Events and Fundraisers, Life, Non-Screen Activities, Teacher Tips, Unplugged Common Ground Events and Fundraisers, Life, Non-Screen Activities, Teacher Tips, Unplugged Common Ground

WOYC21: ARTSY THURSDAY- We made Crayons!! Here's How...

It was a gorgeous, perfect day today… Most of our time was spent enjoying the outside and celebrating the good weather!

But your Common Ground Office Friends had a silly, fun, totally “Artsy Thursday” inspiration that we absolutely had to act on.

We decided to turn our GIANT TUB of broken, old crayons into new, tie-dye crayons in totally whacky shapes!

Ms. Mimi had seen the idea during one of her Teaching courses last week, and we LOVED it! Ms. Liz ran out to Michael’s to get some fun molds and we went to work! See below for pictures of our process and results!

  1. Peel the crayons. If you want to make this process go a little faster, soak them in water! the wrapper comes right off.

  2. Chop them up! They don’t need to be uniform. We used scissors (poor scissors!) and made a bunch of tiny chunks. Leave some of the chunks bigger, we’ll explain why later!

  3. We used silicone molds with all sorts of different shapes! They can go in the microwave, the oven, and the freezer, so they’re perfect.

  4. Place a layer of crayons in the molds. fill it up! When they crayons melt, they’ll shrink. Since these will completely melt and mix together, we advice complimentary colors.

  5. Place in the microwave. 1-2 minute intervals should do it.

  6. Once the wax is completely melted, place one of the larger chunks in the center of each mold shape. It will create a marbled look with the other colors you added. This color can be as different from the other colors as you like! You can also add another layer instead.

  7. Put it into the microwave for a little bit longer, and then when you’re satisfied put it into the freezer until it’s firm and cool.

  8. We got a uniform back onto the crayons by melting one or two colors into cups and then pouring a layer of wax into the molds once they had firmed up a bit in the freezer.

  9. The result is, dare we say it, ADORABLE and totally functional! We gave them out to all of our students, and we have so many leftover crayons we plan on letting them make their own combinations in the future! It was such a bright, happy way to recycle our old crayons that no one seemed to want. Some of our kids did not even want to color with them! We had a couple of our Honeybee Students play with their robots like toys.

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Events and Fundraisers, Education and Policy, Who We Are, Teacher Tips Common Ground Events and Fundraisers, Education and Policy, Who We Are, Teacher Tips Common Ground

WOYC21: Our Playful Pandas are Living it Up

Playful Pandas WOYC Banner.png

All week we have been celebrating “Week of the Young Child” with the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and it has been a TOTAL BLAST.

Ms. Pinky and Ms. Simi in the Playful Pandas have really taken this opportunity to flex their incredible teaching muscles and show the world how much education really happens in play-based learning.

On Music Monday, Mr. Josh stopped by to play a little concert for each class. The Pandas got to play instruments and sing along to practice rhythm, patterns, and cause and effect! They also got to sing their heart out and dance the morning away.

On Tasty Tuesday our Pandas Teachers went above and beyond! Ms. Pinky and Ms. Simi presented their students with all different fruits. the kiddos got to touch and taste each one, then they took turns placing them into the blender. They even got to press the little blender button, much to their surprise and delight! Afterwards they placed the smoothie mix into little popsicle makers. While these froze a little more, the pandas got to try their concoction. At the end, they got to eat popsicles they made themselves. It was a step by step, multi-sensory science experiment that ended in a tasty treat!

Work Together Wednesday was quiet, cold, and rainy. But our Playful Pandas teachers had their kiddos build large, technicolor castles together. At the end, they all picked up the mess one piece at a time. Teamwork, patience, social practice. All these essential building blocks to emotional resilience and independence can come from something so simple.

Artsy Thursday is maybe my absolute favorite, and a perfect example of why kids’ art needs less guidance and more trust from teachers. Ms. Simi and Ms. Pinky put out paint, string, and paper. Then they stepped back and waited. The result was absolutely incredible. These one year olds stepped up, picked up the yarn, and began goofing around together. They splashed colors around, they shared, they made art. If we had walked them through step by step, it would have been a project. It would have been uniform. This was creative expression. This was pre-writing, fine-motor work, and independent experimentation. This. Was. Brilliant.

