At Winfield Children’s House, children have opportunities every day to practice the culinary arts. In the Toddler House, the children work with teachers to prepare a group snack to share each morning. In the Children’s House, a daily snack helper donates snack items and helps set up a self-serve station in the snack area. This is a great way for children to gain experience preparing food and the grace and courtesy of serving others. The culinary arts are often part of our afternoon enrichment curriculum. This fall, on Tuesdays the Downstairs Preschool has been  learning new ways to prepare yummy snacks. Here are some simple and rewarding recipes that the children in Downstairs Preschool made in September. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving Break!   Banana Mash-Up (serves 1) Ingredients ½ peeled banana 1 tbsp honey dash of cinnamon 1 graham cracker Directions Mash banana using a fork. Add honey and cinnamon to banana mash. Stir together. Spread mixture onto graham cracker. Enjoy! Banana Caterpillar (serves 1) Ingredients ½ peeled banana 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter (or another kind of butter for at home) 1 grape 1 pretzel stick   Directions Cut up bananas into small pieces. Spread sunflower seed butter on cut sides of banana pieces and stick together in a “caterpillar” shape. Use more butter to stick a grape for the “head” and stick pretzels into grape for “antennae.” Enjoy!...

At Winfield Children’s House, there are many events and activities to remember. We wanted to have a reference for families that is available online at anytime, in addition to our monthly calendars that we send via email to enrolled families. Please bookmark http://winfieldhouse.net/blog/calendar/ to access our calendar. Please note that our calendar app is a little quirky in that it starts on Monday, so make sure to glance up to check the day of the week.      ...

On Thursday, October 24, the children of Winfield Children’s House gathered to celebrate United Nations Day.  Each year, we celebrate this important day with a peace ceremony. This year we held a peace ceremony at the Children’s House and another at the Toddler House for the infant and toddler children. Leading up to United Nations Day, the preschool and Kindergarten children were constructing classroom paper chains, with messages about peace and friendship. At the Children’s House peace ceremony, each of the 3 early childhood classrooms carried their paper chains out to the Peace Pole in front of our school buildings. Our Peace Pole says “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four languages. The children helped to link together all three paper chains to make a large chain that could decorate the area around the Peace Pole. To begin the Children’s House Ceremony, the children gathered in a large circle and sang “Peace Like a River.” Each classroom prepared thoughts about feeling peaceful or how to make peace that were read aloud to those gathered. After each classroom had a chance to share, our School Director shared the story of the life of Maria Montessori. Maria Montessori’s dream was that children would carry messages of peace throughout their lives and all around the world. Montessori believed that children were the key to creating a more peaceful world. The ceremony including a few more songs and ended with the song, “Go Now in Peace,” as the children began recess on the playground. At the Toddler House, the ceremony took place on the Toddler House playground on both Thursday and Friday. The toddlers also created a paper chain and connected the links to hang on the playground fence. They sang peace songs and learned a bit about the life of Maria Montessori. There is a Peace Pole located outside of the Toddler House building, as well. It says May Peace Prevail on Earth in 3 languages and show animal tracks on the other side to symbolize caring for the earth. Next time you visit, please take a moment to check out the Peace Poles on our campus and ask your child to teach you a song from the peace ceremony. If you are looking for a way to learn more about the United Nations with your child, visit http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/ for activities and information for children of all...

The toddler house and children’s house playgrounds at Winfield Children’s House offer a mixture of natural spaces to play and traditional playground equipment. Offering children experiences to play in and with nature is a crucial part of helping a child develop understanding and caring for the environment. Are you looking for resources to develop a safe, natural playspace at home? Our toddler teacher, Leslie, discovered a great downloadable handbook from from the Green Hearts Institute for Nature in Childhood. It’s called “A Parent’s Guide to Nature Play.” It reviews why nature play matters and offers tips on setting up an outdoor playspace to maximize your child’s experience with nature. It has a handy list of outdoor plants that are safe to have around curious young children. We hope you check it out and share what works with us!  ...

We currently have openings in our Bambini program, which is designed for children aged 6 to 16 months. This program is designed around the belief that infants are born with tremendous potential eager to learn, explore, and try new things. The classroom, in light of the infant’s need for routine and consistency, allows for freedom of movement while gently stimulating the naturally curious infant. A flexible schedule allows each child to eat, sleep, or play according to his or her own unique internal rhythm. The activities support and encourage language development, practical life skills, eye/hand coordination, along with gross and fine motor abilities in a warm and loving environment. The ratio of children to adults does not exceed 4:1 with each child assigned to one primary teacher. The teacher monitors that child’s schedule and communicates eating, sleeping, and activity patterns on a daily basis. This certified program is staffed by Montessori educated, bright and caring adults to assist the infants in developing strong, loving, trusting relationships and attachments that will help prepare them socially and emotionally for adulthood. You’re welcome to schedule a personal visit by calling Judi at 207-797-8101 or by emailing us at...