Dear Angie,

May 6-10 is Teacher Appreciation Week. We will celebrate our wonderful teachers with a staff appreciation luncheon on Tuesday, May 7, please check Daily Connect for a SignUpGenius link to bring in a treat for our staff for this event.

CENTER HAPPENINGS

In House Field Trip: Costume Kim will be here on Friday, May 10, at 10:45am to share her “I Love ME! and I Love My Family!” show.

We’ll end the week before the long weekend with a Pajama Day: Thursday, May 23. Feel free to bring your favorite stuffed animal along as well!

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

KID DANCE RECITAL

Our annual spring Kid Dance recital will be held on Wednesday, May 22, at 6:30 PM in the Edinborough Park Theater.

FAMILY REMINDERS

In our commitment to provide time and opportunities for staff to grow professionally, EFC will be closed on Friday, May 24, for a staff development day. EFC is also closed on Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day. We wish you a fun & safe holiday weekend!

As the weather warms up, please make sure your child comes to school in closed toed & closed heel shoes for safe outdoor activities. We know that sandals are fun to wear but would appreciate appropriate shoes while at the center. Flip flops are not allowed at EFC. Please also make sure and check your child’s extra clothes. Not only for the warmer weather, but for size.

Please also bring a bottle of non-aerosol sunscreen (labeled with your child’s first & last name). We look forward to a fun outdoor season!!

STAR WELLNESS

BANANA SUSHI ROLL

Flour Tortilla, small

1 large banana

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

Raisins (optional)

1. Work with your children to make this snack

2. Give them a tortilla with peanut butter and let them spread it using the back of a spoon.

3. Place peeled banana at one end and roll up the tortilla.

4. Slice into eight pieces.

ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS

Screen Time and Young Children: Taking Stock

We have heard it so many times that it may be easy to ignore the headlines: screens have transformed our lives in profound ways over the last several decades. Much of the recent media conversation has focused on the negative impact of smartphones, and especially social media, on the brain wiring and mental and emotional health of preteens, teenagers, and young adults.

Research on the effects of screen time in young children can be confusing and contradictory. However, there are some clear tips from experts that can help parents and caregivers of children under 5 (whose brains are developing at an incredible rate) as they think about screen time:

Children under 18-24 months: For children younger than 2, there is very limited benefit, and potential developmental risk, to screen viewing.
Content Matters: The best content for children is slow-paced and reflects real life. (Think “old school” episodes of Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street versus frenetically paced cartoons, even those that are labeled “educational”).

Behavior: Screen time should not be used to console. In addition, it may be helpful to assess how your child behaves before and after screen time...you can make adjustments to the time spent or the type of content viewed by assessing your child’s behavior.
Participation: Very young children get the most benefit from screen time when an adult watches with them, participates in active content, and follows up off-screen, reinforcing any lessons from the media content.
Sleep: Screens should not be used 1 hour before bedtime as they have a negative effect on sleep.

In considering how our children are affected by screens, experts also encourage adults to consider our own screen time in the equation (which can be very hard!). Children learn by observing the world around them and by interacting with their environment. It makes sense that both the child’s use of screens as well as their caregiver or family’s level of screentime, can impact development.

Research is important and helpful, but we don’t need a study to understand that the world has changed due to the mobile devices in our pockets. Several months ago, while at the airport, I looked around and observed that nearly every person around me was looking down at a screen. A young toddler was standing close to her parents, taking in the environment around her, and I wondered to myself about what she was learning—or not learning—from this scene. She could not observe or hear many interactions between people because there were not many taking place. Eye contact, smiles, or friendly waves from passersby were nowhere to be found.

Since that experience, I have tried to be much more aware of not taking out my phone in places where it has become the default norm—because children and adults of all ages still need to experience those interactions and allow their minds to wander. It can feel difficult, but also important, to resist the societal norm that screen-based connections take priority over real-world ones, even in places filled with strangers.

Screen Free Week is coming up on May 6-12. This may be a great opportunity to disconnect and reflect on how screens, which are here to stay, and certainly have benefits (like keeping in touch with far-away grandparents or giving all family members a bit of time to decompress), best fit into the life of your family.

Additional Resources

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/need-to-revisit-screen-time-2021020921912

https://screenfree.org/