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JOHN KENNEY CHILD CARE CENTER at Heller Park April 2017

211 Mill Road, Edison, NJ 08837 (732) 287-4888 Fax (732) 287-2161

Subsidized Quality Child Care for Heller Park Employees, Edison Residents, and Edison Township Employees

Week of the Young Child April 24-28, 2017

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers and families. This will be a very spe-cial week for us here at John Kenney, we will celebrate with five fun-filled, themed days.

Music Monday, April 24— Children will make instruments and learn a new song or fingerplay. Tasty Tuesday, April 25– Each class will conduct a “taste test” of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Work Together Wednesday, April 26– Children will work together in a variety of ways throughout the day. Artsy Thursday, April 27– Each class will focus on creat-ing 3 dimensional art. Family Fun Friday, April 28— We encourage you to stop by your child’s classroom and share a family story with the children and teachers. Each classroom has their own unique family display, please send in a family picture so we can ensure that your family is included!

Also, we will be celebrating Family Fun Friday & Earth Day with an outdoor celebration on Friday, April 28th from 4:00 –6:00 PM. Activities will include planting seeds, mak-ing bird feeders, and preparing our garden boxes (see at-tached flyer).

Spring Portraits

Jelly Jar will be coming out to take Spring portraits of the children! We will be taking individual and sibling pictures during the day on Tuesday, April 4th and Wednesday, April 5th. You will also have the opportunity to take pictures as a family on Wednesday, April 5th from 5-7 PM. There is a sign up sheet above the time clock with available time slots. We will not be taking class pictures this time around.

The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 4th Green & Blue Rooms (and their siblings)

Wednesday, April 5th

Yellow, Red, and Orange Rooms

and Family Portraits

5-7 PM

The Chicks are Coming… On Tuesday, April 11th we will begin our Quiver Farms Chick Hatch-ing Project. Twelve chick eggs will be delivered to the school on this day. We will then get to observe the eggs, watch the chicks hatch, and even watch them grow for about a week until the farmer picks them on Friday, April 21st This is always a fun project enjoyed by all of the chil-

dren, staff, and parents. Children learn so much from hands on projects like this. They learn to observe and record (draw pictures of what they see), about the chick’s life cycle, as well as what it takes to take care of an animal like a chick.

Come join us as we celebrate

Family Fun Friday & Earth Day

Friday, April 28th 4-6 PM (rain date—Friday, May 5th)

On our Playground

Come spend quality time with your child and help us prepare our garden for the Spring and Summer seasons.

Activities will include planting seeds, making bird feeders, and preparing

our garden boxes.

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John Kenney Child Care News

What's Your Story?

Every family has a story. It is this story that unifies us, gives us a core identity. Think for a moment: what was the narrative of the family in which you grew up? Of the family in which you are raising your children? And why are these important things to consider? Psychologists tell us that children with the most self-confidence are those who have a "strong inter-generational self." They have internalized the concept that they are part of something bigger than themselves, part of a larger family. Studies have shown that such children are more likely to have a stronger sense of control over their lives and higher self-esteem, believing that their families function successfully. How do families create this sense of a strong family narrative? I think there are three main things to consider. 1. One is the building of family identity through shared activities. As families build memories together through common experiences, they create a sense of shared history. Celebrating holidays, enjoying vacations, family reunions, common hobbies or interests - all of these contribute to family identity. Activities as simple as Friday night pizza or playing familiar games create the sense of family togetherness. 2. Slightly different, but related, is the second idea to consider for family cohesion - the development of family traditions and rituals. As children participate in the small family customs that develop overtime, they perceive their family as unique and unified. Birthday cake for break-fast, clues for presents hidden on the Christmas tree - repeating pleasurable things makes them traditions. Even silly things, like continuing to use the mended Christmas stockings that the dog once ate, or keeping the strange mispronunciation of a word developed years ago, by one of the kids, strengthens the sense of distinct-ness as a group. 3. Perhaps most important of all is family communication. And here I don't just mean talking through problems, though certainly effective families do that. Rather, I mean talking about family stories, so that children gain a sense of the family narrative, an explanation of what the group is about. Psychologists have discovered that the best single predictor of children’s emotional health, resilience, and happiness is found in those who know the most about their families. Here are some examples of the "Do You Know?" scale they used to test this hypothesis. "Do you know where your grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know where your parents met? Do you know what your parents studied in college, or how they chose the work that they do? Do you know an illness or something terrible that happened in your family? Do you know the story of your birth? Do you know how you got your name?" And so on. Important bonds are created in families when parents share their family stories. Dinner table conversation becomes meaningful to all, removed from the minutia of daily life. Parents find themselves enjoying their reminiscences, as well as helping themselves and their children appreciate the ups and downs of life. Think about the importance of passing along your family story. Now is a great time you share your story! Let’s celebrate Family Fun Friday by sharing something special about your family . Some ideas include reading your family’s favorite book to your child’s class, sharing a family recipe/cooking project, sharing something special that you like to do together, shar-ing a song or dance that is special to your family, etc. Be Creative!

Pictured left - Lucille’s Aunt and Grandma came to visit the Yellow Room to bake cook-ies with the chil-dren. Each child got a turn to mix the dough. The children then got to eat the cookies that they made for snack!

Pictured right— Taylor Torres’ mom, Janet visit-ed the Red Room to share infor-mation about their culture. Janet showed pictures, shared a few ethnic foods, and even made a huge poster full of information and pictures!

Pictured left— Amanda Lehrman, Jack’s mom, shared information about Chanukah with the Orange Room in Decem-ber. She even taught the children about the menorah and how to play Dreidel.

Pictured right - Brian Scordinsky, Liam’s dad shared story with the Or-ange Room. He used a variety of different accents and voices to really make the story come to life!