Greetings!
WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD
Join us April 10-16 for a fun-filled week celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities. #WOYC21
Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation’s biggest organization of early childhood professionals with more than 100,000 members and a network of 450 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. We will be hosting special events all week in honor of the Week of the Young Child. Each class will participate the special week:
Music Monday
Tasty Tuesday
Work Together Wednesday
Artsy Thursday
Family Friday
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SPRING
Spring is finally here! As the warmer weather continues please also remember that spring can be unpredictable in Minnesota! Please remember to send the appropriate weather clothing for outdoors. It would also be helpful to have at least one set of extra clothes at school, as sometimes clothing can become wet or messy. We bring the children outside as much as possible to run and play!
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SCHEDULED HOURS
Often children and family schedules change as the weather gets warmer. At EFC, we schedule our teacher’s hours based on ratios in the classrooms. If you will have a schedule change (whether just for a day or a permanent change) please let your child’s teacher and/or Bri/Kate know so we can schedule accordingly. Also, as a friendly reminder, children’s hours should not exceed 10 hours/day. Thank you
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SPRING PICTURES
Lifetouch will be at EFC on Wednesday, April 28, for Picture Day!
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CONFERENCES
EFC will host conferences during May so please watch for the sign-up sheets towards the end of April. We will proceed with virtual conferences via Google Meet, or phone conferences.
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EFC CLOSED—IN-SERVICE DAY AND HOLIDAY
EFC will be closed on Friday, May 28, for our Staff In-service Day, as well as Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day.
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WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM FROEBEL’S KINDERGARTENS
Community Playthings recently posted an article on its blog about Friedrich Froebel, the founder of Kindergarten, and his philosophies about its purpose. We found the article to be a good reminder of the foundations for early learning. Here are some highlights:
“A good way to begin to understand Froebel’s philosophy is to define the word, Kindergarten. Kindergarten literally means Children’s Garden, which covers Froebel’s concept of ‘a place for children’ as well as his beliefs about child growth, development, and learning (Elkind, 2015). He believed that the best place for young children is a place where the child’s nature can be developed and nurtured…”
Some of Froebel’s critical concepts are:
- Use of the Outdoors
- Importance of Hands-on Learning
- Use of multiple intelligences
- View of early childhood as a unique learning period separate from formal educational
- Nurturing individual growth and development
- Importance of the family
- The value of play
- The importance of creativity
- An understanding of children who struggle in school
- The need to challenge educational orthodoxy
You can read more about each of these concepts here:
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LOOKING AHEAD: SUMMER AT EFC |
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The end of the school year brings so many special traditions to our schools. In a now-familiar refrain, while things still look at bit different as we move through (and closer to the end!) of the pandemic, we hope you and your children will enjoy the activities we have planned – Week of the Young Child, parent/teacher conferences, and end of the year classroom celebrations, and, finally, after a very long winter, some wonderful time outdoors!
For the past several years, we have made our outdoor gardens a central aspect of our summer, and that will continue in 2021. Children will have the opportunity to plant and harvest a variety of foods. They will learn about the life cycle of plants and how to take care of them. And best of all, how good fresh, homegrown fruits and veggies taste!
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In addition to gardening, children will learn and grow through fun and engaging programming developed by their teacher(s). This summer you will notice your child’s teacher highlighting activities and themes that call to mind the best elements of summer and adapt them to the particular interests of children in their classroom. As always, the core elements of our curriculum will remain woven into each day as we continue teaching literacy, science and math skills and supporting children’s social and emotional learning through play, stories, and interactions. Some special classes will return to the centers as well.
We will bring back summer t-shirts this year that reflect the joy and freedom of summer. Please look for ordering information in late spring.
We are so excited to celebrate and enjoy summer with your children. It will be a well-deserved reward for us all!
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Especially for Children
3370 Coachman Rd.
Eagan, MN 55121
(651) 452-0043
Center Directors:
Bri Dieffenbach and Kate Beck
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