Dear Angie,

Week of the Young Child was a success. The children had a wonderful week. Here are a few highlights. Monday the children enjoyed moving and grooving during Stretch-n-Grow, Soccer Shots, and Classroom dance parties. Tuesday the children enjoyed eating an all-time favorite snack, homemade granola with yogurt. Wednesday, they had a terrific time engaging in story time with the Wonder Weavers. Artsy Thursday the children got their hands messy and let their creativity explode while they made their own creations. Family Friday we celebrated our wonderful families with a special grab-n-go breakfast, and classrooms enjoyed the pictures that were shared of families celebrating the week. Thank you, families, for sharing your amazing children with us. We are grateful for you all.

CENTER HAPPENINGS

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

May 6-10 is Teacher Appreciation Week. We will have some take-home activities for you and your child to complete for their teachers. We would love to have a teacher appreciation potluck on Wednesday, May 8. There will be a sign-up sheet on the front desk if you would like to contribute. We appreciate your help in making this a special week for our wonderful teachers. Feel free to say a special thank you to the teachers this week for all their hard work and dedication to the children.

MOTHER’S DAY

In honor of Mother’s Day, we invite all mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and special caregivers to our tea party on Thursday, May 9, in the large motor room. We will have games, crafts, and serve light refreshments. Come anytime from 4:00-6:00 pm. We hope to see you there. Have a great Mother’s Day weekend!

FAMILY RESOURCES

“Early childhood education is a very important period of life. It is a period when children learn an enormous amount about the everyday world. It is also the time during which young children acquire lifelong attitudes towards themselves, toward others, and toward learning. But it is not the time for formal academic instruction.”

-David Elkind, Child Psychologist and Author of The Power of Play

STAR WELLNESS

Granola Recipe

· ½ cup oil

· ½ cup honey

· ½ teaspoon cinnamon

· ½ teaspoon salt

· 3 cups oats

· 1 cup raisins (optional)

o Bake 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

o Enjoy with yogurt or all by itself 😊

STAR WELLNESS

GRANOLA RECIPE

· ½ cup oil

· ½ cup honey

· ½ teaspoon cinnamon

· ½ teaspoon salt

· 3 cups oats

· 1 cup raisins (optional)

o Bake 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

o Enjoy with yogurt or all by itself 😊

FAMILY REMINDERS

SPRING CONFERENCES

We will be holding conferences for all classrooms this month on the week of May 13. Please look for sign-up sheets to be posted soon. Conferences will be 20 minutes in length and held in person or over the phone.

We hold conferences twice a year to keep you informed on your child’s progress as well as to discuss any questions that you may have. To facilitate this process, please complete the Parent Conference questionnaire and return it to your child’s teacher before your conference. Children should not attend these conferences--this is a time for teachers and parents to meet. We look forward to seeing you and working with you to help your child succeed.

UPCOMING CLOSURE DATES

EFC will be closed on Friday, May 24, for our Staff In-service Day, as well as Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day. By closing the center for a staff in-service day, EFC’s goal is to provide our staff with time to complete a portion of their in-

service hours required by Licensing. Have a fun, safe holiday weekend!

SUMMERTIME

As we approach spring and summer be mindful of the shoe choices for your children. Please do not bring or wear Flip-flops to school.

Please bring in a labeled water bottle without a straw (for cleaning purposes) and bottle of sunscreen with your child’s first and last name to keep at school. We do not allow aerosol sunscreens. We will be spending as much time outside as possible this summer!

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/