I hope everyone is enjoying the Summer heat!

We have a few new additions to our Hopper team that we would like to introduce to you,

Henan is our Co-Op student, she will be working in the center with us from the 9th of July until the 25th. Henan is very excited for her Hoppers experience as she will be attending Algonquin College in the fall for the Early Childhood Educator program. Henan will be doing activities with the children, helping the staff and learning what working in a day care center is all about. 

We would also like to introduce you to Mr. Joel. Mr. Joel comes to us from South Africa where he has experience working in the OT Orphanage of Soweto. Mr. Joel volunteered his time for over 2 years caring for orphan children as well as to families that were poverty stricken. Since his return to Canada he has obtained a diploma in media and communications, however he feels that his heart belongs with children. He will be working full time in our preschool program. 

Another addition to our Hoppers team is Miss. Margherita! Miss. Margherita is one of our new birthday hosts, but will also be helping out with summer camp and other staff vacations during the summer. Miss. Margherita is currently attending Carlton University for Psychology and hopes to one day be either a child psychologist or a speech therapist. 

We are sad to announce that Miss. Sylvie has had to suddenly leave our Hoppers team due to her pregnancy. Miss. Sophie has moved over to the toddler room early to replace her and we will be hiring a new toddler teacher for August when Miss. Jennifer leaves us. 

I hope that everyone is having a great day! If you have any questions about the staff or changes going on in our center feel free to email or call at any time. 

Gearing up for Summer at Tiny Hoppers FC

We have a lot going on as we head into July.  There are several changes going on within the centre which we would like to bring you up-to-date on.  Before doing so, we would like to address some issues relating to summer attire, play time, etc.

As we head into summer mode, please be reminded that your child should have a sun hat, proper outdoor attire based on daily forecast and,  sunscreen (please provide a sunscreen that the teachers can apply by hand - NOT the SPRAY kind).  The spray sunscreen is very difficult to remove from our floors and we must use harsh cleaners which strips the wax from our flooring.  Proper outdoor shoes are a must.   We ask that you provide a pair of outdoor shoes that can be used only for outdoor use at daycare. Please do not send your child to the daycare with their best outdoor shoes.  We have had some parent concerns about worn shoes due to the use of our Plasma cars, however, we in conjuction with the Ministry, believe that these outdoor ride ons provide a fun source of exercise and development of gross motor skills.  Therefore, we will be returning these cars back into our front play yard for the Pre-Schoolers to enjoy.

The children have been thoroughly enjoying their new sandboxes.  These are the highlight of outdoor playtime for our little Hoppers.  The children do their best to "shake and wiggle" the sand out of  their clothing however, some sand always manages to find the perfect hiding place and therefore, may make it's way out at bathtime. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We would like to begin by warmly welcoming our new Facility Director, Amanda Dutka (Miss Amanda).  Amanda brings, to our Team, five (5) years of Early Childhood Educator experience, most recently as the Toddler Room Head Teacher from our Kanata North location.  Amanda's credentials don't stop there as she also has a BA in Child Psychology and qualifications in both Behavioural Management and Special Education.  Amanda's duties will be mainly Office Administration however, please note that this includes receiving parent concerns, arranging meetings to discuss your child/program and/or any other items that may need to be addressed.  We are extremely pleased to have Amanda on board with us!

Our next announcement is presented with mixed emotions.  We are happy to announce that Miss Sarah, our Supervisor and Toddler Room Head Teacher is expecting her second child in November.  Congratulations Sarah!  As pleased as we are about her wonderful news, we are sad to advise that Sarah will be leaving her position with Tiny Hoppers to temporarily return to Alberta over the summer, to be with her husband, where he is currently working.  You  may see Sarah here in the fall to supply on occasion.  Miss Sarah's last day will be Friday, June 29th.   We would like to extend our well wishes and send her off with many thanks for her fantastic role as Head Teacher/Supervisor.  Our Toddlers will, without a doubt be missing their Miss Sarah as she has a very loving and soft spoken teaching style.  Sarah has won over the hearts of our Parents and most definitely of our Toddlers.  We will truly miss her!

