Mommy & Me Play and Fitness in Richmond Hill offers Classes; Birthday Parties; Mommy’s Morning Out & More!

Enroll Now for September. Classes Filling Fast at Mommy & Me Play and Fitness.

2552 US Highway 17, Richmond Hill
912.756.2828
Any new student who mentions you read about Mommy & Me on SouthernMamas.com will have the Lifetime Membership Fee waived!
Military & Multi Child/Class Discounts
www.mommyandmeplayandfitness.com
email: mommyandmeplayandfitness@live.com

Like Mommy & Me Play and Fitness on Facebook here.

Charlene R. Ford, EdD
Owner/Program Director

Story Time w/ Make and Take every 1st Thursday @ 1 PM
COST: FREE!
Reservations Required. Call 756.2828

Hours: Mon: 9 am-2 pm
Tues – Thurs: 9 am -2 pm & 5-6:30 pm
Fri: 9 am – 2 pm
Sat: 9 am – 12 pm

Mommy & Me Play and Fitness, www.mommyandmeplayandfitness.com, 2552 US Hwy17, Richmond Hill, 31324, 912.756.2828, email: mommyandmeplayandfitness@live.com Mommy & Me Play and Fitness is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

PROGRESSIVE, AFFORDABLE, DIVERSE ENROLLING NOW!

For children 6 weeks-4 years

FREE registration for SouthernMamas.com readers!

Among the many things that makes mama frantic, the quest for quality childcare trumps all.

Trying to find an affordable Savannah early learning center that fits your progressive tastes and provides a nurturing and diverse environment is tough.

Set in Midtown Savannah, BEST Academy enrolls children from Infants to 4 years old. Their creative approach to learning and playing brings something unique to childcare in Savannah. The Children at BEST receive the benefit of
having highly-qualified and enthusiastic teachers who keep children engaged with hands on lessons and innovative teaching.

There is art, yoga, and Ms. Amy’s School of Music provides musical fun and child-led instrument jams.

BEST Academy is proud of their all vegetarian menu. Each spring and fall they plant their own organic garden, with the kids lending a hand. Healthy eating produces healthy kids!

They encourage the kids to learn while doing. And, after lots of learning, the 12,000 square-foot playground gives kids plenty of room to do what kids do best – play.

BEST currently has openings for the fall and they welcome new families. BEST is happy to work with parents looking for part-time or flexible schedules.

Feel free to visit, meet the staff and see BEST in action.

BEST Academy, 1010 E. Duffy St. at the corner of Waters Avenue, 912.335-7123 or email best.academy1@gmail.com www.thebestacademy.net BEST Academy is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

Looking for a private Savannah preschool for this upcoming school year?

Check out First Christian Preschool in Savannah which first opened its doors in 1952 and has been in continuous operation since.   The preschool now offers Pre- Two, Two, Three, and Four year old classes and is in session from 9 AM-12 noon.  First Christian Preschool also offers a Summer Camp program from 9 AM-2 PM during June and July. 

Jumpbunch is an International Sports and Fitness program serving children and families throughout the US and India!

JumpBunch of Greater Savannah is currently offering classes in Savannah and Richmond Hill at Children’s Village, PALS, Early Learning, Maggies Morning School, Richmond Hill Montessori, Southern Montessori and many more locations.

FREE INTRODUCTORY CLASS July 11 AT 9:30 am

JumpBunch is offering a 10 week session beginning on July 18 – September 26
The class offered will be Monday morning at 9:30 am located at New Life Church at 16252 Hwy 144 E in Richmond Hill, GA. (No class held Monday 5 September)

The cost for the 10 weeks is only $65 (Jumpbunch offers a military discount of 10$ off)

Each week, Jumpbunch offers a cardio workout, muscle resistance training and introduces a new sport activity in a fun, hands-on, non-competitive environment. At this stage, Jumpbunch is building confidence and coordination.

Some of the fun sports Jumpbunch offers are: Lacrosse, Hockey, Football, Soccer, Bowling, Kickball, Cheerleading and parachute games and best of all equipment for each class will be available for each child. No equipment to buy!!

Jumpbunch offers a Mommy and Me class, Toddler and Preschool curriculum.

www.jumpbunch.com
And check Jumpbunch out on Facebook: Jumpbunch of Greater Savannah by clicking here.

If you have any additional questions, please call Coach Jenny at 912-445-0312

Jumpbunch is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

Among the many things that makes mama frantic, the quest for quality childcare trumps all.

Trying to find an affordable Savannah early learning center that fits your progressive tastes and provides a nurturing and diverse environment is tough.

