News & Blog
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OST New Modular Buildings Arrive
Posted: 5/7/2012
Old Spanish Trail's new infant and toddler building arrives. -
OST Starts Infant and Toddler Expansion
Posted: 5/3/2012
Old Spanish Trail was awarded an expansion grant with the the City of Tucson to expand their infant and toddler programs. OST will be creating 18 new infant and toddler spots that will be available by mid June.
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Parenting Newsletter - May 2012
Posted: 5/3/2012
Time for Thinking. Many questions have more than one answer. Remember that children need a little processing time before they can answer, so be patient. Encourage your child to answer a question with a complete sentence.
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Little Ranch Adds New Animals to Zoo
Posted: 3/5/2012
Little Ranch School added Happy(horse) and two sheep. -
Open Arms Student Art Work on Display
Posted: 2/16/2012
Students of Open Arms Mini Monet Art Class have their creative art displayed at the Safeway grocery store on Thornydale and Linda Vista. -
February Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 2/10/2012
Good Times for Babies - During the latter half of their first year, babies enjoy simple games like Peek-a-boo. They are learning an important concept - object permanence. Up until now, if something left their field of vision, they thought it was gone. As they develop, they can form a mental image of an object that is out of sight - so, of course, they look for it and are very excited when it pops back into their field of vision!
There are many ways to play Peek-a-boo. Here are just a few:
Cover your face with your hands, then remove them and say ?peek-a-boo!?
Put a scarf over your head and then remove it. Better yet, let your child remove it while you say ?peek-a-boo!?
Have a favorite stuffed animal pop up and down from behind the crib or highchair.
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January Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 1/4/2012
Celebrate National Thank You Month in January!
Saying thank you is not only polite, it can often brighten someone else?s day. Here are some activities for you and your children that help emphasize the importance of always saying thank you.
Discuss why we should say thank you.
Make and send thank you cards to friends and relatives for Christmas gifts.
See who can remember to use the words thank you the most for a full day (or even the month) - Make a chart.
Write thank you notes to everyone you know.
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Corporte Raises $1,000 for Kids in Need
Small Miracles President - Larry Cochran
Posted: 12/20/2011
Small Miracles corporate office raised over $1,000 to take selected children shopping for school clothes through the Kids in Need Foundation on Saturday, December 10th, 2011. Small Miracles has participated in this annual event for the last six years. -
You Can Never Spoil Your Baby - Sandi Blog
Posted: 12/14/2011
I just finished watching a DVD entitled ?The First Years Last Forever?. It is from a series of parenting DVD?s developed by Rob Reiner called I Am Your Child. There are some wonderful quotes in this short 30 minute clip. One point was that baby?s brains are too underdeveloped to manipulate the adults in their life. Simply it means that the little one in you life needs someone to fall in love with them. So go ahead and cuddle, hold, love, and play. The dishes and work will wait. For more on this series and parenting tips go to: www.parentsaction.org.
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December Personal Parenting Letter
Posted: 12/9/2011
It is Write to a Friend Month
Writing is more than putting words on paper. It?s the final stage in the complex process of communicating that begins with thinking.
During Write to a Friend Month help your child write a letter to a friend or relative. Write it together: Have your child help you with the letter. For toddlers let them draw a picture on the paper or card. For preschoolers have them write their name or the scribble of their name on the paper. For older children encourage them to write one sentence of the letter or card. Remember to praise your child for his/her contribution to the letter.
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November Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 11/16/2011
Tips for Parents from A Preschooler
Be Positive! Don?t tell me that I?ll have a great time at child care and then tell grandma that you feel guilty about enrolling me. I get hurt feelings easily. If you feel great about leaving ? I?ll feel great about staying.
Don?t mind me if the first day I love it, and the second day I dislike it. It?s a new place, new children, new adults and new schedule. Keep my schedule consistent and I?ll be fine.
Please take time to look at my art work that I created. I work long and hard at it all day while you are at work. If you do not show interest, I will not be enthusiastic about creating it. And if I see it laying in the trash at home I will lose my creativity!
Spend time with me when we get home at night. I know that you?re tired and I?m full of energy because I took a nap! Let?s go for a walk after dinner. I need time with my parents too!
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How to Throw An Eco-Fab Halloween Party
Posted: 10/26/2011
Halloween is a fun time for children and adults alike! What better a time to throw a spooky party and let your little one help out! Below are some ideas to make your spook spectacular an eco-friendly success. This will benefit the little "goblins" in your house and they will learn at a very early age the pluses of going earth friendly and healthy for Halloween!
1. Serve high quality sweets. Try and serve a variety of organic chocolates. Skip the wasteful bags and mini candies. Those bags produce more waste than you can even imagine. Instead, fill bowls with organic and homemade sweet treats.
2. Skip on the processed junk food. Make cookies with high quality ingredients like local eggs, raw sugar, nuts, and organic chocolate rather than picking up highly processed cookies made of refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
3. Make it spooky with soy candles. Skip on the petroleum based candles and add glow with high quality, eco-friendly soy candles.
4. Skip the plastic decorations and go natural. Use tons of local gourds and pumpkins to spruce your place up rather than tacky plastic pumpkins and orange streamers. Reuse old sheets and stuff with old newspaper to make ghosts. Make it rustic rather than cheesy.
5. Skip the paper invite and send a ghostly Evite.
6. Serve seasonal treats like apple pies, pumpkin risotto, and pumpkin ravioli. Make a side with tons of seasonal roasted root veggies like turnips, parsnips, and sweet potatoes.
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October Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 10/3/2011
Why Curriculum? What is an early childhood curriculum? It is in part the teacher?s ability to follow children?s interest and build on what happens each day. Teaching young children is a creative process that does not need to follow a prescribed course of study. However, as with adults, children need goals and a plan to follow each day. Our teachers depend on a curriculum that sets forth our programs goals, philosophy, and objectives for children as well as guidelines for growth in all aspects of a child?s development: social, emotional, cognitive and physical.
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September Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 9/7/2011
Ask these questions and find out how much you really know about your children. Even the things you might think you know could have changed! What is your favorite color? Favorite book? Toy? Dessert? What are you afraid of or what seems scary to you? Dogs? Monsters? Bullies? Who is your best friend? What do you like most about your family? What is your favorite thing to do at school? Ask yourself these questions, and share your answers with your child. Make it a priority to keep learning about each other!
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August Personal Parenting Newsletter
Posted: 8/1/2011
Celebrate National Kids Day
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