Let's Breathe Together: Breathe on a Tropical Island
We loved the breaths designed by Mindful Schools so much that we have made cards for a lot of them! Our Star Breather helper in our classroom can pick a couple of them or a whole theme!
Today we did Breathe on a Tropical Island! It was so fun, we thought we would share it with you.
We started with setting the scene. Warm sand. Bright sun. The sound of the ocean. We cupped our ears and took slow, deep breaths in and out, listening to the waves.
Next we explored our surroundings! We picked up a lovely Starfish, traced its arms and did Starfish Breath together!
To show that we are not alone, we reminded ourselves that we are a team! We did Beachball Breaths together.
To finish, we did Shark Breathing to speak aloud our Affirmations.
I Am Safe.
I Am Strong.
I Can Handle This.
Let’s Breathe Together.
If you like our beach adventure and want to do more, try out Dolphin Breath and Blowfish Breath!
Holidays in Covid: Keep The Spirit Despite Quarantine
*PLEASE NOTE: we will be adding more items all week long! Check for updates!*
Home for the Holidays is not such a jolly thought when it’s because of Quarantine.
That’s where so many of us find ourselves right now. With 569 new cases in Fairfax County just today (Fairfax County Health Dept. Dashboard), there are a ton of families in our community who will not be traveling to see loved ones for Christmas.
So what do you do to help maintain the Christmas Spirit if you are stuck in quarantine? Ms. Victoria and I (Ms. LJ) have been there before, and are in that situation now, and we thought we would help you get some good ideas.
Holiday Stories: You could go totally screen-less for most of our activity suggestions below, or you could have holiday specials playing in the background! But my personal recommendation will always be BOOKS AND STORIES.
Audible books has a ton of kid-friendly holiday audio dramas and read-alouds. It really puts me in a festive mood to share favorite stories with the littles.
Do you have family that you would like to visit, but you are playing it safe? You can read over zoom. Read stories to each other! Do this nightly! You could read a chapter book and parse them out chapter by chapter until the end of the year! During the day you could talk about what might happen next, send theories to each other, or just talk about your favorite part. We did this with my friend and her kids last year and the kids got to pick out picture books for each other. It was just one more gift they could give to their friends, and it made them feel like they were together even when they were apart.
We have a WHOLE SERIES of Read-Alouds! They are available HERE on our website and on our YouTube Channel! We also have a HOLIDAY PLAYLIST where we will be adding more videos!
Caroling: Spread is limited outdoors, and it is easy to socially distance. You can go to your friends’ and family’s houses and sing your favorite Christmas songs to them on your sidewalk! Sidebar: We do not advise singing together with a group that isn’t quarantined with you, even outside. You expectorate far more when singing! We advise singing to a group at least ten feet away.
CARDBOARD CRAFTS:
We know you’ve ordered just a ton of stuff from the internet for the holidays… right? No? Just us? Well if you’re like us, There’s definitely plenty of cardboard to go nuts with. When we were stuck in quarantine, we built a very interesting space ship… It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be jolly!
Do you not have enough to make a whole house? Make a mini gingerbread cardboard village! Everyone cuts and decorates their own house and can cut out little cardboard people, animals, furniture, space ships… this is something that could take up literal hours.
Holiday Recipes and Foodie Crafts:
Holiday Activities and Crafts:
Print-Outs: Sometimes a relaxing activity on a cold day can be as easy as coloring with hot cocoa. I’m serious! Sometimes we as parents think memories have to involve HUGE EVENTS. My daughter’s favorite thing is to color together with no distractions. Put on Christmas music, get out the colored pencils, make some hot cocoa, and just get goofy with it. Click the links we have to get print outs, or just google your own! Holiday Print Outs
Advanced: If your kid is a little older, use a little journal or even some stapled together pieces of paper to make your OWN. HOLIDAY. STORY. Write your family’s next classic! This activity is fun for the whole family, allows your school-ager to practice writing and drawing, and can be a real laugh riot.
CLICK HERE for a little book creation pdf!
Here’s a MINI BOOK creation PDF and instructions!
Holiday Themed Dance Party: I am so not kidding when I say that “dancing it out” helps drive away the darkness. Studies have shown that dancing helps with anxiety and depression. It boosts mood and memory, which is perfect for making new holiday traditions!
Maybe you feel like pretending you’re on stage during The Nutcracker.
Holiday Scavenger Hunts: Do you have local family that’s in the area that you can’t visit because one of you is in quarantine? That really stinks… and it’s hard. BUT there is something you can do to show that you’re around.
Chalk games:
Write loving messages on their walkway! Have them do the same for you
Write HOLIDAY RIDDLES THEY HAVE TO SOLVE BY THE END OF THE EVENING!
Draw a little game they have to play outside like hopscotch or floor is lava or dance party! If they’re little kids it doesn’t have to be too complicated, just have spaces where they HAVE to run like a reindeer or play “don’t see Santa!” freeze dance.
Write each other up a “holiday nature walk” scavenger hunt! Possible things that could go on your list:
A snowman light up structure
A unique/whacky inflatable
A singing house
A bit of frost on the ground
A wreath made of real foliage
A real Deer
A Santa Claus
People singing live music
Birdsong
A Winter Constellation, like Orion’s Belt
A moon in a particular phase
An Evergreen Tree
A squirrel/Chipmunk
Holiday Drive-Thru Lights: Ms. Victoria is a HOLIDAY LIGHT GURU. We are going to provide links for a couple of official set-ups you can buy tickets to, but we will also have QR codes available that will take you on an amazing round trip through some spectacular light shows in your area free of charge!! Make sure you go to the bathroom, pack your favorite snacks, and have some music queued up for the radio (scroll up for links to neat music playlists on spotify).
