APRIL 2022
Greetings!
NAEYC WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD 2022: CELEBRATING OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS
April 2-8 is Week of the Young Child. This is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation’s largest organization of early childhood professionals with more than 80,000 members and a network of 300 local, state and regional affiliates.
 
The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs/services that meet those needs.
 
NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later life. Each class will participate in the special week:

Music Monday
Tasty Tuesday
Work Together Wednesday
Artsy Thursday
Family Friday
CENTER HAPPENINGS
WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD FUN DAYS!
Monday, 4/4—Backward/Inside Out Day
Tuesday, 4/5—Hat Day
Wednesday, 4/6—Wacky Hair Day
Thursday, 4/7— Favorite Sports Team Day
Friday, 4/8—Wear your favorite P.J.’s
EFC MAIL
During “Week of the Young Child”, we will have a mailbox in the family lounge where you can write your child a special note. It will be delivered to the classrooms via EFC mail and read to your child that day.
I LOVE PETS…I LOVE ANIMALS
Costume Kim is here on Friday, April 8, at 9:00am. It is pajama day at the center for Week of the Young Child. Your child can also bring in a favorite stuffed animal to snuggle with for our pet/animal session with Kim. 
APRIL FAMILY PROJECT
Decorate a cloud with your family—you can glue on cotton balls, paint the cloud, color in the cloud… whatever fun materials you have to decorate. We will put out the scrap box if you would like more materials. Thank you for everyone that participates and helps to keep our entryway decorated!
PARENT REMINDERS
CONFERENCES
EFC will host conferences during late April and May so please watch for further information. We can use all formats for conferencing: in person, google meet, or telephone conferencing this spring.
SUMMER SCHEDULES
With summer right around the corner, please inform us of any schedule changes or vacations that you have planned. We look forward to a great summer season here at EFC!
EFC CLOSED—IN-SERVICE DAY AND HOLIDAY
EFC will be closed on Friday, May 27, for our Staff In-service Day, as well as Monday, May 30, for Memorial Day. 
ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS
LOOSE PARTS NATURE PLAY
By Angie Williams
Dr. Carla Gull, an expert on outdoor classrooms and nature play, hosts a podcast called Loose Parts Nature Play (https://loosepartsnatureplay.libsyn.com/) in which she discusses how loose parts play fosters creativity, curiosity, and fun! With spring upon us and April being the month of Earth Day, it is a great time to dig into how we can enhance nature play and help children more fully engage with the natural world around them.
 
Loose Parts Theory
The theory of loose parts was developed by Simon Nicholson, who wrote:
 
“In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it.”
 
In this context, variables are open-ended materials but also include, for example: phenomena such as electricity, magnetism, and gravity; sounds, music, and motion; chemical interactions and cooking. In addition, embedded in Nicholson’s theory is the notion that children should be involved in designing their own environments—contributing to the planning and building, choosing materials, and playing with concepts. If adults have complete control of planning the environment, they have taken all the fun—and inventiveness—out of that process for children.
 
Loose Parts and Outdoor Play
Children can create their own environments outside when we provide them with materials such as crates, large fabrics, blocks, planks, and stumps, and then allow them the freedom to experiment with and rearrange them. They can then add objects from nature and spend time exploring their properties and testing out different ways to use them.
 
Last week I had the chance to break open a coconut with my daughters and nephew. We first had to figure out the best tools—at various points in the process we discovered the need for a chisel, a hammer, and our bare hands. We weren’t sure what we would find on the inside—would it be fresh, or had it withered? The hammer made different sounds on different parts of the fruit; the hollow noise gave us a clue that we were not likely to be drinking juice from this particular coconut. Indeed, when we reached the center, we found brown instead of green. While we would not be able to quench our thirst, it was a successful engagement in loose parts play that included investigation, sensory experience, and fun.  
As the weather warms, we hope your child has many opportunities for loose parts nature play. Read more about this theory in the articles below:
 
 
 
TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS

Now-5/1 Spring Flower Show, Como Park Conservatory, St. Paul
Now-5/8 Thomas & Friends, MN Children’s Museum
4/3 Goldy's Gallop Kids Run, TCF Bank Stadium
4/8-5/8 What Do You Do With An Idea?, Stages Theatre, Hopkins
4/9&4/16 Easter Egg Hunts, various locations and dates
4/10 Scheels Family Fun Day, Scheels, Eden Prairie
4/15 Family Friday Easter Event, Midtown Global Market, Mpls
4/16 Kids at the Castle: Spring Chicks, Swedish Institute, Mpls
4/22-6/18 Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical, Children’s Theatre, Mpls               
4/23 Earth Day Clean Up, multiple locations throughout Minneapolis
4/30 Get in Gear Half Marathon, 10k and 5k, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis 
4/30 Walk for Animals, Fair Grounds, St. Paul

Especially for Children
6223 Dell Road
Eden Prairie MN 55346 
(952) 934-1119 

Center Director:
Cathie Underwood 
Center Assistant Director:
Jamie Kittleson
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