November News from Especially for Children

NOVEMBER 2022

Greetings!

GREAT HALLOWEEN PARTY!

It was so great to see so many of you at our Halloween Party. We thank you for your participation and your support….

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY DATES

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

CENTER HAPPENINGS

COSTUME KIM-DINOSAUR STOMP

Kim Maxwell will be here on Thursday, November 3, at 9:00 am telling stories about dinosaurs. This program is for toddlers through preschoolers.

FIELD TRIP

Stages Theater--"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on Thursday, December 15, for the 10:00 am show. There will be an extra charge of $10.00 per participant. All preschoolers will attend.

HOLIDAY PROGRAM

It has been a long tradition to host a holiday singing program each year at our center. We are happy to announce that it will be in person once again. Please watch for the date....we will inform you of details.

PARENT REMINDERS

FALL CONFERENCES

Conferences will be held this year during the month of November in person. If you need a google meet or phone call conference, please let your child’s teacher know. The conferences will be 20 minutes in length, and we will be sharing goals for the year based upon your child’s age group. This is a great time to learn more about our curriculum and about the programming in our classrooms.

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 helping us keep 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 each day. Winter can come upon us quickly and as you know—the weather will be ever changing and with that in mind—we will do our best to keep giving your child the outside play that is so valuable to them.

DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING

Early childhood developmental screening is a check of a child’s development, vision, hearing, growth, health history, and immunizations. Screening takes approximately 1-hour and a parent or legal guardian stays with the child during the process. You can contact Minnetonka public schools at the following phone number (952-401-6840) or connect through this link--https://www.minnetonkaschools.org/district/mcec/early-childhood/screening

Eden Prairie’s contact information is (952) 975-6940 and their link is https://www.edenpr.org/community-education/ecfe-preschool/early-childhood-screening

LOOKING AHEAD

Winter holiday dates:

Monday, December 26, 2022—EFC Closed

Monday, January 2, 2023—EFC Closed

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.