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I had a really eye-opening conversation with one of our teachers the other day. This teacher was working her way through some challenges in her life. I asked her how she was doing as I greeted her one morning. She recounted how the children were helping her and giving her the strength she needed. Here’s what she said. (The names below have been changed to preserve privacy.)

Last week I wrote about hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is often caused by a type of enterovirus known as coxsackievirus. There are other types of enteroviruses that can also cause illness during the summer months. One serious enterovirus is poliovirus, which causes polio. Fortunately, vaccination programs have eradicated polio from the United States, and vaccines continue to protect children from this serious illness. Other types of enterovirus cause much milder illness. For instance, some enteroviruses cause what is sometimes called a “summer cold.”

Another rash that tends to be more common in the summer months is hand, foot, and mouth disease. This is a common rash that is caused by a virus, usually an enterovirus such as a coxsackie virus. Since different viruses can cause this rash, a child can get it more than once. It is not the same as foot and mouth or hoof and mouth disease in animals.

Children start working on peer relationships even before they are mobile. During the years between birth and six, children spend lots of time and energy working on social skills. As the article, 'Children's Peer Relationships Have Enormous Influence' indicates, a child's skills at entering a group of peers, self expression, assertion, listening, negotiation, empathy, and forgiveness are very important for a successful learning and a satisfying childhood.

Although we often think of winter and fall as the times of year when children and adults are more likely to get sick, there are a number of infections that are more common during the summer.

Impetigo is a contagious rash caused by bacteria. There are two main types of bacteria that cause impetigo: streptococcal and staphylococcal. These bacteria enter the skin through small cuts or scratches and cause the infection. Impetigo can occur anywhere on the body, but is most common around the nose and mouth and on the forearms, hands, and diaper area.

We’re all seeing articles and reports of research on the importance of giving children unrestricted and unstructured time to play. In our busy lives with our emphasis on education, some of us tend to fill up our children’s time with lessons, excursions, and lots of coaching from the adults. What gets left out is time for children to simply play and work on their own ideas, relying on their own resources.

I would like to share two recent health advisories from the California Department of Public Health. In the last few months, there have been increases in the number of cases of two vaccine-preventable diseases, measles and whooping cough (also called pertussis).

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), an Oakland-based group that addresses environmental issues, recently released some findings about lead levels in several types of food items. These include apple juice, grape juice, packaged pears and peaches, and fruit cocktail. ELF chose these products to test because they are ones that children are likely to eat regularly.

Take a look at this article 'Plugged-In Parents' to help you reflect on the quality of your time with your children when you are with them as you drop them off at school, pick them up, or take them to the park.

I was passing through all our classrooms this morning greeting teachers, parents and children as I normally do. Aidan, a 3 year old, was working on a sticker/drawing he was creating. I knelt down and watched him working. “What are you making?” Silence. I waited a bit while Aidan drew dark purple lines on his paper. I tried again. “You have 3 motorcycles there.” Aidan said, “Hate!” “Hate?” I queried. “Hate,” he repeated. “Is that hate you are drawing?” “Yes!” “Did you have a hard morning?” “No.

Whether it's around the neighborhood or on a family trip, families travel every day. Car seats, helmets, and other safety devices can help keep families safe when they're on the go.

Here's an interesting perspective on testing young children's intelligence.

The Myth of Testing Gifted Children

During my walk with Nicolas (who just turned 1), the sun behind us cast a very sharp, clear shadow of both of us moving down the walkway. Nicolas definitely noticed it. I saw him looking at his shadow. I could see that he noticed that it moved when he moved. If he had the words, he would have said, “Look at that dark thing on the walk! Hmmmmm. That’s really interesting! And it moves! Hmmmmm. Look at that!”

One sunny school day I saw a teacher out in front of the school with two babies who had recently started walking. Each was holding their teacher’s hand and walking to the front door. I was struck by how they really were no longer babies, but toddlers. The teacher brought them into the office and headed toward their classroom. Nicolas did not want to go in. He kept circling around and heading back for the front door. I decided to take a few minutes and see what he wanted to do. (Actually I had a pretty good idea.)

Are babies born with a moral sense? Conventional wisdom informed by observation is that they aren't. But take a look at this article that appeared in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday. Perhaps babies know more than we think they do.

MAGAZINE | May 09, 2010
The Moral Life of Babies
By PAUL BLOOM
Can they really tell right from wrong? What researchers are cooing about.

Food allergies occur when the immune system attacks a protein from a particular food. It is not known for sure why some people have food allergies, but they seem to be getting more and more common. Some people think this it is simply because we are getting better at finding food allergies. Other people think that it is related to our environment or our diet. Food allergies are more common in children who have other allergies, eczema, or who have family members with food allergies.

I saw a really masterful interaction between one of our parents and her 3 year old little boy when we were preparing for the May Fete Parade on Saturday. We were getting ready to transport our children’s wagon to the place where we were gathering for the parade after dropping off what we needed for the PIE carnival booth at Addison. Mom was going to drive me over and then return.

“I want to go with you, Mommy.”
“You can’t go with me. I don’t have your car seat. You’ll stay here with Daddy.”
“No Mommy, I want to go with you!”
“I know you do, but your car seat is not in my car.”

Have you ever thought about the role risk-taking plays in a child’s learning? If you reflect on it, I’m sure there are times when your child makes a move to try something out and you ask yourself, “Is that safe?” If your answer is no, you prevent your child from trying it. If your answer is maybe, you probably offer your child help and perhaps insist that your child let you help.

April 12 – April 16th was the official Week of the Young Child. At CPSC, celebrating young children is a daily phenomenon. As a matter of fact, we spend all our time every day celebrating the beauty, the love, the generosity, the creative ideas, and the unique capacities of every young child in our CPSC community. Even so, we held a special event as we do every year for parents and children to celebrate the young children at CPSC together.

Each year a teacher works within the CPSC community, our hope is he/she gains skills, advances professionally, becomes a more dedicated early childhood educator, and becomes increasing connected to others in this early childhood community. Alma (left) and Heather (right) were celebrated by their colleagues as they arrived at two important anniversaries. Alma has been teaching with CPSC for 10 years and Heather for 5. We will work hard to make sure they remain as happy in their work as they look in this picture.

As we move into spring and summer, we are all looking forward to spending time outside. And while we are still getting some spring showers, we will be getting more and more sunshine.

The sun provides us with light and warmth. It also puts out UV rays that can harm our skin. This can happen even on cloudy days. Too much exposure to UV rays from the sun can cause painful sunburns and increase the risk of skin cancer. And even though it’s often thought of as a sign of health, a sun tan is actually a sign of damaged skin.

It is common for preschoolers to be reluctant to try new foods, refuse certain types of foods, or decide they only want to eat one or two favorite foods. Some children dislike the textures or appearance of certain foods. Some children just don’t like new things. For other children, it is a way of exploring their independence.

Sometimes it can be hard to find ways to fit healthy eating into our busy schedules. Here are a few simple tips that can help your family find ways to eat healthier.

Parent meetings where I talk with parents about their children, their children’s learning and development, and their parenting have always been really enjoyable for me. Watching video tape of children as they go through their day at school and discussing what we observe is always lots of fun as well.

Norma Leonardo celebrated her 20th anniversary as a CPSC teacher! That's a long time! And for each of those 20 years Norma has dedicated herself to loving and cherishing some of our youngest CPSC children. Norma receives cards, a cake, and gifts to honor her at her 20th Anniversary celebrationLeading the Butterfly classroom for many years now, many parents have trusted Norma with their first baby, their second baby, and even their third baby.