FCCC NEWSLETTER

Inside this issue:

Care Bear News 2

Bear Cub News 2

Cuddle Cub News 3

Baby News 3

Puddle Jumper News 4

Triangle News 4

Quad News 5

Upcoming Events 6

Announcements &

Reminders

6

School Closings Dates 6

School Closing Policy 6

Allergy Info & Health Policy

7

Website Information 7

Meet our Staff 7

Director’s News (continued)

8

Fundraising 9

Bake Sale 9

Contact Info 10

Play to Learn, Learn to Love

Building Confidence for Success

In order for chil-dren to develop confidence in their ability to be suc-cessful, they need practice at being successful. How can parents and teach-ers support the de-velopment of good self-esteem? Take notice of present skills and interests. Then provide op-portunities that spark interests and will stretch their skills, just as teachers do at school.

Director’s News

Encourage your child to stick with projects/activities until they have ac-complished what they set out to do. Try not to inter-rupt when they are problem solving. (So hard to do, right?) Wait until you are asked to help (with gestures or words depending on the age of the child) then verbalize your observations about what seems to be a barrier to help your child find ways to solve the problem. This builds perse-verance and

strengthens self-confidence.

Perseverance is a key component to success. Helping children to feel good about them-selves is an im-portant part of parenting and quali-ty teaching. With that said, we as parents and teach-ers need a great deal of patience, love and perspec-tive.

Holiday Happen-ings…

December is tradi-tionally a month of religious and cultur-al celebrations,

DECEMBER 2016

Decembers News!!! These months are flying by!! And The Care Bears are moving and growing so fast!! This month we will like to pre-pare for our "Winter Walks".. We will be going for walks around the city to see all of the different light shoes. These shoes include the Macy's Light show and the Comcast Light show. Please remember to wash you and your child's hands upon arrival. It is still flu

Page 2 FCCC NEWSLETTER

Care Bear News

season and we are trying to keep germs to a minimum. Infants who do not have complete head control par-ents are able to use wipes for their hands. Parents must wash their hands after wiping their infants hands. Hands should also be washed when you come to pick up your children. Thank you all for your co-operation. Please remember to check your child's extra clothes. Each child needs two

Bear Cub News

We would like to announce that the Bear Cubs are growing up. We have been practicing sharing, caring, taking turns and using gen-tle hands when touching our friends. Most of our chil-dren's language and social skills are developing well. The older Bear Cubs are able to say most of their friends names and they also can say their teacher name.

The Bear Cubs staff would to thank all the parents for their contributions to our No-vember Pot Luck.

Happy Holidays! During the month of December we will be working on various pro-jects celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. We will make lots of holiday crafts and read holiday books. There will be lots of singing, dancing and listen-ing to holiday music. The Bear Cubs will also create a special gift for the parents. If the weather permits us, we will visit Macy's store to see the light show and we also we visit the Comcast Build-ing to see the holiday show.

weather permitting, size ap-propriate outfits. The Care Bears would like to welcome Ingrid Wutz (Kimberly, John) to our fami-ly! Markita Glenn

Reminder: FCCC s closed the following days December 23rd, 26th and January 2nd

Have a joyful holiday season and a happy healthy New Year!

mas and Hanukkah songs. We will be tak-ing a walk to see the Macy's Light Show and the Comcast Holiday Spectacular show. We might even check out the Christmas Village at City Hall. We will also be working on a special holiday gift for our mommies and daddies. If you have any special holiday songs, games, traditions or recipes that you'd like to share with us, we'd love to hear from you.

"This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!" -D.M. Dellinger

'Tis the season to be jolly in the Cuddle Cubs! The Cuddle Cubs have lots of fun things planned for this month. We will be do-ing fun crafts and learning lots of Christ-

Cuddle Cub News

DECEMBER 2016 Page 3

Birthday wishes go out to Maddie (12/20) and Shannon (12/28)!

Reminders:

~Please let us know if your child will be out during the holidays.

~The FCCC Holiday Pot Luck is Thursday, December 8th from 5:00-6:30 in the Cherry Street Room.

We wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season!

And delivered Caleb Eoin Lynch

On October 28, 2016 A precious little bundle at 6 lbs. 8 oz.

Sadie (in the Puddle Jumpers classroom) is very proud of her new baby brother.

Dara and Barry are doing just fine.

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special gift for parents.

We will travel around Center City looking for signs of the hol-idays, go to Macy's to check out the light show, and walk over to the Comcast Center to view the holiday show on the big screen. With that being said, the children will continue to focus on strengthening their skills in fine and gross motor, review the alphabet, colors, shapes and numbers. Most of all, they will be learning and having fun at the same time.

We would like to take this time to once again say thank you to all of the parents who contribut-ed and participated in our Thanksgiving Feast. It was a big success!

Happy Holidays! We can't be-lieve that 2016 is almost over. The Preschoolers will spend the month of December focus-ing on "The Spirit of the Sea-son." We create winter scenery to brighten up the "B" space. We will learn about the numerous celebrations this month, such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. We welcome your child to share any books or items you may have at home regarding these holidays. The children will de-sign menorahs, dreidels, the Star of David, Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, and kina-ras, amongst other significant holiday items. There will be lots of dancing and singing, too! We will discuss the im-portance of each celebration, by reading an assortment of books. We will also create a

Puddle Jumper News Brrr! The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. The start of winter must be just around the corner.

The Puddle Jumpers theme this month is “The Blizzard of Winter Wonderland”. We will be learning about different celebrations this month such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. The PJ’s will be get-ting extra crafty working on all the different projects. We will be reading stories and singing songs to go along with the many traditions. Also we will experiment with water and ice cubes and talk about the weather changing and becom-ing frostier as it gets deeper

Triangle News

into winter.

We will be taking some adven-turous trips to the Macy’s light show and walking through Dick-ens Village as well as visiting the Comcast Center.

If you have any special tradi-tions, or snacks to add along with this months traditions please feel free to share with the teachers or stop in and share with the class.

Reminders: Please remember to label all jackets, gloves, and hats! As the colder weather is creeping we usually tend to layer our clothes and things get a lit-tle mixed up in cubbies. Also parents please remember to

Please remember to sign up for the Holiday Pot Luck which takes place on Thursday, De-cember 8, 2016.

Reminders: FCCC is closed the following days December 23rd, 26th, and January 2.

Have a joyful holiday season and a Happy Healthy New Year!

Birthdays:

Jace 12/18/2012

Wish List:

Toaster Oven

wash your child’s hands upon drop off in the morning. Thank you! Its important we stop the germs from spreading. It's the season of sicktime.

Family Holiday Potluck is Decem-ber 8. Save the date!

The Puddle Jumper Teachers would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy holi-day season.

DECEMBER 2016

Quad News

Page 5

nukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. They will create works of art that depict each holiday. They will dis-cuss how each holiday is celebrated and recognize symbols for each holiday. They will also learn songs about each holiday. Aside from this, they will com-pare and contrast the Me-norah and the Kinara based on the number of candles as well as the col-or of the candles on each and what each candle rep-resents. Activities will in-clude cooking, art, math, language and geography. Cooking activities for the month will include making potato latkes, applesauce, apple cider and baking brownie cheesecake bars and gingerbread boy/girl cookies. Art activities will include using various mate-rials or objects to create a Menorah, Christmas tree

and a Kinara. Math activi-ties will include measuring and counting ingredients for cooking, sorting ob-jects by shape and size, counting the number of candles on the Menorah and the Kinara. Language activities will include a discussion about feeling, ‘the miracle of the oil’. Al-so, children will write a sentence about what the holiday means to them. Geography activities will include looking at maps and locating various coun-ties and discussing the holidays celebrated in those countries. Aside from this, they will take walks (weather permit-ting) to Macy’s light show, Comcast holiday show, Christmas village and Rit-tenhouse Square to see the Menorah.

