December 2022

Our mission is to elevate child development to a new level by leading the social, emotional growth, and education of young children while providing a safe, welcoming, home-like environment with a caring, educated and professional staff that promotes partnerships with parents, children, and other childhood professionals.
News...

Special Events
December 3rd - Normal Christmas Parade
December 10th - Breakfast with Santa at Katie's Kids
December 19-December 23- Winter Spirit Week
December 23-26 - Katie's Kids Closed
January 2 - Katie's Kids Closed


Katie's Kids will be closed in celebration of the holiday on

December 23 & 26
January 2

Please fill out your child's day in attendance on the form in your child's classroom during the week of December 19 and December 26. This helps us to ensure our classrooms are staffed properly during the holidays.
Katie's Kids Mitten Tree

In keeping with the mitten tree tradition, Katie's Kids will be collecting hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens for the Children's Home and Aid.
   
If your family wishes to participate, please help fill our trees with items! All donations can be placed on the mitten tree. 
 
Please have all donations on the tree by Dec. 22nd
Thank you to all of our families who signed up for Breakfast with Santa. All of our spaces are currently filled; however, you may sign up at the bottom if we were to have a last-minute opening.
If you signed up, you should have received an RSVP to fill out and return with your payment no later than Friday, December 9th.
Healthy Alternative 
for a holiday cookie exchange

★★★★★

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies


 
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease them.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter, coconut sugar and cane sugar. With a hand-held electric mixer or by hand, beat them together until they are fully incorporated and lighter in color.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and blend until combined.
  4. Lastly, add the oats, oat flour and whole wheat flour. Blend on low speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, and mix briefly to be sure it's evenly blended.
  5. With a cookie dough scoop or two spoons, scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough at a time onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches of space around each cookie.
  6. Bake the cookies for 12 to 13 minutes, until they're a light golden brown with slightly darker edges. Their middles may still look a tiny bit shiny; that's OK, they'll continue to bake as they cool on the pan.
  7. Remove the cookies from the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely on the pan before handling (these cookies are delicate when warm). Repeat with any remaining cookies.
NOTES
**HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN OAT FLOUR: In a blender or food processor, blend up about ½ cup old-fashioned oats until you have a fine flour. You will have some extra flour left over (it stores well, so I always make extra for future baking projects).
***FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: You can also use gluten-free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour.
MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats and oat flour (or make your own out of certified gluten-free oats).
MAKE IT DAIRY FREE: Replace the softened butter with room temperature coconut oil.
IF YOU WANT TO ADD MIX-INS: You can fold in up to 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and/or chopped nuts at the end, just before you scoop the dough. You might need to bake the cookies a minute or two longer, given the increase in volume.

recipe from: Cookies + Kate
2005 Jacobssen Drive Normal, IL

Our neighbors at Springfield Clinic are offering FREE WELLNESS EXAMS for any family until December 31, 2022.

Call 309.319.7360 to schedule your appointment! Brochures regarding these exams are available in our lobby!
Emotions...
We understand that children share a wide range of emotions and learning how to work through them is sometimes tough work for a child. Here are a few books we would like to share to help your child work through their emotions.

Older Infants:
  • "Happy Hippo, Angry Duck" Sandra Boynton clever animals share a wide range of emotions about different feelings
  • "Making Faces" Abrams Appleseed images of babies expressions
Toddler Books:
  • "No Matter What" by Debi Gliori talks about unconditional love of a mom
  • "Finn Throws a Fit" by David Elliott
Preschool Books:
  • "Today I Feel Silly" by Jamie Lee Curtis assist kids explore, identify, and, even have fun with their ever-changing moods
  • "The Bad Seed" by Jory John & Pete Oswald great for showing kids that your reputation and past actions don’t make you who you are. It is possible to change our choices.
Share your positive moments!

Do you have any positive moments you want to share about our staff? If so, we want to hear and share them! Simply click on the button below, fill out the form, and submit.

Help spread the word of Katie's Kids!

Do you have a friend, neighbor, or colleague looking for care? For every family you refer to Katie's Kids we will apply a $50 credit to your account after the family has been with us for 90 days.
Katie's Kids Learning Center at Ft. Jesse
Accredited by: National Accreditation Commission