Thursday, December 8, 2011

winter camp at tangerine


Once upon a time...
December 19th – 23rd  / December  26th – 30th
children 3 to 6 years - 9 am to 2.00 pm

Each day will be a new adventure based on a different story. Have fun painting, singing, playing, and learning new and interesting things every day.

Monday 19th :      Spork by Kyo Maclear / Isabelle Araenault




Spork is the son of a fork and a spoon. Because of his appearance he is rejected by both forks and spoons, and it seems he has no place in the kitchen. Spork finds an important job that only he can do and becomes proud of his rare shape.





Tuition: $200 a week
Call now to save your spot! (Sibling discount available)
786 389 9538 / contact@hellotangerine.com

Friday, November 25, 2011

Bolero by Maurice Ravel



My husband and I really love this song and we discovered our daughter does too.

Yesterday coming back home we listened to Bolero by Ravel in the car and her eyes were wide open listening to the beat of this amazing song. Little by little she relaxed and fell asleep.
Today I put it on again while I was watching Bruno Bozzetos’s animation and she started moving around the living room following the beat (she is 14 month old).


I think this is a beautiful song to share with you little ones. The melody is passed among different instruments and the music is built over an unchanging rhythm played on drums that remains constant throughout the piece.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


Boléro (1928) became Ravel's most famous composition, much to the surprise of the composer, who had predicted that most orchestras would refuse to play it. Ravel was insistent that the work should be played at a steady and unvarying tempo
 It is usually played as a purely orchestral work, only rarely being staged as a ballet. At the premiere in Paris a woman shouted that Ravel was mad. When told about this, Ravel smiled and remarked that she had understood the piece.

Bruno Bozzetto  (1938) is an Italian cartoon animator and he created a movie based in this song.
The larger movie Bruno covers all of history, evolution itself, from first origins of life as goo oozing out of a Coca Cola bottle, to beings spawned in the ocean, dinosaurs, the ice age, the pyramids, Christianity, skyscrapers. All life as we know it on a remorseless trek forwards, save for the ape who cheats and murders on his journey, in strict time to the beat of Maurice Ravel's music.



Monday, November 7, 2011

Are you a Helicopter Parent?

Wikipedia notes that “helicopter parenting”, an early 21st-century term, has been used to describe parents who pay extremely close attention to their children’s experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.
These are mothers and fathers who try to smooth out and mow down all obstacles (real and sometimes imagined/fictional) in the path of their children’s progress.

Unlike the children of affirming parents, the children of helicopter parents tend to be less assertive. They are just not allowed to make mistakes – and learn from them.
Often they are the ones who bake the brownies, help clean up after school functions and drive the carpools. Where possible they also volunteer to serve as relief teachers and field trip contacts. Schools benefit greatly from their enthusiasm.

From the moment the umbilical cord is cut, children begin their long journey towards independence, step by step.

Some parents confuse the terms protecting and overprotecting. Protection is what a child needs; overprotection is what a helicopter parent needs.
Are you a helicopter parent???







Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Don't forget to read!

 
Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children.
Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as simple as that!
The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop reading skills.
Even when they don't understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality.
Inspire your children to read! Give them access to plenty of reading material that they'll enjoy and discuss it with them.
There are different programs to improve literacy in children, but I really loved this one:

The mission of the R.E.A.D. program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered therapy teams as literacy mentors.
The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children's reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.





Monday, October 10, 2011

What does your purse say about you?

“Fashion is about which purse you carry, but life is about what you carry in your purse!” says award-winning filmmaker Coleen Hubbard. *

On this rainy weekend, I decided it was time to organize my closet. In a corner I found a big bag with many of my “old” purses. Old, not necessarily because I have had them for a long time or because they are in bad shape, old because they are the ones I used before my daughter was born.  Being able to match, follow trends and keep up with fashion are definitely not the priority now. What does matters is you need everything to fit.
Tell me what is in your purse and I will tell you who you are….hmmmm
I checked my purse (which actually is a red backpack) and this is what I found in it:

-          My wallet
-          My phone
-          My keys
-          Lottery tickets
-          Hand sanitizer
-          2 diapers
-          Baby wipes
-          1 emergency squished cookie
-          Zip lock bag with cheerios
-          Pacifier
-          Extra onesie (you never know)
-          2 mega blocks
-          Many many crumbs of I don’t know what

I came to the conclusion, the days of bags with just a wallet, phone, and makeup are gone.
So, what’s in your purse?


* Coleen Hubbard made a movie about purses and created a unique, fun and funny event for women—celebrating our handbags and all that they mean to us.
“The Contents of Her Purse” is an intimate and hilarious exploration of the depths of women’s handbags—and all that their contents reveal about vanity, necessity, and identity. From a five-year-old girl with her very first “toy” purse, to a 95-year-old senior whose purse holds a handicap parking sticker and denture cream, Hubbard’s film features interviews with women from every point on the female life cycle.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Every child is musical

Today Olivia and I were at tangerine listening to music when she suddenly started palying with some instruments we use at our Kindermusik classes. It is so amazing to see how children respond to music. Of course after a while she had to go grab her bottle again ;)

Parents bond with their babies through musical sounds and rhythmic movement. They rock and swing their children, put them to sleep with lullabies, make them laugh with nursery rhymes. Parents know instinctively what scientists have now proven: young children thrive on music.









Friday, September 23, 2011



Hi, my name is Marie Tapia. I am the owner and director of tangerine learning center.
I also am a mother of an amazing, beautiful and demanding one year old girl called Olivia. She is the one who inspired me to start this wonderful project called "tangerine"

I am very excited with this new project. Being a teacher and a mom this is a dream come true. I studied psychological education and Speech pathology in Chile and here in Miami I specialized in Montessori and got certified in My Smart Hands (baby sign language) and Kindermusik. Having a place like tangerine allows me to use all the best of all the things I have learned.

I am also lucky to count with my husband's help. He is the one who "dressed up" tangerine. He is the architect and designer behind every little detail.

I would like to invite you to join me in this wonderful and tangerinesk experience. I hope to see you and you child very soon.