Dates to Note
3/3
A-T Hours of Operations at Both Sites
**Teacher Inst. Day
CH site closed, but FG is open to all enrolled
Field Trip to Aurora Fire Barn (am)
Special event: North to Alaska (pm)
3/24
*SIP Day
Special Event: Kid’s Flea Market
3/27-31 Spring Break - Both sites of the A-T
closed for the week
*SIP days and **Teacher Institute Days are free of
charge for families enrolled in the AT Program,
your child’s name must be on the signup in order
to attend. Signups are always displayed on the
parent’s table at each site.**
AM session: 7:00a-8:20a / PM session: 3:30p-6p
(after 6:01p, staff will contact you for an ETA, and late charges
will be applied to your household account or must be paid by
check upon arrival.)
Please see the program handbook for additional
information pertaining to Adventure Time
CH Site: Entry is at door 17
FG Site: Entry is at door 15
(ring buzzer for admittance at each site)
*If the site has to change locations due to a school event,
there will be a sign posted on the door with instructions
for entry. If you do not hear the security buzzer after you
press it for entry, please phone into the site as it may be
the buzzer is out of order.
A-T Staff Currently On Duty in Program
GENTLE REMINDER: There is no hot lunch served on
Mrs. Shakin - Director of Program
Ms. (Katie) Pitts - Lead Assistant
Ms. (Samantha) Pitts - Assistant
Ms. Cottrill - Assistant
Ms. Patel - Assistant
Mrs. Stahr - Assistant
Mr. Sheesley - Assistant
SIP/TI Days and the program does not stock any food
for those students that do not bring a lunch. Your
child must have a lunch that is nut/seed free for
these days.
Please keep in mind all staff rotate sites on a regular basis.
Rhythm of the Day Activities
DAY
AM Activities
PM Activities
Monday
Huckle Buckle
Free Play
Tuesday
Silent Ball
Low Impact Rec Day
Wednesday
Bucket Golf
Spring Theme Activities
Thursday
Pictionary or Hangman
Free Play
Friday
Toilet Tag
Play Centers
(board games ’til 8a; rec games after)
Please feel free to email the AT Program with questions or concerns at
[email protected]. This address should be used for general
communication only.
If you need to contact the AT Program for call-offs
or late pick-ups, please call your child’s AT phone #:
Forest Glen: 630-303-3127
Churchill: 630-303-3128
Dear Parent of Adventure Time Participant,
Do you have a child who acts differently around others than when they are around you as a parent? A simple task becomes
overwhelming for them at times. Are they hungry? Are they sleepy? Do you arrive at pickup time and see them looking sad or
see staff talking quietly with them off to the side?
This past year the staff has seen a number of children arriving in both am and pm sessions in a very subdued state, some
crying or even very agitated. Still others wanting no connection with staff or with other children. Even the most simple greeting
to a child by staff is ignored by that child. This has sometimes become the norm at both sites with a small handful of children.
While staff has tried their best to intervene and offer help, it often will do no good at all. The child remains very somber, not
willing to participate or eat snack at times. Other times, the child will shout at a staff member or just completely ignore them.
Neither is respectful, but it is understood that this is a child with emotional turmoil going on. After much work with these
children, staff found that most of the turmoil falls into the following areas:

A child very unhappy in the classroom, as they don’t understand the work required and therefore makes no effort to ask
for help.

A child who is often left alone by others due to lack of friendships. When trying to get them to cooperate and be a part of a
group of children, this child will often insult others, play a game unfairly, or be very controlling with other children within the
group.

A child who is not getting enough “down” time at home. Often this is a very overscheduled child with many scheduled
activities each evening. Staff has heard quite often from a child “I did not get a chance to eat dinner until about 9p last
night”. . . or “I just want to go home”.

A child who spends a lot of time with one best friend. When that best friend then wishes to spend time with others, the
child then feels neglected. Often they will tell staff, “my best friend hates me”. Instead of the child looking for additional
support from other friends, of which they have.

