Prairie Lily Early Learning Centre
78 Dempsey Ave S4T 7M1 Regina, SK, Canada

Happy Thursday everyone! We hope that you are enjoying your week so far, and looking forward to (hopefully) some rest and relaxation this weekend! We are working on a fun auction in early 2021. This will be a little fundraiser, but is NOT a mandatory one! This year has been full of many ups and downs, and we hope to try somethingvirtually that we can all enjoy together as we bid on a few items this January! If anyone would like to donate an item to our online auction, please get in touch with either location! If you have a business you'd like to share or promote, we would love to get connected with you. We have gathered some really neat items so far, will be happy to add a few more, and hope that participating in this will give you something to enjoy or something to look forward to in 2021. Enjoy the rest of your week!

As many of you noticed, there were some changes to our Saskatchewan mask policy this week. All Staff for Prairie Lily will be wearing masks full time as of Friday, November 27, but we are just waiting for some confirmation from the Ministry of Education regarding children's masks before sending out further communication to all families, as we hope that way there will be more answers, less confusion, and less emails! Win, win, win! If you have any questions in the meanfime, please do not hesitate to reach out to our offices. Thanks so much for your continued patience and understanding!

We are looking for a donated phone for our Sacred Heart Preschool Room! Why do we ask for phone donations? Having a donated phone allows us to have all Educator phones put away during the day. We use the donated phone to take photos, do documentations, send Reminds, and do Hi Mama, free from the disctractions of having personal phones being used. Keeping all of our photos on a Centre phone also keeps pictures of your child private as they are not stored on the personal phone...s of our Educators. As technology is constantly changing, we are working to keep up so that we can provide the best services that we possibly can. If anyone has an iPhone 6 or newer, we would love to take it off of your hands. Please send us a message if you can help out! Thanks so much!

FUNDRAISER DELIVERY DATES: Hello Everyone! I have confirmed with both In Good Taste and Mom's Pantry for delivery dates! In Good Taste will be delivered on TUESDAY, November 24th and will be ready for pick up by 4 pm. Any Sacred Heart orders will be brought to Sacred Heart for pick up.... Mom's Pantry will be delivered on FRIDAY, November 27th, and will be ready for pick up by 3 pm. ALL MOM'S ORDERS will need to be picked up from 78 Dempsey Avenue location as there was an overwhelming amount of orders and we do not have vehicle room or space to store them at Sacred Heart where they will remain cold/frozen. Please let any of us know if you have questions about your order or pick ups! Happy Monday!

We have been busy completing projects over the past six months! One that we are SO VERY EXCITED to show you is our brand new website. Please check it out, and share away! We are super excited that you can find many resources including our Parent Handbooks on this site, and new families can contact us, book a tour, and even add themselves to our waitlist. Keep an eye out for a last few things to be added, including our menus and staff photos. A huge thank you to Matty O'Conn...ell with Makewell Creative Co., we could not have done this without your beautiful website design and patience while we asked a million questions! We are so lucky to get to work with so many great people through our Centre, and Matty is definitely one of them. Enjoy the new site, everyone! www.prairielilyelc.com

Hello Everyone! We wanted to share with you today the results from our Covid and Staffing Survey that was sent out a few weeks ago. First of all, a huge thanks to everyone who shared their ideas and insights, this was one of the largest responses we have ever gotten and it means a lot to know that we are all working together through this time, We have provided a link below to the information collected so that everyone can view it. If you were a parent that commented that yo...u would be able to be flexible in working from home (and keeping your child with you if necessary), could you please reach out to [email protected] as this survey was done anonymously. We would love to create a document of who to contact in case of being very short staffed due to Covid-19. Thank you in advance. https://www.surveymonkey.ca/results/SM-CZXVSPMP7/ As always, we are happy to chat if anyone has any questions or concerns about this issue. Have a great week!