Friends of CG Fridays: Hero Pediatric Dentistry
If you participated in our THANKSGIVING STUFFY SLEEPOVER, then you got an incredibly thoughtful, thorough SWAG BAG from our personal dental heroes, HERO PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY!! They are thoughtful, warm, insightful, and amazingly CLEVER!
Check out this HILARIOUS and informative video they made where they show us how to take care of our stuffy friends’ teeth!
HERO PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY VIDEO
Our teeth are so very important, and developing good habits to take care of ourselves begins at birth like all learning!
Consider these brushing basics:
Brush your teeth twice a day.
Use the proper equipment. Use a fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush that fits your mouth comfortably.
Practice good technique. Hold your toothbrush at a slight angle — aiming the bristles toward the area where your tooth meets your gum. Gently brush with circular short back-and-forth motions. Brushing too hard or with hard bristles can hurt your gums.
Brush your teeth for two minutes. Remember to brush the outside, inside and chewing surfaces of your teeth, as well as your tongue.
Keep your equipment clean. Always rinse your toothbrush with water after brushing. Store your toothbrush in an upright position and allow it to air-dry until using it again.
Know when to replace your toothbrush. At least every 3 months!
See the dentist twice a year. Start taking your kiddos to the dentist around age 1! A lot of people talk about “baby teeth” like they don’t matter, but oral health is KEY to a happy, healthy life!
Why Hero Pediatric Dentistry?
Hero Pediatric Dentistry has a new location in Herndon! You should always take your kid to a pediatric dentist because they are specialized in kid care! They know all about growing teeth and gums, and know just how to make sure the dentist is not only a healthy experience, but a FUN one. We trust our friends at Hero Pediatric Dentistry implicitly, and recommend them for our students!
Tell us about your experience with them in the comments! We only wish we were young enough to get our teeth cleaned next to a green dinosaur…
Your CG Family
The Season of Giving! Bleed Red or Give Green
We have another blood drive coming up on DECEMBER 10TH from 1:00PM-5:30PM
HERE IS THE SIGN UP LINK.
BLOOD DONATIONS ARE THE LOWEST THEY HAVE BEEN IN A DECADE. Please help us do our part to bolster our hospitals and protect our neighbors.
The holidays are a time of joy, family, and giving. If you give blood, you may just give the gift of a life this year.
Help us give back to our community in the most essential way.
Do you want to give back to your community but don’t qualify to give blood?
Make a pledge to our Teacher Fund for 2022
Put “Childcare Center of the Common Ground Foundation” as your Amazon Smile Charity! Don’t know how? CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
Do you want to give blood but have questions?
Check out these FAQs from INOVA Blood Donor Services!
Conscious Discipline Spotlight: Clearing up Misconceptions
Social-Emotional Learning has been on the rise in schools since the nineties, and we at Common Ground are eager to continue that trend.
As many of you know, we have been learning and promoting the study and lifestyle of Conscious Discipline as a center. We have been taking and retaking the courses (Ms. Victoria is on her second time through! I personally listen to the audio and then watch the videos to help get a firmer grasp on the subject matter) in order to appropriately apply the lessons to all of our classrooms. We hope to encourage our parents to take the course with us in time (stay tuned!) so that we can teach our kiddos how to speak confidently and kindly with their hearts.
Teaching with Love is much more powerful and long lasting than Teaching with Fear.
But sadly, this is a rather new concept in education and parenting, and it’s receiving backlash from those who refuse to grow themselves.
This article came out today. It brought to our attention some arguments against Social Emotional Learning programs in schools. The immediate and long-lasting benefits of teaching your child the inner disciplines of emotional self-awareness and problem solving through empathy are essential to our growth as a species, so I would personally like to clear up some of the misconceptions presented.
All learning begins at birth. Children begin learning the second they open their eyes. Everything is new and without context, so they turn to their caregivers for guidance. Children begin mimicking and responding to parents and teachers as early as three months. No Small Matter is an eye-opening documentary all about the essential roll early childhood educators play in the lives of children, starting with newborns. How you interact with babies, when you interact with babies, what responses you give to different emotions and behaviors, children absorb these calls and responses, these cause and effect relationships, like little sponges. Learning to calm yourself, learning to deal with frustration, learning how to communicate those feelings and frustrations in an appropriate way with peers and adults, all of this begins to happen before the age of 2. They have friends they “parallel play” with starting at 18 months. They are playing WITH each other by the age of 3. Imagine how overwhelming a disagreement with a friend is when you have all the social tools you have now can be.
There are parents who are questioning the validity of these emotional regulation practices and their usefulness in elementary school. They even suggested the notion that Guidance Counselors in grade school are an invasive waste of money. If children primarily learn through social interaction with adults and peers, how could giving them the tools to navigate those interactions with clear communication and confidence be anything but essential?
Awareness is not Encouragement. One of the arguments against SEL is the notion that it makes kids face social issues they “don’t need to know about yet.” They are even using the scare tactic that SEL “advertises suicide.” Making a child aware of their feelings can only be helpful. It gives their anxieties and frustrations names. It encourages them to untangle their thoughts and focus on keeping calm.
