Freemasons Offer CHIP Safety Program

Freemasons Pete, George and Matt pose with
LVCC at Stones Crossing preschoolers. 

Keeping your children safe is always a top priority at Lehigh Valley Children's Centers. As parents and teachers, we do our best to teach the children in our care the skills needed to avoid danger. The unfortunate reality is that children see strangers every day - in stores, in schools, in their neighborhoods, sometimes in their own homes. In the event a child goes missing, every second counts. To assist our families in times of crisis, representatives from the Freemasons Manoquesy Lodge #413 visited LVCC at Stones Crossing to offer the Child Identification Program (CHIP) to our families.

Ms. Erin and Ms. Virginia collect fingerprints for CHIP.

CHIP provides parents and guardians the means to quickly get vital information to emergency responders. Each CHIP packet includes a CD video recording and digital still photograph of each child, along with the child's fingerprints and DNA. All of the identifying items generated during CHIP were given to the children’s families.

The Freemasons donated the materials necessary to make the event a success.  As a result, we were able to give families something money could never buy, peace of mind.

Read more about the Masonic CHIP Program...

Week of the Young Child Legislative Visits

Senator Pat Browne made a special visit to LVCC at Walnut Street's Pre-K Counts class. They discussed how to keep the earth clean as part of a "Helping Hands" project for Earth Day. Recycling, picking up litter, and cleaning up the park were some of the answers chosen by the preschoolers.

Sen. Pat Browne Visit to Walnut Street

Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Schlossberg of the 132nd Legislative District participated in arts and crafts with the toddler class at LVCC's Judith Chase Early Learning Center in Allentown. The early learning activity kept both toddlers and Rep. Schlossberg highly engaged.

Rep. Mike Schlossberg Visit to ELC

Pennsylvania State Representative Daniel McNeill of District 133 participated in “ABC Bingo,” an early learning activity to foster letter recognition, with the Pre-K Counts class at LVCC's Campus Center. 

As Rep. McNeill called the letters, the children placed their bingo chips, hoping to win.

Rep. Daniel McNeill Visit to Campus Center

Pennsylvania State Representative Steve Samuelson of District 135 called “ABC Bingo,” for LVCC on Union Boulevard's Pre-K Counts class. The class then read a story to him. The children were very excited to show Rep. Samuelson how much they learned throughout the year.

Rep. Steve Samuelson Visit to Union Blvd.

DaVinci Science Center Gives Exploding Lesson

For six weeks, DaVinci Science Center brought exciting science experiments to LVCC's after-school program at Muhlenberg Elementary School. The children, ages 5-12, experienced hands-on learning every Thursday.

Active volcanoes erupt due to gas pressure. Using common household ingredients, the children explored how a volcano can have slow streams of lava or violent bursts of debris. By placing a mini-volcano canister filled with alka-seltzer into water, the children witnessed the quiet flow of lava (red dye) leak from the volcano. Different materials were then used to create a bigger effect. Mixing baking soda and vinegar created an acid base reaction. The result was foaming white lava quickly exploding from the volcano's cone.

A variety of engaging experiments were introduced. The students made bagpipes out of PVC piping, a plastic glove and tape. They discovered the kinds of prey eaten by predatory birds by dissecting an owl pellet. With translucent tubes and layered play dough of multiple colors, the children learned how to take samples of the earth's crust.

Most importantly, the children learned that science can be fun outside of the classroom!

View More Photos of DaVinci Science Center

Supporting Our Troops

To give children a sense of community and being part of a larger world, LVCC includes programs in our curriculum that focus on civic responsibility. LVCC's Campus Center school-age students recently participated in an activity to understand being a good citizen in the United States by positively influencing the soldiers that protect and serve us.

The class wrote inspirational letters to the soldiers based overseas. Each letter included imaginative drawings and a personalized message from a student. The children shared encouraging words of gratitude and pride for their country. As part of a care-package mission, the letters, along with snacks and other goodies, were sent to the troops.

Being far from their families, many soldiers naturally become homesick. The children hope their gifts will bolster morale.

View More Photos of Supporting the Troops

Children's Art Show

A talented student enrolled in LVCC at South Mountain's
school-age program displays his free-style drawing of a truck.

Children of all ages find art to be an engaging activity. It allows them to experiment with self-expression. It promotes creativity and an openness to new ideas. LVCC at South Mountain recently held a children's art show for the center's families to discover the natural talents of their children. The exhibits included various forms of artwork created by the school-age students.

3-D Art 
By using a variety of simple household items and school supplies, the students learned three-dimensional representations could be made from any material. The mixed media included candy, CD's, beads, paper, paint, glue, buttons and construction paper. The molding and intricate placing of materials practiced development of the children's hand-eye coordination (fine motor skills).

Mosaic
Who knew puzzle pieces, yarn, metal shelving, tiles, paint, glue, buttons and construction paper could result in such beautiful works of art? The process of creating the mosaic involved problem solving (and lots of counting). By analyzing and experimenting with different ideas, imaginative art resulted.

Free-Style Art
The teachers encouraged the students to express themselves through free-style art. Using different techniques (drawing, dabbing, coloring, gluing), abstract and realistic pieces were created. The individualism and personal interests emerged from each work of art.

View Photos of LVCC at South Mountain's Art Show