October Overview

Hello Families, Partners, and LTI Community

Here is your October Blog. 

All Community News & Highlights:

·     ZUMBA!! Families and staff had a blast at our Zumba Party, led by Alejandra Picollo, sponsored by Lucile Packard Foundation.  All of the dancers said, “More please!” We hope to host more Zumba at Mercy Street, and stay tuned for more Zumba in Sunnyale. 

Leyla Excites the Crowd

Sharmila Dances with Grace

 ·  Volunteers make their fitness teaching debut! Congratulations to Leyla Jurado Romani and Sharmila Gopinathan who have been certified in Zumba (Leyla) and Bombay Jam (Sharmila). Each gave a demonstration of their style at our Zumba party and the class loved them both. Their enthusiasm is contagious and we can’t wait to put some classes on our schedule.(Stay tuned!) 

·    A Big Thank You to TaeKwon Kids! 10 LTI kids were awarded the opportunity to take a three class intro to TaeKwonDo. While they learned exercises, they also learned important lessons about following rules, taking turns, and above all, RESPECT!  We love TaeKwonKids and the wonderful benefit that comes from children building confidence in their growing bodies. Please go check them out! Taekwonkids.net 

·    Rancho San Antonio Hike Gets Families Outdoors –14 parents and 20 children packed strollers and lunches and headed out to Deer Hollow Farm for a morning walk in nature. 

·    Infant Massage Gives New Moms Tools for Relaxation – Thank you to Community Coordinator Hadas Keppel for her wonderful Infant Massage Series for pre-crawlers. 10 moms with their babies attended the class – please let us know if you practice the techniques at home, and how your baby responds!.

Did you know that newborns have limited capacity for self-soothing? They usually need help calming down from a trusted caregiver. Things like massage and your calm presence help babies calm down.

·    How Does Our Garden Grow? A combination of over 100 parents and children came to our Community Garden Fall Planting Party at New World CDC to find out! Kids planted seedlings, seeds and flowers.  They also decorated the new “pumpkin & scarecrow patch” and learned about how ladybugs help the garden. Come to our next Fall Planting event at Mercy Street on October 15 from 10-12 (during our Play and Learn time). No Registration required.

·    Another SEEDS Class Ends with Parents Ready to Teach their Kids- SEEDS in Sunnyvale ended and now a new group of parents is ready to take the lead in improving literacy and language development with their child. Parents are always looking to us for more learning opportunities for their children, but children learn so much from you! Please see our calendars for SEEDS, Triple P and other great classes coming soon.

·    SEEDS Pilot Program Helps Home Childcare Providers Create Literacy-Rich Environments – Speaking of SEEDS, our FIRST 5 LTI staff is working with licensed home childcare providers in Santa Clara County to train them in SEEDS techniques and coach them in helping to implement the skills with the children they care for. Providers are also receiving a stipend to help purchase materials needed to enrich their childcare environment. Some children spend a large majority of their time in daycare. We want to support making that time rich in learning opportunities.

·    The Culinary Dude Gets Kids in the Kitchen – Scott “The Culinary Dude” Davis came to a recent volunteer meeting and showed us how to 1. Get kids involved in cooking so that they might be more likely to try different foods (like veggies!) 2. Reduce food waste – using more of the fruit/vegetable 3. Make recipes your own. Kids got to cut fruits and veggies with a butter knife (a great way to keep them with you and busy so you can get your cooking done), and then we made fruit kabobs.

Next, Scott met with recipients of our J&P Organics Produce Box Program. Scott took the week’s worth of fruits and vegetables and showed families lots of unique ways to use everything in the box, while reducing waste.

If you want to see Scott in person, you can find him here: http://theculinarydude.com/

·         Halloween Costume Exchange Gets Kids Ready to Celebrate – Thanks to all those who participated in our Costume Exchange. Miraculously, everyone who came found a new costume for their child! We also still have costumes left for purchase at Mercy Street for $5. See you at the party on October 27^th!

Coming in October (and beyond)

·         New Book Study Group – Community Worker Yadira Rios is holding a monthly book group based on Gerald Newmark’s book, How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Kids. This group for Spanish speakers will happen on the first Monday of every month at Mercy. This is the book that comes in the Kit for New Parents. Want to host a group in English? Please contact us at 650-967-4813 or MercyStreetFRC@gmail.com

·         Mandarin Play and Learn Comes to Cupertino – Community Worker Julia Zhu is starting a 4-week Play and Learn in Cupertino for Mandarin Speakers. We are so excited to finally have a Mandarin language offering for our Cupertino community. Starts Thursday 10/18 from 10:00-12:00. See Cupertino page for details. No registration required, first 15 children get a spot.

·         3^rd Annual Halloween Party- The time has come again for kids to dress up and have some Halloween Fun at New World CDC in Sunnyvale. The party is Saturday October 27 from 3:00-5:00pm. We will again have our costume parade (starting at 3:30), photos of your child, and lots of fun arts & crafts. This is a candy-free event, so leave the trick or treat bags at home, and come join the fun. Please register. See city pages for details.

 ·         From our partners at the City of Sunnyvale: Baby Behaviors, Wednesday, November 14, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Columbia Neighborhood Center, 785 Morse Ave., Sunnyvale. Instructor: Rebecca Tam, Registered Dietician, Public Health Nutritionist/Breastfeeding Coordinator at the Santa Clara County Public Health Department

• Learn how to communicate with babies more effectively, recognize when the best time to interact with the baby is, and how to react to the signals that the baby is trying to tell you. Understand the various states babies go through and how to react to them (crying, alert, irritable, drowsy, etc)
• Recognize baby cues and signals (“I am hungry!”, “I need a break.”, “Play with me!”)
• Learn how to improve the quality of baby sleep time

·         More Play and Learn! You’ve asked and we have listened – and most importantly, new volunteers have heard the call and decided to offer more Play and Learn.

  -- *New -- Tuesday mornings at Mercy Street, with volunteers Tracy, Thao and Candice. 10-11:30am. Limited to the first 15 children/30 people, families are limited to ONE play and learn class per week at ANY of our centers.
 --*Returning – Mondays at Escuela are BACK at a new time - 4:00-5:30. Join volunteers Woomi and Einat. Limited to 13 children/26 people. English.

 -- Returning -- Sunnyvale Play and Learn starts October 16 (Tuesdays) from 10-11:30am, no registration required, limited to the first 8 children. Week-to-week format allows for more people to participate.

·         Intro to Bombay Jam – for adults 12 and over. This will be at the Mercy Street FRC main classroom on Wednesday, November 14 at 7-8 pm.  No childcare provided, but if your child can play quietly with you supervising, they may stay in the room. Registration is required and space is limited to the first 6 people. This is an experiment to see how a fitness class works in this space without childcare. If it works, we will have classes in the new year for $5 each.