Becoming aware of problems in the world and personal stressors does not make them manifest, it simply sheds a light of what’s already there. Children primarily learn how to interact with their world by watching adults interact with each other, not how adults interact with them personally. They know so much more than we give them credit for. Conversely, trying to hide or dismiss their feelings does not make them any less real, and only encourages them to hide/bury any issues they have. These don’t go away, they just get expressed as anger and distrust down the line. Mental and Emotional Health issues are not on the rise, we are simply becoming more aware of them. We are seeing the multi-generational effects they have on entire families and communities. Social Emotional Learning SAVES lives because we are learning about these toxic behaviors that have defined our teaching for so long. Instead of trying to hide them again, we should be working to eradicate them once and for all.
Emotional stress affects academic achievement. A child that cannot calm down is a distracted learner. A child that fights with their peers is a disruptive learner. A child that is afraid to fail is a stressed learner. A child who thinks their only value comes from achievement and academic prowess will do anything they can to achieve perfection. If they do not have a safe space to express their negative feelings and sort through their fears, they will find other outlets in the form of one addiction or another. Conscious Discipline has been recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), which promotes the adoption of scientifically established behavioral health interventions. Social Emotional Learning is key in helping avoid substance abuse in children. The notion that “children should only focus on their academic progress” is privileged, because some children do not have a choice. Acknowledging that their are factors in a child’s life that matter besides academics is just acknowledging reality.
Your child is not raised in a vacuum. I am a parent. I am a teacher. I am slowly becoming trained in Conscious Discipline. I am still not everything my children need, and I do not pretend to be. My children have been nurtured by trained childhood education professionals. They have been taught by teachers with a strong background in education. I love them with all my heart, but I am not a trained counselor. I am not a history teacher, a math teacher, a science teacher. I am a single, biased human being. I am so incredibly fortunate that my children have a fleet of adults who can teach them so many things I can’t. A lot of these parents are arguing that the emotional and mental health “stuff” should all be dealt with at home. Just holding that belief implies that those lessons and obstacles are private matters to be hidden or ashamed of. Learning how to treat your friends and how to talk to your loved ones in times of friction or stress is JUST as essential as learning your numbers, and so much harder to learn later in life. Teachers that have gone through social emotional training are trained in programs written by health and education professionals. They have gone through rigorous testing and years of classroom observations. They have proven results. Read more about Conscious Disciplines 25 years of award winning classroom management here. You could be the best parent in the entire world, but you shouldn’t have to be EVERYTHING your child needs. Trust professionals.
Lastly, there has been an argument against SEL because of the idea that teaching emotional regulation and empathy for others has somehow become 'a vehicle for this quote-unquote 'social justice activism' and the indoctrination of controversial ideas related to race, sexuality and even gender and identity.'
First of all, asking a child if they feel like they belong and teaching them how to react with understanding over anger in an argument is (hopefully) unrelated to any political agenda. We are hoping to help our children learn to communicate better. We are hoping to help offer a strong, assertive foundation based in self-actualization and the knowledge that you can only control yourself, not others. These are teachings based in ancient stoic philosophy. They are not new, and they have withstood the test of time.
Second of all, we at Common Ground firmly stand for our neighbors of every race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality, gender identity, etc. If understanding our own feelings and empathizing with the feelings of others is “controversial,” so be it.
Help us create a kinder world. Help us create a world more rooted in reason and focused problem solving.
We can love our parents, our teachers, our friends with all our hearts and still acknowledge that our old methods of teaching and parenting were flawed. We can love ourselves and understand that our CURRENT methods of teaching and parenting are flawed. Let’s continue growing together.
Love Love Love,
LJ and your Common Ground Family
Learning Begins at Birth: Infant Curriculum
We have written quite a lot about how are preschool teachers are not just “babysitters.” They are early childhood professionals who give your kid a whole-body, play-based learning experience. We have seen time and time again that our approach encourages our students to be confident, independent learners who have a leg up when they begin kindergarten!
Now it is time to give our infant and toddler teachers credit where credit is due. They are phenomenal, educated, practiced professionals at their trade, and they are giving your babies an enriching childhood experience.
No Small Matter is an eye-opening documentary all about how early REAL LEARNING truly begins. We talk about this a little in our Conscious Discipline Spotlight, but essentially children start looking to you for guidance at birth.
Our teachers are constantly talking to our tiniest students. They are singing. They are describing everything they’re doing. They are making that uninterrupted eye contact and responding to any attempt at communication. All of these things are helping build essential those neural pathways for learning.
Here are some examples of how our infant teachers do lessons through play.
Songs with colorful pictures help associate words with tangible objects.
Coloring and themed sensory play help with fine motor work!
Coloring with chalk is perfect for cause and effect with fine motor work.
Animals and weather velcro gloves help with cause and effect and word association!
Playing outside in every weather helps with sensory, self-regulation, attention, and physical fitness.
Our little explorers learn so much, and it is a joy to watch. Don’t you wish you were here?
Love, Love, Love,
Your Common Ground Family
Season of Giving: Scholastic Fair
IT’S THE SEASON OF GIVING, AND WE WANT TO GET OUR KIDS IN ON THE ACTION!
We are doing an IN-PERSON Scholastic Book Fair November 29th-December 3rd (online shopping until December 12!), and along with doing your normal Holiday Shopping, we encourage you to contribute to our BOOK FUNDRAISER! Any book you buy for the fundraiser will be donated to a kiddo in need for Christmas.