Set in Midtown Savannah, Best Academy serves children ages 4 and younger including infants. Best currently has two infant cribs available lots of love to give. They will have openings in the fall in their 3-4 year-old classroom. Best will work with parents looking for 2 or 3 day schedules.

The Children at Best receive the benefit of having highly-qualified and enthusiastic teachers who keep children engaged with creative art projects and incorporate positive, community conscious and environmentally friendly lessons into the programming.  Ms. Amy of Ms. Amy’s School of Music provides early childhood music education classes and child-led music jams.

 BEST Academy serves all vegetarian meals and has their own organic garden.

They encourage the kids to learn while doing. And, after lots of learning, the 12,000 square-foot playground gives kids plenty of room to do what kids do best – play.

“Like” Best Academy on Facebook by clicking here to stay connected and updated on the center’s open spots.

Best Academy, 1010 E. Duffy St. at the corner of Waters Avenue, 912.335-7123 or email best.academy1@gmail.com www.thebestacademy.net Best Academy is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

Registration is under way at many Savannah-area preschools for the 2011-12 school year. Click here for a list of our readers’ picks for local preschools.

Veritas Academy at the Independent Presbyterian Church, 207 Bull St., Savannah will have a preview morning and information session Wed. April 23 8:30-9:30AM. For more info on Veritas, call 912-238-1222 or visit www.veritassavannah.org.

Even the most affluent, shop-happy mom feels a tad guilty spending big bucks on children’s designer boutique brand clothing. After all, the kids are only going to be able to wear that pricey outfit a few times before outgrowing it.

Which is why the whole concept of children’s consignment sales is so comforting, as well as practical. You can splurge on boutique brands for your little ones because you know you can sell the gently-used items at a consignment sale such as the Little Lambs Spring Consignment Sale at First Presbyterian Preschool at 520 Washington Ave., Savannah , 31405 (on the corner of Washington and Paulsen streets in Ardsley Park .)

Dates of the Little Lambs sale are:
Fri., March 11, 2011 9 am-2 pm
Sat., March 12, 2011, 9 am-noon with many items half price

Items for sale include clothing (infants, children and maternity), toys, books, CD’s, baby items (strollers, car seats, boppies, etc) furniture, trikes.

Proceeds benefit First Presbyterian Preschool (a nurturing, friendly school that my children attend and love) as well as Thornwell Presbyterian Home for Children and Savannah Care Center .

If you have items to sell and want to make some money, call the preschool @ 912.351.0609. Leave you name and email address to receive a seller’s instruction packet.

Growing in the Son, Savannah Christian Church’s weekday morning preschool, begins registering students for the 2011-2012 school year starting Feb. 7 and continues until classes are full. Applications and a brochure can be found by clicking here. For more information, contact Stefanie Reeder at 912-629-7494 or sreeder@savannahchristian.com.

Growing in the Son at Savannah Christian Church, 55 Al Henderson Blvd., Savannah, GA 31419, 912-629-7494 or sreeder@savannahchristian.com

For more info on Savannah-area preschools, visit the SouthernMamas Preschool Picks by clicking here.

Located at 2201 Bull St., near the heart of downtown Savannah, The New Covenant Preschool provides:
• Warm and inviting child-friendly atmosphere
• Enthusiastic, experienced, and engaged teachers
• Developmentally appropriate learning activities
• Enrichment classes in foreign language, music, and movement
• Daily Drop- In Care (subject to availability)

Special Offers:
Receive 50% off Registration (Good thru Nov. 30)
Enjoy 1 Free Trial Day

For more information, call (912) 232-7012, or visit the New Convenant Preschool Website at www.newcovenantpreschool.com
Call today to schedule a tour!

Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School is a Montessori Learning Community serving children 3-years old through the second grade.

The school is growing and will add a grade each year until a full compliment of elementary classrooms is reached. Currently, the school has openings in the 3-year old program, Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade. If you would like more information on enrolling your child please contact the school office at 912-238-1973 or click here.

Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School, supported by the Montessori philosophy and method, educates the Whole Child.

Below is a guest post by Jane Madison, an early childhood education expert and pre-K teacher at Saint Peter the Apostle School on Wilmington Island:

Many parents wonder how to prepare their child for preschool. The answer is,simply, by doing anything that helps your child develop emotionally, cognitively, and physically.

Research shows there are certain times when the brain is becoming wired for specific skills at an optimum level. The development of social and emotional intelligences, motor and vision skills, thinking and reasoning skills and even the foundation skills needed for reading begin at the moment your child is born.

