279 Egg Harbor Road Sewell, New Jersey 08080

DECEMBER 2015

•We will be closed on Friday, December 25th for Christmas and also on Friday, January 1st for New Years Day. On Thursday December 31st we will be closing at 3 pm for New Years Eve •There will be signup sheets posted on the classroom doors for you to indicate whether or not your child is attending the week between Christmas and New Years. If you would like to use your vacation credit for that week, please submit the request two weeks prior. Thank you!

Wishing you a happy and healthy Holiday Season…

Thien & Stacy

Dear Chesterbrook Parents,

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are here and that the end of 2015 is quickly approaching. We had such a great school year so far and we are sure that it will continue well into 2016. The month of December is filled with a lot of holiday events and festivities so here are a few reminders…

•State mandated flu vaccines for children 5 months to 5 years old are due by December 15th . If you have not already provided documentation, please do so. Thank you!•This month we will be doing a Pajama Giving Tree now through 12/11! We are accepting donations of wrapped children’s pajamas, robes, slippers, etc. Please indicate boy or girl and size on gift tag. Items can be placed under our tree. We will be donating these items to Holy Family Church to be distributed to those less fortunate throughout the community. •Tuesday, December 15th is our annual Breakfast With Santa and Pajama Day. Children can wear their pajamas, have their photo taken with Santa and enjoy brunch. Complete and return the green form with payment if you wish to purchase photos. Extra forms are at the front desk.•The Holiday Show, Book Exchange, and classroom parties will be on Wednesday, December 18th. The party signup sheets will be posted on the classroom doors. Since we are a peanut free school be sure to check the labels of food that you send in.•We are open on Thursday, December 24th for Christmas Eve but we will be closing at 3:00pm for the holiday.

Tips for Making the Holidays Less Materialistic

Calendar of Events

Friday, December 11th is the last day to hand in gifts for the Pajama Giving Tree

Tuesday, December 15th from 10am-12pm Polar Express day & Breakfast with Santa

Wednesday, December 17th Holiday Show, Classroom Holiday Parties & Book Exchange

Thursday, December 24th Closing at 3pm

Friday, December 25th Closed for Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 26th Kwanza begins. Happy Kwanzaa!

Thursday, December 31st Closing at 3pm for New Year’s Eve

Friday, January 1st Closed for New Years Day

Welcome our new Assistant Principal

Thien Kasper!

Thien has her Bachelor’s Degree of Early Childhood Education/ Writing Arts. She has much experience working with Pre- K and Kindergarten and just recently became a Mommy to her new son Carmen Jr.! She is elated to become part of the Chesterbrook

Family! Welcome to our school Thien!

Don’t forget to visit our website for the lunch menu, special

event dates, reminders and so much more…

sewell.chesterbrookacademy.com

InfantsWelcome Carmen to our room and Congratulations Ayla, Violet and Luke on moving up to Toddler A! Some skills we will be covering this month will be: searches for the sound source; gestures to communicate; and strings together sounds and pulls self up to stand. Happy Holidays!

Toddler AHappy Holidays! The children are really settling into our classroom routine as well as enjoying Art and our daily activities. Our Color of the Month will be Red, and The Shape of the Month will be a Star. The children will be asked to use their verbal skills more when pointing to

objects in the books we are reading. Keep an eye out for details about our Holiday Party and Pollyanna. Wishing

everyone a safe and happy season!Toddler B

Season’s Greetings to everyone!! Welcome Danny, Caroline, and Sammi who join us from Toddler A. Happy 2nd Birthday to Anna and Nico. Maggie and Booker are now using open cups! Great job mastering that skill. Some of the skills we will work on this month will be following 2 step directions, using a paint brush and naming shapes. Our Color of the Month will be Red.

Details about our holiday party and book exchange will be posted later.

Beginner AWelcome to December in Beginner A! This month we will

be celebrating Miles’s Birthday on 12/12! We will also have our Santa visits and pictures on 12/15. We will be working on self-help skills such as putting on our own jackets and going on the potty independently! We will also introduce new Spanish vocabulary, “hola” (hello)

and “verde” (green). We are looking forward to a great month and as always it is a pleasure teaching your

children!Beginner B

Welcome to December in Beginner B! We have a lot of exciting things happening this month! This month we

will discuss our season changing to winter. The children will explore what seasonal changes that will happen in winter. We will also say goodbye to 2015! This month the children will learn about different Holidays that are

celebrated in December. We will also celebrate Will’s 3rd Birthday! Our Holiday party sign-up sheet will be posted

on our door. Miss Gab and I are excited for another great month! Happy Holidays!

