Classroom Laundry Sign Ups are BACK!
Since we now know that covid isn’t spread through touch surfaces and laundry, we are HAPPY to announce that volunteer opportunities are BACK! We are working on setting up a community work day, so stay tuned for that!
The following classes need families to Volunteer to do the classroom laundry each week:
Playful Pandas
Dancing Monkeys
Rising Stars
Busy Bees
Kindergarten (starts August 23)
When you volunteer, laundry will come home with your child on Friday, you’ll wash and fold it, then return it at drop off on Monday! Easy Peasy!
Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FACA723ABFF2-laundry
De-Clutter and Support Your School!
Spring Cleaning is such a transformative experience.
Who knew that thinning a bookshelf or tackling that front hall closet you avoid could feel so powerful? At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic I channeled my anxiety into cleaning and reorganizing the house. I set out to conquer “the creep” that tends to take over corners and closets during the daily bustle of kids and jobs. I wanted my home office back! I wanted to not feel guilty about buying new workout clothes! I wanted to feel like we were moving forward in an uncertain time.
The world is opening again, and rather than “going back to normal,” most of us have embraced the fact that it will be a WHOLE NEW ERA. A totally new definition of normal.
The best way to make that “new normal” a WAY BETTER normal than to start out with an old favorite, Spring Cleaning.
Here at Common Ground, we are doing just that! We are emptying our old storage units and thinning out our book collections (have no fear! We support child literacy more than ever before, we just don’t need 18 copies of “The Foot Book” floating around in the back of our closets).
What will we do with all this STUFF? Some of it is quite beloved and well taken care of, some of it is barely used but we certainly do not need it taking up space.
On our quest to REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, we found a company called FUNDrive. Their incredible business model encourages groups of people and schools like us to get together and collect gently used items to donate!
Our drop-off date is not until June 5th, but ‘Spring Cleaning’ is happening as we speak! Save up those donation items and you will only have to do one drop-off.
Instead of trying to find different places to donate all of your myriad items, just bring them straight to us.
1. The donations will cost you nothing!
2. You are giving your house a spruce up!
3. You are helping your community recycle perfectly fine items instead of creating waste, and offering quality goods to people at more affordable prices.
4. You are helping your school by helping us raise funds through no cost to you.
We are looking to raise $1000 by cleaning out your closets and cabinets of GENTLY USED items. Help us get to our goal by helping us collect AT LEAST 120 full 33 gallon size bags and 100 small boxes. (there is no limit! I think we can blast through that number, but let's have a baseline) Ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers to do the same and make your pledge today!
DATES TO DROP OFF ITEMS:
Friday, June 4th from 7:45 AM-6:00 PM
Saturday, June 5th from 8:00AM-12:00PM
Drop off will be at Common Ground Childcare: 1700 Wainwright Drive, Ste 2, Reston VA 20190.
ITEM PICK UP DATES:
TBD: If there are enough people interested in this, we may schedule a “pick up” for items before our time slot on June 5th.
If you need help with lifting bags/boxes, please let us know: lj@commongroundchildcare.org
**IF NONE OF THE ABOVE DATES WORK FOR YOU: Please contact LJ Donnell: 703.498.9073/lj@commongroundchildcare.org. We will find a way to help you, store your things, et cetera.
SAVE THE DATE (June 4th and 5th). SAVE YOUR STUFF (clothes, accessories, small household items, books). SAVE THE WORLD (every little bit counts).
Love Love Love,
LJ and your Common Ground Family
Earth Hour: A Moment to Pause and Reflect
Saturday, March 27th at 8:30 PM local time is Earth Hour.
What is Earth Hour?
Traditionally, global skylines have gone dark and millions of individuals have turned off their lights for Earth Hour as a symbolic gesture to their commitment to preserving our planet.
EarthHour.Org encourages people to participate in the hopes to keep nature loss and climate change top of mind. It is that mindfulness and reflection that will encourage people of every generation to stop and reflect on the lovely fragility of this earth that holds the entirety of our past, our present, and our future.
The World Wildlife Post is hosting a meditative hour for peace and mindfulness Here. You can sign up for text reminders Here.
Reflection may be an important step, but it’s just the FIRST step. There are so many things you can do, even as an individual, to change the world for the better.
