November News from Especially for Children

NOVEMBER 2022

Greetings!

THANK YOU!

It’s that time of year, where we are reminded to be thankful for all that we have. We want to thank YOU, our parents, and families, for sharing your children with us each day. We are very thankful that you all are a part of our center family.

EFC HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

Please mark your calendars – EFC will be closed on the following dates:

Thanksgiving Holiday:

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Friday, November 25, 2022

Remaining 2022 Holiday Closures:

Monday, December 26, 2022

Monday, January 2, 2023

CENTER HAPPENINGS

MAGIC FUN

Robert the Magician will be here on Thursday, November 10, at 3:30pm to present ‘The Magic of Eric Carle’ for our toddlers and preschoolers!

CONFERENCES

Throughout the month we will be holding parent teacher conferences in all our classrooms. We hope you’ll take advantage of the chance to talk with your child’s teacher about their development and upcoming goals. Please watch for an email with your classroom’s conference dates and a link to sign up for a conference time.

SPEECH & OCCUPATIONAL SCREENINGS

We are excited to share that Journey Pediatric Therapy, located in Edina, has offered to visit the center to do free, voluntary speech and/or occupational therapy screens for any interested families. They will be visiting EFC on Thursday, November 10, to provide screens for children ages 6 months to 6 years of age. A speech pathologist and an occupational therapist will meet with your child for 10 minutes to make sure skills are age appropriate. After meeting with your child, they will call you to discuss strengths and any areas of concerns. If there is an area of concern, a formal evaluation will be recommended. Please feel free to reach out to them prior to the screening with any questions at 952-204-5523 or at their website www.journeypeds.com. Learn more about Journey’s services here. If you are interested in having your child screened, please fill out a release form.

PARENT REMINDERS

OUTSIDE CLOTHING

Please remember to send your child(ren) to EFC with appropriate clothing for the weather including a warm coat, hat, and mittens/gloves. It is very helpful that you help label ALL items with your child’s name. If anything gets lost, or is the same as someone else’s, we have a much easier way finding its owner again.

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.