ECEC Newsletter

December Update

I hope that you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving break and holiday! It is hard to believe we are in December! We are always thankful for our ECEC families and our staff. The staff here at ECEC has been magnificent through changes and challenges this year. There is so much learning, growing, and praying happening here each day and I hope that you see more glimpses of that each day!

As I had sent in a previous message, we do have a room parent for each of our rooms who is organizing the staff gifts for Christmas this year. This will help to ensure all staff are celebrated and hopefully help you as parents as well! If you would like to contribute for the classroom gift, you may use this link--Please put in the memo line which classroom for the funds:

Teacher Gift Giving

The room parents will present the gifts on Dec. 22nd at our Christmas chapel program at 11:00am.

Thanks to our families who participated in the &Pizza fundraiser. We surpassed our goal amount, so will receive our fundraising donation soon from them.

The next really great fundraiser for ECEC is through Paper Pie (Usborne) books. I have sent a few messages, but will include here as well. Paper Pie will have books and materials set up to purchase on Dec. 6th during St. Nicholas event. They will have the cards to sell as well. OR, you can go ahead and place an order for the card boxes--there are samples on the counter for you to check out.

We are sending home Advent Calendars for each of our families. They give ideas for prayers and Bible verses as well as activities to complete together. We hope that you will read it and enjoy together as a family.

Jennifer Hills, our Director of Discipleship, wrote a blog about Advent and also the 12 Days of Christmas. You can read the blog here:

Click here to read the blog

This Month in Chapel

Our classes are doing great during chapel lessons! I'm including the month at a glance for our upcoming Chapel Lessons.

We also look forward to you joining us for our Christmas family chapel on December 22 at 11:00 am.

12/6: The Birth of John	This week in Chapel, children heard about “The Birth of John.” Zechariah spoke God’s Word, announcing that this baby, John, would give people knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of sins. God speaks through His Holy Word to give us knowledge of salvation and forgiveness through Jesus, His Son. In your family, discuss, “How does Jesus remind us of the work He has done for us?”
12/13: The Birth of Jesus	The Birth of Jesus, as recorded in Luke 2, is this week’s Chapel lesson. A Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! As a family, discuss the details of Christ’s birth. Ask, “How does our sin cause us to fear God like the shepherds did? Focus on the fact that God’s Son, Jesus, takes away our fears and offers us true peace, rescuing us from sin and death.
1/3: A Star Leads the Way	The Visit of the Wise Men, as told in Matthew 2, is the Bible story in Chapel this week. This Bible story teaches us that the Savior came into the world for the salvation of all people. Just as the Wise Men came to Bethlehem to see the Savior and to honor Him, so we come to church to see the Savior in His Word and Sacraments. With these gifts, He both honors and blesses us. Consider discussing, “How are we sometimes like Herod? How are we like the Wise Men?”
1/10: Jesus in the Temple	This week’s Chapel lesson was “The Boy Jesus in the Temple.” As a boy, Jesus was found in His Father’s house. In God’s house, I hear His Word, see that Jesus is my Savior, and receive His gifts of forgiveness and salvation. Because of sin, we are like Jesus’ parents and do not understand what God says to us. We don’t recognize who Jesus truly is—our Savior. Ask your children, “How does the Holy Spirit help identify who Jesus is?”

Upcoming Events

Stories with Mr. & Mrs. Claus
Christmas Carol Sing-a-long
Christmas Crafts Family Photo Booth
Milk and Cookies
Book Fair to benefit our ECEC

Please help us plan ahead for staffing around Christmas! We were able to give multiple teachers the day off around Thanksgiving, so we would love to plan ahead and do the same for Christmas if the numbers all. Complete this form for your child:

Holiday Attendance

You are Invited

St. John's extends a warm invitation to your family this Christmas season. We would love to have you join us for any of our Advent/Christmas events this year. You are a part of our family, and it would be our honor to share in this celebration with you!

In case you want to look at or save the upcoming menu- here is December.

December Menu

Upcoming Dates

December 6th- St. Nicholas Event @ 6:00pm
December 15th- Funds for staff gifts due
December 22nd- Christmas Chapel Program @ 11:00am

Thanks to parent who shared that birthdays were usually included in the newsletters. I will include them from now on!

December Birthdays

19- Hugh O.
21- Charlotte K.
25- Ms. Amanda
28- Charlie O.

Beginning of January Birthdays

7- Margot H
7- Lee W
15- Blake P
15- Ms. Brittany

https://www.sjlc.com/ecec | 703-971-3581

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