IntermediatesThis is going to be a fun filled and busy month! We will be celebrating Estella’s birthday this month. In Math we will understand sets, recognizing numerals and work on sorting. In Science we will be exploring colors with color mixing, fun , and as always continue working on Social Emotional skills. We will have a holiday party, visit from

Santa and our fun book exchange. We will keep you posted!Pre K

December is here! This month will be a very busy month. We will be doing different holiday crafts and activities. We also will have a classroom “Elf on the Shelf”. We will be learning new and exciting things

during the month of December. We will be focusing on the difference between real and pretend information in stories. Also, we will be learning about pennies, nickels and dimes. I look forward to this fun and crazy month!

Happy Holidays!Kindergarten

Happy Holidays! This month we are focusing on blending initial, medial, and final /i/, /n/, /b/, and /r/

sounds. We will also be reading text based comprehension such as sequence, realism and fantasy,

compare and contrast, and plot. In math we will be using objects and symbols to solve addition problems. In Science we will learn all about the planet Earth. We are excited to celebrate the Holidays as well as Rhyleigh’s

birthday!

Your Child’s Health…Watch what she’s eating. Another thing that

can fall by the wayside amidst the holiday hubbub is healthy eating. Between all the extra sugary holiday snacks and the lack of time to sit down to regular meals, it can be all too easy for kids to eat less healthy foods, which can contribute to holiday stress and anxiety in children.

Try packing healthy snacks when you have to go shopping or run other holiday errands and try to minimize the amount of sweet treats at home. Whenever possible, offer healthy snacks, such as air-popped popcorn or apple slices with cheese and crackers and limit cookies and candy to after-snack treats.

Get your child moving. Fresh air and exercise are essential for boosting mood and re-setting the spirit, which can alleviate holiday stress and anxiety in children. Make sure you schedule some time to get your child outside to run around and play.

Avoid over scheduling. As tempting as it may be to accept every invitation from friends and family, try to limit your holiday parties and activities so that you and your child are not overwhelmed. A couple of events a week may be fine, but having an obligation every day can lead to holiday stress and anxiety in children.

Have your grade-schooler help you. Big kids love to help mom and dad, especially if they get lots of praise for being responsible and helpful. If you have to shop, ask your child to help you look for an item at the store (fun stocking stuffers for cousins, for example). Giving your child a task will not only boost her self-esteem, it’ll distract her and help prevent any holiday stress and anxiety.

Schedule some quiet time. Having some peace and quiet with your child is more important than ever during the busy holiday season. Find a quiet corner and read a book with your child or create holiday pictures for grandma and grandpa. Take a walk outside in nature, away from noise and crowds and obligations.

Remind your child -- and yourself -- what the holidays are really all about. A great antidote for holiday stress and the bloated commercialism of the season is helping others, whether it’s by shoveling an elderly neighbor’s sidewalk or by wrapping presents for needy kids at your local church. Helping your grade-schooler become a charitable child will help alleviate her holiday stress and anxiety.

Holiday Stress and Anxiety in Children

How to avoid child anxiety and holiday stress during the busy

holiday seasonBy Katherine Lee

The holidays are a fun and joyous time, but also a very busy one, and holiday stress and anxiety in children is a common occurrence. During the holidays, there are lots of fun activities and events going on, both at home and at school. And while that can be a good thing, the reality is that all that hustle and bustle means schedules are often out of whack, bedtimes get pushed back, and routines are disrupted. As a result, it’s inevitable that kids may feel some degree of holiday stress.

Holiday Stress and Anxiety in Children: How Parents Can HelpSet a calm example. The most important way parents can help ease anxiety in children during the holidays is by trying to keep things relaxed as much as possible. As with so many situations, the way parents handle an issue can set the tone for how their kids will behave. If you let holiday stress get to you, your kids will definitely pick up on it, and child anxiety is more likely to be a problem in your house. To minimize anxiety in children during the holidays, take steps to handle your own stress and anxiety.

Set up conditions for good behavior. Avoid taking your child to places such as the mall or holiday gatherings when he is hungry or tired. It’s hard even for grown-ups to deal with noise and lots of stimulation when they’re not feeling their best; kids get hungry more often and become tired more easily, and may understandably have a tough time being on their best behavior and are more likely to experience holiday stress when they’re exhausted or hungry.