A child who spends a great deal of time crying or with stomach issues. Usually this child is seeking attention, but doesn’t
know how to go about getting it, so they pretend to be sick or have hurt feelings.
One of the things staff has tried recently, is to take a child who experiencing turmoil off to the side or in the hallway to remove
them from the group. They will sit down on the floor with the child and tell the child “you are safe, you are calm and you can
handle this”. That child then begins to slowly reassess the situation and often a very healthy conversation begins to take place
between the staff member and that child. The child in question often doesn’t realize all the alternatives available to them and
when staff points these out, a light bulb goes off in the child’s mind.
Before long, both the staff member and the child are laughing and thinking about what to do when they return to the site.
Now this doesn’t always happen, but the majority of time there is a positive outcome. The important thing that staff realizes is
that even just a few minutes of time is enough to help calm the storm. Often there are things that can be done to prevent
some of the emotional turmoil, such as having a child sit with an older child to do their homework; making the child (with staff
direction) become the leader of a game; letting the child help staff do a program related duty like taking toys out or preparing
craft items. These small gestures also help in building up the self- esteem of these children. A more confident child is always
more emotionally healthy.
Joyfully,
Mrs. Shakin – Director
Children Chatter
Answers to last month’s questions:
Jordan Sliwa loves the monthly newsletter, loves to play find the pix with staff and is a 5 th
grader at the FG site. He is also the child who gave a good home to a leftover fabric
gingerbread lady ornament from the count-down to Christmas activity.
Ms. (Katie) Pitts favorite all time color: Pink
Mr. Sheesley attends a Martial Arts class each week.
Nathan Panek brought in one of the most unusual snacks we’ve seen in a while. Carrots in
pickle juice.
The Besler sisters (Maddie and Samanatha) recently got to try out their family’s new snowmobiles in Wisconsin.
Ben Schumaker’s mom is a nurse.
Noah Guzman’s dad recently made the Columbian style soup called “Ajiaco.”
Mrs. Shakin’s home has a large woods behind it and it is home to many animals like deer, coyotes, hawks and eagles.
Tre’Shon Williams had a cousin, named Tariq Wilson, who attended the morning sessions.
Lily Nelson is the child who has an adorable stuffed rat.
Cate Bichler is the budding seamstress.
Keagan Meyer is the child learning how to do ventriloquism with his Howdy Doody puppet.
Aubrey Phillips is the lucky little girl who received a kitten.
The Churchill site of A-T has a puppet in the shape of a crow who is in desperate need of a hair makeover since his hair
stands straight up.
4 games recently played at the Birthday celebration for everyone were:
The lace-up birthday cake game, grab the present, pin the tail on the donkey and balloon burst charades.
The song played at Disney Resorts, and also sung during our Olympic Games event was: “It’s a small world.”
Did you guess any of these questions???
A few questions for this month are:
One of the staff has a daughter who recently turned 2. What was the theme of her birthday party??
One of the staff is studying to be a nurse. Who is this staff person??
One of the children at the Valentine’s Day party gave out honey-bee shaped valentines, who is this child??
A new game in a can recently appeared and was played at both sites. What is this game and what type of shellfish is
part of it???
Come Follow Us Through The Seasons…
Spring is coming, spring is coming.
How do you think I know?
I see a flower blooming,
I know it must be so.
Spring is coming, spring is coming,
How do you think I know?
I see a blossom on the tree,
I know it must be so.
One of the most beautiful trees to begin to blossom in Spring is the Dogwood. This tree, with its beautiful white flowers, is
gorgeous. It is named this because the bark was used to treat a skin condition on dogs called “Mange”. The Cherokee
Tribe also had a legend about this special tree, they believed that a tiny race of people lived in the forest and watched
over them. They were called, The Dogwood People. They taught them how to live in harmony with the land, and watched
over the elderly and the infants. The Dogwood People believed in doing good deeds for others for the simple acts of
kindness, not for personal gain, or to have someone indebted to you. Above is a picture of a flowering Dogwood Tree. . .
Come Follow Us Through The Seasons… continued...
As the lovely season of Spring rapidly approaches us, the staff of A-T has plans to enjoy the warm sunshine with much
needed outdoor time each day and Spring themed activities. Our month begins with a Teacher Institute Day on
3/3. The CH site is closed, but the FG site is open for all enrolled. On this day there is a scheduled field trip to an old
fashioned Fire Barn in the city of Aurora, IL. The tour includes: antique fire equipment, the history of fire-fighting, a tour
of the barn and more. This trip will leave at 9:30a and all children must be on site no later than 9:15a. The
group will return at 12:30p and lunch will be orchestrated at that time. In the afternoon, the staff has a variety of North to
Alaska themed activities planned. Children will be learning about the Iditarod Race, Denali National Park, Totem Poles and
a special hand gesture in order to remember the different types of salmon that are in Alaska. The children will also be able
to view photographs taken by Mrs. Shakin who visited Alaska last Summer. A handmade felt play mat will also be on site
for the children to see the different towns and play with the animals that are a part of Denali National Park. This is going
to be an exciting way for the children to learn about the great state of Alaska.
Important information regarding your child’s attendance on this day: Each child attending must have on gym
shoes, per the Director of the Fire Barn’s request. No boots please. Also, each child must be dressed for the weather, as
there is some outdoor time on the tour. Please make sure your child has a nut/seed free lunch and PM snack.
On 3/24 there is an SIP day at each site. The activity planned for this day is The Kid’s Flea Market. It will be
orchestrated all afternoon from after lunch until about 5p. This is a an event dearly loved by the children. Please be sure
to read the conditions and guidelines for your child participating on this day. Children not buying or selling will have the
option of playing board games on this day.
Conditions for being a seller:
Each child may bring in 1 box of items to be sold. These items may be brought in early and stored at the program. Make
sure your child’s name is on the box.
All items must not be priced as staff does the pricing to keep it fair. Sellers can then negotiate with interested buyers.
Each seller must have a container with a lid and their name on the container in order to collect their profits. Coffee cans,
Rubbermaid containers or small boxes are good choices. Plastic bags are too difficult to keep sealed.
Each seller may bring in the following to sell:
Clean, unbroken, in good shape items like: toys, books, crafting items, dolls, athletic equipment, clothing (no shoes),
costume jewelry, leftover party or holiday favors, school supplies etc. **Board games should be in original box and all
pieces in plastic bags within the box.
Items not permitted to be sold: any media-related items (CD’s, DVD’s, electronic equipment, etc.) *NO
FOOD ITEMS DUE TO ALLERGENS*
There are no refunds or exchanges for any items purchased. All sales are final.
Staff reserves the right to determine whether any item is appropriate to be sold.
As of 3:30p all items go to ½ price reduction.
All unsold items must be taken home upon pickup by a family. Any items left over will be
disposed of following the sale.
Flea market buyers and sellers:
Each child attending should bring in at least $5.00 in spending money. Singles and change are preferred, no large bills.
Staff will not lend any money to any participant. Staff will not hold any item for purchase by a parent upon pickup.
The Staff of the program will provide:
A cashier’s station for bagging items purchased and a cash box in order to provide change for buyers/sellers.
The staff, Mrs. Shakin and Ms. (Katie) Pitts will provide a bakery for the children to shop at during the sale. These items
will be allergen free. They may include brownies, cookies, popcorn, etc. NO OTHER FOOD WILL BE PERMITTED TO
BE SOLD ON SITE.
The staff will also have flea market booths of items for sale. Some of those may include: leftover craft supplies, board
games, toys, books, athletic equipment, etc.