Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers is dedicated to nurturing children and their families by providing quality, educationally-based, and financially accessible childcare in a safe, diverse, and enriching environment. | | |
January was a FLURRY of fun at Critchlow Adkins! | |
2026 is off to a brrr-illiant start, thanks to your support! Our classroom kitchens were busy as students learned about health and nutrition. Cold temps and seasonal weather meant lots of winter crafts, exploring weather, animals, and habitats, and challenging young minds with engaging STEAM activities. Meaningful discussions accompanied our celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his important legacy.
Please watch the video below to see some of the smiles YOU made possible this month, then scroll down for more January highlights!
| | Look At What We've Been Up To! | | |
Now We're Cooking!
The students at our School Age Site in Easton had a week devoted to food, cooking and baking. They discussed the five food groups and explored how they help our bodies grow strong and healthy. Children then worked together to prepare a variety of yummy dishes, including chicken alfredo, homemade baked bread, and cakes. They also displayed teamwork and creativity during some special STEAM cooking challenges!
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A Month In Motion!
Our Cordova Site was on the move this month! The preschoolers learned about various vehicles, rolling toy tractors over different terrains, racing cars against balls to see which would go faster, and steering wagons around the hallways. The school age students focused on exercise and moving their bodies. Ms. Karen visited for some yoga sessions, and the students had a blast completing a fitness obstacle course!
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Calm and Cool!
It was a celebration of peace and wintertime at our White Marsh Site! The school age students played their new Tibetan singing bowl and read poems from their Peace Project books, all made possible by a special Peace grant. They explored winter with snowflake and snowman crafts, a hot chocolate taste test, and a lesson on the Arctic food chain. The preschool classroom took advantage of the pre-storm warm weather with a fun Bike Day to go along with their lesson on transportation! Along the way, they learned about the parts of a bike and connected their fun on wheels to their recent shape exploration by finding circles on their bikes.
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Teamwork Makes The Dream Work!
The school age students at our St. Michaels Site created clubs for students with shared interests. Welcome to the newest members of the LEGO Club and the Writing Club! They also participated in activities honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and made beautiful and heartfelt cards for the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church’s annual Valentine initiative. The creative cards will brighten Valentine’s Day for seniors across Talbot County. The preschoolers worked together on Tasty Tuesdays, making banana pudding with vanilla wafers and a delicious Taco Tuesday treat!
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Snow Much Fun!
Our Preschool Site in Easton embraced the winter chill with tons of fun winter-related activities. They drew pictures of what a perfect snow day would look like, made snow out of conditioner and baking soda, created snowflake crafts, and warmed up with some yummy hot chocolate. They also enjoyed a penguin-themed week, during which they learned all about penguins, made igloos, made ice paintings, and had ice races!
| | Follow us on Facebook to get your Friday fix of cuteness with our Weekly Round Up! | | | Meet Dr. Eva M. Smorzaniuk | | | | |
We are excited to introduce you to an extraordinary member of our Critchlow Adkins family, Dr. Eva Smorzaniuk!
Eva was born in New Jersey to parents who emigrated to the US after World War II. After high school, she attended college, medical school, and career training in diagnostic and interventional radiology. She served in the Navy for four years to pay for her medical school funding.
Eva has enjoyed living and working on the Eastern Shore since 1989, and says she feels a real sense of community and belonging here. She loves to be outdoors, is a proud grandmother of three, and an "unabashed cat and dog mamma."
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In retirement, Eva has found fulfillment in working with nonprofits that make our community a better place. We are honored to be on her list!
When she worked at the hospital, many of her coworkers would use Critchlow Adkins (then known as Easton Day Care) for high quality and affordable child care. One of her husband's law partners was on the Critchlow Adkins Board of Directors, and she would donate in response to his letters.
A few years ago, Eva received a call from our Executive Director, Cristy Morrell, thanking her for a donation. She remembers joking that she would be happy to continue donating as long as we kept sending her our hand-made kid art thank you cards! Cristy invited her for a tour of our School Age Site, and she has been a passionate ambassador for our mission ever since, joining our Development Committee and sharing her love of Critchlow Adkins with the community.
"What inspires me to support Critchlow Adkins," Eva says, "is, first, my desire to strengthen the organizations that are the fabric of our community. Second is my belief that investing in children is investing in the community at large. There is a Frederick Douglass quote in the spin room of the YMCA that speaks to me -
'It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.' - That sums it up."
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| This month, Eva invited friends to join her at the Ivy Cafe in Easton for Critchlow Adkins Cocktails and Conversation. She was excited to help spread the word about our program in a more personal and intimate environment. We are so grateful to Eva for hosting this event, and to all of our new friends who attended to learn more about how we can Build Brighter Futures together. Critchlow Adkins is fortunate that Eva has chosen to lend her passion, energy, and big heart in support of our mission! | | | A January STEAM Project YOU Can Do At Home! | | |
As you read above, snow was a big inspiration for many of our lessons this month! Today, we're sharing two simple and fun snow-themed STEAM activities you can do at home with your budding scientist. These are perfect for a snow day, or any day when you want to bring winter indoors!