It's no secret that going through Covid-19 has been hard on so many people. The uncertainty, the worry about work, finances, or personal health has taken a toll on many of us. We have learned over the past 6 months that Covid and dealing with all the different facets of it, have been very difficult for Child Care Centres, Licensed homes, and Early Childhood Educators accross the province. A case study was done this summer through the Muttart Foundation and the Canadian Child... Care Federation , and we are pleased to be able to share the report with you. What really hits us hard is reading the comments at the end of the report. Many ECE's feel hopeless that real change will ever come to our sector, and that the very thing we are so passionate about for so many important reasons, is slowly breaking us down. When we advocate for our work, we want to see an accessible system, where there is a focus on high quality work, retaining high quality educators, and making it affordable for all families to take part in. Child Care is not a "one size fits all" approach, and there needs to be a variety of options available to Saskatchewan families. We hope that if you have a few minutes, you can take a peek at this report! https://www.muttart.org//Early-Learning-and-Care-in-Saskat

We are often asked "what can we bring to the Centre for our child"? We would love to tell you! Please bring: 1. Indoor Shoes (especially when it is wet/muddy/cold outside). This keeps the centre clean and little feet safe in case of an emergency. 2. Extra clothing in case we get a little bit messy during play or have an accident. ... 3. A water bottle or sippy cup for your child to access throughout the day, and for our infants or toddlers, a bottle or sippy cup to keep at the centre for milk/formula. It would be extremely helpful for our staff and for your family if you would PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING. Often the stuff you bring is so cute that someone else brings it too! This way we can make sure the right things are going home with each family. Please also let us know if you are going to be away for the day, or if you are coming in late. This way we are prepared for you and your child for meals and crafts, or if we are going on a walk we will wait or arrange a meeting spot. We prefer NO DROP OFFS in between 12:00-2:00 pm. It is very difficult for your child and for all the children trying to get to sleep as well. If you have any other questions, please check with any of our Educators, or check our Parent Handbook, which can be found on our website at www.prairielilyelc.com. Thanks for your cooperation!

Hello Everyone! Please "save the date" for our Mom's Pantry order this fall! We will be opening our campaign on October 19 and closing on November 6. This will allow items to come way before Christmas this year and for it to not feel so rushed! We will be sending out further details and order forms as soon as we can. Please let us know if you have any questions!

We sent out a survey to our Parents this afternoon regarding Covid, staffing and ratios, and how we can work together to get through this cold and flu season! If you did not receive the link, please let me know and we can resend it to you. For eveyone that has filled it out so far, thank you so much! We are working hard to be understanding for our families in this season, but to also follow the recommendations from Public Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. If you feel that you would like to talk with someone about any of our policies, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact either of our offices!

Hi Everyone! This is a "help" post! We had a miscommunication with the usual plumbing company that we use, and I need someone to come hook up a sink for us ASAP! Does anyone have a recommendation for a plumber that could come and help us as soon as possible? Thank you so much in advance! Cara

Hello Everyone! I am hoping that you are all enjoying your summer so far. I noticed this week that there is a running group here collecting shoes for children in Regina that will need them for this upcoming year. All donations will be distributed through a Dream Broker for one of the schools here and will get to where they need to be. I am working to collect as many pairs of athletic shoes as possible, in all sizes for chidlren and teens. If you are getting some new shoes for your chlid for the school year, please consider donating any shoes that they may have grown out of that might still have some life left. I would accept them at either office location, or you can send me a message at [email protected]. Thanks everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

I know that many of us get a little teary when we read this book to the kids. It’s so amazing to hear the reason for this song/book right from Robert Munsch.

We have been so busy in the Centre lately, but it is fun to stop and connect with our families and Educators, who we are missing so much! One of our preschool staff at the Sacred Heart location has been busy these past few months welcoming 5 sweet kittens into the world! Thankfully she let us share these photos, I hope that your children love seeing these little babies, they will have to ask Alayna about them when we all get back to work! Feel free to post any pictures of the fun things you have been doing over the past two months as well! Hoping that we all continue to stay safe so that we can hear all of the fun stories in person soon too.