We have heard how there will be a lot of shipping delays for the holidays. The bonus of our Scholastic Fair is that the books will be right here! You can bring them home, stash them in your present closet, and not be constantly checking your Amazon Orders to see if it will come on time. Give yourself the gift of Peace of Mind.
Kids are constantly bombarded with ads for toys. YouTube, streaming services, other kids on the playground, jingles from stores, shows WITH toys, books based on shows based on toys, it’s a consumeristic NIGHTMARE that is almost impossible to turn off.
What we are hoping for with our Scholastic Fair is to encourage kids to look around the fabulous, eye-catching, technicolor Smörgåsbord of books and pick out a gift for someone else.
Books help stimulate the mind, body, and spirit. Books can inspire empathy for a character as intense and real as it could for a friend they know off the page. Books are an incredible outlet and emotional guide. Is there any better gift than a book? Yes. Teaching a kid to give that incredible, life changing gift to another kid.
DO YOU HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE??
Make sure to share our link when it goes live! We will share it EVERYWHERE!!
Kids and Covid: Juliet gets her Covid Shot!
Our Immunized Schoolagers!!!!!
Every time a new vaccine comes out against Covid-19 it feels like the world is a little safer. When we found out our kindergarteners and school agers were eligible for this essential layer of safety against the pandemic, we were ECSTATIC.
We sent out this link so that we could help get as many of our students appointments as soon as possible.
Which is why on November 4th at 10:45AM, a day after the shot was approved, I got my daughter Juliet her first covid shot.
Was I worried? No. There had been more than enough research done on the vaccine so I knew it was safe for her. I am much more worried about the new variants of covid that are spreading.
Was she worried? A little! Juliet and her friends get each other really anxious about the shot itself. She really didn’t want to get stuck! But she was also SUPER excited and made sure to tell everyone she could that she was going to get it.
“Am I the first kid in America to get the shot?” She asked me as we walked toward the Covid-Shot clinic set up inside the mall. It was early morning and there were hardly any people around.
“No sweetie, but you’re probably one of the first thousand in Fairfax County!” I thought about it, smiled, and said “And you’re the first kid to get it at Common Ground, so make sure to let everyone know it’s not so scary, okay?”
Juliet gave me a thumbs up, because she’s cool like that, and we went into what used to be an old department store transformed into a vaccination center. All around the old “Diamonds for Her” and “Men’s Fragrances” counters there were colorful signs that said things like “Kids are Tough,” “Kids are Brave,” and “Kids are Super Heroes.” On the floor there were big stickers with pictures of a nasty looking coronavirus cell with the inviting slogan “Stamp the Virus OUT!”
We did. We stomped on every single one of them on our way. And let me tell you something… it felt really good.
There were kids everywhere. Older kids, younger kids, kids who looked nervous, kids who looked bored. Juliet was excited and scared and ready all at the same time.
All of them are my heroes. Their parents too. They are a part of getting a handle on this virus that has changed our lives forever.
When Juliet sat down she told her nurse she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She told her all about the cardboard doctor’s kit she had made all by herself, and how she was always taking our temperatures and taking care of us. The nurse smiled and told her all about what the shot was going to do, and why it was so important, that it would protect her from the virus, but also take care of us. “It’s what a doctor would do!” She said, high-fiving Juliet.
I still had to hold her down. That girl does NOT like shots. But she perked up pretty quickly when she realized everyone was cheering and clapping. Those medical professionals were ROCKSTARS.
Her symptoms lasted about 24 hours. They were arm pain, a little scratchy throat, and she had a low-grade fever in the night of about 99. We were told that since she’s had covid before her symptoms might be a little more severe, so we let her stay home from school on Friday… even though she didn’t NEED it, getting some extra cuddles from Daddy is never a bad thing.
Since then, so many of our kindergarteners and school-agers have come showing off their bandaid! When one of them leaves to go to their appointment, everyone else cheers and claps and tells them how brave they are. Kids are so ready to be wonderful to each other, it is such a moving display in a time we need Hope more than ever.
If you have any questions or need help getting your child’s covid vaccine scheduled, please contact us!
SIGN UP FOR OUR FALL FUN STUFFY SLEEPOVER!!
ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 28th, WE ARE HOSTING ANOTHER STUFFY SLEEPOVER AT THE BOOK FAIR!!
What is a Stuffy Sleepover? We are glad you asked!
The Stuffy Sleepover kicks off our Book Fair and our Giving Tuesday Campaign. Kids bring their favorite toy. It can be a stuffed animal, a doll, an action-figure, an excavator! They leave them in the loving care of Miss LJ, Mr. Josh, Miss Janette, Miss Liz, and Miss Victoria for a night of music, books, and awesome activities at the Book Fair. Kids can watch their favorite toys play with their best friends’ favorite toys from either Facebook Live or YouTube. Then their favorite friend will ready for pick up at our BOOK FAIR!
Basically, it is a heartfelt way for kids to be together without BEING together.
We had seen them before, Scrawl Books does an especially fun series of them featuring amazing children’s authors.
They are ridiculous fun for everyone involved. CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS FROM THAT NIGHT ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
STUFFY SLEEPOVER VIDEOS
OUR THEME THIS TIME IS FALL FUN! We will be doing Autumn crafts, reading Autumn books, and singing fun songs that may or may not be Autumn themed, but DEFINITELY sing-a-long-worthy!!
Then, in the morning, all our stuffed animals will board the Common Ground bus and be returned to their best friends with stories to tell and goodies to share.
Sign Up Right Here!
