EC3 - Educational Child Care Center

EC3 will be closed for new years celebrations on Friday, December 30th and Monday, January 2nd. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd with our normal business hours.
Happy New Year, !

Happy holidays and a wonderful new year from all the and staff!

Happy Holidays from the EC3 Admin team!
Do your best to be safe and stay warm!

As we enter the winter season, we wanted to post a quick reminder of our 'snow day' policy.
EC3 management makes its best efforts to adhere to a “we only close if the State of Michigan offices close” policy. However, EC3 may also close for unforeseen circumstances, including (but not limited to):
◼ When we lose power, heat, or water for an extended period of time.
◼ When we are unable to maintain state teacher-to-student ratios.
◼ When the Health Department or licensing agency determines there is the threat of a contagious disease or illness.
◼ When hazardous weather prevents so many teachers from coming to work that we cannot maintain state teacher-to-student ratios.

If EC3 will be closed for any of these emergencies, the admin team will make every effort to notify each family in advance, via phone, e-mail, text, and/or social media.

Just a reminder that EC3 will be closed for winter holiday on Friday, December 23rd and Monday, December 26th. We will see all the back on Tuesday, December 27th.

Next week is winter spirit week at EC3!

Monday is Pajama Day.
Tuesday is Flannel Day.
Wednesday is Winter Wonderland (blue and white) Day.
Thursday is Ugly Sweater Day.
Friday EC3 is closed.

We invite all and staffers to join in on the fun. 🙂

Leaders within the field met with lawmakers last week to generate conversations about how compensation matters to our staff. The early childhood workforce is in crisis. Many programs are unable to pay respectful wages to their staff. https://buff.ly/3HC8Mka)
At EC3, 83% of our income goes directly to the teachers. We are going to keep advocating for our early childhood educators, but we need your support.
If you haven’t visited our donation site, please go to http://ec3kids.org/donate today.

Due to staff illness, EC3 is unable to maintain state licensing ratios. We will be closing early today. All the will need to be picked up by 3:30pm, Monday 12/12. Please contact us with any questions.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Certified family life educator and past EC3 employee Marney Turner is hosting a class based on the 'No Bad Kids' philosophy from renowned educator Janet Lansbury. Check it out! https://buff.ly/3UgLuTJ

Want to spend your days with adorable faces like this?!

EC3 is still looking for applicants for multiple open positions including Program Director!

www.ec3kids.org/employment

At EC3, it’s all about involvement. We know children learn best by doing and our amazing staff create daily plans to support our children in a wide range of activities that challenge, stimulate and encourage our children. Whether it’s a sensory-rich art activity, a group time filled with songs and fingerplays, or a buggy ride in the snow, we know the more involved a child is in their day, the more they grow and develop. Well, now it’s time for YOU to get involved.
On this day, Giving Tuesday, please join the community of EC3 families, alumni and friends that assist us financially each year so that we can do the work that is so important to all of us. Every little bit helps us keep our quality and creativity alive. Just head over to www.ec3kids.org/donate. Our goal is to raise $10,000 towards our yearly budget. And from all of us at EC3, thanks for getting involved! Rock on!

One more day until !
Like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is about spending money, but on EC3. According to the latest poll conducted by the First Five Years Fund, early childhood education has been acknowledged as a domestic priority that overwhelmingly earns bipartisan voter support.
Here in Michigan, the Department of Education has determined “expanding early childhood learning opportunities” as the highest priority of its top 10 strategic goals.
This Giving Tuesday, we ask that you give to EC3 to support our mission of providing quality early childhood education. Your generosity will help us support this quality work for generations of .

THANK YOU!
https://donate.ec3kids.org/

Share Share Share!
https://donate.ec3kids.org

This holiday weekend, share your stories about EC3 with your families and friends. Some talking points include:
- language and literacy skills development begin at birth
- children with access to high quality early childhood education perform better from kindergarten all the way through college
- EC3 is a fantastic institution with almost 40 years of history in the great Lansing area

As you enter into the holiday shopping season, consider giving a gift that lasts. Every donation shared with EC3 supports high-quality childcare that lasts a lifetime. Our children leave EC3 with solid academics, expressive language skills, and solid social skills that positively impact their future school experiences. With your support, EC3 prepares generations of mid-Michigan children to have fuller, brighter futures.
www.ec3kids.org/donate

On this Thanksgiving Day, we want to say thank you to our entire EC3 community, as well as our early donors. Without your continuous support, EC3 would not be the exceptional early learning community that we are today. We are grateful for all of you.
Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Friday, the fabulous team in Toddler Land put together a Fall Feast for our families. This has been a tradition at EC3, pre-Covid times. We are excited to have families able to join us for events in the building again! All of this has been made possible because of our amazing teachers and staff.
Please continue to help us retain these talents and support the high-quality programming at EC3.
Consider giving to our year end fundraising campaign and donate today!
https://donate.ec3kids.org/

Your financial support for EC3 is easy and can occur year-round! EC3 participates in a variety of easy-to-use fundraising platforms, including AmazonSmile, iGive, and Kroger Community Rewards.
Check out the links below to find out how your everyday activities can provide support for EC3!

