Blog Archives

new assistant Director, Staff Spotlight

8/29/2017

Team ELM is proud to announce our NEW Assistant Director, Ilana Berger. We are so grateful to be growing as a company, having the opportunity to take care of so many amazing children, from all these awesome families. As Team ELM grows, we need more resources to assist with ensuring the success of all our staff to meet your families' needs. Ilana will be reachable, as well as, our Owner and Director, Erika Mandel for any questions or concerns you may have and for all of your needs. Please read a little more about Ilana in her biography.

Thank you for all that you do and for supporting our business! We are always here for you and congratulations Ilana on your new position with TEAM ELM!

Ilana's Biography:

Ilana joined us in April as a childcare provider working with 15+ of our different families, YOU may be one of them. She looks forward to meeting many more of you throughout her work with us!

Ilana received her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology this past December from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at summer camps on the ropes course for the past 5 summers helping children to build resiliency and to overcome their fear of heights. During her time with Team ELM she has been helping with our blog, website, newsletters, staff hiring, company advertising, social media, events, family management, and more! She loves working with Team ELM families because they all bring so much joy to her day when she is with them! She says she loves getting to know each child's interests, strengths, and what makes them happy.

Three fun facts about Ilana:
1) Spent 3 months traveling to 7 different countries and 3 different states (across the USA) after graduation
2) Enjoys photography and has had her own photography business for the past 8 years
3) Went skydiving for her 22nd birthday

Ilana can be reached
by phone at (732) 735 - 2393
or
by email on our company email, info@teamelmnj.com

xoxo, Team ELM

Tutoring Features: Elementary School

8/20/2017

Elementary school is an important time in your child's life. They will learn how to share, count, read, write, and so much more. It is so important to give them the tools now that they will need for their education later on. How your child engages with new information from school may be the biggest help to them as they grow and learn new things. What you learn in school should be reinforced outside of the classroom, from a different person, with a different perspective, and in a different way. This gives them "the upper hand." We want your child to conceptually understand the material they are learning and come into school feeling prepared and confident!

Tutors are commonly used when there is a problem for a student in class, but at Team ELM we feel its important to intervene while your child is still motivated and full of positive energy for the school year. This mindset helps the family unit to jump ahead and assist their children to develop better study habits and academic skills as they advance scholastically.

Some focuses you may discuss with your tutor at Team ELM could be brushing up on comprehension skills, basic math practice, elementary enrichment, etc.

Want to know more about our tutoring services? Call Team ELM today!

xoxo, Team ELM

This week we feature our newest tutor: Lauren Cohen! Lauren is a teacher certified in New Jersey for elementary and special education. She is excited to work with your children this year and help them down the path to success!

A new year with Team ELM

8/16/2017

With the summer coming to a close, the first day of school is just around the corner for many of our Team ELM kids! With each new year comes the opportunity for improvement.
Are you ready??
Many of you are entering a new school or classroom where you might be faced with new friends to make, lessons to learn, and teachers to learn from. Team ELM is available to help you out with whatever you may need (academically or socially).
Are you joining our Team ELM family for the first time? Are you starting with a new Team ELM staff member? Maybe you are starting a new sport or academic challenge.
Give us a call and let us know your needs.

. Check out some of the wonderful things going on with Team ELM today!

1. We have a new WEBSITE design! Check out some of the new features and information we have displayed for you. Read up on some of the older blog posts we wrote for your entertainment this summer.

2. Call Erika at (732) 236-9382 for a sitter and/or tutor so we can get you a match just for you and your family before the school year starts. Our rates are posted on the NEW and IMPROVED website! Go check them out and give us a call today!

3. Join us at our end of the summer fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on August 27th! We will have some employees from Team ELM there for you to meet, as well as, Team ELM's owner, Erika! Join us for a wonderful day of golf, food, and fun all while raising money for JDRF! Please call Erika to purchase your tickets today!

xoxo, Team ELM

Cooking fun for you and your kids!

8/7/2017

Cooking with children can have many benefits, and there are so many different ways to do it. You can start cooking with your kids at different ages and as they get older you can add in varying degrees of responsibility. Read on to learn about the different possible benefits and the ages in which different roles may fit. Then give it a try with your kids this week (we have provided two options for you!).