$30.00 Donation to our COMMON GROUND GIVING TUESDAY Campaign gets you a ticket for the stuffy sleepover! It includes the goodie-bags, the fun, the live-videos, and more surprises!
Then you can drop your stuffed animal off on Monday the 28th at the center. It will “sleepover” that night at the Book Fair, then be picked up by your child the next morning.
The money raised will go towards necessary educational initiatives at Common Ground Childcare as part of our Giving Tuesday Campaign.
This is our favorite way to be with you, even when we are apart! Thank you so much for being a part of our community.
Thanksgiving Boxes - Let's make the holidays bright!
Common Ground Childcare and St. Anne's Episcopal Church are working with Cornerstones to gather Thanksgiving boxes for Reston Families in need!
What's a Thanksgiving Box? Each one is fully stocked with everything needed to make a complete Thanksgiving dinner for a family. No person should ever have to go hungry, especially in a time of giving and gratitude. Let's show gratitude for our good fortune by sharing it with our community!
HERE IS THE LINK TO OUR SIGNUP GENIUS
If you would like to help us build these Thanksgiving Boxes, there are a couple of different ways to sign up!
>You can choose to help your child's class by purchasing certain items
> You can build your OWN box as a family
ALL ITEMS AND BOXES MUST BE BROUGHT TO COMMON GROUND CHILDCARE CENTER BY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, BY THE END OF THE DAY.
Do you know someone in your family or neighborhood who would like to sign up for a Thanksgiving box?
Encourage them to sign up with either Common Ground Childcare or St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! There are hundreds of families who are struggling to provide for their families this year… we want to help as many people as we can every way we can.
Common Ground Childcare: sign-up here
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church: sign-up here
NOVEMBER 5TH: TRUNK OR TREAT IS BACK!!
EDIT: DATE UPDATED FROM OCTOBER 29TH TO NOVEMBER 5TH PLEASE ADJUST YOUR CALENDARS. Scroll down for an updated FAQ.
IT IS THAT SPOOKY TIME AGAIN!! We have been waiting since last year and are SO EXCITED to trunk or treat with our families.
WHAT: Common Ground Trunk or Treat Spooky Spectacular!
WHEN: November 5th from 4:30-5:30PM
WHERE: Common Ground Childcare Upper Lot
WHY: To provide a safe, outdoor event for our families and children to enjoy Halloween together in their Covid Cohorts.
ALL KIDS ARE ENCOURAGED TO DRESS UP! They will be taken out to the trunks and tables to trick or treat with each of their classes starting at 4:30PM. Our School Aged children will also be setting up a (not so) Scary Haunted House for the kiddos who are waiting for their turn!! There will be music and dancing, treats, and maybe a few TRICKS!
HOW CAN YOU HELP: Just like last year, we need volunteers! We need parents who are willing to decorate EITHER their trunks or a rectangular table! Parents can provide treats, stickers, little favors, anything they like, and can pick any theme they like for their decorations!! We just want as many trunks/tables as we can get. Make sure to dress up!!
Sign up HERE for a slot and help us make this the best Halloween yet!!!
We are going to give you some FAQ answers below, but if you have any more questions please feel free to email us.
This is a Common Ground community-wide event! We have a ton of parent volunteers running trunks and tables for our students, but you don’t have to be a volunteer to show up! The event is from 4:30PM-5:30PM and we encourage you all to come and enjoy the festivities! The Trunk or Treat is in the upper lot, please join us.
Rain or Shine we are outside: We want all our families to be able to participate, but we also want everyone to be safe from the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen the forecast for Friday, and it does look wet! So we have a couple of mitigation tactics.
We will be putting up as many of our tents as possible! If you have a little outdoor cover you could lend us, we would really appreciate it.
Have rain gear ready just in case! Rain jackets, rain boots, anything that helps you embrace the mantra “no bad weather, only bad clothes!”
If it gets truly torrential or it’s active lightning, we will, of course, pack it in early to keep everyone safe. We have a hard stop at 5:30PM so, while we will try to “wait it out” if this happens, we know our limitations.
Costumes Costumes Costumes! We recommend sending your kid in normal clothes, but putting a costume in your child’s backpack! That way they don’t have to wear a costume all day, but they can participate in Trunk or Treat all dressed up.
Spotlight On: Conscious Discipline - A Transformative Experience
We, as an entire center, have been taking Dr. Becky’s Conscious Discipline courses.
This is so much more than a “how-to” class. Conscious Discipline takes a transformative view on our interactions with EVERYONE, not just our students, which makes it an incredibly unique and humbling experience.
What is Conscious Discipline?
Instagram I Blog I Free Webinars I Podcast I Discipline Tips I Extra Info Links I Methodology
Conscious Discipline is designed to completely transform the way we look at “discipline.” For generations we have looked at punishment and discipline as synonyms. We have created a divide of judgment between good and bad, pass and fail, win and lose, that encourages learning and behavior through fear.
All. Behavior. Is. Communication. If we only address the behavior, we are not addressing the needs causing the behavior that aren’t being met. The goal is not “to drive you crazy,” which they can’t do anyway, if you have control! They just do not know how to ask for what they need yet.
Conscious Discipline is a series of classes designed to give you empowering tools that help you communicate, guide, and encourage with LOVE, a force much more powerful and long lasting than fear. Check out the methodology link above for the four key tenants!
In order to help children build a foundation of discipline and emotional regulation within, we need to teach ourselves to be aware of what we are saying with our words. We need to catch ourselves in moments of heightened emotion, and break defensive habits that have been passed down from parent to child.
