CFCE Daily Activities and Resources
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Dear CFCE Families,
I hope this email finds you all healthy and well!! We have been at this for over a month, and I am sure that some are feeling the walls and rooms getting smaller :-( Please take a breath, take a moment to yourself. As a parent, taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do! Refuel and re-charge so you can be the best for yourself and your family! The weather will be getting nicer, and we will hopefully be back to some semblance of normalcy soon!! In the meantime,
CFCE Staff
are here for you if you need anything!
Again, we hope that these emails and check-ins from staff have helped give you some connection and fun at home.
Remember to check our
facebook page
. We are posting tips and activities every day! And as always check our
CFCE Calendar
we are posting this email in addition to adding new LIVE ZOOM EVENTS!
Be Safe, Stay Healthy,
Leslie Dunn, CFCE Director and the entire
CFCE Staff
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PARENTS!! We need your input!!
Please help inform CFCE's Plan for Next year, please click the survey link below!
**everyone that completes the survey and enters our FREE RAFFLE will also receive a FREE access code to an online digital library from
Open eBOOKS!!
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Don't Miss, Ms. Marsha's LIVE
'Music and Movement' ON ZOOM!!!
Every Tuesday at 10:30am
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Parent Information and Resources
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Self Care
When you take time to care for yourself, you are better able to care for your child. Even a few minutes of “you time” can help you to recharge so that you can parent at your best. Stress causes wear and tear on a person, inside and out. Keep these tips in mind next time you’re feeling overwhelmed.
- Stay (Virtually) Social. Spending more time at home than usual can take a toll. Reach out to loved ones and friends with a phone call or video chat. Keeping your distance from others doesn’t mean you need to go it alone.
- Sleep. When your little one lays down to rest, try to do the same. If he’s having trouble settling down, sing him a quiet song that you loved when you were small (one that calms you down, too).
- Use water to relax. As you’re bathing your child, soak your hands in the warm water and give yourself a little hand massage, taking long deep breaths as you do so.
- Keep a journal by your bed. Before you fall asleep, remember something funny, kind, or surprising that your child did today. Write a few lines that capture the memory. If you are feeling stressed or down, you can read through your memory journal.
- Fill your cup: Get a glass of water and find a comfy spot to sit. Let your child know, “I’m just going to sit and (read/think/breathe) while I drink this glass of water.” Explain that you’ll be available once the glass is empty. Children have difficulty keeping track of time, and this is a concrete way to help them understand you’re taking a few minutes to yourself.
- Turn on the tunes! Never underestimate the power of music to change the mood. Put together a playlist of songs that make you feel good. You might create different playlists for different moods (one to relax, one to energize, and so on).
- Get moving. Taking movement breaks throughout the day can help alleviate stress and keep you well. Even if you’re stuck inside, try a few small-space, body-weight exercises like squats, lunges, and arm-raises.
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Create a new "For Now" Routine
With things changing each day, due to COVID-19, it is hard to stick to a routine or schedule. Routines are critical to help us and our kids fell calm and in control. Try some of these
great resources
from
Sesame Street in Communities
to help your family create their "FOR NOW" Routine!
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Are you concerned about keeping food on the table due to job loss or illness, or are you just interested in getting some more information? Self Help Inc. can answer any questions you may have about the SNAP Program, and we can help you apply right over the phone! These are stressful times, let us help.
Please call 508-588-0447 x1807 or email:
snap@selfhelpinc.org
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WIC IS HERE FOR YOU!!
During the COVID-19 Health Emergency WIC Programs will remain open and ALL NUTRITION APPOINTMENTS WILL BE DONE BY PHONE ONLY. New families to the WIC program should locate the
closest WIC office
to you to request an appointment by phone. If families cannot get through another option is the state online link to apply online at:
https://www.mass.gov/forms/apply-for-wic-online
Quincy WIC
can be reached at 617-376-8701 and
Randolph
WIC at 781-9614206.
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Food Bank Listings
(please make sure you call or email, as their hours and processes during COVID-19 may be altered)
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WHAT HAVE YOUR FELLOW CFCE FAMILIES BEEN UP TO???
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Check out these great pictures shared with us...we hope they entertain and inspire :-) Thank You to the Caron Family for sharing their great ideas and creativity!
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Make you own Pin the ______on the ______! Get creative! Sylvie and Mathis did a
"Pin the Hat on the Cat!"
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A tray, some shaving cream, a little food coloring and a paint brush,or other utensils to write and draw!
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Leftover
Jellybeans?? Make a sculpture with toothpicks
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Sorting, sorting, and more sorting! See how many red cars you have? How many things with wheels? You can sort it all! Keep a tally!
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Infant-Toddler Activities
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Once your child is able to eat solid foods, make the experience extra fun by shaping his favorite snacks into different geometric shapes. Identifying shapes is a great first step toward letter knowledge skills. In this activity you can talk to your
infant/toddler
about shapes, and he'll get to eat them!
SUPPLIES:
- a child-safe plate
- a high chair
Ask your pediatrician what types of food your infant/toddler can eat. Some common choices include:
- soft-baked sweet potato pieces
- small dices of soft-cooked carrots
- small dices of ripe banana
- squished blueberries
- soft cooked pasta, cut into small pieces
- multigrain cereal O’s
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1: Gather two or three snacks that your infant/toddler likes. Prepare and cook them according to your child’s needs.
