Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers Holds Open House at New Location in Hanover Township, Bethlehem

Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers (LVCC) announces the September opening of its newest early education and child care center at Monocacy Manor, 395 Bridle Path Road in Hanover Township. The public is invited to tour the center and meet characters from Alice in Wonderland during family open house events on Wednesday, September 4th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

LVCC at Monocacy Manor, located near Routes 512 and 22, can serve up to 86 children from six weeks of age through elementary school age. Full-time and part-time child care for all ages will be available Monday – Friday with hours from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM.

According to LVCC’s President / CEO Susan M. Williams, “LVCC programs are developed to accommodate key age ranges and include innovative teaching methods. Located in a picturesque country setting, LVCC at Monocacy Manor will provide children many opportunities for outdoor learning experiences, such as organic gardening. We take great pride in everything we do and look forward to providing service for families in the northern Bethlehem community.”

A not-for-profit organization serving the Lehigh Valley for over 40 years, Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers (LVCC) provides high quality early education and childcare to promote healthy child development, meet the needs of families and encourage children to discover the joy of learning at 21 locations throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties.

For more information about LVCC at Monocacy Manor, families should call Center Director Cheryl O’Rourke at 484-225-3357 or visit LVCC’s website at www.lvcconline.org.

Telling Time

Tick tock, tick tock. That's the sound of the working clocks built by the Pre-K Counts class at LVCC's Judith Chase Early Learning Center.

Time is a difficult concept for young children to understand. It's not something that can be seen or felt. By building a clock piece-by-piece, children have a tangible object representing time to explore.

In the class lesson, the children learned the names and uses for the hands on a clock. They identified which numbers made up a clock face. Time reading and counting make a great introduction to math skills.

The pre-kindergartners made imaginative use of telling time. They colored unique clock faces. They also discovered the basic mechanics of how a clock keeps ticking.

What time is it?

Pre-K Counts Culinary Journey into Nutrition

What do strawberries, blueberries, bananas, yogurt and wheat tortilla shells have in common? A deliciously healthy power snack for both children and adults, of course! Pre-K Counts from LVCC's Judith Chase Early Learning Center made the fresh fruit wraps during their cooking class with Randy Levan, LVCC's Central Food Service Manager.

After donning their new cook's hats, the children practiced fine motor skills by spreading yogurt and/or cream cheese and sprinkling an assortment of fruit onto the tortilla. While tasting their yummy creation, the children answered questions about the fruit's colors. When asked why we want to eat healthy foods, many children responded, "To keep from getting sick."

View More Photos of the Pre-K Counts cooking class at ELC

Bricks 4 Kidz Makes Engineering Fun

Bricks 4 Kidz after school labs have joined LVCC at Lincoln School for LEGO Engineering classes every Wednesday in October. From 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., the children will use science, technology, engineering, problem-solving skills, and teamwork to build mechanical LEGO creations based on different themes.

This week, the children were introduced to an energy theme while constructing an oil pump jack. They learned the difference between a renewable energy source (i.e. sunlight) and a nonrenewable energy source (i.e. fossil fuels). Other models in the energy theme include solar panels and windmills. Another theme the children may explore is space. Using LEGO components and creativity, they will build satellites, centrifuges, or the Discovery space ship.

 "These programs are educational and fun," explains Erik Wright, Bricks 4 Kidz Educator, "working with gears, motors, and simple machines may spark an interest in science."

We Salute the Veterans

LVCC's Fowler Center on Main St. has our very own army veteran, Joel Buskirk. Mr. Joel is our Preschool Teacher. To honor Mr. Joel and the many other military veterans from the area, all the classrooms at Fowler Center created thank you cards and posters to give to Mr. Joel.

The students participated in stimulating activities centered around Veteran's Day. Through drawing, painting, and listening to stories, the students learned that a veteran is a person who has served in the armed forces, which includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard. The students also learned that veterans are special people because they protect us and they deserve to be honored with a holiday. So, thank you Mr. Joel and the veterans of the Lehigh Valley!

Stop, Drop, and Roll

LVCC St. Luke's had a special visitor on Wednesday. Fire Chief David Boehrer from the Fountain Hill Fire Department brought his nicest firetruck for the children to explore. After Fire Chief Dave taught the basics of "stop, drop, and roll", he allowed the children to ask questions. The children asked very good open-ended questions that demonstrated their excellent communication skills (and fascination with firetrucks). Fire Chief Dave rewarded the children with their very own fireman helmuts for being such attentive listeners.

Ms. Natasha from the Preschool class volunteered to try on the fireman's uniform. Once completely suited up, Ms. Natasha was carrying 120 lbs. of gear! All the children agreed, they liked Ms. Natasha in the suit.

Fire Chief Dave was so informative and he even gave the center a "Sparky the Fire Dog" video to watch. Now all the preschoolers and older toddlers should know what to do in case of a fire and that they should not hide from the fireman when he comes to save them.

To see more photos of this event, click on this link to Flickr.com
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Halloween, Parades, Stories, Oh My!

All the LVCC students were busy this week preparing for the Halloween festivities. Many of the activities centered around pumpkins, black cats and creative costumes. LVCC Campus Center paraded around historic Bethlehem in their costumes, while parents proudly played paparazzi. The youngest representation of the toddler group must have sent each other memos in advance. They were a roaring hit as a cub pack. Ms. Adams and her creative after-schoolers at LVCC Forks School decorated their class with Halloween artwork and created signs for their "Halloween Costume Show". Every child took home an award for their imaginative costumes. Ms. Dana at LVCC South Mountain Pre-K Counts read a story about an astronaut during reading circle time. Afterward, a number of students wanted to be an astronaut and wear a helmet for trick-or-treat! The Toddler Room stirred with anticipation as everyone took turns mixing a batch of Halloween brew on one side of the room, while the other side of the room learned about creepy bugs, yuck!

To see more photos of the exciting happenings this week, log on to www.flickr.com/photos/LVCC or like us at www.facebook.com/LVCConline.