Remember the importance of routines. The holidays can throw a big wrench into household routines, and that can play a role in anxiety in children. To minimize holiday stress in your kids, try to get routines back on track once an event or party is over. For instance, if a school holiday concert or a church gathering goes past your child’s bedtime, try to stick to quiet, calm activities the next day and get your child to bed on time the next night.

Making the Holidays Less Materialistic

"The gimmies" are all around us during the holiday season. It's not the gifts but what's behind them that's important — the spirit of giving. Help your kids learn the fun of giving, and how rewarding it can be to look for, make, and wrap something special — or do something special — for people they care about and others who are in need.Here are five ways to curb materialism in your kids and reinforce the real reason for the season:1. Teach Kids to Question Marketing MessagesFrom the TV commercials during cartoons to the promos on the backs of cereal boxes, marketing messages target kids of all ages. And to them, everything looks ideal, like something they simply have to have. The ads kids see around the holidays can help foster unrealistic expectations and lead to disappointment. After imagining their "wish list" items all around them, it's hard for reality to measure up when they actually open their gifts.Explain, when your kids ask for products they see advertised, that commercials and other ads are designed to make people want things they don't necessarily need. And these ads are often meant to make us think that these products will make us happier somehow. Talking to kids about what things are like in reality can help put things into perspective.Teach kids that not everything they want can always be theirs and that a little "want" here and there isn't all bad. The key is to want things in moderation and to fully appreciate what you're given. Emphasize that the holidays are a special time, when a lot of love and thought is put into gift giving.2. Focus on Family TraditionsTraditions that focus on family or friends can be a great way to put meaning back into the holidays. Here are a couple of ideas:Talk about which family traditions your family loves the most. Then figure out how you can put more emphasis on them. If you love the tradition of lighting the menorah, get together as a group to make your own candles. If you enjoy the family trip to pick out a tree, make it an all-day event and head to a tree farm to choose your own.Find out what the holidays mean to others. Have your kids talk to a grandparent, parent, uncle, or aunt about how they spent the holidays growing up. Some holiday traditions that used to be strong — such as neighborhood caroling — are all but lost today. Maybe you'd like to revive some of these as a way to share some holiday spirit with your family, friends, or community. Build some new traditions. If you don't have any family traditions, it's never too late to start. Get together around activities that you all enjoy, such as cooking or ice-skating. Ask your kids what they would enjoy doing every year and make an effort to do it. If you can't all decide on one thing, make traditions out of several, so that everyone feels like part of the festivities.

3. Teach Kids to Give of ThemselvesVolunteerism, especially around the holidays, offers an ideal opportunity for families to have fun and feel closer to each other at the same time. Community service helps to drive home the message that giving is much more than laying down cash for the hot gift of the season or scrambling around to buy mounds of presents.Volunteerism can show kids that giving your time, effort, and kindness is more rewarding than just expecting to receive lots of presents.Also, if volunteering begins at an early age, it can become part of your kids' lives — something they just want to do. It can teach them:that one person can make a difference. A wonderful, empowering message for kids is that they are important enough to have an impact on someone or something else.the benefit of sacrifice. By giving up a toy to a less fortunate child, a child learns that sometimes it's good to sacrifice. Cutting back on recreation time to help others reinforces that there are important things other than ourselves and our immediate needs.tolerance. Working in community service can bring kids and teens in touch with people of different backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, ages, and education and income levels. They'll likely find that even the most diverse individuals can be united by common values.to be even more appreciative of what they have. By helping others who aren't as fortunate, kids can better see all the remarkable things to be grateful for in their own lives.Choose to help an organization or group that fits with your family's values and the things you believe in. Give Gifts With MeaningOf course, gift giving will always be a large part of the holiday season. And with good reason — it can teach kids to really consider what might make others happy and what's important to people they care about. Watching loved ones' faces as they open presents that your children put a lot of heart and thought into can make the holidays more worthwhile for your kids.But presents don't always have to be purchased in a store. Teach your kids how to put some real meaning and feelings into their gifts this year and beyond. Making their own presents can help show just how much kids care and can make the experience of giving more rewarding for both kids and their gift recipients.Be a Good Holiday Role ModelShow your kids that the holidays can be joyous and fulfilling, not just a stress-ridden time that revolves around marathon shopping trips. Emphasize early on that it's not about tons of presents but giving and receiving a few heartfelt gifts.