Keeping Safe During the Holiday Season

As we are on the brink of the most wonderful time of year, it can be a very exciting but also very scary time! Take the time out to double and triple check our list of holiday safety tips to optimize your family's safety this holiday season!

1. Watch out for small kids and distracted drivers in parking lots that are busier than usual during the holidays.

2. If your child’s heart is set on a bike, skateboard or scooter this holiday season, be sure to include a helmet to keep them safe while they’re having fun.

3. Consider your child’s age when purchasing a toy or game this holiday season. It’s worth a second to read the instructions and warning labels to make sure the gift is just right.

4. Keep a special eye on small pieces, including button batteries that may be included in electronic toys. While these kinds of games are great for older kids, they can pose a potential danger for younger, curious siblings.

5. Keep holiday candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn, and don’t forget to blow them out when you leave the room or before you go to sleep.

6. If you are planning to travel during the holiday season, be sure to keep your travel plans off your social media networks. Never post where you are going, when you are leaving, or when you will be back. This is prime information for a thief because he will know when your house will be empty.

7. You probably want to keep gifts out of sight from children, but you should also make sure gifts are hidden from a potential burglar as well. Putting pretty wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree looks nice, but it’s also an open invitation for a burglar. Try to keep your Christmas tree, with gifts underneath, away from windows or other places with a view.

Breakfast with Santa!...

Every year the big guy comes to visit us at AoSL straight from the North Pole. This year he brought along his reindeer AND a petting zoo! There were special Christmas breakfast snacks, a letter writing station, "Snowman Soup" to-go, and Reindeer food! It was so much fun! Can't wait to see what he has in store for us next year.

Enjoying special snacks!

Enjoying special Christmas snacks!

Enjoying Christmas snacks and getting "Snowman Soup" to-go!

Writing letters to drop in Santa's Mailbox!

Pictures with Santa!

Pictures with Santa!

Pictures with Santa!

Riding Santa's reindeer!

Train rides!

Petting zoo fun!

Petting zoo fun!

Yong In Martial Arts!

As the weather is colder and our friends are not able to go outside quite as much as they do in warmer weather, we have utilized our indoor play spaces and called on some neighboring friends to help get us moving. Yong In Martial Arts Academy came to do a demo with our kiddos. Yong In Martial Arts offers Tae kwon do, Hapkido, Martial Arts Sparring, and Self Defense, all with flexible schedules for children 3 to 5 years old. Children learn balance, team work, control, focus/memory, coordination, and respect all while having fun.
Here are a few fun shots of our demo class.

Books for Baby!

Remember that while babies aren't born book lovers, they are born learners. The more you read to them, the more they learn. They learn to love the feel of the pages in their hands (or their mouth), the sound of your voice, the beauty of the illustrations — the joy of a good book.

Newborns see things best from about a foot away — or the distance from your face to your baby's while you're holding him. So it's best to select books with high-contrast images. Black-and-white illustrations and patterns (stripes, polka dots, checkers) provide plenty of entertainment for infants of this age.

To stimulate older babies, look for books that require some manual dexterity. Lift-the-Flap, touch-and-feel books, and chunky board books sized for little hands are both fun and challenging.

Most babies do not have the attention span required for lengthy picture books, so stick to simple text and rhymes accompanied by vivid pictures. Also, sturdy construction is important — you want books that will last!

An infant friend reads his book in the indoor play area.

A friend in Infant 5 enjoys reading a book.

Letters to Santa!

Santa should be expecting Christmas lists from some very deserving friends in Pre K 2! They took their time writing letters and making sure they were stamped to be sent off to the North Pole. Our mailbox will be here until Santa's mail-carrier elves come to collect it, and take it to the North Pole on Friday December 22nd, so Santa's worker elves have plenty of time to assemble gifts. Be sure to drop your letter in the mailbox soon!

Academics in Pre K

Each week our Pre K classes jump straight in their curriculum. Every week they have a color, shape, number, letter, sight word, and vocabulary word that they practice for the entire week. This week's letter is "Dd," and they have been hard at work practicing writing both capital and lower case "Dd's," making lists of words that began with "Dd," learning what sound "Dd" makes, and recognizing "Dd's" in print. Way to go, Pre K!

December Reminders!

Class Christmas Parties are Friday December 15th at 3:00pm. Remember to sign up to bring NUT FREE treats for your class. Don't forget to wear your favorite Christmas pajamas! Parents are more than welcome to join in on the party fun!

Breakfast with Santa is Saturday December 16th from 10am-12pm at AoSL. Bring the whole family for food, fun, crafts, pictures with Santa, and so much more..!

Remember we are CLOSED December 25th AND 26th for Christmas!

We are also CLOSED January 1st for New Years Day!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

Our friends in Preschool 1 are in the Christmas spirit! They decorated their own Christmas trees! Look at the determination on their faces and fine motor skills at work!

Letter Practice

You’ve heard the argument: Handwriting is over—it’s keyboarding skills all the way. Not so fast. Of course our students need strong keyboarding and tech skills, but handwriting has benefits and creates brain connections that can’t be easily replaced. Here are a few reasons why handwriting matters

1. Good handwriting skills lead to stronger academic performance.
2. Using pen and paper boosts memory.
3. Good handwriting helps kids focus.

Take a look at Pre-K, hitting pencil to paper and practicing writing the "Jj."

DINOSAURS!

The theme this month in PreScholar Enrichment is.....DINOSAURS! 

Here are a few interesting dino facts that you may not have known...

• The word dinosaur comes from the Greek language and means ‘terrible lizard’. The word was coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842 and was meant to refer to Dinosaurs impressive size rather than their scary appearance.

• Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for over 160 million years, from the Triassic period around 230 million years ago through the Jurassic period and until the end of the Cretaceous period around 65 million years ago.

• The time period from 250 million years ago until around 65 million years ago is known as the Mesozoic Era. It is often referred to as the Age of the Dinosaurs because most dinosaurs developed and became extinct during this time.

• It is believed that dinosaurs lived on Earth until around 65 million years ago when a mass extinction occurred.

Our friends in Toddler 2 enjoyed "feeding' the dinosaurs today in their Movement class!

Elf on the Shelf...A Christmas Tradition

At the North Pole, Santa has many helpers who make the Christmas season special! His Scout Elves serve as his eyes and ears in homes and schools around the world. Santa sent a Scout Elf by the name of Abby to Seaboard Lane today in the wee hours of the morning! Be on the lookout for Abby and any mischievous elf activity in your classrooms! 

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are small movements — such as picking up small objects and holding a spoon — that use the small muscles of the fingers, toes, and wrists. Fine motor skills require patience.
Why is fine motor skill development important? Little hands need to develop dexterity and strength. We help by encouraging children to play, explore, and interact with a variety of items. Toys, clothing fasteners, safe scissors and play dough are all tactile examples of practice that facilitate fine motor development skills. These types of “play” activities and manipulation skills will actually help prepare children to hold and use a crayon. The ability to do so is the first step in learning to color, draw and ultimately write. 

Our friends in Preschool 2 used Christmas decorating as an opportunity to perfect their fine motor skills. 

 Painting popsicle sticks that will be turned into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!