Jump Start, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade Newsletter
December 2019
MAP at the HOLIDAY STROLL!
Come visit the MAP booth at the Holiday Stroll on Friday, December 6th from 4-9pm!
When you're ready for a break from caroling, tree lighting, eating, and shopping, come make a craft with some of your favorite MAP teachers in the Periodicals Room of the Medfield Library. See you there!
Important December Dates:

EARLY RELEASE DAYS
*Thursday 12/5
*Tuesday 12/10
*Wednesday 12/18
*Friday 12/20
What will happen @ MAP? 
If an Early Release Day falls on your child's regular day to attend MAP, we will be expecting them to be here unless you notify us (there is no Jump Start). There is no special sign up or extra charge for the extended coverage. If your child will not be coming, please make sure to notify MAP. Meghan.map@comcast.net or ( 508) 359-2165 
  • Jump Start - NO MAP
  • AM K & PM MAP – Children will be released to MAP @ 11:40.
  • AM MAP & PM K – Children have NO SCHOOL and may stay at MAP until 2:30 or their usual pick up time.
  • 1st Grade & Full Day K have a half-day, and will be released to MAP @11:40. 
  • All children need to come to MAP with a lunch (and a toothbrush if you gave your permission)

MAP will CLOSED over the Winter Break 12/23/19 through 1/1/20!

Looking Ahead to January 2020

Wednesday 1/1/2020 – Happy New Year!
Thursday 1/2 – Welcome back to school and MAP!
Friday 1/17 - Early Release Day, no school for AM K - PM K attends the AM session of kindergarten. MAPsters who are in AM K have no school, and can attend MAP from 8:30-2:30 or their regular pick-up time. We will be expecting all children who regularly attend on Fridays unless you notify us otherwise. No special sign-up is necessary
Monday 1/20 - No School - MAP Closed

*** Please keep an eye out for our February Vacation Sign Up . MAP will be Open from 8:00am to 6:00pm, Tuesday 2/18--Thursday 2/20. We are closed Monday 2/17 for President’s Day and on Friday 2/21 for a MAP Teacher Professional Day.
A Very MAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Special thanks to all of the families who came out and celebrated with us at MAP's 30th Birthday Party! Great food, family & friends, fun games, and a good time was had by all! And we also squeezed in a celebration of Gaye Shannon's 30 years at MAP as our Executive Director! What an amazing night!
JumpStart and Half Day K at MAP
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November was Math month for our MAPsters! The kids did so well working with numbers and shapes. They learned so much and had a lot of fun. Here are some of the great activities we did:

  • Math Books - Mouse Count, Mouse Shape, Just Enough Carrots & The Doorbell Rang
  • Pattern Blocks
  • Measuring with rulers and Unifix Cubes
  • Dice Games
  • Graphing
  • Played the games Sorry, Trouble, and Go Fish
  • Shape pictures
  • Measured heavy and light
  • Mass and Volume
  • Measured with cooking tool and made their own Playdoh
   
The Holiday Shop is a fun store for the children of MAP to secretly do their holiday shopping for family and friends. All items will be priced between $1 to $5. In addition, they will be able to wrap and make tags for their gifts at our gift wrapping station. Of course, participation is optional, but it is a fantastic way for young children to be involved and learn the joy of holiday gift giving! 
 
Holiday Shop is self sustaining, but we also love donations! We can use any small, unused items that you already have around the house - please don't go out and buy anything for the shop! We all have those gifts we received but never used and items we bought that we didn't really need. Think about kids' party favors that no one will miss (just be sure to sneak them out of the house!). Children will be buying gifts for all ages, so we can really use anything. 
 
The proceeds from the Holiday Shop will be used to make a donation to a charitable organization that the children help choose & to help support some special programming for early release & non-school days.

