Vine & Branches Child Development Center

Happy birthday, Ruby Bridges! (A day late 😬) As an American icon of strength, resilience, and courage in the face of adversity, Ruby Bridges is a living part of history—and her story is a gift to share with our kids. Bridges is making that easier with this week’s release of her new children’s book, “I Am Ruby Bridges: How one six-year-old girl’s march to school changed the world.” Even as some schools ban books by and about Bridges, she remains hopeful. “If we're going to get past our racial differences, I believe it's going to come from our kids,” she said in a Today Show interview Sept. 6.

If your daycare doesn’t have costumed read-alouds and “book club” with friends…well, come see how we make learning fun at V&B. Actually, come see us regardless! We’re holding an open house this Saturday, Aug. 6, so stop by to tour our vibrant space, meet some of our nurturing staff, and get acquainted with our top-notch (and super convenient) daycare and after-school facility.

In case you haven’t heard the news: Our Summer Festival is this Friday! It’s the first year of our festival fundraiser, and we’ll be offering food, games, and entertainment—plus some great vendors! Tickets are $20/child, with ticket sales supporting the Vine & Branches Child Development Center. The festival goes from 4pm-7pm, opening to the public at 5pm. Can’t wait to see you there! 🎈

Nothing better on these hot summer days than a visit from Kona Ice of South Riding! 🍧

We’re halfway through our Spirit Week of Teacher Appreciation! So far, in addition to dressing up as superheroes, superstars and super ‘80s babies, we’ve treated our wonderful teachers to smoothies, fan mail, breakfast, and yummy snacks. Don’t forget to get your wardrobe ready for tomorrow and Friday! PS—In case you missed it, our diaper drive was a huge success, with 830 diapers donated to the Northern Virginia Diaper Bank! ❤️🧷

We’ve been celebrating! From a lovely Easter, to welcoming spring, to showing our appreciation for the parents of Vine & Branches—there are plenty of reasons to smile this week. 😊🐰🌼🥐🍊

Did you wear your jammies today? Don’t forget your silly socks tomorrow! 🧦👒💙

HAPPY FEET - PSA ASHBURN SOCCER

Have you signed up yet for Happy Feet Soccer? The program here at V&B starts on April 7! Register by visiting the website below and selecting “Vine & Branches Registration.” ⚽️🥅

https://psaashburnsoccer.com/happyfeet/

HAPPY FEET - PSA ASHBURN SOCCER WELCOME TO HAPPY FEET PROGRAMS Click to Register Fultonham Circle Pod Open Arms School Vine & Branches Registration Bean Tree Registration Winwood

There’s a party this week, this party is every year
The festivities may vary but the theme’s always quite clear.
We’ve been exploring the Truffulas and had the occasional a-la-hoop while a-snooze
But really, oh really, this shouldn’t be news
It’s a party for everyone, from most fearsome to most meek
We’ve been busy, you see—IT’S DR. SEUSS WEEK!

How did YOU celebrate Twos-Day Tuesday yesterday, 2/22/22? Over here at Vine & Branches we had a little fun with some of our friends who, whether wearing their TUTUs or dressed in TWOs, were just…TWO CUTE! 😊

Hope everyone had Happy Valentines’ Days like we did! 🥰❤️

As parents, teachers, or other adults vested in raising smart, successful children, we all get reminders every day (for ourselves and our kids) of the importance of kindness and compassion. This article uses a familiar favorite to examine leadership, learning, and those life lessons in the Golden Rules.

"One reason why the friends from the 100 Acre Wood are a good team is because they all contribute something different," the piece notes. "Your school team may resemble the 100 Acre Wood with each character sharing their positive traits, as well as their character flaws. ... Chase every opportunity to lift them up and show them that their contribution is important."

https://www.teachbetter.com/blog/everyone-has-an-eeyore-leadership-lessons-from-the-100-acre-wood/

Raising a Thankful Child

Have you found yourself thinking about gratitude lately--especially, perhaps, how to best instill it in your children? You wouldn't be alone. With the holidays quickly approaching, cooler weather bringing kids indoors and maybe creating a little restlessness, and a widely shared weariness from ongoing pandemic effects...there's plenty on the minds of many of us. If some of those considerations include thankfulness, we found a great resource from The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) on teaching kids about these important life lessons.

