September Newsletter 2022

Teri Ann Cox
Executive Director of The Children’s Center

Dear Center Families,

As we enjoy back-to-school activities and fall into autumn, September presents us with several opportunities to learn about new and different things. Did you know that September is:

Baby Safety Month?

Hispanic Heritage Month?

and National Courtesy Month?

For Baby Safety Month, September highlights the importance of providing babies and families with safe, quality products and environments. Putting children’s safety first is of highest priority here at the Center. Parents and caregivers can take specific actions to protect babies, like anchoring pieces of furniture and televisions, covering outlets, removing blinds and curtains with long or looped cords, and testing old paint for lead. Visit the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association website for more baby safety tips https://www.jpma.org/page/bsm_safety_tips.

Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off on September 15 and runs through October 15. Originally, President Lyndon Johnson declared Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968. The week expanded to National Hispanic Heritage Month under the direction of President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Sesame Street is one of my favorite brands and media outlets that celebrate the Hispanic rich culture and vast history. For our preschool program, we will be kicking off Bilingual Boogie, an eight-week enrichment program of song and dance on September 8.

I didn’t know that September was National Courtesy Month. Interestingly, a national courtesy campaign first launched in June of 1979 by the Ministry of Culture in Singapore. The word courteous comes from the Middle English word “kindness,” which means “noble deeds” or “courtesy.” How appropriate, as we kick off the new school year teaching our program wide expectations known as the “4 Bs” (Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible). Our teaching method works best when childcare professionals effectively model safe, kind, respectful, and responsible behaviors themselves and in turn reward young children and students who follow these examples. We work hard to teach these expectations in the classrooms and reinforce our “rules” in the hallways and on the playground. We especially encourage children to be kind and care for each other every day because kindness is one of the most significant contributors to positive climates.

Please join us in creating a center…a community…and a world filled with courtesy and more kindness.

Happy September!

Teri Ann