HOLIDAY SHOP WILL BE OPEN DECEMBER 4-20, BOTH MORNINGS AND AFTERNOONS

Just a few examples of items we can use:
candles, small games & toys , mugs, flashlights , soaps and lotions, pet toys , art & craft supplies, flowerpots , picture frames, sports trinkets, ornaments
keychains , costume jewelry, scarves, gloves, & mittens, office supplies, stationary items, wrapping paper,  clear tape , bows & ribbons
CLUB UPDATE

MONDAYS
Giving Club with Jeanne - Our first club meeting was busy as we all worked hard on making Thanksgiving centerpieces for the Senior Center community. No doubt they enjoyed the homemade cards that were included as well. Looking forward to continued giving as we take time to consider the needs of others. 

Holidays Around the World Club with Trish - Our first Club we celebrated Thanksgiving & talked about what we are thankful for! We made wonderful paper plate Turkeys! For our second club we celebrated Diwali- which is a Festival of Lights in India & other countries.  


TUESDAYS
Ooey Gooey Club with Jodi- Things have been very ooey and gooey to start off the messy fun! The kids have been great at following directions and having fun while they get all slimed up! We'll be mixing it up a little (don't worry it's not ALL slime making) but I hope they have been following the where and when to play with slime rules at home!

Gadgets and Gizmos Club with Joanne- Things have been rolling along smoothly in Gizmos and Gadgets Club! Our MAPsters were excited and busy as we began to explore simple machines and laws of motion. We played with pulleys and made carriers to send loads of “lumber” and animals down zip lines. This past week, we assembled cardboard tube cars. Several children enjoyed tweaking the design of their car and/or helping a friend make a needed repair. (“I need tape!!”). We tested our vehicles on a ramp, then headed to the incline in the hallway. It was amazing to see how much fun and laughter resulted from playing with a creation made of cardboard and old CDs! I am looking forward to our next sessions and hope the children are too!


WEDNESDAYS
Fun with Food Club with Terri - Fun with Food and the Five Senses” Club has started with “Bumpy Gourds and a tangy Pomegranate, crispy French Fries with a variety of dipping sauces to taste and Hot Potato laughter!!

Wacky World of Animals Club with Leslie and Kim- We have had so much fun already!! The kids have enjoyed talking about farm animals and reptiles. They made adorable piggy banks out of bottles and tissue paper. By creating masks, the kids became reptiles! They moved and sounded just like dragons and dinosaurs!!
 

THURSDAYS
Wizards and Witches Club with Megan S. - Our young witches and wizards have gone to Ollivander‘s wand shop where the kids were able to design and make their very own wands! We made some treats that a witch or wizard might have for a tasty snack. For the next few weeks we will travel to Hogwarts and take a Potions class and play some wizard games like Quidditch!

Beanie Baby Fun Club with Nancy and Kathy - Beanie Baby Club is under way, and we are having quite the fun time!! Our first week gave the kids the fun, yet difficult task of choosing 2 Beanie Babies to adopt from the many donated by our daughters. The next week we had a festive Adoption Celebration, complete with cookies and lemonade. During these first two weeks, we also discussed giving and community service. The kids watched a video of how donated toys reach children in Guatemala, and they chose to give the remaining Beanie Babies to these kids - arriving for this holiday season. They helped package them all up with hugs and wished them safe travels!! We also discussed some community service ideas. They think it’s a great idea to help the elderly who have memory issues by buying them life-like baby dolls to snuggle. When asked how to raise a little bit of money ($5 each), they suggested some chores at home.... so watch out for a Chores Commitment from them soon!  We also plan to make blankets and habitats for their new Beanie Babies, along with some other fun adventures with their new lovies !!


FRIDAYS
Medfield Club with Mike - It’s only been two weeks, and we’ve learned quite a bit about our town already! We made Medfield collages, learned about art and parks around Medfield from Jean Mineo, and heard a story about the abominable snowman from Medfield’s own storyteller, artist, and MAP teacher extraordinaire, Kurt Jackson! Did you know that the first female writer to be paid for her work was from Medfield? Did you know that Medfield’s own Lowell Mason started music education in schools and arranged the music for Joy to the World?