This article will focus on language development. Sound discrimination and vocabulary development, which are two indicators of reading success, begin developing at birth, with the optimum opportunity being 0-24 months. The greatest enhancement of these two skills occurs from 2-7years for sound discrimination and 2-5 years for vocabulary development. (To view the complete chart, go to www.pamschiller.com.

Children learn sounds by hearing them, and develop language by being spoken to. Talk to your child about everything that is going on around you all day long. When he asks questions, answer him. When he asks the same question over and over again try to rephrase your answer, so he hears different vocabulary. Turn the tables on him by saying,”You tell me what it is?” Have conversations with your child and resist the temptation to answer for him when he seems stuck. Forming the words in his mind and then saying them takes time, and letting him go through this process will seal the new vocabulary in his mind.

Also, it is important to stay on top of any infections or fluid build-up in the ears. Children who cannot hear sounds cannot learn them!
Read to your child 15 to 20 minutes every day. This can be at more than one session, but gradually build time as your child learns to sit still longer. Reading helps develop vocabulary, comprehension and gives you and your child more opportunities to converse.

Talking to and reading with your child is an easy way to help him develop some of the skills he will need for school success.

Jane Madison graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been teaching pre-school in Savannah for over 20 years. In addition to teaching, she has worked as a consultant training teachers working in the Georgia State Funded Pre-Kindergarten program as well as presenting workshops at local, state and national Early Childhood conferences. Jane is currently teaching pre-kindergarten at Saint Peter the Apostle School on Wilmington Island. She is married and the mother of two grown children.

Among the top most common requests we receive at SouthernMamas is for local preschool recommendations.  So we have created a special SouthernMamas Preschool Page. Click here to access the page.

Email any suggestions for preschools to be included to anne@southernmamas.com.

Parents fed up with their kids’ schools for pushing sugary snacks and junk food are banding together to fight for healthier school menus through groups like Better School Food and Edible Schoolyard.

But the problem isn’t just with notoriously unhealthy lunch menus in elementary schools and older, but also in preschools that dole out cookies and lollipops to appease the tots.

Which is why I want to do a shout-out in praise of my 3-year-old’s preschool, Discover Montessori on Whitemarsh Island, known as the best kept secret when it comes to quality Savannah preschools.

Director Margie Carfrey goes above and beyond in encouraging healthy eating in various ways such as:  limiting sugary snacks; planting a garden with the kids; and even occasionally offering organic snacks such as local organic eggs and veggies. For the Valentine’s Day tea party, she gently suggested that parents who want to bring something opt for snacks other than frosting-laden treats and candy.

But the school does this all without going overboard or being overly strict. For example, parents can bring in special treats for a child’s birthday etc. And there’s certainly no shortage of fun school parties and celebrations. Holiday festivities include hay rides, costumes, games, performances and a last day of school circus show – all without a tidal wave of sugar.

Now, if only we can find an elementary school that values nutrition and healthy eating  as much as Discover Montessori does.

Any parents out there frustrated by your child’s unhealthy school menus – preschool, elementary or higher – or these questionable partnerships between schools and fast-food restaurants (Little Caesars Pizza Days, Chik-Fil-A fundraisers)? If so, please email anne@southernmamas.com to comment for a potential newspaper article on this topic.

Deciding where to send your kids to school is tough, whether you’re talking about preschool or elementary school.

Pooler MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) is helping us figure it out by hosting a School Fair for the Savannah area.

The Feb. 17 event will include representatives from a variety of schools- preschools and elementary- public, private, religious and home school. ALL are welcome to come.

This is a great chance to get some information about the schools you’re interested in and talk to the representatives.

There is no fee for parents (or for schools who might be interested in being part of the School Fair). Pooler MOPS members recognize the challenge for parents to find the right school for their children and hope this will be a valuable planning tool.

Pooler MOPS School Fair is 9:30-11:30 AM Wed. Feb. 17 at First Presbyterian Church of Pooler
305 HWY 80SE, Pooler. Check the growing list of confirmed schools that will have representatives by clicking here.

Savannah Christian Church’s Growing in the Son Preschool will open enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year on Mon. Feb. 1.

Growing in the Son Preschool is a weekday morning preschool program, offering classes for children ages 18 months to Pre-K.

The goal is to build strong foundations of faith for young children while promoting spiritual, academic, social, physical and emotional development; enabling them to make a life changing connection with Jesus Christ. Growing in the Son utilizes a diverse theme-based curriculum including Handwriting Without Tears and Scholastic’s Building Language for Literacy, while providing a Christ-centered nurturing environment.

For more information, click here. For additional information and registration forms or call 912.629.7494.