We are thrilled to announce that Miss Sylvie is also expecting her second child, in late October.  We are very happy for her and excited that she will be here as close to "D Day" as possible.  Congratulations Sylvie!!  We look forward to watching you "grow". 

Our final announcement comes on a lower note.  Miss Jennifer has advised that she will be leaving the Early Childhood profession to pursue other opportunities.  Her last day will be Friday, July 27th.  Please join us in thanking Jennifer for her caring and compassionate teaching style.  The Toddlers are very attached to Jennifer and they will surely miss her presence in the classroom.

We have had a very exciting first 6 months and we look forward to many years of watching your children learn and grow.  We've truly enjoyed spoiling our Parents through such events as our Grand Opening Party, Mother's Day, Father's Day Campout (and Barber Shoppe shaving event, LOL!). 

We would like to CONGRATULATE all of our Tiny Hoppers Nursery School students as they celebrate their year of success this coming Wednesday, June 27 at 9:45 am during their special Graduation Ceremony.  I'm sure there will not be a dry eye in the room as our Tiny Hoppers receive their diplomas.  These children have made leaps and bounds since day 1 of Nursery School.  Many children in this program had never been away from parents, nannies, or family members and transition was challenging at the start, however, they quickly fell into a routine and within a couple of weeks, could not wait for Nursery day to arrive.  We are so very proud of you all!

We still have Summer Camp spaces available for ages 4-10.  Please contact us at 613-822-2900 or by email if you would like to enroll your child in any of our  camps.  Camps are $179.00/week with a weekly field trip, outside of the centre.  We have another year of fantastic camps themes ahead of us.  We welcome parent volunteers (only a couple parents/trip will be selected).

On a final note, we are very happy to announce that all meals are now cooked onsite.  Meals are made with fresh ingredients daily and this allows us to add a variety of flavours and foods that surpasses what we were receiving with the previous caterer.  Lori and Dawn have received their City of Ottawa Food Handlers Certificates and are now your official cooks.

As Owners of the Findlay Creek location, Lori and Dawn are responsible for overseeing the general operations of the facility.  We ask that you direct any comments, concerns to our Director, Amanda.

We are going through a lot of changes over the next month and hope that you will join us in welcoming any new staff that join our Team.

Team Hoppers Findlay Creek

A Whole Lot of Special Going On!

Our little Hoppers have a fun few weeks ahead.  We are shifting into Summer mode and saying goodbye to another school year which means Father's Day, Nursery School Graduation and Summer Camp programs. 

Our Nursery School children will be celebrating a very successful year.  Many of our Nursery children had never been away from a parent or family caregiver prior to attending Nursery School.  Overcoming the hurdles of entering a daycare setting for the first time can be a challenge but these little troopers made it look easy and transitioned in no time at all.  We are very proud of each and every one of our Nursery Hoppers and look forward to celebrating their successes along with their families on Wednesday, June 27th at 9:45am.

We will have our sandboxes complete this week and will have sun shelter as well. 

We are looking forward to spoiling the Fathers this coming Friday.  Please check your invitations as a reminder or you may check in with your child's teacher should you have any questions.  We have all sorts of fun surprises planned and the children are excited to put on a little show for their dads (Grandpas, Uncles, Brothers).

We hope you are all enjoying the nice warm, sunny weather! 

Team Hoppers Findlay Creek

Welcome June! 

As we head into the warmer months, and the sun is beaming it's rays upon us, we ask that parents take extra measures to protect your little one from the harmful UV rays.  Please send in sunscreen for us to apply before outdoor time.  Please also provide a brimmed hat.  All items should be clearly labelled.  A good time to remind everyone that you can purchase Mabels Labels customized labels through our centre.  Please visit www.tinyhoppers.mabelslabels.com to order yours.

Just after the Victoria Day weekend, we began our Fun with Frogs theme.  The children were very excited to meet their new class pets (and Science project).  Each day, the children eagerly feed their tadpoles and use the maginfying glasses to see if there have been any changes.  We now are seeing the back feet developing and the tadpoles are even using their little feet now. The teachers have been discussing the development stages of the Frog.    It's very exciting! 

All Father's should have received their special Invitation for our Father's Day Campout Party last week.  Our party will be held on Friday, June 15th.  The children have a special hour of surprises for their Daddies, ( Grandpas, Brothers, Uncles are a perfect substitute should Dad's not be available).