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN US! How?
Here is a tried-and-true tool that we learned at the very beginning of our training. It’s called STAR BREATHING, you star!
Three deep breaths shut off the “fight or flight” system of the brain.
This active calming technique is an essential component of emotional health. Teach children to S.T.A.R.: Smile, Take a deep breath And Relax.
S.T.A.R. is one of four core breathing techniques in Conscious Discipline. The other techniques are Drain, Balloon and Pretzel. <—Click here to download a poster showing these different techniques to remind you and your kiddos how to calm yourself before you respond.
Giving yourself a chance to calm down gets you out of the “survival state.” Once you’re calm, if you’re still frustrated, repeat to yourself ”I am safe, Keep Breathing, I can handle this.” to keep the bad feelings at bay. Problem solving can commence once you are calm and ready!
We have made our Conscious Discipline Action Team and will be rolling out changes! Stay tuned, we will be sharing more things that we are implementing in our center to help transform early childhood education as we know it.
Love Love Love,
Your CG Family
Ms. LJ - Our Family Experience with Covid-19
After a year and a half of masks, hand sanitizer, spontaneous quarantines, and vaccinations…
I came home from Summer Camp with the kiddos on a seemingly normal Wednesday August to find my husband masked indoors. He had lost his taste and smell.
A rapid test from the INOVA Urgent Care, of course, came back positive. John was vaccinated and worked from home, but he had a work meeting out in Tyson’s, a small gathering of vaccinated friends, a small outdoor birthday pool party for the kids. They were all activities we thought would be safe before Delta reared its head and dissipated any thoughts of normalcy.
Luckily our townhouse is almost perfectly designed for quarantine. My husband stayed in the basement with little need to come upstairs, and the kids and I spent time on the upper floors with the doors and windows open. We lysoled regularly, never ate in the same space at the same time, and communicated via text so that any travel between floors was telegraphed.
The kids and my first PCR tests were negative. John’s symptoms were really mild, mostly brain fog and the inability to taste. We all felt excellently, if a little stir crazy, and looked forward to the end of quarantine.
On August 10th the kids got their second PCR tests. It had been six days since they had last seen John, and they were totally restless and energized. We went home, played with the sprinkler, baked cookies. Juliet had a fever of 102 about 18 hours later.
Conrad’s 4th birthday was spent apart from his sister, opening gifts in the master bedroom. Juliet’s PCR test hadn’t come back yet, so we could not stick her with John just in case it WASN’T covid, but the pediatrician had told us to keep the kids apart in case it was. Schrodinger’s Covid kept us wearing masks inside, yelling across the hall to make sure everyone had gatorade and snacks. I would never have left Juliet alone, but I wore a mask, rationed my time in between them, and washed my hands. We sent songs and announcements to each other through Alexa and, despite everything, giggled a lot.
Conrad was positive by Friday the 13th, eight days after the last time he had seen John. You would think I would be terrified. Maybe I was. But when the rapid test came back positive, all Conrad did was rush to the bottom of the stairs and scream “JULIET! YOU CAN TOUCH ME NOW! I HAVE COVIC!” She came pelting down the stairs and they laughed and screamed. They both demanded to watch a movie, since it was movie night, and asked if Daddy could come upstairs. I was the last Donnell standing, but I had been cuddling and watching over these little covid kids for days, it was really only a matter of time. So we all went upstairs, put on a movie, and contact sat with each other.
Everyone has to decide for themselves how their family quarantines. For us, with the Delta Variant, I found that quarantine within the house was a total waste of time. I don’t think the kids gave it to each other, and I don’t think they got it through the vents. I think that my mostly asymptomatic husband infected them before we exiled him downstairs, and the rest was history. Would I have gotten a breakthrough infection had I not been breathed on by two sick kids for days? Probably not. Was it worth it to cuddle them and make sure they knew I was there? Absolutely.
We were very fortunate. Despite the Delta Variant being much harsher on kids, my two had mild cases. Fevers, some coughing, a little fatigue. We have been monitoring them for any signs of long covid, and will continue to do so, but we are hoping that really was the worst. Given how some of our symptoms still linger, John and I were especially fortunate to be vaccinated.
I am lucky I had so much support from my work crew, my coworkers, my family members. I had friends drop off things at the door and sing happy birthday to my kids while they stood on the balcony. I got sent pictures from the last few weeks of summer, presents shipped through amazon, and so many messages of love and comfort it chokes me up to think about it. We sang karaoke, ate a lot of icees for our sore throats, and passed the time just being grateful we were together.
What we learned.
YOU ARE CONTAGIOUS EVEN IF YOU AREN’T OBVIOUSLY SICK. We quarantined the second we saw any symptom from John, and the kids had already been infected.
YOU COULD STILL HAVE BEEN INFECTED EVEN IF YOUR FIRST TEST WAS NEGATIVE. My kids were active, happy, and totally separated from their dad. Their first PCR test was negative, but they were sick within the incubation period. TAKE. THE. INCUBATION. PERIOD. SERIOUSLY. Take the quarantine seriously. You don’t know who you’re risking even if you feel fine.
WEAR A MASK AND GET VACCINATED. Breakthrough cases, strong variants, long-term exposure to asymptomatic family members, COVID-19 is not over by a long shot, and you could get sick. Making sure you’re vaccinated so you can stay quarantined at home is best for you and anyone who needs a hospital bed. GET YOUR FLU SHOT TOO. It helps to mitigate flu AND Covid-19 symptoms.