Birthdays– 12/28 Hazel

During the month of No-vember, the Quads learned a lot about caring and sharing and being thankful. They spend a good amount of time car-ing for their environment. They did chores and took on jobs such as librarian and specific center keep-er. In addition, they worked on taking initiative to keep their environment clean and tidy. Finally, they hosted a shared feast where parents were invited. It was a success-ful feast. The Quads were very excited to be in the company of their parents as well as the company of parents of their peer. They ate good food and displayed good social skills as they talked to and greeted parents.

Throughout the month of December, the Quads will listen to stories about Ha-

School Closings:

December 23rd

December 26th

Upcoming Events

Announcements & Reminders

Every Wednes-day is pizza day.

˚Check chil-dren’s mail slots every day.

˚Friends Child Care Center is on Facebook. Check us out for upcoming Fundraising Events.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-Child-Care-Center/197767671575

˚Resource Library: CHECK IT OUT

Parents and teachers are wel-come to borrow books from our resource library in the B space

alcove. Please complete the bor-rower’s form and drop it in the right side slot. Please return borrowed materials in a timely fashion, so that others have an opportunity to borrow as well. Visit www.librarything.com, Username: fccc, Password: 1501cherry for a list of books in our library.

˚Additional Parking Placards are available in the FCCC Office, 2nd Floor of the C space.

Holiday Potluck-December 8th

Preschool Trip- A Year with Frog and Toad-January 19th at the Arden Theatre

Page 6 FCCC NEWSLETTER

School Closing Policy:

In the event that FCCC is closing for snow or any other emergency, our school num-ber is 3005 and will be an-nounced on KYW News radio 1060 AM, as well as KYW 1060 website, at cbsphilly.com/schools. You can also call the KYW school closing line at (215) 925-1060. FCCC will close for the day if Friends Center (215) 241-7000 closes.

The Director and Office Manager will call the Lead Teachers who will divide the list amongst the Assistant Teachers and all families will be called.

If the public schools close, FCCC will automatically open at 9:00am to permit staff time to arrive to work safely. You will not receive a phone call for this procedural clos-ing. If, due to inclement weather, FCCC needs to close, you will be notified by email and telephone. You may call the main office number to check on the school’s sta-tus.

Meet Our Staff

Floaters: Subs: Gail Centola Administration: Raechel, Susan, Deneeya

Classroom Allergy Alerts:

NUT FREE CLASSROOMS:

CUDDLE CUBS AND PRE-SCHOOL

»Please be sure to check the expiration dates on your child’s epi-pens (and all other medi-cations). All medications should move with a child into their new classroom when they transition.

»Please be sure to wash both you and your child’s hands im-mediately upon arrival into your child’s classroom.

Illness Policy:

It is in the best interest of the

children and staff that everyone participates in reducing the spread of illness and maintaining a healthy environment. FCCC bases its health and wellness policies in accordance with DPW Regulations and the American Academy of Pediatrics Caring for Our Children Performing Standards. Please call to inform us whenever your child will be absent due to illness. Your child may not be brought in for child care unless she/he is able to participate fully in all activities including outdoor play. You will need a back-up plan you can use when your child is sick.

Please be alert for pre-illness symptoms such as lethargy, glassy eyes, diarrhea, fever, etc., and keep your child home if she/he seems to be coming down with something.

When a child has been diagnosed with an infectious (contagious) illness, FCCC issues an Infec-tious Disease alert via email to the affected classroom. If mul-tiple cases occur throughout the Center, a center-wide notifica-tion will go out via email. The identity of the child will not be given and personal information will be kept confidential.

Allergy Information & Health Policy

FCCC Website Information

Be sure to visit our website at www.friendschildcare.org to download forms, check out calendar events, and visit the classroom portal to see what is happening in your child’s classroom. Parent Password is ‘letmein.’

Thank you for helping to make FCCC the best it can be.