Educate Yourself
Earth Hour has links on Nature Loss and Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Potential Solutions Here
World Wildlife Fund has several excellent links on what’s at stake, what needs to change, and how we can help Here
Nasa talks about the proof of Climate Change Here
COTAP.org talks about several ways to reduce your Carbon Footprint Here
The Rainforest Alliance offers tips on how to teach your kids about Climate Change Here
One Planet One Future has a video lesson series coming out that you can watch Here
SCRAWL BOOKS has a whole section on Science and Nature for Kids Here
Sign Petitions and Donate
Earth Hour has its pledge for educating others and finding greener ways to live Here
World Wildlife Fund has a ton of excellent petitions to go through Here and several ways to donate Here
GLOBAL DEAL FOR NATURE PETITION HERE
TWENTY GLOBAL NON-PROFITS PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT YOU CAN DONATE TO HERE
#GiveFundsGiveTime is a motto we came up with during our Giving Tuesday event last year, but we find that the concept behind it is one we want to keep top of mind ALL year long. If you don’t have the funds to donate, spend time educating yourself and others! Every time you pass on knowledge to someone, they pass it on to someone else. These good deeds ripple out. You may be one person, but one person spreading their love can change the world.
With Love,
Ms. LJ and your Common Ground Family
St. Anne's Episcopal Blood Drive!
As 2021 presses on, there are so many people who are in need! It can be overwhelming to decide where to start, and sometimes it is hard to tell if you’re really making a difference. (Although here at Common Ground, we really believe that all good deeds ripple out, no matter how small).
Donating blood costs no money and very little time, but it is a constant, essential need! Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. 1 donation can potentially save up to 3 lives.
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church is hosting a blood drive on March 5th!
WHEN: Friday, March 5th, from 12PM-6PM
WHERE: St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! There will be an INOVA Bloodmobile
HOW: Register below, show up for your time slot, it’s that simple!
WHY: To save lives. Our hospitals are strained and people need help more than ever. This is something small we can do to really make a difference!
REGISTER HERE: https://www.inovabloodsaves.org/index.cfm?group=op&expand=27318&zc=20190
PLEASE SHARE THE FLYER! THE MORE DONATIONS THEY GET, THE MORE LIVES THEY SAVE.
FLYER
Let’s all get together as a community and let our goodness shine!!
-Your CG Fam
MABEL'S LABELS -- The Perfect Gift For ANYONE on your List (Including You!)
The Holidays are upon us and, let’s face it… after the year we have all had, we really want to make sure that we finish 2020 off in style and start fresh in January.
That’s why Common Ground has paired up with MABELS LABELS! These labels are tough, beautiful, clear, and, when necessary, waterproof! Add a little touch of magic to your gift wrapping and holiday cards this year. Get cute water bottle labels for your kid that leaves it all so that it can be returned! (Is that “kid” you? Because that’s okay, I forget everything too.)
Because we are a daycare, we label EVERYTHING. Labels help with pre-literacy in young children, so we try to label EVERYTHING in the classroom. Labels help avoid confusion with jackets, school supplies, and beloved toys. MOST IMPORTANTLY, labels help avoid confusion with medicines, allergens, and chemicals so that there are fewer mistakes. This is especially important with personal items like masks and water bottles!!
But labels do not have to be utilitarian. They can instantly make any room a PINTEREST APPROVED room! Check out the ingredient labels below!! If you have a friend or family member that has everything, pick them out a little something that will give PIZAZZ to that everything! For example, I am absolutely going to purchase the potted plant labels below for my husband to give a little pop of color to his inside winter garden.
If you have multiple children in sports or school, having name tags can help you out when you are in a hurry, or even let your kids be helpful by giving them an extra reminder which things are theirs.
THE IDENTITY BRACELETS AND ALLERGY LABELS ARE KEY. They are clear, concise, and have bright, eye-grabbing colors to keep their safety notes top-of-mind.
So if you are already shopping, stop on by our Mabel’s Labels Fundraiser Page! Make sure you search “Common Ground (Reston)” and then away you go! Check out some of their amazing products below (you can click on the pictures!). Get a lot of your shopping out of the way, and we get 20% of the sales at the same time!
Happy Labeling! Show us pictures of your lovely Pinterest house when you’re done!
#GiveTime: Community and Causes
Hi there! LJ Donnell here with some incredible (and quick!) ideas to #GiveTime to your community! This is a part of our #GiveFundsGiveTime Campaign for #GivingTuesday, so if you need more ideas, visit THIS PAGE. We also ask that if you have any excellent ideas of your own that aren’t listed here, PLEASE share them in the comments!! A community is always better when we work together.