Raising a Thankful Child Even young children can be taught to say please and thank you.

Don't Waste an Opportunity to Connect With Your Kids - Janet Lansbury

Don't Waste an Opportunity to Connect With Your Kids - Janet Lansbury I have a keen interest in every aspect of child care, but the advice I share is focused on one goal: Building healthy relationships with our kids. There’s a lot riding on this. The quality of our connection will dictate whether teaching our children appropriate behavior is simple and successful, o...

On this rainy Tuesday, we’re thinking back to our sunny and successful Fall Festival this past weekend. Please share your photos if you came by—it was a great time had by all! 🍂🍁

The Happiest Kids Don't Have To Smile - Janet Lansbury

Interesting piece!

The Happiest Kids Don't Have To Smile - Janet Lansbury Have you ever been stunned into silence discovering that a longtime acquaintance’s parenting beliefs were radically different than yours? That happened to me recently when a woman I’ve known for several years shared what she called the “unusual” way she and her husband had handled her toddle...

National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2021

Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 marks the celebration of ! If you’re looking for ways to participate, learn, share with your kids, or otherwise find out more, there’s a wealth of information—including family activities!—on the The Library of Congress’ HHM website. Check it out below for fun ideas, interesting facts, and more.

https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov

National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2021 Paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

How can it be the last day of summer camp?! This summer has flown by and our summer campers (and our staff) have had an absolute blast on all of our adventures. Thank you to everyone who helped make Summer Camp 2021 such a huge success, including all of our amazing families! Hope to see you back next summer! ❤️☀️

Check out our pop-up ART GALLERY! 🎨 Our enterprising young artists in the Poppies and Tulips classes created these masterpieces, which are available for the price of...book donations! 📚🥰 Interested in buying a one-of-a-kind piece? Please get in touch with Ms. Pala, Ms. Sharon, or Ms. Hillaria to help our Tulips and Poppies learn about the concepts of "transactions" while also filling their classrooms with new books.

Reading to Children: Why It’s So Important and How to Start

It's National Book Lovers' Day! Fostering a love of reading early on in your children's lives will help them thrive throughout their education, careers, and lives. What are your favorite books to read at home? Share your picks or let us know if you're looking for recommendations! ❤️📚

Reading to Children: Why It’s So Important and How to Start One of the most powerful things you can do for your child is to read with them. Learn more about the benefits, along with tips for reading to babies, toddlers, and beyond.

Take an illustrated look into Tuliamuk's journey to Tokyo

Marathon-running mom, Olympian, children’s book creator—is there anything Aliphine Tuliamuk can’t do? Oh, she’s made history as the first Black woman to win in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials and to represent the U.S. in the event, and she’s helped change the rules for moms competing in the Olympics. Did we mention she had a baby in January? Learn more in this sweet video from NBC Olympics—what an incredible role model. 😍

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Take an illustrated look into Tuliamuk's journey to Tokyo Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk creates an illustrated book to share her story with her young daughter, detailing life in her Kenyan village, getting American citizenship, and qualifying for the marathon race in Tokyo.

An amazing project with a wonderful message, both for and every day! ❤️

Another great day to live life in full color. We’re …we’re each!! Happy Friendship Day(s)!❤️-Bellen

*Pre-Covid

“International Friendship Day is celebrated annually on July 30. However, countries like India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and United States mark Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August every year.”

Janet Lansbury and I are finally meeting IN PERSON! We are joining together to create an experience that will inspire reflection, laughter and paradigm shifting perspective. If you want to enjoy yourself and learn the answers to all the questions you’ve been asking(and questions you didn’t know to ask), join us in New York. It will be a blast! 🌱🌎. The link is in my bio!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/janet-lansbury-and-mr-chazz-live-in-new-york-for-a-parenting-party-qa-tickets-164069286653

We already know getting outside is good for our kids (and for us!). But did you know the great outdoors offer tons of opportunities for learning and growth? Exploring the many textures and elements outside stimulates sensory, spatial, social, motor, and cognitive skills, among other benefits. Crawling through the grass, climbing rocks and tree stumps, and running against a breeze all engage the senses and build confidence, curiosity, and spatial awareness. Collecting and making up games using rocks and pine cones encourages creativity, texture exploration, and object grouping—and when done with a friend, boosts social skills! Ready to ? Let’s go!

