Greetings!
PARENTS DESIGN-A-VALENTINE
We would like to continue our tradition of parents designing Valentines for your child/ren to be hung up in the EFC hallways during the month of February! This is your chance to be creative and have fun! Please decorate a 9x12 or a 12x12 sheet of construction paper with poems, snapshots, glitter or whatever else you want. We hope to see some creative artwork. Please bring us your artwork by
Monday, February 11! Have fun!!
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VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
Each class will do a valentine card exchange. If you would like your child to participate, please bring the cards ready to distribute on
February 14
. Please address them “To: A friend, From: Your Child.” This helps with the distribution process, but also provides a fun writing activity at home! EFC will provide a special snack that day.
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DENTAL HEALTH MONTH
The month of February is Dental Health month. Our friends from Cahill Dental will be at Especially for Children on
Thursday, February 7,
at 9:30 am to teach us all about keeping our teeth clean and healthy and our smiles bright. Please feel free to join us if you are available!
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STAR WELLNESS:
HEALTHY VALENTINE’S TREATS
Yogurt Covered Strawberries
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Strawberry Valentine Love Bugs
http://www.wingitvegan.com/2011/02/theyre-heeeere-vegantines-day.html
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OUR FAVORITE BOOKS
By
Don Wood
Chrysanthemum
By Kevin Henkes
The Mitten
By Jan Brett
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By Bill Martin Jr.
The Wheels on The Bus
By
Paul O. Zelinsky
The Cat in The Hat
By Dr. Seuss
Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!
By Susan Meyers
Ten Apples up on Top
By Dr. Seuss
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Pete The Cat and His Magic Sunglasses
By Kimberly and James Dean
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
By Judi Barrett
Good Night Moon
By Margaret Wise Brown
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
By Laura Numeroff
Humpty Dumpty
By Mother Goose
Oh! The Places You’ll Go
By Dr. Seuss
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
By Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Come to the office to vote for your favorite and get a treat. Our winner will also get a surprise.
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LITTLE CHEFS, BIG BENEFITS
Sundays are cooking days at our house. My husband loves to use the weekend as an excuse to simmer, roast or slow cook. With weeknight mealtimes often feeling a bit chaotic (serious understatement), we both relish the opportunity to slow down a bit. And mostly thanks to him, the results are usually pretty tasty.
But what I have come to love even more than the food is the opportunity to watch our 3-year-old in the kitchen. He is the ultimate helper. Loving to get involved, he is constantly asking me what jobs he can do. On busy weeknights, when there are onions to chop and tantrums to sooth, I sometimes find myself rushing through things on my own. My desire to include him butts up against my desire to get the food on the table before our 16-month-old implodes. But on the weekends, when things slow down, we make a point to find ways for him to help.
This often involves stirring, measuring, scooping, spilling (!) and pouring. And always, without fail, it involves several requests to taste each ingredient as it goes in. Even the baking soda - ew! That simple act of tasting is actually an incredibly important step in developing healthy eating habits. Tasting exposes kids to different flavors and textures, making them more likely to grow up as balanced eaters. For my son, there are times when he will taste something as we cook it, only to reject it once it is on his plate. But that’s ok with me, because I know that those little tastes build up to a lot of exposure over time.
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Last Sunday, I walked into the kitchen and saw his face beaming with pride. He and his dad were making pasta, and my littlest chef had chopped all the (soft) cheese on his own. With a butter knife. It was the most excited I have seen him in the kitchen. He felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that he had done it all on his own. And when the time came to eat, he couldn’t wait to tell his cousins all about “his” pasta.
It was a good reminder to me that with just a little adjustment, kids can do many things alongside us in the kitchen. There are age appropriate ways to get all kids involved and help them grow their skills as they get older. The pride they feel in working alongside us helps them to develop confidence, coordination and patience – and as a bonus, the results are delicious.
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Allison Zomer
Director of Operations
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TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS
Now-2/23
Night Trains
, Twin City Model Railroad Museum, St. Paul
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Especially for Children
6125 Cahill Ave.
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
(651) 450-1994
Center Directors:
Fle Jensen, Kristine Berg, and Roxie King
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