Session 3 Clubs will be offered when
we come back to MAP in January and start the week of 1/13. 
Look for the NEW CLUBS in our
January Newsletter.
Afternoons @ MAP


Our November afternoons have been busy at MAP! The kids and teachers started new clubs this month that have been so much fun! Measuring and mixing to make slime, learning about physical science while making gizmos and gadgets, or exploring the different ways holidays are celebrated around the world, are just a few examples of how the children continue to learn at MAP. The gym keeps the kids moving by playing Scooter Cracker Dodge, Slap the Cheese, Pizza Maker, and many more kids' favorites.

The children gave back to their community by packaging socks for 162 girls feet (1620 Toes will be kept warm) and 204 boys feet (2040 toes!) for Cradles to Crayons and making a Giving plate that went to the Pfaff MAP to say thank you for the Haunted Maze.

We also had two half days this month. Since it is MAP's 30th birthday, we did a favorites day on November 8th. The teachers did some crafts that the kids love (Fuse beads, pony beads, laser tag, and slime to name a few). On Wednesday the 27th, we had our annual Feast and Football day. The Medfield Football team and Cheerleaders stopped by to teach the kids some football moves and cheers. The kids also made Thanksgiving decorations and snacks for our feast that happens during snack. The kids had a blast!


We hope that everyone had wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends and that you continue to enjoy your time together. We look forward to the all the fun that December brings.
Snow Days & Emergency Closings
What You Need to Know!

When the Medfield Public Schools are closed, MAP cannot provide care, and will be CLOSED.  Regular tuition payments are still due for snow/emergency closing days.   

For Delayed Openings:  In the event of a delayed opening, MAP will open after that delay. For example, after a 1-hour delay MAP will open at 9:30 am for children in morning Jump Start & Kindergarten MAP at Memorial.  

Cancellations:   If morning kindergarten is cancelled, there will be no AM MAP. Children in FULL DAY JUMP START & PM MAP (Kindergarten & Jump Start) can be dropped off at 11:15 am. For all other children in the program, MAP will open at the usual time.  If afternoon kindergarten is cancelled, and your child is in morning MAP (Kindergarten & Jump Start), you will need to pick up your child by 12:15 pm.

Early Closings for Children in Jump Start, Half Day Kindergarten and FDK-Grade 6:  If the schools elect to close early, MAP will be closed for all children in Jump Start through 6th grade. Children in attendance (Jump Start & Kindergarten) will need to be picked up and children in K-6th will be sent home or to your emergency destination on the bus. Children will not be sent to MAP as MAP will not be open! If the Medfield Public Schools elect to close after the children who attend AM kindergarten & Jump Start children are in attendance, MAP will reach out to families to come and pick up their children as soon as possible but no later than 3:00 p.m.  

In the event there is a weather related or other emergency and the schools are closed but MAP is scheduled to be open or if MAP elects to close early, MAP will communicate with an email notice asking that you come and pick up your child as soon as possible, post on our website, will broadcast on Channel 7 News and on their web site www.whdh.com any closings, delays, or emergencies (early closing). MAP will use its own discretion on its openings and closing based on the severity of the emergency.
 
Other emergencies:  If MAP were to lose power, heat, or have any other emergencies that would necessitate us to evacuate the building, the following procedures will be implemented:
MAP will announce on Channel 7/www.whdh.com an emergency closing. All families will be contacted and ask to come and pick up their child or send their emergency designated person. If these locations are not deemed appropriate by Town Officials, we will follow their instructions and notify you as to where we are. Please remember to keep MAP updated on your numbers and persons that we are authorized to release your child to.
It is very important that the Medfield schools as well as MAP have names and numbers of emergency persons that we can access in the event of any emergency closings.
Meghan Jackson
JumpStart, K-1 Program Director
508.359.2165  
Annette Gallagher
Executive Director
508.359.0003
MAP provides high quality afterschool enrichment programs and is supported by tuition & tax-deductible contributions from families, their employers, other organizations. Proudly serving Medfield families for over 20 years! A nonprofit organization.
 
Fed ID # 04-3061993