It means so much to see Premier Moe, Minister Wyant, and other goverment officials recognize Early Childhood Educator day. We feel so blessed by our families and each other today, but to see this and receive this affirmation means a lot fo many ECE's in our Centre and accross our province. We hope to continue to work with our Saskatchewan government during this pandemic, and going forward to create a strong sector! Early Childhood Education not only supports women by having o...ver 90% of our workforce made up of women, but we also allow other women in all sectors and fields to go to work with a peace of mind that their children are being cared for. Early Childhood Education supports the equality of women, the employment of women, the economy as a whole, and the education of young children, to name only a few areas. When Early Childhood services are availble, Essential workers accross SK and Canada are able to keep our province and country functioning. The contribuitions that we as Educators make into children last for years and help to shape our societies for generations. Thank you, Minister Wyant, for your kind and supportive words. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with all Ministries in the future.

I had to stay up late to post this so our ECE’s will wake up to it in the morning... It’s hard to surprise people who all start work before I do! Prairie Lily is so lucky to have some of the best ECE’s that we have ever had right now, and when we look back, we are also so lucky to have worked with some other amazing ECE’s that have moved on to new centres or careers. Each and every one of you who have come into our centres have helped to shape our centre and the lives of cou...ntless children. We would not be Prairie Lily without you all. Each year that we are together has good times and tough times, but through it all we choose to come together, support each other, and be a family. We can be who we are, wear all the make up or none of the make up, have pink hair or no hair, or tattoos and funky style. We know that we can be ourselves because when we are together, we are where we are meant to be. Our families are important too, but May 13th is for the Early Childhood Educators. Your work is invaluable, and we are so thankful for all of you. Thank you for the love and effort you put into this job every day. I can’t wait to be back together again. Happy Early Childhood Educator Day! Love, Cara... on behalf of myself, our Parent Board and all of our Families!

DON'T FORGET... that this Wednesday, May 13th, is Early Childhood Educator day! This pandemic has really shown us how important our ECE's are, and how deserving they are of not only our appreciation, but the appreciation of our general public elected governments as well. Please remember to thank our Early Childhood Educators on Wednesday and let them know you are thinking of them! They are the reason Prairie Lily is able to do what we do!

It's easy during a time like this to feel pressure that things need to be perfect, but they don't. School work doesn't need to be perfectly done, nor does your playdough need to be made a certain way. Often, after a holiday like Christmas or Easter, we will ask the children what they did. They rarely mention what they got, but they remember the movies they watched, the games the played, the things they did outside, and how they helped with the big meals. They remember treasure hunts, and sleepovers, and wearing their pajamas all day. Memories are some of the most important gifts that we can give to children. I hope that right now you are able to just let yourselves be at ease together and enjoy each other's company.

A huge thank you to Play & Discover Early Learning Centre for your care package today. It was so thoughtful, and so appreciated. The silver lining in this cloud is seeing Early Childhood Educators come together in our cities and province. We need to be here for each other more than ever before as we continue to do this important work. PS: Queen City Cakes, the cupcakes are delicious. Thanks for adding these beautiful treats in for our Educators to enjoy!

Friday Fun Activity Alert! Many of the children in the Centres love to help us with baking, mixing dough, and creating in the kitchen when they can. One of our Educators, Chantara Paxman, found this cute little creation to pass on to everyone! It can be made with storebought or homemade dough, but I bet that no matter what kind of dough you use, this treat will be eaten faster than you can make it!... If you attempt this activity... please post your photos below. We have all been baking up a storm and sending picutres to each other of our creations, so you can bet we'd love to see yours too!

