Dear Angie,

OUTSIDE CLOTHING

As we enter November, the crisp air can turn chilly in a flash! Please remember to send your child(ren) to EFC with appropriate winter clothing including a warm hat, coat, and mittens/gloves. Having an extra pair of socks in your child’s cubby is also a good idea. We love to get outside as much as possible! Please be sure to label your child’s items to assure we have the right item on the right child.

CENTER HAPPENINGS

CRAZY DAYS

During the week of November 15^th, we’re going to mix things up with some fun themed days. The theme for each day is as follows:

November 13^th: Hat Day

November 14^th: Pajama Day

November 15^th: Favorite Color Day

November 16^th: Polka dots and/or stripes Day

November 17^th: Sports/Favorite team Day

FAMILY REMINDERS

UPCOMING HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

EFC will be closed on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24, for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We hope your family enjoys the time together to relax and celebrate.

STAR WELLNESS

Pumpkin-Spice-Oatmeal-in-the-Crockpot-2-1 image

COOKING WITH KIDS

November is a month we seem to spend more time in the kitchen, and this provides a great way to create family bonding and lasting memories with your children. Cooking is a skill that helps children read, do math, and organize their work logically.

PUMPKIN SPICE OATMEAL IN THE CROCKPOT

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 ½ cups milk of choice

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup steel cut oats

*maple syrup or honey if desired

1. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir to combine

2. Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours (note that cooking time can vary depending on your crock pot).

*you can also use oat, almond, rice or plant-based milk if you want to make the oatmeal vegan.

This Pumpkin Pie Playdough recipe is also fun to make and create with!

PUMPKIN PIE PLAYDOUGH

5 ½ cups flour

2 cups salt

8 TSP cream of tartar

¾ cup oil

1 ½ oz pumpkin pie spice

4 cups water

Orange food coloring if desired

Mix all ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until lumps disappear. Knead the dough on floured surface until smooth.

ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

SUPPORTING A GROWTH MINDSET

by Angie Williams

A growth mindset is one characterized by the view that intelligence and skill can be obtained and increased through effort. In a growth mindset, the brain is rightly understood to be malleable, and mistakes and challenges are a natural and healthy part of learning. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, views intelligence as predetermined and set. Someone with a fixed mindset sees little value in practice and effort because he or she does not think it will change outcomes. A fixed mindset can be detrimental both to the individual who does not believe he or she can be successful in a given area as well as for the one who develops an inflated view of his or her intelligence.

Because having a growth mindset is an important predictor of future success in many areas of life, it is important that adults help to foster a growth mindset in children. Psychologist and researcher Carol Dweck has studied the growth mindset in children and states,

“If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.”

While much research and literature about the growth mindset focuses on elementary-aged and older children, adults can encourage even young children to value effort over outcomes in service of deep and lifelong learning as well as in building resiliency.

For example, these are ways to stimulate a growth mindset:

• Praising Effort

• Accepting Failures

• Ask for Explanations

• Express the Amount of work put in

• “Your Brain is Growing”

• Praise the PROCESS!

These actions, in contrast, may discourage a growth mindset:

• Praising Outcomes

• Criticizing Failures

• Telling children the answers

• Labeling or Judging student/work

• Telling them they “tried their best”

• Praising the PERSON

We can also share stories with children of characters (real or imagined) who failed and persevered:

Young children may have a natural propensity for a growth mindset and less developed definitions of success and failure than older children and adults. Caregivers can thus encourage participation in varied activities and experiences that engage all of their senses, deepening children’s understanding of the world, capitalizing on these assets of their developmental stage, and expanding children’s belief in their own potential.

Resources:

https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/knox/growth-mindset-in-early-learners/

https://imaginationsoup.net/help-child-unmotivated-growth-fixed-mindset

https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1431&context=etd