ELC Lion's Latest News

School Status Connect is up and running and everyone should have received communication from your child's classroom teacher, as well as the district and ELC by this time. Please notify your child's teacher if you are not receiving communication from SCHOOL STATUS CONNECT.

With SchoolStatus Connect, families will be able to receive communications (Email, Text Messages, Phone Calls) from the district, as well as the school and classrooms, all in one place. Click below for how to set your preferred language, communication method, notification preferences and more!

• January 28th: PAC Meeting at the ELC - 5:30 pm
• February 4th: NO SCHOOL for Preschool
• February 6th: National Wear RED Day for Heart Disease
• February 13th: Classroom Friendship Parties
• February 16th: NO SCHOOL - Federal Holiday
• February 19th: NO SCHOOL for Preschool - Family Conferences
• February 20th: NO SCHOOL - Family Conferences

Starting January 23rd up until March 12th, we will have some special furry friends visit us from Love on a Leash to enhance student learning as it relates to the PET STUDY!

Transitioning, or moving, to new places or activities is something we do many times during the day. However, change can be overwhelming and seem unpredictable for your child, especially when they are not ready to move on to the next place or activity. Children make many transitions each day... from parents to teachers, from home to car, or from play time to the dinner table, for example. When and how often transitions occur are usually decided by an adult and children often act out with challenging behavior when they feel unable to control their routine. When you help your child prepare for transitions you are helping them learn a valuable skill. The good news is that you can teach them this important skill while you are enjoying time together.

Click the photo to the right or HERE for some strategies that are used in the classroom that can also help your child at home. Click HERE for Spanish.

Click on the photo of the Snowman Library above and let your child choose a book cover that looks interesting to them! When you click on the book cover, it will take you directly to a youtube link(without advertisements!) that reads the story. Here are some ways to engage in the story with your child:

• Read the title with them, pointing out specific letters you see, especially letters that are in your child's name!
• Ask your child what they think the story will be about.
• As you read the story, pause the video and ask your child what they think will happen next.
• Play the video without sound and ask your child to tell you what is happening on each page... tell them they are the author of the story today!

*to adapt your child's interactions, you might model a specific word on their AAC device and press that button every time you hear it in the story, make animal sounds or other noises that match the words of the story, or act out the scenes.

The Oak Lawn-Hometown SD123 Early Learning Center and the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn created a partnership called Operation ABC (Adventures Beyond the Classroom). We are offering ELC families the opportunity for a 7-Day, free of charge family pass to the Oak Lawn Children's Museum that is valid for up to 6 family members at your time of entrance.

There are tremendous benefits to intentional play-based education, allowing children the opportunity to develop skills in exploration and discovery, creativity, socialization, language development and many more! We hope your family takes the opportunity to be involved and PLAY!

The Oak Lawn Children's Museum is located at:

5100 Museum Drive

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

next to the Oak Lawn Metra Train Station near 95th & 51st Ave.

Contact Nicole Petschenko npetschenko@d123.org or 708.952.7795 to reserve a pass or if you have any questions.

CLICK HERE to read a short article on:

• Signs to look for that a child is ready to begin potty training
• Knowing when it is not a good time to start potty training
• Ensuring all caregivers create a supportive environment for success
• Recognizing there is not one “right” way or one “right” age to start potty training

Ask your child's teacher if you would like more information on potty training tips, tricks or visuals.

Informational Health Form packets will be sent out in February for all students entering Kindergarten this fall. Please contact Nurse Kristin with any questions @ 708.423.8363.

We hope you can join us on Wednesday, January 28th at 5:30 pm for our next Parent Advisory Committee Meeting! ALL ELC families are welcome to join the conversation!

This month's topics will include:

• Fundraisers
• School Status Connect
• Preschool Prom 2026

*Children are welcome to join for the meeting.

The D123 preschool program provides all items needed for snacks, which are distributed by Whitson's School Nutrition and are free of cost to all families. CLICK HERE to view the menu and review nutrition information, ingredients and allergen information, accessible from any mobile device or computer.

***THE ELC SNACK CALENDAR IS LISTED UNDER OAK LAWN-HOMETOWN SD ELC CENTER***

• It is important that students arrive to school and are picked up on time.
• There has been a shift with staff members at the Curbside Lane as well as the Main Entrance. Thank you for your patience as we navigate new positions.
• Please adhere to the areas of NO PARKING outlined below.
• Vehicles should not block driveways and parking lot entrances at ANY time.
• Once the curbside line has formed, the line wraps around the corner from Keeler Ave onto 93rd in front of the school. Please make your way to the end of the car line when entering the curbside lane and do not try to cut in where there may be a gap.
• Please remember that ALL preschool-age students MUST be in a child restraint system.

Thanks for teaming up with us to keep our school community safe!

D123 uses the Visitor Aware Program to immediately identify visitors and create a temporary ID badge to wear for the duration of their time spent at our schools.

In order to ensure a smooth visit to the ELC, please use THIS LINK to complete the pre-registration for Visitor Aware for any future classroom volunteering and visits inside our building.

You will be prompted to take a picture of yourself and answer a few questions, including Driver's License #. Once you complete this, you will be added to the system and will not have to resubmit this information every time you visit the building. You will receive a QR code via text and email to scan which is what you will use when checking into the school for a visit.

You can find common questions about the Visitor Aware System answered HERE. Click HERE for SPANISH.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact the Main Office.

Early Learning Center

4201 W. 93rd Street, Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453

Director: Christine Fuller - cfuller@d123.org

Website: d123.org Instagram: @d123elc