Step 2: Using a child-safe plate, arrange the food to create a shape. For example, if you decide to feed your child bananas, carrots and pasta, you can shape the banana pieces into a circle, the carrot pieces into a square and the pasta pieces into a triangle.
Step 3: While your infant/toddler is sitting in his high chair, place the snack in front him. Show him the food shapes and label each one as you go. You may say something like this:
Snack time is extra special today! Look what I made with your carrots—I made a square! The square has four straight lines. And look at your pasta! It looks like a triangle. It has three lines. Your bananas look different too! I made a circle with your banana pieces. There aren’t any lines or sides in a circle.
Step 4: Let your child observe and pick up the snack pieces on his own. Identify which snack food he is putting in his mouth as he eats. Have fun and bon appétit!
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You can foster important language connections by playing a funny guessing game with your child! During the preschool years, children use their background knowledge and observations to make connections between different attributes, events and actions. Research suggests this oral language milestone is important for successful reading comprehension as children grow.
SUPPLIES:
- old magazine, catalog, or newspaper flyer
- two sheets of construction paper
- child safety scissors
- glue stick
- basket
PREPARATION/I
NSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Invite your child to look through old magazines with you and find four or five pictures of animals. Assist her with cutting the pictures out of the magazine and gluing them to construction paper to make picture cards. You could also create some animal pictures by using your computer and printer.
Step 2: Place the picture cards face-down in the basket.
ACTIVITY
Step 1: Invite your child to play an animal guessing game with you. You might say:
Let’s play a game with the animal pictures we found! We’re going to take turns choosing a picture and telling clues about the animal without saying its name. Then, the other person will try and guess the name of the animal!
Step 2: Have your child choose a picture card from the basket without showing you the animal. Encourage her to share some clues about the animal. Suggest to her that she could talk about what the animal looks like, what it can do, what it eats, or where it might sleep. For example, if she chooses a picture of a horse, she might say:
My animal is big and has a swishy tail. I like to ride him every day. Sometimes he eats grass. What is my animal?
Step 3: Take turns describing the pictures and guessing each other’s animal. Add some extra fun by making silly animal sounds!
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LEARN ABOUT MORE ANIMALS, WITH THIS FUN ANIMAL SONG!
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Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting children’s literacy development, especially when children are having difficulty. Explore these ideas and resources:
Big Ideas
- Reading with your child helps your child learn new words and ideas, understand the purposes for reading, hear what reading sounds like, develop thinking and problem-solving skills, and enjoy reading and learning.
- Ask questions that are about ideas or words from the book, can be answered with more than one or two words, and need information from the story to answer.
- Learning how speech can be broken into parts lays the foundation for breaking smaller sound parts in speech.
- Correctly linking sounds to letters to sound out words helps your child read new words, recognize familiar words, and understand what is being read.
- Fluency is the ability to read words, phrases, sentences, and stories correctly, with enough speed and expression. Reading aloud frequently helps your child develop reading fluency. (https://improvingliteracy.org/)
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Dictionary Words ACTIVITY
A dictionary is a valuable learning tool, especially if your child makes up his or her own booklet of words that are challenging.
What you'll need:
- Paper and pencils
- A stapler
- Old magazines
- Newspaper and supplements
What to do:
Encourage your child to make a dictionary by putting together several sheets of paper for a booklet. Ask your child to write at the top of each page a new word he or she has recently learned. If the word can be shown in a picture, have him or her look through magazines and newspapers to find pictures that illustrate the words and paste them on the correct pages.
Have your child write the meaning of each word and a sentence using each new word. Your child can then use some or all of these sentences as the basis for a creative story. Have your child read this story to you and other family members.
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Did you know you can make bread in a bag???? Yes you can, and so can your kids. Check out the
video here,
and the recipe is below. Try talking about different
COOKING VERBS
while you cook!
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BREAD IN A BAG RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
Cooking spray, for mini loaf pans
3 c. all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 c. sugar
1 .25-package active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375º and spray mini loaf pans with cooking spray. In a resealable plastic bag, place 1 cup flour, sugar, and yeast and add warm water.
Seal bag and squish together with your hands to mix. Let rest 10 minutes at room temperature. (Yeast should activate.) Add 1 cup flour, oil, and salt to the bag, then seal and squish together.
Add remaining cup of flour and mix until combined. Remove from bag and knead 5 minutes until smooth. Halve dough and place in two loaf pans. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 30 minutes.
Brush top of bread with olive oil or melted butter and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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Stay connected to
Mass.gov
for the most up-to-dates information and resource
s
NEW STIMULUS CHECK INFO! If you haven't filed taxes in the last 2 years,
CLICK HERE to update your bank account information for your Stimulus Check
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Make sure EVERY MA Community has the funding and resources it needs for the NEXT 10 YEARS!!!!
COMPLETE YOUR CENSUS TODAY!
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Tax Day Now July 15
On March 20, 2020, Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin announced that Tax Day has been moved from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties, regardless of the amount owed.
The Treasury Secretary encouraged taxpayers who might have a tax refund to file now to receive your refund.
FREE Online Tax Filing Options (simple returns)
***The Self Help Inc. VITA program is currently suspended, but we are working on a file upload system, so we can prepare your taxes over the phone. Check our
WEBSITE
for all updates
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COVID-19 Information and Resources
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NEW!!
Text
covidma
to
888777
to get text updates from the state about the most recent Covid-19 news
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