|
|
February 2026
Newsletter
| | | 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. | | |
From Our Hearts To Yours, Thank You For A Fabulous February! | |
Our classrooms were full of love and learning this month, thanks to your incredible support! There was much to celebrate, including Black History Month, Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, and even some national snack recognition days. Through it all, your Critchlow Adkins Kids enjoyed engaging, enriching activities and tons of fun with friends!
Please watch the video below to see some of the smiles YOU made possible this month, then scroll down for more February highlights!
| | Look At What We've Been Up To! | | |
STEAM Reigns Supreme!
Along with Valentine’s fun, learning about the Chinese New Year, and celebrating Black History Month, the students at our White Marsh Site enjoyed engaging STEAM activities. The preschoolers did a soggy science experiment by observing how water repels off duck feathers, and honed their engineering skills by building igloos out of magnetic blocks. Our school age students got stuck on static electricity during a very entertaining experiment demonstrating how static can cause a balloon to stick to paper, clothes, and even hair. They also saw (and tasted) the rainbow while learning what happens when Skittles are dissolved in water!
| | |
Baseball, Books, Birds, and Belonging!
Our Cordova Site exchanged valentines with friends and teachers and enjoyed a special treat. The men’s baseball team from Chesapeake College visited the site for a very special storytime. Ms. Karen also stopped by for some energizing winter yoga. Our preschoolers took advantage of some warmer weather and the first hint of Spring to head outside and gather materials to make bird nests!
| |
Blast From The Past (and Present)!
Our School Age Site took an adventure back in time! They studied African American history as well as the history of entertainment, learning about how the inventions and contributions of African Americans and women have shaped many aspects of our lives today. February was also full of classroom visitors, including yoga (and a quick game of UNO) with Ms. Karen, reading with Ms. Kerry from Shore Lit and board member Cindy Orban, and STEAM with our awesome friends from the Easton High School Interact Club!
| |
A Little Bit Of Soul!
The highlight of February at our St. Michaels Site is always the “Little Bit of Soul Food” luncheon in honor of Black History Month. Students, parents, and staff look forward to this afternoon every year. It is an opportunity to spend time together enjoying great food, listening to music, creating artwork, playing games, and learning important American history! Other Black History activities included creating incandescent lightbulbs in honor of inventor Lewis Latimer, making a hot comb while learning about entrepreneur Madam CJ Walker, and writing beautiful poetry inspired by author Maya Angelou!
| |
Food, Feelings, and Fun!
It was a flurry of activity at our Preschool Site! Room 2 kept warm and cozy from the cold, reading the book Soup Day and then working together to make delicious soup. Our littlest learners celebrated everything from Valentine’s Day to President’s Day, and even National Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Day and National Muffin Day! Room 4 explored different emotions through various activities. But of course, the biggest emotion they had was JOY, as they headed outdoors to play during a break in the winter weather!
| | Follow us on Facebook to get your Friday fix of cuteness with our Weekly Round Up! | | | More February Highlights! | | |
Our Executive Director, Cristy Morrell, and Development Director, Liz Connelly, traveled across the Bay Bridge several times this month to advocate for legislation that will help support Maryland families and the state's economy by increasing financial assistance and bolstering child care providers.
Cristy testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, along with several other child care advocates from the Mid-Shore, to encourage lawmakers to lift the freeze on the Maryland Child Care Scholarship Program. Both women attended the Evening of Child Care with state legislators and the District 37 legislative update reception. Finally, at the Taste of the Eastern Shore event, Cristy was able to meet with Congressman Andy Harris for a substantive conversation about the importance of early education.
| |
A huge thank you to Christmas in St Michaels for their generous $7,000 grant in support of our St. Michaels site! Originally founded to help open our St. Michaels location, Christmas in St. Michaels has grown into an incredible force for good, supporting numerous nonprofit organizations that make life better for our neighbors in and around St. Michaels.