AmazonSmile: https://buff.ly/312GuZU

Kroger: https://buff.ly/2K41l6y

iGive: https://buff.ly/3p0ClB9

A friendly reminder that EC3 will be closed on Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th. We hope everyone has a great holiday and we look forward to seeing all the when we reopen on Monday, November 28th!

It has been 2 months since our new Executive Director Cherlyn Tay joined the EC3 family.

“I am grateful to be welcomed into such an amazing community. EC3 brings to life the essence of a collaborative movement, where deeply passionate individuals gather to center their care around our young children. I am extremely proud of our program and our people truly deserve the highest level of respect. I urge you to take a moment and go to this link - https://ec3kids.org/donate. Every donation counts towards keeping EC3 financially healthy, so that we can continue to do this heart work for many more in the community. Thank you.”

-Cherlyn

You are looking at an amazing community of educators at EC3. We are incredibly thankful for every one of them. A high-quality early learning and care environment is only possible because of these dedicated professionals. As we approach the holiday season, please take a moment to go to this link - https://ec3kids.org/donate. With your financial support, we can continue to recruit and retain quality staffing, keeping true to our mission of delivering a program of excellence in the greater Lansing area.

The winter weather has begun!

A reminder to all our families:
Our classes go outside every day so all the need their winter gear. Each child needs properly fitting snow pants, snow boots, hats, gloves, and a winter coat. We also recommend bringing in a few extra changes of clothes and socks in case they get wet. And don't forget to label all items with your child's name!

Employment Opportunities - EC3

EC3 is hiring a new Program Director!

Employment Opportunities - EC3 EC3 is well-known in mid-Michigan's child development arena for its professional, rewarding work atmosphere. Staff members are screened thoroughly and are held to the highest standards of educational and professional achievement.

To every parent of each of our , we see you.
Good luck.

Reminder:

EC3 will be closed Tuesday 11/8 for Election Day and Friday 11/11 for Veteran's Day.

to just last week when all the got to don their Halloween best. Everyone got to enjoy a parade around the block and classroom celebrations!

Congratulations to our Halloween contest winners!

The Lion Teachers as the Sanderson Sisters won a $50 Applebee's gift card for a team dinner.
The Bumblebee room won a $25 Amazon gift card for their classroom.

Thank you to all the teachers who participated in our annual event and thank you for everything you do year-round for our !

Photos from Disability Rights Michigan's post

*Check the photos, we have a few last minute entries!*

EC3 is in the holiday spirit! Vote for your favorite spooky door by liking the photo of your favorite door. One vote per person, please.
You can also cast your vote using the display on the family table here at EC3.

Winning classroom gets a gift certificate to use for supplies for their

For more info, please visit https://www.michigan.gov/childcare

EC3 has always prided itself on being a provider of high-quality early childhood education for our . As of October 2022, only 20% of early childcare programs have earned a quality rating of four-stars or above.
Read more here: https://buff.ly/3dsYR05

Don't forget that tomorrow is our open-house party to celebrate Lis and her time with EC3! The party will run from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. and there will also be a short ceremony in the gym at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
We hope to see everyone there and let’s give Lis a fabulous going away party!

We had our first tornado drill of the school year this morning. All of our 120+ students and staffers made it to their designated areas, completed a name-to-face headcount, and reported to the admin team within two and a half minutes!

Fantastic job, to all the !

Why isn’t my child writing yet?

Many parents ask us this question and the answer is simple, yet complex. Technically, they are writing. Our start learning pre-writing skills as early as infancy. How, you ask? By using their fine motor skills and learning how to manipulate objects. A young child’s hand is not equipped with the structure it needs to hold a writing utensil until the age of 7.

Writing changes with growth. When a child first begins to make marks on a surface they are beginning to write. As they strengthen their hand muscles the grip begins to shift from a whole hand grip to a proper tripod hold.

So, parents, help your child develop their hand strength and encourage them to use their hands! Wash the dishes, pick up small objects, squeeze soft items. Have fun with it and before you know it, they’ll be writing!

Want to spend your days with adorable faces like this!?

EC3 is hiring!
We are looking for a full time preschool teacher and several part time support staffers.
Competitive pay - Flexible schedule - No Nights or Weekends - $250 Signing Bonus!

Application link:
https://bit.ly/3Mb7Ovw

To the EC3 Community:

Many of you are aware that Lis Tobia is moving on to greater adventures! Her last day, in her official capacity as EC3’s CEO, will be October 28, 2022. We are hosting an open-house party for Lis on October 20, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. There will also be a short ceremony in the gym at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
If you would like to contribute to the event in any way, please reach out to our new executive director, Cherlyn at [email protected] for more details.

We hope to see everyone there and let’s give Lis a fabulous going away party to remember!

Congratulations to our friends at Eastminster Child Development Center on their recent The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation!

The Lansing Police Department has confirmed that there is no longer a threat in the area around EC3. They anticipate the investigation scene to be wrapped up by tomorrow morning and roadblocks should be minimal by drop off time.

Thank you all for your kind emails and support. We look forward to seeing the beautiful smiling tomorrow morning.

Due to the ongoing active police scene in the neighborhood, Lansing Police Department has told us to evacuate the building. Please come pick up your children as soon as possible.
Traffic is restricted around Malcolm X and Buffalo Streets but access to EC3 is available off MLK.