Volume 9, Issue 3

107 West Main Street Whiteville, NC 28472

September 2021

The mission of the Early Learning Facility (ELF) is to assist in the development of pre-literacy skills by promoting reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing for children ages birth to five.  ELF membership is required to check out resources from the lending library. Annual dues are just $5 for individuals; $10 for family childcare homes; $25 for child care facilities with less than 50 children and $30 for large centers and community organizations (We are temporarily suspending ELF membership fees to Columbus County child care facilities and family child care homes due to the pandemic; however, we will continue to charge for lamination & other materials. Membership fees may be waived for families experiencing hardships.)

Columbus County Partnership for Children will be CLOSED on September 6th in observance of Labor Day

2021 Smart Start ELF Summer Reading Challenge was a huge success! Over 13,ooo books were read by children or to children in Columbus County over the course of five weeks. There were 306 children who participated and completed the challenge, this included community children, children from nine child care facilities, two family child care homes, and one head start program. Congratulations to the children, families, and teachers! A very BIG THANK YOU to the adults who read to pre readers and supported young readers during this challenge!

Smart Start Virtual Story Time Columbus County Partnership for Children (Smart Start), in collaboration with Whiteville City Schools as part of Let's Read! Columbus, invites you to Smart Start Virtual Story Time! Join us as we bring these stories to life! Access the stories at your convenience (24/7)! Read along if you have the books! New stories will be posted weekly! Access on Facebook @ColumbusSmartStart Access on the web @ www.columbussmartstart.com The stories are brought to you directly from the Smart Start Early Learning Facility!  (Written temporary permission has been granted by Penguin-Random House dated 08.26.20)

Need Books or Resources? The Early Learning Facility (ELF) is a lending library with thousands of items available to check out through our contactless curbside service. The ELF has something for everyone; resource materials, including books for parents, curriculum books for teachers, children's books, theme boxes, puzzles, games, musical instruments, videos, CD’s, & more! You may reserve resources by calling 910-212-6352 and schedule contactless curbside pick up and/or drop off services.

If you are a child care provider who is in need of resources and books, we will deliver books & resources to you at your center! Call Jennifer @ (910) 212-6352 to schedule a time for a contactless curbside drop off delivery/pick up.

September is National Honey Month! This is a great month to teach our children about bees and how honey is made! Bee-themed books are available for check out at the ELF. Call Jennifer @ 910-212-6352 today to reserve yours!

September is National Children's Good Manners Month! Did you know that the ELF has many books about manners? Call today to reserve your books and let's have some fun teaching young children the importance of using their manners! Call Jennifer @ 910-212-6352 today to reserve yours!

National Grandparents Day is September 12th! There are many special grandparents in our community who deserve a BIG THANK YOU for all that they do! We appreciate all of the grandparents and what they do to enrich the lives of children!

Here are some ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with children: Share a bilingual book/story time with your child(ren). We have a lot of Spanish/bilingual books in the ELF available for check out. Call Jennifer @ 910-212-6352 today to reserve yours. Food is another great way to foster appreciation for different cultures. Find easy recipes and perhaps have a Taco Tuesday or experiment with other recipes. Immerse your child in the Hispanic culture by teaching them about the culture, language and history. Display a map of the world and help your child locate different regions and place stickers on the different Hispanic countries.

Ahoy! Sept 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  It sometimes seems like we are surrounded by negativity and stress. That’s why sometimes it’s fun to do something silly with our children. Call the ELF at 910-212-6352 to reserve your pirate books and have fun teaching your child(ren) how to talk like a pirate! Arrr Matey!

Fall officially begins on September 22nd! Get ready for cooler days and nights!

Click on the text box for the most up to date list of CCPC Staff Contact Information.

Amazon makes it SO EASY to donate to Columbus County Partnership for Children with each purchase you make. Here is how it works: Click the link (smile.amazon.com/ch/56-1966108) and choose Columbus County Partnership for Children as your charitable organization on the AmazonSmile "supporting" banner along the top left of the page. On your laptop or computer, visit smile.amazon.com and bookmark it to your favorites or sidebar. Use the AmazonSmile bookmark whenever you shop on Amazon. On your mobile device, visit smile.amazon.com and add it as a shortcut to your home screen. Amazon’s mobile apps don’t work with AmazonSmile so be sure to use the shortcut on your home screen to launch AmazonSmile in your mobile browser before purchasing the items in your cart.

Your donation is a great way to get involved with the community and the best way to make a difference in the future of a child. Columbus County Partnership for Children accepts donations of services, products, and monetary contributions. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.