Our families have been collecting and sending in bottle caps this summer and our children are busy exploring their different properties – material, shape, color, size, and more.
They are collaborating a design and format for their summer project. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!
Friday was our first weekly Water Play Day of the summer. The children (and teachers!) were all so happy and engaged in wet, wonderful play. Bubbles, ice blocks the children had made previously out of milk cartons and containers, scrub-a-dub-dub tubs, boating, blocks, and of course sprinklers and hoses. Enjoy these joyful pictures from the day!
This week we celebrated the NAEYC Week of the Young Child by enjoying some special
events. We had special music and movement time with Ms.Julie. We
also had a wonderful visit from Mobley’s Veterinarians including Dr.
Parsons, Ms. Rachel and our favorite new friend “Pete” the dog.
We then enjoyed “Fun Friday” with some outside fun. We created some
“Street Art” that was inspired from the artists in Florence, Italy and
had Popsicle party! The truth is we celebrate the young child every day at
KDCDC!!
We’ve been overjoyed to welcome toddlers along with our infants this year at King’s Daughters. Families have loved the program as well – so much so that our wait list has stayed full since we opened!
Our toddler program is all about discovery – investigating the world and interacting with others. We follow our children’s lead and interests while helping make sure they meet developmentally appropriate physical, social/emotional, cognitive, language, and milestones.
When scrolling through the pictures, it’s no surprise that our toddlers love their classroom, and their teachers (Ms. Melinda and Ms. Lynn), and their incredible outdoor space!
We are participating in a local fundraising tournament to raise funds to open a second toddler room to serve more families with toddlers in our community! You can make donations during the tournament at www.kdcdc.org or https://nashville.bfg.org/bracket!
We’re overjoyed to welcome infants to King’s Daughters Child Development Center!
Our infant room in the new Louise Odom Children’s Center is staffed by two caretakers and a third “floater” who comes and helps out as needed. Ms. LaTonya (pictured above), Ms. Jonda, and Ms. Susan (pictured below) develop special bonds with the babies, fostering trust in others and allowing our babies to feel safe and loved while their families are at work or school. We’re especially grateful to our generous supporters, like the Joe C. Davis Foundation, whose financial gifts and grants make our work possible.
Our infant room is equipped with bright, colorful objects for our little friends to examine and hold. Infants achieve the special physical milestones of sitting up, crawling, and pulling to stand during their time in this room… and some even begin walking on their own! It’s such a pleasure to see these little people gain the physical capabilities to explore their surroundings.
We’re so proud and honored to offer an environment full of love and wonder for these precious little ones!
At a recent board meeting, we asked our Board of Directors to take pictures around the center of some of their favorite things that we do with our children and families. We loved their responses and we are so grateful for their support! Join them in supporting our children, families, and staff by donating today to King’s Daughters through The Big Payback. Donate here TODAY to help us win prizes and build Millie’s Garden!
This year, money raised through The Big Payback and other fundraising efforts will be used to create our outdoor natural play area for our new facility, the Louise Odom Children’s Center (currently under construction). Mrs. Millie’s Garden will feature different areas including a grassy play area with logs, stumps, and stepping stones to explore and conquer, flowering and shade trees to seek shade in solitude or share with friends, a paved area on which to pull a friend in a wagon or practice peddling a trike, and garden beds in which to dig and work. You can support this project by donating here: www.kdcdc.org – but save your donation for MAY 5 – you can help us win extra prize money by donating on Nashville’s annual day of giving!
After nearly 50 years serving families in our community, we have found that many of our children have no safe place to play and ‘be children’ outside of King’s Daughters. It is critical that we empower our community’s youngest citizens by acknowledging their capabilities and skills, develop strong self-image through expression and creativity, and nurture and encourage their natural curiosity.
One way to do this is by nurturing our children’s intrinsic love for learning through meaningful outdoor play.
Mrs. Millie’s Garden aims to base learning, both formal and play-based, on respecting the child and his/her true interests while exposing our children to materials and experiences they otherwise may not encounter. We plan to provide a space that is open ended for our children – an environment where they can follow their own curiosity and challenge their physical abilities. Cultivating a strong understanding of the world and its materials will foster a deep and strong foundation for mathematical concepts, communication skills, and developing a sense of, and place in, the larger community.
Objectives:
Project lead on construction of the natural play area to be Lone Oak Farms of Madison, Tennessee. They will provide materials and labor needed to install complete play area including:
We’re so excited to name this beautiful space in honor of one of our long time volunteers and supporters, Mrs. Millie Grammer. Won’t you join us in planting the seeds for this outdoor wonderland? Please donate today at: www.kdcdc.org – or save your donation for MAY 5 – you can help us win extra prize money by donating on Nashville’s annual day of giving!!
Izzy and Sam explore how ice melts! Is it cold or hot?
Ice turns to water and water can turn to ice!
Cullen collects bags of sticks for his family. This is activity helps him cope with missing his family. Ms. Alonza was helping him one day collect his bag of sticks and nature items and a friend joined them. Through conversation and discussions about sticks and branches, the group of children became interested in helping Cullen collect more sticks and then some for themselves.
What can we make with sticks? How can do we use sticks? How can you build with sticks?
Cullen said he would make a rocket. Jaley said she would make a windmill and a flower. Lizeth made a stick person and Sydnie made a letter “T”. Zoe created a house. These creations are displayed in the classroom along with other projects.
The children then decided to make a tower with sticks. Otis said the structure looked like a beaver’s home! The story is just beginning.
King's Daughters Child Development Center 