Greetings!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Join us for our annual
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Thursday, October 25
6:00 p.m-7:30 p.m.
- Carnival-style games
- Light snacks
- Merlajean’s Parading Puppets from 6:15-7:15 p.m.
- Dress in costumes (and yes, even mom and dad can wear a costume if they wish!)
Feel free to bring a decorated pumpkin on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning for our pumpkin carving contest. (Families will vote for their favorite
pumpkin at the party on Thursday night with prizes awarded!)
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NEW SPANISH TEACHER
We are excited to announce that Stefanie Boettcher is our new Spanish teacher for preschoolers on Wednesdays this year. She started teaching classes in September and has been doing great! Stephanie is a toddler teacher in our older toddler classroom and has worked at EFC for over five years. She has 4 years of Spanish experience as well as resources offered from Especially for Children. We know that it will be a successful year!
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OCTOBER FIELD TRIP
Preschoolers will visit Emma Krumbee’s Pumpkin Patch in Belle Plaine on
Tuesday, October 9
. Our bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. with parent volunteers welcome. Each child will choose their own pumpkin, get to jump in a haystack, ride “tractor bikes” and even receive an apple to bring home. It is always a fun day!
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LIFETOUCH PICTURE DAYS
Picture Days will be on
Wednesday, October 24 and Friday, October 26
for all ages. Please watch for further details as to the exact picture day for your child’s class.
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PLANNING AHEAD
EFC will be closed
on Thursday, November 22, and Friday, November 23
, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
At Especially for Children we have parent-teacher conferences twice a year. The fall conferences will be held beginning in late October and move into November. Sign–up sheets will be located in your child’s classroom closer to the time of that teacher’s week. Each conference lasts about 20 minutes. If you feel you will need more than that, please discuss this with the teacher.
Parent-teacher conferences are the perfect time to talk about your child’s development and progress. During the month of October, we will be giving you more resources regarding our Desired Results Developmental Profile which we use for both planning classroom as well as individual goals for the children. There are 3 ring binders in the front entrance room with the continuums for both infant/toddler and preschool.
If you would like to view online:
For infant/toddler:
For preschool:
https://www.desiredresults.us/sites/default/files/docs/forms/DRDP2015PSC_090116.pdf
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SPOOKTACULAR COMMUNITY EVENTS
September 22-October 28 (Saturdays and Sundays): The Great Pumpkin Fest, Valley Fair
October 26-27: Parade and Party, Anoka
October 27: Thrill Kenwood, Kenwood Park, Minneapolis
October 27: Pumpkin Fest, 50
th and France, Edina
October 27: BooBash, Maplewood
October 28: Great Pumpkin Halloween Celebration, Landmark Center, St. Paul
October 31: Halloween Party, Bloomington Ice Garden
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FALL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
We had a great day on Friday, August 31, when all EFC employees gathered together for training. The kickoff was recognizing long term employees. This year there were 56 employees honored who have worked at EFC for 5 years or more. 36 of those people have worked for 10 years or more. We are so grateful for their commitment to early childhood education and the stability they create in our centers. Pictured below are 8 of the 11 employees who have worked at EFC between 26 and 38 years!!
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The training topics of our day included a session on
Strengthening Families led by Samantha Baker, the co-director of our Edinborough center. Samantha has her Master of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and has qualified as a Master Trainer for the Minnesota Early Childhood staff training system. Her presentation was thought-provoking as it gave us many opportunities to look at our own families of origin and reflect on how those experiences and values shape how we interact with the families we serve. It also gave us insight into the different ways families develop their unique family dynamics. Using a strength-based perspective, our job as teachers is to listen and try to understand your needs and support your child’s growth through the lens of your family’s values. We want to respond with a two-generational approach, taking into consideration the needs of parents and children at the same time rather than supporting parents and children in isolation from one another.
The second session employees attended was led by Nancy Hafner, an early childhood specialist. The infant and toddler staff explored a
relationship-based approach to challenging behavior. After observing to try to understand the child’s behavior, Nancy gave us many concrete ideas for responding and specific ways to soothe infants and toddlers.
Nancy’s session for preschool staff was titled
Understanding and Preventing Challenging Behaviors in Preschool Children. She emphasized the importance of reframing the way we look at challenging behaviors. She said to put aside any beliefs about the child trying to make adults angry. Instead, ask what it is that the child wants or needs that is resulting in this challenging behavior. An image she gave us was an iceberg where most of the iceberg is under the surface. After trying to understand the reason for the behavior, or what is beneath the surface, the challenge is to help the child obtain what he wants using acceptable behavior. Again, Nancy gave many practical suggestions that we can use in our classrooms as well as excellent resources for obtaining even more information as we encounter specific challenges in the future. One of our goals as an organization is to continuously provide evidenced-based resources and tools to our teaching staff on these and other topics to help them, and the children in their classrooms, thrive.
If you would like to check out some of the resources we learned about yourself, see the websites below:
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TWIN CITIES
FAMILY EVENTS
Apple Orchards & Pumpkin Patches
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Whether one is 3 or 30 or 80, sometimes it is hard to manage emotions such as anger, sadness, or anxiety. This video, taken from one of the resources mentioned in the Especially for Parents article, reminds us how powerful breathing deeply can be, and that even young children can benefit from the practice.
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Especially for Children
6223 Dell Road
Eden Prairie MN 55346
(952) 934-1119
Center Director:
Cathie Underwood
Center Assistant Director:
Jamie Rocheford
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