Enjoying New Year’s Eve With Kids

New Year’s Eve is an exciting time for everyone – the end of the old year and the start of the new is always a cause for celebration. However, if you have young children at home, it can be a challenge to find activities to do when a champagne toast at midnight isn’t an option. There are plenty of options to make New Year’s Eve fun even with young children – here are just a few ideas to help get you started:

1. Make your own balloon drop: This is an easy and fun way to celebrate New Year’s Eve – create your own “ball drop” right in your living room. Get a drawstring garbage bag, fill it up with pretty balloons and hang it upside down. When the clock strikes midnight (or earlier if you have REALLY young children) pull the draw string and let the balloons drop.

2. Old movies: Pop some popcorn and cuddle up on the couch with your favorite movies from the past year.

3. Have your own dance party: Dress up in your Sunday best, decorate the living room and dance the night – and the year – away in style!

4. Make a time capsule: Pick some of your favorite things from the past year – photos, movies, books, toys – anything that reminds you of something fun or special – and put it in a container. Tuck them away some place where you’ll remember where they are and open them next New Year’s Eve.

5. Bake a cake: The Greeks have a tradition of baking a “good luck cake” by putting lucky coin or other trinket right into the cake mix to bake it. The person who gets the lucky coin in their piece of cake is said to have good luck the next year.

6. Celebrate midnight in another country: This is an especially good idea if you have younger children who won’t make it to midnight in your area. For example, if you’re on the east coast, you can celebrate at 6:00 pm - it’s midnight in Paris.

So there you have it - a few ideas of celebrating this fun holiday with young children. Use these ideas for your family’s celebration or come up with your own!

DECEMBER 2013

Hello! We are pleased to send you this monthly issue of Wise and Wonderful. It is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value your business. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and neighbors. Enjoy!

Monthly Joke

An Embarrassing Accident

A bird flapped to his nest with bruises all over his wings and body. Other birds in the tree noticed and asked him what had happened.

He didn’t want to talk about it, but they kept up their chatter until he finally chirped, “All right, do you want to see what happened to me? I’ll show you what happened to me!” He took flight, and the other birds followed him through the forest until he landed on the ground next to a big, thick oak tree. “Do you see that tree there?” he demanded.

“Yes! Yes!”

“Well,” said the bird, “I didn’t.”

Monthly Quote

“Many people think they want things, but they don’t really have the strength, the discipline. They are weak. I

believe that you get what you want if you want it badly

enough.

—Sophia Loren

MONTH YEARARIAL 15 POINT BwwwOLD CAPS FOR CO. NAME

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND ENTERTAIN OUR CUSTOMERS

Visit us on the web! www.AChildsWorldNC.com

Be Smart Working NightsLate night jobs and night shifts are nowPart and parcel of the global revolution,but if you are one of those people who work nights it is vital that you know how to go about doing this without comprising your health in the process.

One good tip is to make sure that you get some sleep during the daytime. Everyone needs their rest and you should never compromise your own downtime. If you begin sleeping in the day on a regular basis then your body clock will gradually become accustomed to this.

Keep chocolate on hand; while you obviously do not want to overdo it and end up putting on weight, the fact is that sugar provides you with an energy rush so keeping some chocolate in your drawer at work is a good way of dealing with unexpected night shifts.

Even if you are working at night you still need to take a break every now and then. Even just getting up from your chair and taking a short stroll can help you to alleviate drowsiness.

Boost Health and Flavor In Fresh FoodThere are lots of important but little known nutritional facts about fruits and vegetables, and changing a few habits and learning some new tricks can result in better health for you and a boost to the flavor of these goods.

Fresh fruits and vegetables continue to respire after harvesting, and even while in your refrigerator.

This absorbs oxygen and releases carbon dioxide and usesup their stores of antioxidants and natural sugars.

As a result of this, by the time you eat them they will have become more acidic, contain fewer antioxidants and have lost some of their natural sweetness.

Fruits and vegetables that respire faster than others include artichokes, asparagus, brussels sprouts, corn, lettuce, okra, raspberries, snap beans, strawberries, arugula, broccoli, cherries, kale, mushrooms, parsley, scallion and spinach, and these should be eaten as soon as possible after harvesting or purchase in order to get the most value out of them.

Learning Matters…aThe Family SloganToday’s world is one full of brands, from the cars we drive to the clothes we wear. Even families develop their own unique brands that leave its mark on the character and personalities of children. Children that come from the same family will have different interests, talents and temperaments despite coming from the same gene pool, and it can be tough to raise children in the same way yet have them all turn out very differently.

In spite of the differences however, your children will still have plenty in common because of the family frame; the complete family environment that is experienced by children.

Your family’s “brand” is established by several factors, including the atmosphere in the family. That atmosphere can be impacted by consciously adopting the kind of mindset and moods that you want. Another factor that makes up a family brand is shared attitudes and values. Look at the things your children do have in common. Attitudes and values tend to be modeled and taught and are usually a reflection of parental priorities.

Tips For Success With E-LearningDistance learning has put the world of higher learning at the fingertips of students, with more and more institutions embracing and offering online courses. As a result, the number of students who have tapped into that option has grown exponentially, but while the concept is easy enough, online self-directed courses have their downsides in the form of lack of motivation, lack of oversight and time constraints. A lack of guidance from instructors can cause serious problems, particularly when there is no time or opportunity to ask questions face to face, and that absence of guidance can result in students procrastinating or even dropping out of courses altogether.