PLAY TO LEARN. LEARN TO PLAY. LEARNING IS JOY. Thanks for celebrating with us, Pandas!

Stay tuned for more wonderful ways our classes celebrated this week!

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Who We Are, Teacher Tips, Model Citizens, Life, Community Activities Common Ground Who We Are, Teacher Tips, Model Citizens, Life, Community Activities Common Ground

CG Birthday: Celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd

April is not just our birthday month! It’s the month we celebrate our incredible home: The Planet Earth.

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  • What is the History of Earth Day?

    • April 22nd, 1970 was the very first Earth Day! Proposed in 1969 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day was celebrated all over the nation in a collaborated effort between grass roots groups and their local governments. Elementary schools did trash-pickup and anti-litter movements. Flowers were planted. People swept their streets. Mothers protested the pollution destroying their children’s air quality.

  • Did it work?

    • By the end of 1970, the Nixon administration had established the Environmental Protection Agency and passed the Clean Air Act.

    • Environmental justice gained momentum in New York especially.

    • Activists increasingly emphasized “environmental racism,” or how toxins and lack of green spaces in poorer neighborhoods disproportionately affected communities of color.

    • In the 1980’s El Puente and WE ACT formed to oppose environmental hazards like sewage plants and other pollutants that contributed to health disparities, including high rates of asthma.

    • Many observers have invoked the threat of climate change and pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have pointed to falling pollution levels in cities, as certain industries are on hold and transportation has slowed.

  • What can you do?

  • How you can celebrate at home

    • Animal Exercises to do at home with your kids ALL MONTH.

    • Stock up on reusable bags and try to go a month without using plastic ones!

    • Plant pollinator friendly local plants in your garden

    • Walk whenever you can or take public transportation (Keeping in mind Covid-19 precautions)

    • Use blankets or open windows rather than cranking up the Heater or AC

    • Pick up trash when you can! Even one piece can make a difference.

    • Watch Our Planet or Planet Earth to get your kids excited and curious about Earth

Remember everyone, we all share ONE COMMON GROUND. Our little blue planet is precious, and we have to take good care of it.

Love Love Love,

Your CG Family

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BOLD GOAL: affordable, quality care for ALL VA families by 2030

Advocacy is becoming our middle name here at Common Ground and we need you to add your voice too! Quality care and early childhood education, like the kind that you receive for your children, shouldn’t be a privilege for only those who can afford it (or even just barely afford it!), it should be a right, granted to all children. Quality early childhood programs support a strong economy in

It’s EASY, just click the link below!

What it is: The Virginia Promise Partnership is a coalition of leading organizations who believe all children deserve a strong start and a promising future, beginning with access to quality child care.With this vision in mind, they have established a bold goal—ensuring all Virginia families have access to affordable quality child care by 2030. The Virginia Promise Partnership seeks to achieve this goal by pushing for the long-term policies and resources needed to give all of our children access to the programs they need to realize their full potential.


What you can do: Sign the promise for the Bold Goal at https://www.vapromisepartnership.com/ as an individual or as an organization!

After signing on as a Promise Maker, they will:
• Keep you informed of Virginia Promise Partnership efforts
• Extend invitations to Virginia Promise Partnership events
• Feature your company / organization logo
on the Virginia Promise Partnership website
and material
• Promote your company / organization through social
media as a leader in standing up for Virginia’s children
and families


Here is a link for a one pager with more information: MORE INFO

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Temporary Expanded Child Care Assistance Eligibility

The Child Care Assistance and Referral Program may be able to help with child care expenses.

Applications received through July 31, 2021 are eligible for the following expanded eligibility criteria:

  • Families with at least one child under the age of five (kindergarten eligible age) with an income that is at or below the 85% of the State Median.

  • Maximum Yearly Income up to:

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  • Families currently looking for work may also qualify during this expanded period.

 Families must live in Fairfax County, City of Fairfax or City of Falls Church.

 Additional eligibility requirements may apply.

Click on the images or this link to access the PDF.

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