We’ve had a couple readers ask about local private school tuitions after this recent post about a new scholarship program for private schools. Here’s a tuition roundup (If you want your school to be included in this list, just email the info to anne@southernmamas.com):

Bethesda School (grades 5-12)
-$160-$500 monthly based on income ($5,000 max annual fee)

Bible Baptist School (preK-12)
-$4,375(preK-full day; $4,675 (grades 1-5); $4,775 (6-12)

Calvary Day School (preK-12)
-$5,790 (preK-K); $6,510 (1-5); $6,640 (6-12)

Chatham Academy
-$13,241 (grades 1-5); $13,416 (grades 6-8); $13,648 (grades 9-12)

Emmanuel Christian School
-preschool (ages 2-5) $88/week

Maggie’s Morning School (toddlers, 2s, 3s, preK)
-$2,250-$3,280 (2,3 & 5-day plans)

Memorial Day School (preK-12, as well as daycare)
-$5,700-$6,700

Montessori Academy of Savannah (preschool, ages 2-5)
-$230-$305/mo for 9 AM-1PM
-$90-$120/week, full-day

Notre Dame Academy (preK-8)
-$3,900, Catholic; $4,200, non-Catholic

Providence Christian School (preK-12)
-$3,000-$4,875

Rambam Day School (2yrs-8)
-$2,925-$7,665

St. Andrew’s School (preK-12)
-$6,095 (preK, half-day); $7,275 (preK, K); $8,710 (grades 1-4); $9,785 (5-8); $10,220 (9-12)

St. Paul’s Lutheran Preschool (6 wks-preK)
-$109-$125/week, full-time

Savannah Christian Preparatory School (preK-12)
-$6,660-$6,790

Urban Christian Academy (preK-12)
-$2,225 (K-12)

Veritas Academy (preK-12)
-$1,930 (preK); $2,860 (K); $4,647 (1-6); $5,232 (7-12)

Source: Savannah Magazine, July/August 2009 issue

ADDITIONS (Thanks to our readers):

• • Growing in the Son pre-school at Savannah Christian Church
    (18months to Pre-K)
    -18 mos-2 yrs, $1,260/yr; 2 year olds: $1,935/yr; 3 year olds, $2,115/yr; and preK is $2,700/yr. (18 mos -3 years goes from 9-12pm on varying days (18 mos: W and Th, 2 yrs: Wed-Fri, 3 yrs: Tues-Fri, and Pre-K M-F) with the exception of preK which is from 9 AM-1 PM)

.

• First Christian Academy, Richmond Hill
  (2 yrs. through 4th grade)
  Two’s – 3 days $225
  Two’s – 4 days $260
  Three’s – 3 days $240
  Three’s – 4 days $265
  Pre-K – 4 days $285
  Kindergarten $390
  First Grade – Fourth $405

All aboard.

The Roundhouse Railroad Museum has a summer special: pay one price for a full day of fun.

The museum’s offering 45-minute rides in the vintage steam locomotive at 11am, 2pm, and 4pm through July 31. Rides on the museum’s human-powered handcar are available throughout the day. There also are guided tours of restored office cars at 10:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm.

Admission: $10 for adults and $4 for kids 6 and younger, and includes all of the activities listed. Admission to the Savannah History Museum next door may be added for an additional $3 for adults/no extra charge for kids 6 and under.

Call (912) 651-6823 for more information, or click here.

How’s your child’s day-care?

State inspectors have issued more than 800 citations for violations at 85 licensed day care learning centers in Chatham County since June 2007, according to this article in today’s Savannah Morning News.

The good news is there were also seven local day cares that received NO violations during the same period.

Here are the day cares with serious problems, according to the article:

CHILDCARE NETWORK NO. 20, 12441 WHITE BLUFF ROAD

ANGEL’S CHILDCARE & ENRICHMENT CENTER II, 409 E. 39TH ST.

DUTCHTOWN CHILDREN’S CENTER, 911 DUTCHTOWN ROAD

THE STARTING POINT DAY CARE, 1929 SKIDAWAY ROAD

ELF’S CHILDREN CENTER, 4802 KIM ST.

Centers not cited include the following:

ABC Child Care Center #1, 1106 E. 48th St.

Kicklighter Academy, 7219 Seawright Drive

Sanctuary Child Learning And Development Center, 8912 Whitfield Ave.

The Lady Bamford Early Childhood Education Center, 1410 Richards St.

Wesley Community Centers CC, 1601 Drayton St.

Savannah Morning News also put together a database of state violations issued to Chatham County child care learning centers. To see if your child’s day-care received state violations, click here.