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HOLIDAY ATTENDANCE
We understand many families travel during the holiday weeks. Please let us know your child's attendance by signing the forms on the classroom doors by December 15. This will help us staff classrooms, and allows us to give our teachers some well-deserved time off. Thank you!
CENTER CLOSURE DATES
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 wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday season!
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WINTER CLOTHING
Please make sure your child has the appropriate winter gear to explore outdoors each day. This includes a warm jacket, snow pants, boots, hat and waterproof mittens. Thank you!
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MITTEN & HAT DONATIONS
We are inviting our families to help keep children warm this Minnesota winter. Please bring new, unwrapped mittens and/or hats for our giving box located in the front lobby. We will donate these mittens to Sharing and Caring Hands, a service organization located in Minneapolis. Please bring the mittens by Friday, December 15. Thank you for your help and generosity.
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STAR WELLNESS RECIPE
Colorful, Warm Quinoa Salad; serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup - quinoa, uncooked
1 cup - vegetable broth
1 cup - water
1 medium - mango
1
/2 medium - bell pepper, green
1
/2 medium - pomegranate
Dressing:
1 tablespoon - orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoon - maple syrup, pure
1
/2 teaspoon - cinnamon
ΒΌ teaspoon - sea salt
Dressing Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a small glass bowl and stir with a spoon until combined.
Bowl Instructions:
Prepare quinoa according to package directions using the ratio 50/50 (water to vegetable broth).
Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork.
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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.
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.
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'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.
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.
Christmas - Dec. 24-25:
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.
If you and your family have a special holiday or tradition you would like to share with us, please let us know. We love learning more about our EFC families.
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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 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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