So far, our suggestions are:
5 minutes a night knitting/crocheting/making blankets for Project Linus
Do click throughs on charity sites
Sign petitions
Call your local representative and talk to the about an issue
Draw inspirational chalk messages around your neighborhood
Draw loving chalk messages and pictures on the sidewalk of your local hospital so patience can see them out the window
Write post cards to senior citizens and other high-risk populations who are stuck in quarantine and away from their families. Example Here
Share/Amplify social media messages for local businesses, charities, and local activist groups. — I know this doesn’t sound like much… but it really means the world to people trying to get their messages out there. It takes you very little time, and you could make a big difference to their business or cause. Even something as small as sharing a “Missing Pet” post from your local neighborhood’s facebook could make a world of difference for a family.
Volunteer as your Cal de sac’s glass recycling person — okay, this one may be a 15/20 minute task once a week. Have your neighbors put their used glass products in bags and place them on their doorsteps, then you take them to the nearest glass recycling bins. You could also set up a round-robin sort of thing, and it’s as easy as making a post on your neighborhood’s facebook or NextDoor page.
Pick up trash on your walk — You may be getting fresh air. You may be on a little run! You may be taking your kids out of the house to get rid of some of their energy. Either way, just have gloves in your pockets and a grocery bag so you can pick up trash you see on the walk. You’d be surprised how little effort it takes, and what a big difference it makes. Wildlife in the area is getting snared in disposable masks on the ground. It’s pretty awful. Every little bit you do, even if it’s just five minutes while you’re already walking outside, could save a precious life.
#GiveFundsGiveTime is all about giving what you can when you can, and not overtaxing. All good deeds make waves, no matter how small. Let’s make this holiday season as full of hope, magic, and love as we possibly can.
See you out there!
Ms. LJ
Year-Round Giving can be as Simple as a Smile
I love the convenience of Amazon. In a perfect world, I would shop small. I would take my time to make sure I was always shopping with a company who was concerned with sustainability, like a certified B Corp. But life isn’t perfect. I need things to be easy, fast, and at my fingertips, and that’s why I love that Amazon has their AmazonSmile program!
AmazonSmile is probably one of the easiest ways to give there is, and it just takes about a minute to select your charity (Common Ground, of course) and then it takes a few seconds to remember to shop at smile.amazon.com instead of just Amazon. (Lucky for us, from your browser, Amazon will remind you to shop at the AmazonSmile site!
But what about your Amazon app on your phone?
You can Smile there too, but it does take a few extra steps, that you have to repeat twice a year. But since we are all working on flexing our giving muscles, it just requires setting a reminder in your phone for your renewal date.
Ready for your #GiveFundsGiveTime task for today?
Set “The Child Care Center of The Common Ground Foundation” Tax ID: 54-0913856 as your charity on AmazonSmile - you can see how to do that here
Bookmark smile.amazon.com so that you make sure that all of your purchases count! Or better yet, you can always click through to Amazon from our site, because as an affiliate, we also earn commission through links on our site, like in this post!
Turn on ‘Smile’ in your mobile app. Here are the instructions for that!
Set a reminder in your calendar for the renewal date, so that you don’t forget to renew your Smile!
See, that was SO EASY!
Just remember, small gifts, like the time you took to make sure you’re set up with Amazon Smile, can add up to BIG FUNDS when Amazon donates 0.5% of all of our purchases back to Common Ground!
Want to double your impact? Ask your friends if they are set up on AmazonSmile and send them this post to make sure that they give with their purchases too - even if it’s not to Common Ground!
#GiveFundsGiveTime
Love,
Miss Liz
#GiveFundsGiveTime Campaign Begins!
Let’s face it folks…
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS EXHAUSTING.
Having time, energy, and money could sometimes be hard at the end of a normal work/school week.
We are running a marathon of enduring loss and fear. Our reserves are stretched, our patience thin. We can sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision and terrible fatigue, unsure of how to maintain JOY in our own households when the world looks so different.
Giving Tuesday is on Tuesday, December 1st this year, and if you’re like us, you feel tapped out.
Our children cannot see their friends, we cannot see our family, a lot of us have had our salaries cut or jobs furloughed. What can one person give when so many buckets are empty?
“GIVING” is a muscle too. It can be overworked and injured. We can see all of the NEED in the world, all the work that needs to be done, and the distance between here and there can seem daunting.