Hi everyone, it's Cara here.... One thing that I loved to do when I was younger was to create radio shows and interviews with my siblings and cousins. Thankfully, there is only one exisiting tape of these shows and no one uses cassette players anymore... haha! We spent hours making shows, plays, advertisements, and listened to them over and over. There were always many laughs involved in our creations, and we still talk about them as adults. When I saw the post for CJTR Band...camp, it reminded me of how fun that time was. There are quite a few shows that you can stream online that are "for Kids only" and they might be really fun for your chlidren to listen to. Imaginations are a truly wonderful thing, and recording ideas or stories can be really fun for kids. Maybe they will be inspired to use a phone or computer to make their own recordings! This would probably be an activity that our School Age kids would really enjoy, but preschool and Kindergarten age kiddos might surprise you too! Whatever creative things you are doing at home together right now, I hope that they are filled with as much joy and fun as my early "radio show" days were. https://cjtr.bandcamp.com/

Good morning, and happy Monday! While our weeks certainly feel different than "normal" (whatever that means these days... haha), we hope that everyone is doing well and has settled into new routines. If feels so strange that we haven't seen our families in one whole month... please know that we miss everyone so much! We have continued to be looking for some ideas of things that you can do at home, if you find that you have time for it, and one of the places we stumbled upon w...as the Cincinnati Zoo! We are sure many of you have been enjoying their videos already, but wanted to pass it along just in case! Each day at 1:00 pm Saskatchewan time, they are doing doing a Facebook live where you can learn about the different plant and animal life that they have in their Zoo and Botanical Garden. If you miss the live, you can check it out on their website or Youtube later in the day. The website also has links to acitivies or crafts that you can do if you are looking for a few extra things to keep busy! Hopefully you can enjoy some videos... animals always seem to be able to lift our spirits and bring a smile to everyone's faces. Have a great week! http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/

For any of our families who may be struggling during this time, please check out the photo below. There are many great organizations that are helping right now, such as Carmichael Outreach Inc. and I Am Her (partnering with the Lobby Kitchen), just to name a few. If you need help accessing any programs or need food and are struggling, please message us here on Facebook, or you can always reach out to [email protected].

Good Morning! One of the things that we have loved over the past few months is having someone come into our Centre to do music groups with our children. It is not "music therapy" as it is a different setting with different goals, but we do believe that the children can learn so many things through music! Music is captivating, and we learn turn taking, listening, language and literacy skills, and so many other things too. Music is something that brings us all together, and le...aves us feeling like we shared a neat experience together. It bonds us! While you are enjoying time at home, please check out Tyne Heenan Regina Music Therapy! She is doing music groups online and there is one scheduled for today, Wednesday April 8, at 11:00 am. If you can't make it work today, check her posts to see her schedule! When we have music groups at the house, the children are really into it and so happy to sing and dance, and I think they would love to experience it with you too! We also love to work with Amara at Bloomful Music Therapy, so please check out her page too. We hope that adding some music to your time together adds something special to your daily routine!

I'd like to start off today's post with the disclaimer that it is coming from Cara's personal viewpoint only. I know that the discussions around screentime for children can be divisive and often controversial, so please know that I am not here to stir anything up or ruffle any feathers! When it comes to the time that children are spending at Prairie Lily, I feel pretty firm about our "no technology" rule. I remember a conversation I had with a School Age child a few years ag...o... They asked me if I was "mad at them" because they weren't allowed to use their iPod in the afternooon! Our technology free Centre is not because we are wanting to be mean or hard on the children in any way at all. We do use our classroom or office computers for looking up knowledge that the Children may be interested in, but we do not have tablets, iPads,iPods, or phones for the children to use. I feel that screen time is better used outside of Centre hours. We have such a neat opportunity to teach the children communication skills, problem soving skills, interpersonal skills and hands on learning when they are with us. It is my hope that children leave our program with the ability to speak face to face with their friends, know what is and is not appropriate to say, and can ask for what they need without needing to use technology to chat or send messages. However, at this time, technology is what is keeping us all together! Zoom, Face Time, apps for learning, and even some fun games are helping us stay connected and get through the day. So if any of you are using tech with your kids right now, I hope that you feel ZERO guilt about this and are finding the ways to navigate this new normal in the ways that work best for you and your family. If you ARE like me and are maybe looking for some new ideas that do not require a computer or an iPad, or you are wanting to take a bit of a screen break, I hope that you are inspired to try a few of these ideas from Teach Me Style. Holly Horvath is a teacher and blogger from here in Regina, and usually I love her site for her fashion posts, but this post with some non technology ideas is really fun! Happy learning and happy playing! https://teachmestyle.com//educational-activities-that-don/