Benefits:

Basic skills: Add vocabulary words by reading a recipe together. Work on listening skills by following the steps to a recipe. Practice simple math by counting eggs, pouring water into a measuring cup, or when asking what comes first, second, and third.
Problem solving: Converting recipes and substituting ingredients if you are missing what is required.
Teach planning and organization: Kids engage in thinking ahead and how to prepare for a meal by coming up with a grocery list or weekly family dinners.
Encourage an adventurous palate. From the start, kids are more likely to sit down for the family meal if they have prepared it. Beyond that, preschoolers are known for how picky they can be, and bringing them into the kitchen to cook can help get them to open up to new tastes. Encourage kids to taste new ingredients you're working with and talk about what they like and how healthy foods make a body grow. Nutrition is something that many schools don’t teach until kids are in middle and high school. Cooking with your kids helps teach them how to eat healthy and make informed choices about the food they eat.
Help young kids explore with their senses. Kids learn by exploring with their senses and the kitchen is an ideal place to do that. Invite them to listen to the whir of the mixer, pound dough and watch it rise, smell it baking in the oven, and finally taste the warm bread fresh from the oven. If it smells good, looks appealing, and is easy to eat they may just be willing to try it!
Boost confidence. Preschoolers love to show what they can do and working in the kitchen provides opportunities to gain a sense of accomplishment. If they helped assemble the pizza, let them know that their help was important. You could name the pizza or another dish after your child. Serve "Will's Pizza" or "Ella's Salad" for dinner tonight. Even if the end results are not exactly what you expected, praise their efforts.
Connect with your kids. Creating something that others can enjoy, especially during the holidays, helps make special memories for you and your little ones. You can form and reinforce bonds, and foster family togetherness by teaching cooking at home. You are also giving kids the opportunity to feel like they are accomplishing something and contributing to the family.
Teach appreciation. Kids will learn that the meal that they sit down to doesn’t appear out of mid-air. Their food comes from somewhere, and involving them from shopping to the finished product will help demonstrate that hard work goes into the meal they enjoy.

Under 5 years old:
A few tasks in the kitchen are particularly well-suited to kids ages 3 to 5. The key is to give them "jobs" that meet their skill level and are something they enjoy.

Scrub, dip, tear, break, and snap (for example, snapping the ends off green beans)
Shake, spread, and cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter
Peel (some items), roll, pound, juice, and mash
Remove husks from corn
Wash vegetables in a colander
Measure and pour some ingredients
Stirring pancake batter
Tearing lettuce for salad
Adding ingredients
Assembling a pizza
Helping you "read" a cookbook by turning the pages
Hand mix

8-10 years olds:
Everything listed for under 5, plus some more advanced duties, such as:

Cracking and separating eggs
Reading some recipes by themselves
Inventing their own easy-to-fix recipes
Using the electric mixer (with adult supervision if needed)
Stirring food over the stove (with adult supervision if needed)
Using and reading a candy thermometer (with adult supervision if needed)
Operating a can opener or food processor with safety features
Grating cheese
Cutting vegetables, fruits, etc. (using a plastic knife or dinner knife)

Pizza Crescent Rolls*
*borrowed from messforless.net
Ingredients:

20 minutes, start to finish
8 crescent rolls
4 string cheese sticks
8 tbsp of Marinara sauce
(optional) Pepperoni, Broccoli, or other toppings that you like

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (you could make in a toaster oven).
Cut cheese sticks in half so you have eight half pieces.
Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into eight triangles.
1 tbsp of marinara sauce on each triangle of crescent dough- spoon the marinara sauce into the center of the largest part of the crescent.
Put half of a cheese stick onto each crescent dough.
Roll up the crescent around the cheese stick.
Pinch off the sides so that no sauce or cheese is visible.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 9-12 minutes until the crescents are a golden brown.
Dip into warm marinara sauce or enjoy them as is!

Healthy Bites*
*borrowed from laughingkidslearn.com
Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup saltanas
1/3 cup cranberries
(optional) 1 stp marmalade or orange peel

Steps:

Preheat oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
Throw all ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Roll into small balls.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy!

Let us know how it goes and post some of your own recipe ideas for kids below! :)

XoXo, Team ELM

new assistant Director, Staff Spotlight

Tutoring Features: Elementary School

A new year with Team ELM

Cooking fun for you and your kids!

Author

past posts

Company

Support