If you are an online instructor then it is important to be aware of and acknowledge this problem and take steps to counter it, such as creating timetables that have to be adhered to and making sure that the lines of communication are always kept open. Checking in with students once a week to address any concerns and make sure they are on track to complete their coursework is also a good idea.

Financially Speaking…Stretching a Family Budget

The reality is that children are expensive. They like eating, drinking, living indoors and indulging in recreational sporting activities, all of which cost money and the costs add up for parents especially if they have more than one child.

The good news however is there are methods of stretching that family budget.

Write out a list of your monthly expenses in relation to incoming cash so that you know exactly what you can and cannot afford.

Another good tip is to stop paying fees. Little fees all add up into big fees, so cutting out the use of ATMs and avoiding late fees can end up saving you a surprising amount of money.

Coupons are an old fashioned but still highly effective way to save money, with many websites offering Internet coupons for stores, and other sites such as Groupon offering product, restaurant and travel deals.

There are other ways to make every dollar count, such as sharing an adult meal between two children when eating out rather than buying two separate kids meals.

Social Media and Marketing

There is a lot wrong with using social media for the purpose of B2B marketing, but the fact is there is also a lot right with it and social media tools such as blogs and Twitter are starting to become standard instruments in the toolbox of B2B marketers.

Many marketers are, however not using social media to its full potential of creating a brand with a strong reputation and sense of authority.

A strong reputation can be earned by gaining the trust of industry and peers in an entirely organic manner. Connections and relationships can be built without having to get past the old fashioned gatekeepers of traditional media such as editors.

Your peers are the new gatekeepers and once you have built a strong reputation with them as being trustworthy, that reputation will naturally become a pull factor in attracting attention in an organic fashion from prospects, your industry and the media.

New Year’s Eve CraftsNew Year’s Eve is a fun time to reflect on the year before with your children. Here a few ideas you can do or use them to get your own creative juices flowing:

Create a book that you can print – these are a simple and fun task to put together. Include all of the fun things you did over the past year. Let your little one draw pictures that go with the activities they’ve done. These are also a good idea for early readers.

Write a Poem – Use the letters in the word “New Year” and write a poem about things you’ve done over the past year.

A New Year Essay – this is good for older children. Write an essay on the “The Best Thing That Happened to Me This Year Was…”

Entertainment over the past year – Make a list of questions about your favorite movies, songs, books, television shows, websites, photos, activities and why you liked them.

Keep the New Year In mind – make a list together of things you’d like to do, goals you’d like to reach in the new year. Include places you’d like to visit, books you’d like to read, things you’d like to learn, etc.

Create a scrapbook: Use photos and memorabilia from activities you’ve done, trips you’ve taken or other fun things and put it all into a scrapbook that your child can look back on for years to come.

There are plenty of ways to create fun reminders of the past year. Use your own creativity to create beautiful memories with your children.

December Reminders:

December 18th: Pictures with Santa Claus.

December 20th: Twas the Night Before Christmas Celebration. Children can wear their pajamas to school! We will also have classroom Christmas parties too! All food must be store bought.

December 24th-December 25th: A Child's World Learning Center will be closed for the holiday.

Are you plugged in?Please "Like" us on Facebook, "Follow" us on Twitter, and check us out our Pinterest page!

Social Networking Is Good For Teens

New technology always causes generation fear, and the advent of social networking has seen much the same, with many of the older generations fearing that the technology is making teenagers unable to deal with face to face contact. The reality however is much different – and much more positive. Social scientists studying young people have found that digital use by teens is both inventive and beneficial in social and even educational terms. The Pew Research Center sees no evidence for the idea that networking is cutting down real world communication either, which found that those who text most avidly are actually more likely to spend real time with their friends. Rather than social networking replacing “proper” socializing, it is merely augmenting it. Children still spend plenty of time in face to face interaction, and as they grow older and receive more freedom from their parents, it is common for them to cut down on their online social networking.

Credit Cards and Social Media

Social media can be about more than sharing silly cat photos or keeping up with old college buddies. It canalso be a clever method of getting the most out of your credit card.

Many people use social media to follow their credit card company because it gives them a leg up when it comes to any specials. These companies often reward fans and followers with special discounts. Problems can also be resolved with the use of social media.

Customer service is driven both by response and resolution times and also by the way the customer is treated by the representative, their knowledge and how they respond to the issue.

Contests are another great way to get more from your credit card company via social media. Many companies seem to be throwing prizes at followers to excite customers, while others combine such contests with marketing efforts for causes, enabling cardholders to vote to send cash to charity.

From the desk of...

Stacey McElveen

COPYRIGHT 2013 A Child's World Learning Center ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, WWW.AChild'sWorldNC.COM

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND ENTERTAIN OUR CUSTOMERS DECEMBER 2013

A Child's World Learning Center2005 Lewisville-Clemmons Rd.Clemmons, NC 27012336-766-8222Stacey@achildsworldnc.com

Why Choose UsWe are not your typical daycare or child care facility; we are an early childhood learning center. We use a nationally recognized curriculum and align our curriculum with the Common Core standards of the NC Department of Education. Many of our teachers have degrees!

In addition, we offer other amenities free of charge. We have live webcams so you can stay connected to what your child does throughout the day. In addition, we understand that optimal brain function requires nutritious meals and proper exercise. A Child's World Learning Center offers FRESH fruits and Vegetables, whole grains and other balanced menu items. We even have a certified youth fitness instructor on staff!