News Bulletin

October 2013 Elgin Child & Family Resource Center A program of One Hope United 210 National St., Elgin, IL 60120 847.697.7100

Monthly

Healthy Lifestyles Curriculum

OVERALL HEALTh EXERCISE NUTRITIon EnVIRonMEnTAL SUSTAInABILITY

The Flu: Stop the Spread
You yes, you! can help keep people from getting sick this flu season. How? Its not too hard. Just take these steps: Get the flu vaccine. Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose. Keep your sneezes and coughs to yourself (use a tissue or your elbow instead of your hand). Keep your hands out of your eyes, mouth, and nose. You may have heard all this before probably from your mom but flu season is a great time to actually start doing them. By following these tips, you might be able to keep yourself from getting sick and prevent germs from spreading around and making other people sick. Do you notice something about three of the tips above? All of them involve your hands. Thats how a lot of germs get in our bodies in the first place whether its a cold, chickenpox, or the flu. Germs get on our hands and we put our hands in our eyes, noses, and, especially, our mouths. Check Your Hand-Washing Skills The best habit of all these good habits is hand washing. When you wash your hands, you rinse away germs that you might have picked up here or there. When you do this before you eat, for instance, you reduce the chance that those germs will end up in your body, where they can make you sick.

Four Components of the

Sure, you know how to wash your hands. But check your technique against these recommendations: 1. Use warm water (not cold or hot) when you wash your hands. 2. Use whatever soap you like. Some soaps come in cool shapes and colors or smell nice, but whatever kind that gets you scrubbing is the kind you should use. Antibacterial soaps are OK to use, but regular soap works fine. 3. Work up some lather on both sides of your hands, your wrists, and between your fingers. Dont forget to wash around your nails. This is one place germs like to hide. Wash for about 15 to 20 seconds about how long it takes to sing Happy Birthday two times. 4. Rinse and dry well with a clean towel. Lets add a final step 5 since its flu season: 5. Tell a friend to wash up, too!
Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD Date reviewed: September 2013

Source: http://kidshealth.org/kid/h1n1_center/flu_spread.html

YoUR TRUsTED PARTNER In EARLy cARE and EDUcATION

Give Me Five!
Learning to solve problems is an important life skill. As a parent, we often find ourselves solving our childrens problems, however, even very young children can learn problem-solving skills. There are many simple activities you can do with your child to promote these skills. The following are just a few activities you may want to try. Collect objects that go together, such as a hammer and nail or a comb and brush. Place these objects on a table or floor and invite your child to find the objects that go together, and then tell you why. Another activity to promote thinking and problem solving is to play pattern games. Create movement patterns, and ask your child to repeat it. For example, step-step-jump-step-step-jump. Finally, provide opportunities to experience and resolve problems cooperatively. Give your child lots of time to play with other children. Encourage activities that involve sharing such as building with blocks, coloring with crayons, creating with play dough and dress up. Reading books that require characters to problem solve also encourages thinking skills. Some titles to try include: Hole in the Middle, by Paul Budnitz, Ready for Anything, by Keiko Kasza, and Waddle, by David McPhail. The more exposure and practice a child has with problem-solving activities, the more equipped he or she will be to handle problems as they arise.
Source: Ideas from United Way, Elgin Kindergarten calendar

Fall is in the Air!

The sunny, hot days of summer are behind us and we are moving into cooler weather. Just a reminder, our teachers plan outdoor, large-motor activities each day. Please dress your child ap propriately and send the proper outer wear so your child is comfortable to participate in these activities.

Parent Orientation Night

Thank you to all who attended the Parent Orienta tion night on Sept. 24. We hope that this informa tive meeting helped to familiarize you with our policies and procedures. All of your cooperation and support help to make the center run smoothly. Together we make a great team!

Welcome New Staff!

Please help welcome Rosy and Paola to the Center. Rosy is the teachers assistant in Room 206 and Paola is the teachers assistant in Room 210. We are happy to have them on our team!

Conferences are coming up!

In November, we will be hosting conferences at the center. Conferences provide an opportunity for you to meet with your childs teacher and discuss his/ her growth and development. More information will follow, but please keep these dates in mind. Conference dates are as follows: Infant/Toddlers: Week of Nov. 4 Two: Week of Nov. 11 Preschool: Week of Nov. 18 Kindergarten: Week of Nov. 25

Focus on the Classrooms

Preschool For All is in full bloom in our Preschool classrooms. The classes have been busy learning while exploring the theme All About Me. This theme helps children celebrate their individuality and learn about likenesses and differences. This theme also builds those important beginning of the school year skills and creating a sense of family and community within the classroom.

Children in the classrooms participated in various activities that illustrated their uniqueness. Some of the children created All About Me books. In the books, they drew pictures of their families and their special qualities. Other class rooms created life size drawings of themselves.

The teachers used a variety of activities to encourage the children to identify their feelings and to acknowledge that all of their feelings are valid. All of the activities encouraged creativity, language and math concepts as well as promoting fine-motor development and social emotional well-being. Overall the children learned a lot about themselves and each other!

Calendar
November 2013
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Monthly

Week of Nov. 4: Infant and Toddler Conferences

10

11

12

13

14

15

16 Gail Borden READ

Week of Nov. 11: Twos Conferences

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Week of Nov. 18: Preschool Conferences November 1822: Book Fair

24 25 26 27
28 Center closed Thanksgiving break

Week of Nov. 25: Kindergarten Conferences

29 30 Center closed Thanksgiving break

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