You don’t start working a muscle by running a marathon or lifting 500 lbs. You start by walking a mile. And then another. You lift that 5lb weight until you can lift 10lbs, 15lbs, and so forth.
And so, my friends, I come to my point.
This year, for Giving Tuesday, Common Ground Childcare is running our #GiveTimeGiveFunds campaign.
We are asking for a pledge time OR funds OR both, and we are asking you to give slowly, with care, and with self-forgiveness if it feels too small. No act of kindness is too small.
GIVE FUNDS
This one is easy - we will have plenty of opportunities for you to give money to Common Ground!
Our MAJOR EVENT of the #GiveFundsGiveTime campaign is THE STUFFY SLEEPOVER!! It is a fundraiser we set up to give back to the community, especially those kiddos who are missing their friends and holiday fun.
GIVE TIME
Our most precious commodity, the one we are most adamant to protect, and the one we are often the least efficient with.
NO JUDGEMENTS HERE! During the COVID-19 pandemic I have personally felt like there is endless need, and I still end up doom scrolling on my phone for an unacceptable amount of time each day.
Even in normal circumstances is exceptionally hard to manage something as subjective and intangible as Time, especially when so many important things (and people) seem to have pressing need
Common Ground’s BIG ASK this run-up to Giving Tuesday? Build up those Giving-Time muscles.
We want you to pledge what you think you can do each day for just two weeks!
We are pledging 5 minutes a day until December 1st, and we are only asking for you to do the same.
Do you think you can do more than that? GREAT! Pledge it! We want to see what our community is capable of, because we know it is incredible!
What can you do in five minutes? CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM for ideas every single day!
You would be amazed at what you could do in five minutes for:
Children
Family
Neighborhood
Environment
Coworkers
Community
Yourself
Causes
We will be talking about one of these each day until December 1st! Please share your ideas, your struggles, your triumphs! In this time of social distancing, seeing your pictures and stories makes us all feel united.
Use our #GiveFundsGiveTime hashtag so we can see the impact of everyone doing “just” five minutes a day.
On December 1st we will look back and see what incredible things we can do in two weeks. Just like you, I know it will be humbling, wholesome, significant.
Get out there and #GIVE!
— Ms. LJ
Giving Tuesday is December 1st
Give Funds. Give Time.
Sometimes we only have one. Sometimes we have both, but only a little. In a world wracked by a pandemic, sometimes it feels like we only have enough money and time to stand still.
Giving is a muscle we have to work.
The more we all give, the better we become at it, and the better we feel when do.
Most importantly? That kindness gets paid forward. Suddenly other people around us in our community have the bandwidth to grow and prosper. They, in turn, give to someone else, and so on.
#GivingTuesday is December 1st this year, and here at Common Ground we’ve started early.
We are looking for community partners to help us with our mission, please contact us if you are interested in participating in our Giving Tuesday Drive.
We hope to gather funds for our Teaching Scholarship Fund so that we can give our educators an opportunity to grow. With that boost, our dedicated teachers can give time to further their own education. This will lead to them providing more quality time to their students to help them thrive in a loving environment. Imagine all of the ripples that would come from each student.
This is not just a fundraiser.
We also hope to inspire you, the members of our wonderful community, to give. We will be posting several giving initiatives in the coming weeks:
- Giving time to your children with no phones, no tvs, no distractions
- Giving money or food to your local Food Bank to make sure no family goes hungry, especially on Thanksgiving, a day of gratitude.
- Giving time to your neighborhood environment by picking up litter.
- Giving money and business to your favorite local business that has been struggling under the COVID-19 pandemic
- Giving time to draw loving, heartfelt chalk pictures and messages around your community so people know that, on the darkest days, they are not alone.
Watch on Facebook to see how we are giving in our community through the next couple of weeks. We encourage you to be a part of it, as well as our BIG GIVING TUESDAY EVENT which promises to be heartwarming, fun, and just the right amount of silly.
In the Community: Thanksgiving Box Drive
No one should go hungry on Thanksgiving
Time and time again I am impressed by the loving charity of our community.
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, there are so many families in our community who would be going without a Thanksgiving Dinner on our table if Cornerstones did not run their annual drive.
Our support of Cornerstones’ annual Thanksgiving Food Drive will help make a fulfilling holiday possible for nearly 1,000 families this holiday season.
