Greetings!
IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR TO BE THANKFUL!
We are so grateful and thankful for the families we have here at EFC. Thank you for sharing in the joys of teaching and watching the children grow. Not only do we want to give thanks we would also like to give back this year.
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GIVING THANKS AND GIVING BACK! BLANKET & COAT DRIVE
We would like parents and families to donate new or gently used coats (any size) or blankets that we can then send off to one of the homeless shelters near us. We will start collecting blankets/coats at the beginning of the month. The last day to bring in a blanket or coat to donate will be November 24. There will be a collection bin by the sign in table to leave the blankets and coats.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
November 25th-EFC CLOSED Thanksgiving
November 26th-EFC CLOSED Thanksgiving
December 23rd-EFC CLOSED
December 24th-EFC CLOSED
December 31st-EFC CLOSED
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FALL CONFERENCES
We will be holding fall conferences this month. This is a great time to get to know your child’s teachers and to talk with them about goals for your child. Conferences can be done in person, via google meets, or over the phone. Be on the look out for sign up sheets coming soon.
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HATS, MITTENS, AND COATS, OH MY!
With the weather getting colder please make sure your child/children have hats, mittens, and coats to play outside. Label their belongings so items do not go missing.
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SHARE YOUR PASSION SPOTLIGHT
In celebration of EFC’s 45th Anniversary, we created the Share Your Passion Project to discover what inspires the people who are and have been part of the EFC community. We’d like to highlight some of the entries we’ve received so far. In addition, we would love for families to participate by sharing photos, video, words, or examples of something about which you are passionate. You can submit your entry to angiew@especiallyforchildren.com.
Gail Serbesku
EFC Teacher Since: 1997
Especially for Children – Eden Prairie
My inspiration for painting comes from my love of nature and the amazing world around us. I have always been an outdoor enthusiast. I also enjoy watching shows about our awesome Earth and the animals we share it with. Now that so many species are disappearing and their unbelievable habitat is being destroyed I feel the need to put these incredible gifts down on a canvas.
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HONORING LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES
In October we honored long-term EFC employees, as we do each year. Over half of EFC employees have been with the organization for 5 years or longer! We are so grateful for their dedication to children, families, and EFC! Here are the long-term employees who were able to make it to our event!
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20-24 Years of Service Brenda (right) |
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This summer our family had the amazing opportunity to travel to Denver and reconnect with dear friends. It involved a long road trip, some roadside rest stops, and lots of audiobooks. Luckily, the drive was easier than we feared, and the end result was completely worth it.
Our friends have children about the same age as ours, so it is always fun to reunite. Like our family, our friends love the outdoors. They take full advantage of their Colorado surroundings and spend time hiking, camping and exploring. This trip I noticed something particular about their kids: they have become expert climbers! At the park, in the yard, along the parkway…every time I looked they were scrambling up a trunk or swinging off a branch. It was amazing! And yet, there were moments when I felt myself holding my breath…were they going too high? What would happen if they slipped? And, can my kids do that?
Watching them made me recall my (much!) younger days when my sister and I would climb the neighbor’s tree. We loved the challenge of trying to reach that first branch, hoisting ourselves up and ascending into the canopy where we could see the neighborhood from a new vantage point and make up some tall tale to go along with our tree top adventure. Then, one day, we went out to find that our neighbors had cut the lowest branches so that we couldn’t reach the tree anymore. Liability, risk, danger: that was what the adults worried about, so our topiary adventures were over.
Of course adults worry about risk, for it is our job to keep our children safe as they grow. But at times, our obsession with safety could actually be causing our kids a different, more invisible type of harm. Risk is crucial for children to develop confidence, resilience and trust. It is only through taking appropriate risks that children build new skills, learn to work through failure, and develop resilience to try again. When we arrived in Colorado, my kids were a little tentative to follow their friends into the treetops, but by the end of our week there I saw them pushing themselves a little bit higher, and saw their smiles grow wider each time they conquered a new branch. It was a risk definitely worth taking.
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TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS
11/7-1/9 Annie, Children's Theatre, Minneapolis
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Especially for Children
6125 Cahill Ave.
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
(651) 450-1994
Center Director:
Kristine Berg
Center Assistant Director:
Sarah Barlow
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