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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
We invite our families to join us for a night of storytelling on Thursday, December 7 at 4:45 PM. Tina & Colleen from the Wonder Weavers will tell stories in the Edinborough Park theater and we
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ll wrap up with some cookies and milk after the show. We hope you will join us!
CONGRATULATIONS, MS. EMMA
Ms. Emma is marrying her high school sweetheart on Friday, December 15. We wish Emma & Chris a beautiful wedding day & all our best as they begin their new life together.
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HOLIDAY RECITALS
On
Wednesday, December 13
, the Kid Dancers will perform their annual holiday recital to the Brookdale seniors next door, starting at 9 AM. It will be good practice for our parent performance the following
Wednesday, December 20
at 5:30 PM in the Edinborough Park Theater.
On Friday, December 22, the PreK groups will sing holiday songs to the Brookdale seniors and younger children in our school.
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SANTA VISIT
Santa will stop by our center on Tuesday, December 19, and tell us stories about the North Pole & his reindeer. Please wear your best holiday outfit this day!
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HOLIDAY CLOSURES & OFFICE INFO
Please mark your calendars in preparation for the holiday season. EFC will be closed the following days:
- Christmas Day: Monday, 12/25
- New Year's Day: Monday, 1/1
We understand many families have plans to travel during the holiday weeks. Please let us know your child
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s attendance sheets on the classroom door no later than Tuesday, December 12. This will help us staff our classrooms correctly, and also be able to give our staff some well-deserved time off! Thank you!
Ms. Anna will be on vacation beginning Friday, December 15, through January 3. Samantha will be available in the office during this time.
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SNOW EMERGENCIES
If Especially for Children cannot open due to inclement weather or other emergency conditions, the center closing will be announced on WCCO radio, TV and website in the morning. If weather conditions during the day make it necessary to close before our regularly scheduled time, we will reach each of you at your work places.
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CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
During the month of December, our teachers will introduce and talk about several different December holidays and celebrations.
St. Barbara's Day - Dec. 4
: In this Syrian Legend, St. Barbara's miserly father didn't approve of her giving to the poor. However, she still made sacrifices to help those in need. At EFC, we will collect new and unused blankets for Sharing & Caring Hands in honor of St. Barbara
's generous spirit. Please bring in new & unused blankets to warm those in need; we will bring the blankets to Sharing & Caring Hands in early January.
St. Nicholas Day - Dec. 6
: In Germany, children put shoes out as a sign to St. Nicholas that they are safe in bed. They awake on St. Nicholas Day to see if sweets or toys have been placed in their shoes. At EFC, children will place their shoes outside their classrooms on Wednesday, December 6.
Hanukkah - Sundown Dec. 12:
Jewish people celebrate this eight-day "Festival of Lights". A very special part of the celebration is the lighting of candles in a holder called a Menorah.
St. Lucia's Day - Dec. 13
: In Sweden, young children dress in long white dresses with red sashes and place a crown of evergreens adorned with glowing candles on their head. Lucia
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s task is to serve coffee and special twisted buns
with raisins, called lussekatter, at daybreak. This celebration is for the return of light after the darkest time of the year, and the beginning of the Christmas season. At EFC, the PreK classes bake lussekatter to share with their families. They will dress up as Lucia and her attendants, and sing traditional Swedish songs for the younger classrooms on December 13.
Las Posadas - Dec. 16
: Las Posadas (literally lodging) is celebrated by Spanish-Mexican Americans. It is the re-enactment of Joseph & Mary's trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem to find shelter before the birth of the child.
Kwanzaa - Dec. 26-Jan. 1
: Kwanzaa means "First fruits". The 7 principles reflected upon are unity, self-determination, collective work & responsibility, cooperative purpose, creativity and faith.
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"A GOOD TOY IS REALLY ONLY 10% TOY AND 90% CHILD."
I read this quote recently and it inspired me to think more about the kinds of toys available to young children. So many toys are one-faceted and leave little to a child's imagination. Or, they are "learning-oriented" and have right and wrong answers associated with them. So much now is made of plastic and feels cold and hard. It's challenging to know what to consider when selecting toys today.
And just at the time when many of us are looking for holiday gifts, the great outdoors is not providing as many nuts, twigs, pinecones, and stones to play with as children have had for the last several months. At least some of each day during spring, summer, and fall, children were connecting with nature's loose parts and thinking of their own ways to play with them.
So, this year as I am making lists of toys that I can give to our grandchildren, I am trying to keep in mind the above quote by Joan Almon, former director of the Alliance for Childhood.
And, in doing so, I am also inspired to look at the toys as multi-dimensional, even if the inventor of the toy had something else in mind.
An example of that is LEGOs - the small ones that come with directions on how to build a really cool vehicle. Our grandson got several small sets for his 5th birthday. For a few months I helped him keep them separated in plastic baggies with the pictures and instructions in each bag. Together we assembled several of them, although it was tedious and so much work that he didn't want anyone to touch them once we had put them together. Then one day my grandson dumped all the LEGOs out on a tray. At first, I was horrified. How was he ever going to figure out how to make the vehicles "right" now?
But, as you might imagine, it doesn't matter that those vehicles may never be put together. Instead, Alejandro is making his own LEGO creations - and is so proud!
So now I am looking for toys that have varied properties and can be moved and manipulated in many ways. I get excited about toys that allow children to invent, create, explore and, when possible, rearrange loose parts. I am happy if a toy has no specific directions. If children can use their imaginations and try their own ideas, they can discover their own answers and create new possibilities. So, join me in the search for those creative and interesting toys!
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TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS
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It has been a wonderful year at Especially for Children, and we want to thank you again for choosing our program.
We've gathered together some of the special moments of learning and fun from across EFC centers in a photo slide show. Check it out, and thanks again for a great year!!
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