded bad guy is not quite so bad. Also pack a conventional flashlight and spare batteries. Keep the batteries alive by leaving them in the original packaging or by installing them backward in the flashlight and taping over the terminals. Another solution is to pack a powerful DC-powered work light, which connects to your car's battery through the 12-volt outlet. Your kit should include some old-fashioned road flares, which can help prevent other motorists from striking your stranded vehicle and can double as excellent fire starters and signaling devices. In an area with no electricity, the flame from even a small candle can be seen from an incredible distance. Store candles and a book of waterproof matches in a zipper-topped . Get a cigarette lighter, available at auto parts stores, as an alternate fire starter. Also consider a compact, lightweight magnesium fire starter, available at camping stores for about $6.

Be able to play doctor: It's a toss-up as to which is more difficult, fixing a modern car or treating an injured person. But in an emergency, you might be forced to play doctor. The best bet is to start with an off-the-shelf "vehicle first aid kit." In addition to standard items found in such kits, add a of Super Glue (for closing small wounds), latex surgical gloves, a topical antibiotic (like Neosporin), aspirin or other pain reliever, and an anti-diarrhea medication (such as Imodium tablets). Include critical personal medication and, if you're sensitive to bee stings or ant bites, an antihistamine such as Benadryl.

Fill your belly: In an emergency, many learn the difference between "hungry" and "starving." Without food, most folks will survive for a couple of weeks: Consider it the "disaster diet." But you'll be more comfortable if you pack a couple of military-style MREs (available from camping or survival stores) or cans of Spam (Hormel says it lasts "indefinitely" and it's unattractive to pilferers). One way to tell you're truly hungry: You're eating Spam.

Carry some extras: Roadside car repair is beyond the scope of this article, but a few tools will help in an emergency. Pack a can of tire inflator/sealant (or more if you live in earthquake country) and a of radiator stop-leak. Creative types will want to include a multipurpose tool (such as a Leatherman), a multiheaded screwdriver, a razor-blade-style cutter, and a few cable ties. Duct tape can be used for anything from repairing a punctured radiator hose to securing bandages. Also include a pair of thick leather work gloves, a small fire extinguisher, an old pair of running shoes and toilet . Include some cash (in fives and tens) and a couple of dollars in quarters. Carrying your survival kit in a backpack will help you transport your supplies should you be forced to leave your vehicle.

Defend yourself: If TV coverage of Hurricane Katrina didn't convince you that a form of self- defense is a critical part of an emergency kit, you weren't paying attention. Except when thrown by a major league pitcher, a cell phone is not a self-defense device. Self-defense choices range from pepper spray to a police-style baton to a firearm. Whatever you choose, it's your responsibility to research how to legally transport and employ it. Even more critical: You must train and become proficient in its use. For most, a large "for use on bears" pepper spray is probably the best choice.

In addition to everything mentioned above, your car already comes with some survival equipment: The radio supplies emergency information; the rearview mirror can be removed and used as a signaling device. Headliner material can even be fashioned into tourniquets or bandages. When disaster strikes, take a good look around you, and think like MacGyver

The Teddy Bears had a great month. Kevin, our oldest, is showing an interest in gymnastics. He loves to do somersaults in our playpen much to the enjoyment of his friends. Brandon’s vocabulary has expanded this month. He now says yes, no, hi, bye, yellow, banana, Emma, Bella, and Steve. Kevin and Brandon have also entered the climbing phase. They like to climb on everything from our rocking chairs to our cubbies. Emma and Evelyn know all of their friends’ names and are able to point to them when asked “Where is ….?” They have also mastered buckling in our self-help skills books and now they try to buckle every strap in our room! Sean and Isabella enjoy looking out our window and watching the toddlers playing on the playground. They get so excited when some of the toddlers come over to the window to say hi. Sean and Bella also like to play “Round Ball”, which is a combination finger play and hand movement song. Killian, our youngest, is an absolute joy. He likes to lie in his crib and listen to the musical piano and watch the teddy bears on his mobile go round and round. Killian also likes to rock himself in our infant chairs. He rocks so hard that he actually does a 180 degree turn in the chair!

The month of April was all about “Things that Grow” in the Bumble Bee including our children. We enjoyed looking at our friends’ baby pictures and seeing how big we are now. We made handprint caterpillars and footprint butterflies as we learned about how butterflies change and grow. We also made a beautiful class flower garden, with water-colored flowers made from coffee filters. In our vegetable garden, we made carrots using our hands, sponge-painted bunches of broccoli, a tomato plant and we couldn’t forget worms in the dirt. The Little Bees loved our special snack of “Dirt Cake” it was delicious! Towards the end of the month we celebrated Earth Day and all wore blue and green. We made cans, marbled painted earths and played with green shaving cream. We had a blast! This month we celebrated Vivienne’s and Alessia’s 2nd birthdays and also welcomed our new friend Justin to the class.

This month the Panda Bear class had so much spring fun! Like the old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers”, we made sure to make umbrellas. We also focused on the letters, “S, T and U”. We made snakes, trees and unicorns. The color of the month was purple so we had lots of fun making purple potato prints. This month’s focus was all All About Me, so we measured our heights to see how much we have grown and to compare with our friends’ heights. Our two tallest friends are Arvin and Jayla. Spring fever was really taking full effect in our room because we planted our class flowers and painted our own pots to plant individual flowers. We were really excited to welcome cute caterpillars into our class. In anticipation of them becoming butterflies, we watched a short movie of their life cycle, read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and dot painted beautiful butterfly mobiles. We can’t wait to see them become butterflies early next month.

This month the Dinosaurs reviewed the lowercase letters, d-h, and reviewed our popcorn word we. We have learned how to spell, recognize and use our popcorn words in sentences. We learned about things that grow and brought in our baby pictures to play a game called “Who am I?” We reused our recycled water as planters and planted seeds in them. We used our recycled bottles to make tissue paper fish and also made observation bottles with different colored water and craft materials. This month we got caterpillars for our classroom and are enjoying watching them grow. Pretty soon they will make a cocoon and we will get to watch them turn into butterflies. April was really great but we are so looking forward to warmer weather and more fun and learning in May.