We posted earlier this week about things that can be engaging for chidren to use when they are at the Centre! One of our FAVORITE things to do is use playdough! The children love measuring, mixing, and creating all kinds of playdough recipes, and you can add to your playdough adventures by putting popsicle sticks, rocks, twigs, googly eyes, sparkles (because who DOESN'T love sparkle), and whatever else you might be creative enough to add to your play! Playdough is enhanced b...y adding food coloring or essential oils for a nice scent, but when we make playdough, no one is picky! If you have plain colored playdough, you can also sculpt with it, let it dry, and paint it afterwards. The options are endless! We are linking an easy recipe that hopefully you can make with ingredients that you might have on hand, just in case you aren't leaving the house right now. It does require a bit of coooking, so it's not as "easy peasy lemon squeezy" as some of our recipes, but hope that it is simple enough that you can make it with your kiddos. Enjoy creating! We would love to see your pictures, please tag us or post in the comments if you would like to share! https://funlearningforkids.com/easy-play-dough-recipe-with/

Zoom Zoom.... it's time for a virtual playdate! We have had so many messages about how your children keep asking about their friends and when they get to come back to the Centre! This warms our hearts so even though we can't get together in person, we would love to meet with you on Zoom! On Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 10:30 am, we would like to host an online play date. We will start with just one to work the kinks out, so if you have a toddler or preschooler at our Sacred Hea...rt centre, please send me a DM here or a message through [email protected] so I can send you the details. One of our superhero Parent Board moms will be hosting, and we can't wait to see everyone's faces! If you haven't downloaded Zoom yet, you can go here to get ready: https://zoom.us/signup We will work on getting our other groups up and running in the next few weeks, so even if you are not a Sacred Heart family, please send me a message if you are interested. See you Tuesday!

If you are feeling bored at home... One thing that we like to do at Prairie Lily is help the children feel that they have a purpose in their play and in their learning. We find that if we do not have an adequate number of activities available, or if the children are not engaged in what they are doing, that is when we have issues with behaviors in the classrooms! Boredom sometimes equals being a bit too silly! If you are feeling like this is happening at home too, we would e...ncouage you to get your child involved in activities that engage both the mind and the body. This way they will be too busy to do anything else! Some of the things that we love to do (and the children do too!) are: 1. Give them a cloth and get them to help you while you clean! Sometimes little brooms or dustpans from the dollar store are perfect for allowing your child to help around the house or clean up after play or meals. They love feeling like they are helping us clean the windows, tables, or floors. It might not be perfect, but they are learning some valuable life skills as they work with you! 2. Have them do "heavy work" with you inside or outside. Sometimes our little guys have more energy than they know what to do with, but carrying heavy pails or buckets, finding "cool rocks", moving large things from one place to another, helping us carry the milk jugs in when we get groceries, or even pushing furniture into new spaces can help them burn off enough energy to sit down and play for a little bit! 3. Allow them to try new challenges! Using things like zippers, shoes and laces, strings, or locks and keys can challenge their minds and help develop things like fine motor skills or hand eye co-ordination. These things can also allow them to feel so accomplished and be able to take on new challenges, as they have just developed some great problem solving skills too! 4. Allow them to build forts, draw pictures for grandma to send in the mail, or color the sidewalk with chalk (bonus points for taping off different shapes or designs that they can color in!), and just have fun. This time is so strange for all of us, and so helping your child feel important and loved at this time will be the best gift of all! We can't wait to hear about all of your adventures when we are back together, or feel free to post your own ideas and pictures of what you are up to in the comments!

Hello families! I have a staff member who would be looking to help you with some in home Child Care at this time. They would NOT be doing this on behalf of Prairie Lily, but on behalf of themselves. Please send me a DM if you are interested in being in contact with them! Thank you!