Of course, it's always best to pair your project with a good book. This month's recommendation is Snowballs, by Lois Ehlert.
| | | | In this story, a young child waits for a "perfect snowball day" with a bag of saved treasures like nuts, seeds, popcorn, bottle caps, fabric, and buttons. When the snow falls, the child's family builds a whole family of snow people! As the sun comes out, the snow family melts, each turning into a different form of slush or a puddle. | | |
After enjoying a book together, it's time for a little snow science... Try these two easy experiments for some fascinating winter fun!
Baking Soda Snow
Mix one cup of baking soda with 2 cups of shaving cream to create moldable snow dough. Challenge your child to build different figures and shapes out of the snow. When you're done building, add vinegar to the mix and watch for the fizzy chemical reaction!
Melting and Freezing
Bring some snow indoors (or use ice cubes). Place the snow/ice in different locations around your home - a sunny windowsill, a shaded area, the freezer, etc. (Note: make sure it is placed on or in something water-safe). Have your child predict, observe, and record how long it will take for the snow/ice to turn into water at each location.
Some helpful tips: If you are doing this experiment with a younger child, give him/her different lengths of time to choose from when making a prediction about how long it will take the snow to melt (time can be a difficult concept for littles to grasp). You can also ask whether he/she things the snow will still feel cold after it has melted. Come up with your own questions or ask your child to think of more predictions and observations!
| | As always, be as creative as you want, and have lots of fun learning together! Visit our website for hundreds of additional STEAM activities you can do at home! | | SNOW-body is as COOL as YOU! | | | Your generosity builds worlds of wonder for our children to explore, sparking their imagination, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning! Consider Building Brighter Futures year-round with a recurring monthly gift of any size! | | Support Critchlow Adkins While Shopping! | | Connect your Harris Teeter VIC card to Critchlow Adkins via the Together in Education Program, and when you purchase the brands listed below, you help earn money to support our programs! | | If you are a Weis Market customer, scan the bar code below at checkout to help Critchlow Adkins earn funds for supplies, programs, and more! | | Thank You To Our Critchlow Adkins Community and Business Partners! | | |
Grant Partners
Bryan Brothers Foundation
Christmas in St. Michaels
Christ Church St. Michaels Parish
Church of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Women
Dock Street Foundation
Fullwood Foundation
Maryland State Department of Education
Mid-Shore Community Foundation
Rotary Club of Easton
Rural Maryland Council
St. John Foundation
St. Mark's United Methodist Church
Talbot County Health Department
Talbot Optimists Club
USDA Rural Development
Van Strum Foundation
Whole Kids Foundation
Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore
Philip A Zaffere Foundation
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Academy Art Museum
Adkins Arboretum
Appleseed Books
Boy Scouts of America
Candlelight Cove
Carepacks of Talbot County
Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Chesapeake College
Choptank Community Health
Cordova Fire Station
Eastern Shore Speech Therapy
Easton Cinemas
Easton Volunteer Fire Department
Emily's Produce
Environmental Concern
Family Affair Farm
For All Seasons
Girl Scouts of America
Healthy Talbot
Imagination Library of Talbot County
Judy Amdur Music
Judy Center Early Learning Hubs
Jump Start With The Arts
Lion's Club
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Kiln Born Creations
Maryland Zoo
Pickering Creek Audubon Center
Police, Fire, and EMS Departments
Positive Strides Therapeutic Riding
Project Right Steps
Ready at Five
SOS Sink or Swim
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
St. Michaels Community Center
Talbot County:
Health Department
Infants and Toddlers
Oral Health Department
Parks and Recreation
Public Schools
Talbot County Free Library
Talbot Family Network
Talbot Humane
Talbot Interfaith Shelter
Talbot Thrive
University of Maryland Extension
US Armed Forces
4-H Club
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Critchlow Adkins is so fortunate to have generous support from our local business community. Meet our CACC Stars!
*For more information on how YOU can become a CACC Star, click HERE or contact our Development Director, Liz Connelly, at lconnelly@cacckids.org.
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Ball Greenhouses
Benson and Mangold Real Estate
Brambles Electric
Carpenter Street Saloon
Chesapeake Blooms
Chic-fil-A
Coventry Motor Works
Crackerjacks
Dairy Queen of Denton
Dragonfly Boutique
Easton Music Academy
L. Lucke Designs
Moore Funeral Home
PeachBlossoms Events
RLE LLC
Salt & Light Entertainment
Vintage Family Farms
What's Good, LLC
Windswept Clothiers
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Licensed Maryland Childcare Providers
Cordova - 45445
Easton Preschool - 31291
Easton School Age - 31294
St. Michaels - 31292
White Marsh - 53488
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