FOR THE FRIENDS OF COMMON GROUND AND OUR FAR AWAY FAMILIES:
The North Virginia community can support the drive by purchasing a $50 Thanksgiving Food Box at the North Point Village Center Giant Food location in Reston, now through November 14.
FOR OUR ACTIVE FAMILIES:
THIS YEAR we have promised one box for each class, so we will work with your teachers on building a sign up so that each family can bring a part of their classroom’s box.
The kiddos will make art and letters to place in there along with the food so that we can give the family receiving the box a heartfelt hello on the holiday of gratitude.
This sounds complicated with our social distancing policy, but I promise you we will make this as easy as possible! Here is the link to the SIGNUP. You can click on as many or few as you like, including the BONUS box at the end.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FILLING YOUR OWN BOX — Let LJ Donnell know and she will give you your own box to fill with a list of what needs to go inside available. They can always use more boxes.
We will begin to collect items in the classrooms starting on Thursday. Please bring your items for the boxes either at pick up or drop off (place it into your child’s backpack.)
Because we have to limit our exposure with the drop off, we will only be doing one! Please have all of your ingredients and or boxes back by MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH COB.
Saving our Planet: Recycling
Okay! So you want to be more green! You want to get those three R’s in action.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
But where do you start?
We all know that change needs to happen on a world-wide scale. It seems all-encompassing, overwhelming. What can we do as our house, our family, our one person self?
Well, our kiddos are learning about just that. Starting in November, our Rising Stars and Honeybees classes will begin a RECYCLING unit! They will be sorting their recyclables, creating new things from old, and learning life-long habits to reduce their carbon footprint .
We recommend these books to help cement those essential insights on how to protect their world:
Lift-The-Flap Questions and Answers about Recycling Trash — Katie Daynes
A comprehensive, interactive book all about recycling that answers all your curious kid’s questions! The pictures are enchanting, the facts are sharp, the message is STICKY.
Planet Earth Mazes — Sam Smith
Does your kid love to doodle while they learn? Planet Earth Mazes is a book chock full of facts and enchanting images to capture your child while they solve complex mazes and exert their logic skills.
Be the Change, Make it Happen — Bernadette Russell
As we said above, it can be overwhelming to want to help, to enact BIG CHANGE, but be a small person. Bernadette Russell shows kids how even the littlest changes (and the littlest person) can change the course of the future.
These are incredible books to feed your kids’ appetite for knowledge and can be purchased at any time. But if you purchase them this weekend (October 23-26th) Common Ground gets 10% of the funds!
(Visit our Book Fair here)
In the meantime, here are some steps to get you going at home!
1) Look up your local recycling facility HERE
2) Learn which items can be recycled and how HERE
3) Find some creative/fun REUSE projects to do with your kids HERE
4) Find some ways to REDUCE your use of disposable products HERE
We will be posting more ways to do those 3R’s on our Facebook as well as easy tips to reduce your carbon footprint, so check us out! PLEASE also let us know what you are doing at home! We need to work as a team to keep this planet GREEN!!
Have a FANTASTIC DAY!
LJ and your Common Ground Team!
Winter Coat Closet 2020
It is only the beginning of November and already, all of us here at Common Ground are huddled in our warm winter coats. The kids look like happy, puffy little marshmallows in the Autumn chill while the teachers are laughing about matching their scarves and gloves with their masks.
Not everyone gets to enjoy the change of the season from a safe, comfortable position. Parents and children alike are facing a long, cold winter (and cold/flu season!) without proper attire.
PLEASE NOTE! If you or anyone you know needs help this winter, note the winter clothing distribution times. There is no shame in needing help. Click Here for all the programs available through Cornerstones.
Cornerstones, in partnership with the Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s Office, is once again operating the Hunter Mill District Winter Coat Closet for 2020 – 2021 in order to provide free winter coats, hats, gloves, mittens and scarves to all who need them.
We at Common Ground are encouraging our families, friends, teachers, neighbors, and readers to contribute new or gently used winter attire to their cause!
Donations can be dropped off at:
The Reston National Golf Course (until November 6th)
The Cornerstones Main Office (Oct. 15th-Jan. 4th)
These three days in the North County Government Building (Nov. 14th, December 12th, and January 9th).
Would you like to donate, but do not have the time to get over to the drop off station? Do you have any other questions or need clarification?
Contact LJ Donnell and she would be happy to help in any way.