We have extended our renewal period however, we now need to know if your JK child will be returning in the fall.  We have handed out our notice along with camp registration forms.  Please complete and hand in to the Office by Friday, June 1st in order to reserve your spot.  Also, we would like to know when/if your child will not be attending their program due to vacation as we need to ensure we have  the appropriate staffing throughout the summer.  Please let your child's teacher know on or before June 15th. 

There will be a Nursery School Graduation Ceremony and party.  Children can wear their "party" clothes.  We have a few girls that will take full advantage of this time to wear their favourite fancy party dress.  This is a definite must attend event as it is simply adorable!  Invitations will be going out next week. 

We would like to encourage ALL parents to send us an email letting us know if one of our teachers have "Made your Day".  We invite you to do this as Tiny Hoppers Corp. holds an annual meeting where one teacher is selected to win Teacher of the Year Award.  Selection is based on the most "Made your Day" feedback along with Franchise Owner feedback.  So, if one of our teachers have "Made your Day", send us a note at tinyhoppers.fc@gmail.com.  We would love to hear from  you!

Our sandboxes should be delivered any day now.  We have had a few very generous offers from Fathers, to come in with their toolboxes.  The more hands, the merrier and we appreciate the time that families are willing to donate to help build better play yards for the children.  Please note, we are limited by the Landlord as to what we can put in our front play yard.  We must comply with our Lease and the Landlords request to maintain a "clean" look for their mall.  We use this yard for games, parachute play and ball play.  Therefore, our rear play yard will be shared on a rotation basis between both Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers.  The idea that our Franchise as a whole would like to present is a "Back to Nature" look.  This means using our natural resources to create fun and interesting fine and gross motor areas.  ( varying heights of tree stumps to step on, sit on, wooden gazebos, crossing bridge, wooden wishing well, pathways, plants and garden life, etc.).  Lots of natural wood, rocks, sand, etc will be implemented.  It will be a challenge as we are currently on an asphalt surface. We been on the lookout for people cutting trees down to obtain the wood stumps we need for our plan.  If you or someone you know is cutting down and old tree, please let us know.  We would be more than happy to help take some away. This is a very large plan that will take time to complete.  We will begin with our sandboxes. 

Please note that all suggestions, areas of concern, feedback should be directly addressed through either Dawn or Lori, Owners of Findlay Creek location.  We strive to ensure all comments/feedback are addressed immediately. 

Stay tuned for our updated list of Events.

Team Hoppers Findlay Creek

Fun with Frogs!!

Wow!  What an incredible Victoria Day weekend we had.  There was no shortage of sun and definitely no shortage of happy faces out and about the city.  People bustling about choosing their colorful flower selections for gardens and planters, children riding their bikes and new moms and dads out pushing their babies in strollers.  A definite 10 where perfect weekend weather is concerned. 

With this gorgeous spring weather comes our new theme, Fun with Frogs.  The arts, crafts, learning centres and songs related to this theme are absolutely adorable.  The children are going to have so much fun with this theme that they won't have any idea they are learning in the process. 

This is a very science based theme as each classroom will be learning about the development and life cycle of frogs.  They will have "eyes" and "hands" on experience as they get to care for and watch their very own classroom tadpoles grow into adorable little water frogs.  Parents, please feel free to ask your child what they have learned each day about frogs and, if their class tadpoles have changed from day to day.   We have magnifying glasses set up at our science areas for the children to get a closer look at how the tadpoles develop rear legs and lose their tails. 

Miss Dawn snuck into the centre on Victoria Day to place a tadpole tank in each classroom.  We can't wait to see the children's reactions on Tuesday morning as they arrive.

We hope you enjoy this theme as much as we know the children will. 

Team Hoppers Findlay Creek

Fashion Fun at Tiny Hoppers

What a wonderful "pink" morning we had at Tiny Hoppers today! 

Today, in celebration of their wonderful Mommies, the children hosted a class fashion show and tea party.  Children displayed their favourite outfits for all the visiting Mothers and Grandmothers  (and Fathers)as they walked down the catwalk.   Proud Mommies and Grandmas smiled and snapped endless photos of their little sweethearts.  There was a wide variety of well chosen outfits and no shortage of CUTENESS!!

