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A CHILD'S SMILE IS WORTH "RICHES"
Children light up our hearts when they smile. They make you feel good, warm, and fuzzy inside. You can't take that smile to the store and exchange it for groceries, but you can put it inside the memory box of your mind to open up on rainy or tough days. That is one of the many perks of working with children. Thanks for your smile!
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BOOK EXCHANGE
We will be having our annual holiday book exchange on Monday, December 12 where the children can bring a book to exchange with their friends. Please bring in a wrapped book with your child's name on it if they would like to participate. Please limit the cost of the book to no more than $5. Our scholastic book orders are an excellent place to find great books! Flyers can be found on the parent table. All ages will participate in the exchange!
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We have two special holiday gatherings this month. On Tuesday, December 20, we will have an Infant and Toddler Tea from 4 to 5:15 p.m. This open house celebration will be held in our new toddler classroom! We will welcome in winter with some fun activities in the classroom, followed by a holiday sing-a-long.
On Wednesday, December 21, Preschool will celebrate the first day of Winter from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mike Mann, our Santa, will begin our event at 4 p.m. and following his visit, the Preschool classes will perform their favorite Christmas songs! Light refreshments will be served after each of our holiday events.
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SPECIAL DAYS IN DECEMBER
The preschool children will be making and baking some holiday cookies on Friday, December 23 to bring home to their families to celebrate this festive season.
The preschool children will hopefully be having a sledding party on Friday, December 30 to celebrate the New Year! Please bring sleds to the playground labeled with your child's name.
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CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
The children will enjoy learning about other celebrations that are happening around the world during the month of December. We will touch on these holidays with our children this month so they are aware of not only Christmas, but of holidays celebrated in various cultures both here and abroad. Please see our Celebrations Around the World insert to learn a little about the holidays we will be discussing!
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INFANT AND TODDLER NEWS
Thank you for your patience in our journey to expand our infant and toddler programs. We hope everyone has taken time to look at our new spaces and enjoy the appearance of our new additions! We know the children are having amazing experiences in their new environments! We would like to welcome Jessica to our infant and toddler teaching team. She will join Cathy, Kris and Sarah in a lead teacher position. The infant and toddler classes will be picking names, now that we have more than one group in each age.
PRESCHOOL NEWS
We have completed our preschool staffing team with the addition of Miriam, who will be team teaching with Jordan in the Adventurers class.
Randi is a new Explorer teacher, who will be happily teaching the young preschool class along with Dan.
Kathy's Pre-K group who occupy the front classroom have picked a new class name. They are now the Voyagers!
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HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
Our center will be closed on Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2. Please sign the sheet on the parent table if your child will be absent on other days.
For your planning purposes, you can view our
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THE IMPORTANCE OF FINE MOTOR SKILLS
In a world where technology is not going away and infants and toddlers are learning to "swipe and tap", we don't want to be fooled into the idea that these activities are what children need for the development of fine motor skills. From an early age children need time to play with and experiment with materials that help them develop coordination in their fingers and strengthen their hand muscles. These experiences start in infancy when a child learns to hold a rattle and pick up food to eat. Then children move on to skills like building with blocks, playing with play dough and eventually learning to zip and button, draw and form letters.
There is real concern across the country that children are not getting enough practice with real objects. Many are going to kindergarten lacking the basic fine motor skills needed to hold a pencil and write. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends absolutely no screen time for children under the age of two, and less than an hour a day for preschoolers. Parents should not give their smart phones to babies in car seats or strollers. They should not play videos for infants and toddlers to keep them occupied. They should not take iPads to restaurants. Preschoolers should not have televisions
in their bedrooms.
Those are a lot of "children should not..." rules. But at Especially for Children we want you to be assured that we supply our classrooms with time-tested materials to help children practice fine motor skills. From crayons, markers, chalk, paints, pencils and scissors to blocks, Legos, dolls, play dough and finger paint, children have a multitude of materials that allow them to manipulate real objects and interact with people, not screens.
We thought it would be helpful to give you some ideas of activities you can do at home to help your child build fine motor skills. We have posted them on our blog with specific suggestions on how to incorporate them into your daily routines. Here is an example:
Kitchen projects
: Making homemade play dough strengthens muscles in the hands and fingers. Roll snakes and balls of all sizes: build with the balls and snakes. Your child can play with play dough at the counter or table while you make dinner.
See EFC's favorite play dough recipe on our blog.
Make peanut butter or sugar cookies that require the dough to be rolled into balls and smashed with a fork.
December is often a month with lots of cooking projects, so think ahead to how your child can participate. Not only will you be enjoying the activities together, but you can think about the important fine motor skills you are helping your child to develop. Look on the blog for even more ideas to do at home!
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TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS
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Check out these activities that help support the development of your child's fine motor skills.
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