Thanks to funding from last year’s event, we were able to purchase essential supplies to enhance the curriculum at our St. Michaels Site, including a fully-loaded Mobile STEM station bundle, board games, sports and recreations items, art materials, and a child sized computer. We are incredibly thankful to Christmas in St. Michaels for the continued support, and for investing in the children and families of St. Michaels!
| | Our Central Office team and Site Directors got together last week to celebrate our Office Administrator, Kissaundra. It was a dual celebration - half birthday party, and half bridal shower for her upcoming wedding in March. If you see Kissaundra, please help us congratulate her and send her best wishes for a lifetime of happiness! | | | | | |
This month, we're highlighting one of our very first Star Business Partners, Michael Anderson of Andersen Wealth Management.
Michael is from Rockville, MD, but moved to the Shore in 1997 when he attended Salisbury University, where he earned his BA in Political Science and his MBA. He worked at several financial service firms before founding Andersen Wealth Management in 2008. Michael is married to his college sweetheart, Sarah, and they have three teenage children.
| | |
In 2019, the Andersen family moved to Lakewood Ranch, FL, but Michael returns to Maryland one week each month to continue serving his clients here on the Mid-Shore.
Anderson Wealth Management is an investment advisory firm, which means they operate under the fiduciary standard of care. Their primary focus is retirement income planning and risk management for individuals and families, typically aged 50 to 75. The AWM headquarters are in Easton, and they have additional offices in Salisbury and Lewes.
Michael was already familiar with Critchlow Adkins (his children attended Chapel District Elementary School, where our Cordova Site is located) when a conversation with our wonderful Board Member Julie Crocker turned to the good work that we are doing in the community. Julie mentioned Critchlow Adkins' Business Partnership Plan, which was brand new at the time, and Michael said "it became a privilege to provide some financial support."
When asked why he supports Critchlow Adkins and our mission, Michael shared, "I like that CACC is supported by our community to help kids. Children are our most precious resource and anything we can do to help them be successful is very important."
We are so grateful for your support, Michael! Thanks to you and your fellow Star Business Partners, local families have access to safe, affordable, and high quality childcare that sets our children and families up for success!
Andersen Wealth Management has made a charitable contribution to Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers in connection with its participation in the Business Partnership Program. The inclusion of Andersen Wealth Management in this communication does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, or approval by Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers, its board members, staff, or affiliates. No affiliation or partnership exists beyond the charitable support described above.
|
| A February STEAM Project YOU Can Do At Home! | | This month, our kiddos celebrated the 100th day of school with fun activities. We've got some fun 100th day STEAM activities you can do at home with your kiddos! First things first... Read a great book together for some inspiration. We recommend Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School by Jamie Harper. | | | | In this story, Miss Mingo the Flamingo has a fun day planned for her diverse class of animals in honor of the 100th day of school. Each animal has a different way of celebrating the number 100, and then the whole class works together on a project. Miss Mingo's warm, creative classroom is inspired by hundredth day activities in real schools. | | After following the antics of Miss Mingo and her students, it's time for your own centennial celebration! You and your child can practice counting to 100 by doing 100 actions such as jumping jacks or making silly faces for 100 seconds. Go through your home and find 100 of an item (for example, 100 toothpicks, scraps of paper, paper clips, paper plates, q-tips, etc.) then challenge yourselves to build something using all 100 of the item! | | 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! | | Your generosity gives our teachers the tools to multiply our children's love of learning by a factor of 100! 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
| | |
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
Kiln Born Creations
| | |
Maryland Zoo
Pickering Creek Audubon Center
Police, Fire, and EMS Departments
Positive Strides Therapeutic Riding
Project Right Steps
Ready at Five
Shore Lit
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
| | |
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.
| | |
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
| | |
|
Licensed Maryland Childcare Providers
Cordova - 45445
Easton Preschool - 31291
Easton School Age - 31294
St. Michaels - 31292
White Marsh - 53488
| | | | | |