PROTECT YOURSELF. PROTECT YOUR COMMUNITY. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY.
I love you all. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.
LJ and Fam
CG Spirit Night: BASKIN ROBBINS BACK TO SCHOOL
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH FROM 6-9PM
WE WILL BE CELEBRATING THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
AT BASKIN ROBBINS!!!
A lot of our school age kiddos have already started classes (which is also worth celebrating!!) but our preschool programs start on Tuesday, September 7th! We wanted to give everyone the opportunity to say goodbye to the summer months and Hello to school in any delicious style they want.
IT IS ALSO A FUNDRAISER!! Every wonderful, yummy, technicolor treat purchased gives us proceeds to help support your classrooms all year! Encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to come celebrate the new year with us, because everyone should have an excuse to get icecream.
Worried about Covid? They have amazing outdoor seating! Still don’t want to stay out? You can order pick-up or delivery!!
However you order, just make sure that you are letting them know you are ordering to support Common Ground! Along with eating something delightfully tasty.
If you have any questions you can email LJ Donnell. Happy September!
Goodbye Mr. Josh!
After five years of laughter, hugs, skinned knees, and turning nursery rhymes into classic rock instant hits…
We are saying goodbye to our beloved Mr. Josh! He is focusing in on school and looking towards his future to decide what he’s going to do next, and we could not be more proud of him, more sad to see him go (but excited for the next part of his journey!), more thankful for everything he has done for us and the students who were lucky enough to grow under his care.
While he will no longer be working with us, he still loves his community here and would be happy to hear from any of you! Make sure to say “see you soon!” to him this afternoon!
We will also be posting pictures on our Facebook, and encourage you to share your favorite Mr. Josh pictures, stories, songs, memories!! It shows Mr. Josh what you meant to him and reminds us all that all of our most normal days are sometimes the most lovely.
A note from Mr. Josh:
“My five years at Common Ground have been some of the most transformative and fulfilling I have ever known.
I started teaching as a goofy 19 year old kid, and now? I'm a goofy 24 year old man, and I wouldn't have it any other way. From sharing my music and any creepy-crawly creature I could get my hands on to helping my students navigate the complex emotional landscape of early childhood; I've considered it privilege to grow alongside these wonderful little people.
To the children I've had the opportunity to work with: I love you all. I'm constantly amazed by how far you've come, and I'm so proud that I had the chance to call myself your teacher. This time has more to me than I could possibly express and I look forward to visiting Common Ground in the weeks, months and years to come.”
Thank you for everything, Josh, Common Ground loves you!
BLOOD DRIVE + FIREWORKS JULY 9TH!
JULY 9TH IS THE END OF OUR CELEBRATIONS WEEK AT CAMP.
Our camp will be doing different holiday celebrations all week, but we are reserving 4th of July for Friday! How are we celebrating?
We are co-hosting a blood drive with St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! Sign up HERE and use Sponsor Code 8604.
It goes from 12-7PM so schedule your appointment any time. SHARE THIS FLYER with anyone you think would like to help save a life!
There will be fireworks!
Officially, WE CLOSE ON TIME ON FRIDAY, JULY 9TH. But you don’t have to leave! We will have a food truck, the playground, and a moon bounce for anyone who wants to stay and play! PLEASE NOTE that this is not an event where teachers will be on duty! We would like to celebrate with you!
Wear your Tie-Dye if you Got it!
All of our campers will be wearing their tie-dye shirts today! We encourage you to come out in your Tie-Dyed Best! Dressed to the multi-colored nines! We want pictures of our color-splashed CG fam <3
THERE WILL BE A DRAWING FOR FABULOUS PRIZES FOR DONORS!
Donating blood is worth five tickets! Otherwise, tickets are $5.00 each! We will have prizes available including:
Common Ground Tie Dye Tote Bag! Hand-made by your campers!!
Common Ground Water Bottle!
Common Ground Coffee Mugs!
A night of babysitting FREE from your very own Mr. Josh!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE PARTY ANNOUNCEMENTS! We have more surprises in store!
Celebrating Juneteenth
Here at Common Ground, it was already in our minds to honor and celebrate Juneteenth. We were so surprised and pleased that Governor Northam made it a state holiday last year, even in the midst of everything else going on. We were closed in June 2020, so we could not honor it properly, but it gave us time to think on what it means to our teachers and students. On the actual day we continue to do the work and support our families today, but all of our staff gets Holiday Pay.
We are also here to say that’s not enough. A nod to acknowledge this National Memory on what was supposed to be the end of racial injustice is the best way to BEGIN striving for growth and change. Stopping here implies that there isn’t still work to do.
Our work is just beginning everywhere, especially in childcare, where women of color help raise and educate the future.
The best way to begin striving for growth and change is acknowledging the mistakes of our past. There is no better personification of this journey than Ralph Northam.
The Daily Podcast has an amazing episode covering Northam’s journey in the last five years. You can listen to it HERE. When it was discovered Northam had dressed in black face during a contest in medical school, it was disappointing, but unsurprising. Black politicians had been used to this song and dance of half-hearted apologies and photo ops. Instead of trying to bury his mistakes, Northam took the time to feel that shame and consider his internal dialogue. Most importantly? He asked. He listened. He sat down with his BIPOC politicians and asked what he should be doing to guide the future of Virginia in the right direction.
Their collaboration has transformed Virginia. Knowing that there is so much still to do is heartening, because it means we can still grow and change and continue toward a better future.
