November News from Especially for Children

NOVEMBER 2022

Greetings!

WELCOME, SARAH!

We are excited to welcome director Sarah Barlow back to the center this week. Sarah will be working part time in November as she transitions from her maternity leave. Please stop by the office to say hello!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Especially for Children will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday & Friday, November 24 & 25. We wish you all a safe, healthy & fun Thanksgiving weekend.

For your planning purposes, we are also closed on Monday, December 26, for Christmas and Monday, January 2,for New Year’s Day.

PARENT REMINDERS

DRESSING FOR WINTER

Outside play has always been an important part of our curriculum for young children.

In order to be successful with this portion of our curriculum, we need help from our families. We will need the following items here each day for winter play…..

1) Snowpants/snow suit

2) Boots

3) Winter Coat

4) Hat

5) 2 pairs of gloves/mittens

6) Possibly a neckwarmer

Socks are also a necessity in keep our toes warm—so please keep that in mind each day when your child gets dressed. A back-up pair is always nice if we do have a very snowy day and get wet feet.

LABEL—LABEL—LABEL---this is so helpful to our teachers in keeping track of your child’s items!! We do not have very many things to loan to your child so please keep that in mind when you come to school. As you know, the weather can change very quickly and we want to do our best to keep giving your child the outside play that is so valuable and healthy.

ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

By Angie Williams

Our patterns of life changed dramatically during the last few years. What we once took for granted as normal parts of our individual and family routines—going to the store, attending a place of worship, gathering with friends on the weekend, planning a birthday party—became risk/reward calculations that, even when pursued, often looked different than they had before Covid times.

Now that most areas of life are returning to what feels closer to normal, many of us are re-engaging with the people, places, and experiences we have missed. In our family, our daughters are back on sports teams and playing regularly with neighbors; my husband and I are having dinner with friends. These are the low-hanging fruits of re-building our family’s community. But as time goes on, I think about additional connections I would like to make—connections that sometimes require more effort because they take place outside of our neighborhood or with people we don’t already know, but that enrich us and help shape our values and perspectives.

Prior to the pandemic, our family visited to the Midtown Global Market to experience delicious food, listen to music, and simply be around people who live in different parts of the city. It is a place I would like for us to visit regularly.

And last month, I had the opportunity to join in my daughter’s school field trip at a senior home. We colored fall illustrations and chatted with the residents; it was the first group of youth that had been back to the home since the start of Covid. It was wonderful to witness the warmth and appreciation of the residents as the students shared their energy, and it reminded me of the benefits of engaging our daughters with people at all stages of life.

When life slowed down during Covid, many families re-assessed their own activities and began to appreciate the slower pace of life. I know ours did! As the pace picks up again and we decide where and how to spend our time and energy, I want to ensure that the community we are building includes not only the friends and family we love and with whom it is relatively easy—logistically, emotionally, and socially—to re-connect, but also the wider community of people and places that provide meaningful experiences and a variety of perspectives to help us grow.