AUGUST 2020
Greetings!

GARDEN UPDATE
We have been enjoying watching our gardens grow this summer and have already begun to harvest! We have enjoyed having some zucchini and cucumbers for snacks! We are looking forward to harvesting and tasting the rest of our vegetables this month!
CENTER HAPPENINGS
AUGUST SPECIAL DAYS
Watch the calendar for some fun special days. We will have bike days, pajama day, splash day and the preschool will close out their ball study with their own preschool Olympics on Friday, August 7!
PARENT REMINDERS
LOOKING AHEAD… 
Especially for Children will be closed on Friday, September 4, for our staff professional development day and Monday, September 7, for Labor Day.
STAR WELLNESS
star wellness
STAR WELLNESS OUTDOOR GAMES

FUNS SPINS ON DISC GOLF: Hang a hoop from a branch or clothesline, then grab a Frisbee and try these fun spins on the game of Disc Golf at home!

BASEBALL: Set out four bases (cardboard squares work well) with a home plate near the hoop. Players start at home and work around the diamond, shooting the frisbee from each base. Three “strikes” (misses) and you are out; complete the circuit to earn a run and another turn (with three strikes).

OBSTACLE GOLF: Starting and ending with the frisbee shot through the hoop, players race to complete a course of challenges (crawl through a tunnel, kick a soccer ball into a net, swerve in and out of cones or other objects, and so on). Keep time, the fastest player wins.

D-I-S-C: For the spellers out there: The game is the same as H-O-R-S-E in basketball. One player throws a frisbee through a hoop, then the other players need to match the shot or earn a letter; the last one to spell D-I-S-C wins.

*And, for extra fun, you can even add a little science lesson on flight physics while you are playing!

PARENT RESOURCES
FLOWER PEDAL PRINTING
Check out this idea from the Community Playthings blog:

“Capture some of that wondrous splash of color from your flower garden on paper. Experiment with different flowers and leaves. We found that marigolds and parsley made the most vibrant colors.”

BUILDING AN ANTI-BIAS LIBRARY
One of the things we are working on at EFC is building an anti-bias library. We are doing so based on helpful criteria outlined by Social Justice Books and wanted to share these ideas with you.

When reviewing a book with an anti-bias lens:

  • Check the illustrations
  • Look for stereotypes
  • Look for tokenism
  • Look for invisibility
  • Check the Story Line and the Relationships Between People
  • Look at Messages About Different Lifestyles
  • Consider the Effects on Children’s Self and Social Identities
  • Look for Books About Children and Adults Engaging in Actions for Change
  • Consider the Author’s or Illustrator’s Background and Perspective
  • Watch for Loaded Words
  • Look at the Copyright Date
  • Assess the Appeal of the Story and Illustrations to Young Children

You can find more detail around each of these suggestions here: https://socialjusticebooks.org/guide-for-selecting-anti-bias-childrens-books/
ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS
THANK YOU!
We wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank our amazing EFC teaching staff and managers for all they have done over the course of this pandemic. We truly appreciate their hard work and dedication to EFC families, one another, and the organization. They have been flexible, positive, caring, energetic…they have been AMAZING!

On behalf of EFC Administration, THANK YOU, to all the members of our staff.
Center Director
Lisa Ward
CONNECT WITH US