Preschool Teachers: Teresa, Cordella, Missy, Bjay, Shaquae, Kenyetta

Care Bears Teachers: Markita, Erica, Kyra, Nathalie, April Bear Cub Teachers: Michelle, Linda, Andrea Cuddle Cub Teachers: Shannon, Barbara, Ericka, Ashley, Anayah Puddle Jumper Teachers: Lea, Zakiyah, Renee, Shanice

Page 7 FCCC NEWSLETTER

Director’s News (continued) representative of our FCCC community and fami-lies. Classroom curricu-lums will reflect and cele-brate this diversity through music, songs, sto-rytelling, foods and art. Visits to the light show at Macy’s, the giant menorah at Independence Hall and to Reading terminal to see holiday trains and lights are common occurrences for all age groups. Teach-ers will let you know in ad-vance when they plan to visit these sights and there may be spontaneous trips as well. Please make sure children arrive to school no later than 9:30 a.m. or call if you will be arriving later. We don’t want anyone to miss out or be disappointed arriving to empty classrooms.

I hope this season of giv-ing, receiving and being

thankful is rewarding to all. Along with all the cel-ebration comes shopping, visits with loved ones and much over stimulation to our little ones (adults too!) with all the festivi-ties. Be mindful to stop and listen to your child when he or she is ex-pressing fatigue or stress. Most things can wait. Young children have limited self-regulation skills and rely on grownups to help them identify their emotions and develop coping skills. Parents can support self-regulation by showing em-pathy and being respon-sive to children’s needs. Remain calm, speak in softer tones, explain ac-tions, give ample transi-tion time between activi-ties, and take time out to cuddle and soothe chil-dren when needed. Cud-

dling makes everybody feel better. : )

Please Join Us

FCCC’s annual holiday pot-luck will take place on Thursday – December 8, 2016, 5-6:30pm, in the Cherry Street Room. This event brings everyone to-gether to share a meal and get to know new peo-ple, as well as reconnect with folks you haven’t seen in a while. Sign-up sheets are posted in classrooms and you can email Deneeya (fcccoffice@friendschildcare.org) with questions. I hope to see you there!

May this season of joy bring you much happiness and peace.

Happy holidays!

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Bake Sales

Fundraising at FCCC

Throughout the year, par-ents will be asked to sup-port fundraising through volunteerism and participa-tion. There are many ways in which you can be sup-portive.

Provide baked goods for bake sales.

Actively seek donations and company sponsorship for annual auction event.

Volunteer to be a fund-raising cheerleader for your child’s classroom.

Seek to meet minimum family participation levels for small fundraisers held throughout the year.

Fundraising Events:

If you have any suggestions on Fundraising ideas, please don’t hesitate to let us

know. Also, if you are in-terested in volunteering on the Fundraising Committee, please notify the office. We would love your help!

FCCC runs semi-annual bake sale fundraisers throughout the year to help offset program-ming costs. We look to our families to volunteer to help with these events. Upcoming 2016-2017 Bakes Sale Schedule: week of January 23rd-27th Families are asked to sign up to bake goods to be sold in the Friends

Center Lobby to building tenants and visitors. Bakes sales run from 8:00am-3:00pm daily. Please provide a list of in-gredients in order to maintain safe options for all those with food aller-gies. Parents are also needed to help table-sit during these bake sales. We appreciate your sup-port.

Opportunities:

T-shirts purchase T-shirts $14

Bake Sales man the tables, bake goodies

Annual Appeal donate di-rectly to FCCC, ask for matching fund from employ-er

DECEMBER 2016 Page 9

Page 10 FCCC NEWSLETTER

1501 Cherry Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102

(215)241-7011 (tel)

(215)864-6973 (fax)

www.friendschildcare.org

Office (215) 241-7011 fcccoffice@friendschildcare.org

Director (215) 241-7108 fcccdirector@friendschildcare.org

Finance (215) 241-7011 fcccfinance@friendschildcare.org

Care Bears (215) 241-7013 carebears@friendschildcare.org

Bear Cubs (215) 241-7012 bearcubs@friendschildcare.org

Cuddle Cubs (215) 241-7027 cuddlecubs@friendschildcare.org

Puddle Jumpers (215) 241-7012 puddlejumpers@friendschildcare.org

Triangles (215) 241-7012 triangles@friendschildcare.org

Quads (215) 241-7007 quads@friendschildcare.org

FRIENDS CHILD CARE CENTER