Following the fashion show, Moms and Grandmas were treated to our special pink "tea" (pink lemonade), decadent chocolate dipped strawberries, pink iced cupcakes and delicious orange date muffins.  Some moms enjoyed having their nails painted and ALL moms enjoyed receiving their special Mother's Day gifts that the children have been working so hard on.  It was evident that a lot of love went into the making of their gifts.  The Toddlers presented their Moms with an adorable paper vase and flowers as well as their pink handprinted canvases with special Mother's Day verse.  The Pre-Schoolers, Nursery Schoolers and JK/SK students presented their Mothers with a handpainted and bedazzled memory box with a verse on the glass window.  Tucked inside was the real gift, a beautiful photo of their little sweetheart.  Thank you to Tiana for snapping photos of all of our little Hoppers!  Thank you to all the staff who made our Mother's Day event a success.


To all the Mother's from all of us at Team Hoppers Findlay Creek,

Happy Mother's Day!

Leaping into Spring

After a long, icy winter, we are happy to say hello to Spring! 

With Spring comes unpredictable temperatures and weather conditions.  As we love our outdoor playtime, we ask that you bring your little Hoppers each day with appropriate outerwear.  The conditions seem to be all over the map thus making it a daily decision.  In the past weeks we've had weather that warrants winter wear to just t-shirts so please check the forecast and keep in mind, your little one should be comfortable no matter the weather.  Also, please feel free to send in Sunscreen.  This should be clearly labeled with your child's name and placed in the basket in his/her cubby.  We are currently making our summer play yard plans and, you will soon see a play yard makeover of sorts.  We are hoping to install some planters and get the children actively involved in planting and tending to the gardens.  Afterall, it's never to early to develop a green thumb.  We will also be installing some gross motor centres and, every child's favourite, a sandbox. 

In late March, we hosted our first Parent's Night Out for Members.  It was a success and the children had a fantastic time.  We are hoping you all enjoyed your time off.  With that said, this is a reminder of our next Parent's Night Out which is to be held on Saturday, April 28th from 5-9pm.  Please sign up with your child's teacher on or before Wednesday, April 25th. 

We would like to announce that Mom&Me Playclasses have officially begun at our location!  Our Playclasses seem to be very popular and there is quite a demand in the neighbourhood.  We have a just a few spaces left in both our Toddler and Baby Classes.  If you personally, or you know of someone who might be interested in attending playclasses with their child or a child that they care for, please pass along our email address (tinyhoppers.fc@gmail.com) or our telephone number (613)822-2900 as we would be happy to provide them with more information.  Our Playclass instructors, Miss Jennifer and Miss Sarah have been doing a wonderful job of leading the Playclasses.  Classes run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Baby Class 9:00-9:45, Open Play (for all Baby and Toddler members) 9:45-10:30, Toddler Class 10:30-11:15.  Give us a call to book your FREE trial class. 

Our Birthday Parties are also now up and running and we have had some fantastic parties to date!  We've hosted  parties for Princesses and Princes, Scooby Doo fans, emerging Superheros, and Elmo lovers.  Tiny Hoppers offer an incredible selection of party themes to choose from, all of which are packed with fun and exciting activities, games and music based on your theme of choice.  Your child and their guests are sure to have a memorable party experience at Tiny Hoppers.  If you book your child's party with us on or before May 15th, you will receive a $25 voucher to be applied to the cost of your party.  Visit our website for more information and to choose your child's favourite theme.  http://www.tinyhoppers.ca/

In the upcoming months our Tiny Hoppers will get to "grow" their own frog.  We will be raising tadpoles into frogs and the children will learn about the lifecycle of frogs.  It will be an incredible experience for the children.  We can't wait! 

If there is a program or service that you are interested in, please do not hesitate to call or email us for more information.  One of our staff would be happy to assist you.  
Tel: (613)822-2900
email: tinyhoppers.fc@gmail.com

We look forward to enjoying a wonderful spring and warm summer with our little Hoppers and their families.  Keep following our Blog to stay up to date on all of our upcoming events and most current news. 

Happy Spring everyone!

Team Hoppers Findlay Creek