Five Great Children's Books Celebrating Malala - Multicultural Kid Blogs

Oops! Looks like our post didn’t go up yesterday as planned, but we still want to commemorate . On the birthday of Malala Yousafzei, we celebrate an international day of supporting equal rights to education, including the rights for young girls to go to school, tell their stories, and be leaders. Today Malala does much of this work through the Malala Fund. Here’s a list of some great children’s books to learn more about this inspiring young woman!

Five Great Children's Books Celebrating Malala - Multicultural Kid Blogs Malala is one of the most accomplished Muslim women ever. Her story for girls' rights to education is portrayed in these 5 children's books.

Parents! Has this short week somehow managed to feel ridiculously long? Don’t be these guys pictured below—sign up for our Parents’ Night Out TOMORROW (Friday) night from 6pm-9pm.

21 Best Water Activities for Kids to Beat the Heat at Home

Whew—it’s HOT out there! 🥵 According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a heat index of temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit can pose health risks. Looking to beat the heat? Parents has you covered.

21 Best Water Activities for Kids to Beat the Heat at Home Feelin' hot, hot, hot? Get out the hose, fill some water balloons, or gather up a few crafty materials to set up these water activities and games to keep kids cool and entertained all summer.

Splashing into summer camp like…
💦☀️😎

WE ❤️ DADS at Vine & Branches! Our Donuts with Dad celebration was a success 😍
How did you celebrate Father’s Day? We hope it was wonderful!

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show off our Pre-K graduates (and their wonderful teachers) just one more time… 😍 🎓

The Wood Wide Web: How trees secretly talk to and share with each other | The Kid Should See This

An amazing view into this beautiful world we live in. 🌿

The Wood Wide Web: How trees secretly talk to and share with each other | The Kid Should See This Trees secretly talk to each other underground. They're passing information and resources to and from each other through a network of mycorrhizal

Today we're celebrating our Pre-K students as they prepare for their next big step: Kindergarten! Kindergarten readiness is a top priority at V&B, and we couldn't be prouder of these brilliant, curious, amazing kids who have consistently exceeded our highest expectations. Congratulations to our Pre-K grads and their families! (Parents, please feel free to share photos here! ❤️)

Do you follow Rachel Bailey? Not only is she local to our community, she’s a tremendous resource for parents. Her latest podcast episode, on teaching kids to think positively, is up today. Give her page a follow for a consistent stream of helpful tips and parenting tools!

Of course we want our kids to think more positively. Not only do we know the reasons that positive thinking is healthier, but let’s be honest, hearing constant negativity can be draining! Unfortunately, encouraging and reminding some kids to think more positively doesn’t seem to help. ⁣
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In this episode, you’ll learn why certain kids are more resistant to thinking more positively. You’ll also learn how to respond effectively to their negativity and how to foster more resilience so you don’t have to address their moods so often in the moment. ⁣
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Listen here: https://rachel-bailey.com/87/

We had such a great we didn’t have a chance to post until today! 😜

The children (and staff!) had a great time celebrating St. Nicholas Day last week. After putting their shoes in the hall before rest time, the kids awoke to footwear filled with treats. Lots more fun on tap as we celebrate the holidays over the next couple weeks! 🎄🎅🏼⛄️🍊

So much to be for – even amid the challenges of 2020! We feel very blessed to have our classrooms and halls full of smiling faces, these extra-colorful bulletin boards and some “hidden” turkeys as great reminders of the bountiful joys of this season. Happy Thanksgiving from Vine & Branches Child Development Center!

Happy Birthday Ray Schaible!!! We appreciate you and all that you do for the CDC 🎉😊🎂

Prayer Warrior in Training 🙏🙂

If you need full-time care for your 1st thru 4th grader, Vine & Branches can help!

Another special treat from one of our families 💗😊

A wonderful drama production by our summer camp program this morning! We have amazing school age teachers 💗💗💗

Dress like your favorite fictional / Disney character day 😊🤴🏻🦸‍♂️👸