What are things we can do here? Today? Now? What are the things WE can do to move our families, our school, our district, our state, our country, our world forward?
Self-Reflect. Be okay with realizing you don’t know everything, that you are wrong, that you have biases. Familiarize yourself with them. Knowing the problem is instrumental in defeating it. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO DO THE SAME. Making a mistake or being wrong is only bad if you don’t work to improve. Learn what there is to know about Juneteenth.
Listen. Listen to your BIPOC neighbors, friends, teachers. Ask them what you can do, how you can support them. Ask them what they need, and keep your promises.
Speak. After the first two steps, it’s time to speak! Talk to your representatives, talk to your friends and family, help guide them in personal growth. Supporting your BIPOC childcare teachers is more essential than ever, now that the Biden administration is taking great strides in the early childhood educational field. Help them make their voice heard by adding your own.
Thank you for helping support our Common Ground community every single day. Growing with you has been an honor and a privilege.
Love Love Love,
Your CG Family
HELLO SUMMER SHINDIG - Party on June 18th from
Common Ground is kicking off Summer 2021 with a party on the playground!
The kids will get their first sweet cold treat of the Summer from Kona Ice at 3:30!
We will open up the grass area at 4:30PM for families, so please come out - bring a picnic or purchase dinner from Casa de Avila Tacos, who will be on site.
The playgrounds will open for free play at 5:30 after the last kid is picked up. Come mingle, give the kids a little extra play time and just have a fun start to the weekend/summer! We are so excited to be able to play in the sunshine with you.
Love Love Love,
Your CG Family
Curious? -- Little Caesar's Pizza Kit Review!!
WE ARE DOING A FUNDRAISER FOR DELICIOUS LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA KITS UNTIL JULY 7TH AND THE REVIEWS ARE IN!!
Are you intrigued about getting these for your next movie night, but unsure if your kids would be interested? Well GOOD NEWS!! One of our Rising Stars families came back with a STELLAR REVIEW about the “build your own mini pizza kit” and I think the pictures speak for themselves…
These are easy peasy for toddlers to participate with. They cook up really nicely, they are easily shared, and did you know that a child is much more likely to try a food that they helped to prepare? It’s true!
Have you tried any of these kits? Do you have pictures from your family gathering?? Feel free to share them with us! We would love to see all the ways that these little “party in a box” pizzas add to your memories.
Anyone can buy them and support us! Share THIS LINK or THIS FLYER on your social media, with your office, with your fam! Anyone who buys a mouth-watering pizza, breadsticks, cheese bread, or cookie kit with our link earns us money!
PIZZA PIZZA!!
-Your CG Family
CG Life: Making Each Day a Loving One.
Not every day is a good day.
We want them to be. We want our children to be happy and our students to prosper. We want the worst things they experience to be skinned knees and hurt feelings that are forgotten in minutes.
But sometimes people get sick. Sometimes families don’t stay together. Sometimes terrible things happen that you just can’t fix.
When those times come, those days full of tears and uncertainty, we want you to know: You are not alone, and neither are your children.
There is an incredible story from the perspective of a childcare educator that was written a little while ago. The premise is that there is a disaster occurring while she’s with her students. You can read it HERE if you wish. In the story, the teacher was terrified, but she did everything she could to protect these children. She refused to leave them. She let them play outside, fed them a good lunch, let them spill glitter on the floor. She was not sure what was going to happen, but she was going to make sure that these kids spent the day knowing they were cared for, knowing they were loved.
Here at Common Ground, your teachers love your kids. We have known most of them since they were very small. We have hugged them when they cried and laughed ourselves silly watching them grow into little people we are so proud to know.
When the Covid-19 pandemic happened, our teachers did not have any more answers than anyone else. We were uncertain and frightened. Kids came to school asking why they couldn’t visit their families or why they had to wear masks. Even our younger students noticed the world was different, and felt the anxiety from their grown ups.
We didn’t pretend that everything was fine. We answered as honestly as we could and told them we were there for them. We kept their days structured and full of fun. In that way we honored their feelings and still offered the support they needed to feel safe.
Because when tragedy inevitably happens, they can’t be completely shielded from it. But they can be loved through it. They can depend on being cared for on all days, in any weather.
Kids deserve to know that all of their feelings matter. Teaching our children resilience, independence, and strength in the face of darkness requires an acknowledgement and honoring of their emotions. When we try to protect them from negative feelings and reactions, we make them feel as though they have to hide them, that they are somehow shameful. Kids are ALWAYS smarter than we give them credit for, they know when we feel anxious and upset, it’s our responsibility to own our feelings while supporting them. This does not mean relying on them for comfort (although everyone needs to know they have the power to make others feel better. Thanking them can go a long way.) This does not mean putting the responsibility of healing on a five year old’s shoulders or imposing frightening details on them. It’s simply saying that Truth is essential to teaching and adds a layer of trust and respect to the relationship.
We won’t let them wallow either! Positivity and encouragement, a promise that happy days will come, guidance toward healing, that’s all part of it. On days that are hard for you too? Know that your village is there so you can honor your feelings.
The end of that story is fantastic. Just when all hope seems lost, Super Heroes come to save the day! These children in the teacher’s care are their children, and it meant the world to these heroes that they could count on their babies to be safe and loved while they were out there saving the city. YOU ARE YOUR KIDS’ SUPER HEROES. You are their comfort and love, their guide through the world. We are honored that you entrust them to us on all days, good and bad.
From the bottom of our hearts, you are loved.
Your CG Family