Parent Involvement
The ELC is more than just a preschool and childcare center. It is a community. It really does take a village to raise a child…so here are ways you can contribute to the success of our center and the enrichment of your child’s experience.
Snack Rotation
Each family with kids in the Preschool our Young Preschool program is asked to provide up to three weeks of snack per year, per child. It’s not as hard as it sounds! The ELC has done most of the planning for you. We set the menu and provide a shopping list (quantities, instructions included).
All you have to do is pick up and prep the goods and drop them off at the ELC on Friday before your assigned week or Monday of that week by 8:15 am. If dropping off fruit (like bananas) on Friday, please be mindful of the weekday they will be served to ensure freshness (i.e. consider ripeness).
How do you know how many weeks to sign up for?
Consider the following:
Number of Kids
Part Time vs Full Time
Full time (4-5 days a week) = 3 weeks per child
Part-time (2-3 days a week) = 2 weeks
2 kids attending part-time = 4 weeks
You can find the snack menu and shopping list by week here.
*If you are in a bind and are unable to fulfill your commitment as planned, let us know at least one week prior to your assigned date and we can do the shopping for you. A shopping fee of $30, as well as the charges for the snack (ranging $85-100), will be added to the following month’s tuition. A receipt can be provided upon request.
Beautification Day
Each Fall and Spring, parents band together to spruce up the ELC play yards. At each event, families build new play ground structures and features for our kids to enjoy throughout the year. Parents get down and dirty (like our kids do every day) and take pride in painting, weeding, raking and making the ELC beautiful.
Tractors, Trucks and Trolleys
Cate ELC Parents lead the charge to organize our community and help the ELC meet its needs and exceed expectations. In 2017, our parent group set the bar high by organizing a large scale Carpinteria community event (Tractors, Trucks and Trolleys) largely benefiting our kids by raising over $3,000 for the ELC. The Tractors, Trucks and Trolleys community event provides families with the opportunity to learn about and explore trucks, construction vehicles, and public safety equipment. Each truck will have a driver present to answer questions, help kids sit in the truck, and let kids honk the horn. This is our largest event of the year and one that requires involvement from everyone!
Fundraising
One of the best things you can do as an ELC parent is support the center through fundraising. We’re always open to new fundraising ideas, so don’t hold back! Below are a few fundraising programs we currently organize.
And for those who would love to give a gift to the ELC directly, click here for the center wish list.
Join our Google Photos groups!
ELC teachers frequently post photos from the day to each group’s Google Photos drive, which are only available to currently enrolled parents.
ELC Approved Items
The following products get the ELC stamp of approval. The internet is a wonderful resource, but who has time to comparison shop and read dozens of reviews. So let’s leverage each other’s work and share our tips about products that are tried and true.
Pottery Barn Kids – Spencer Bento Box containers work great for our friends in the infant and toddler rooms. Plus, they help save you time and energy if you pair them with a single reusable label. That way you can list all of the food contents and put your kids name on the container ONCE and the date only ONE TIME.
PackIt lunch boxes and lunch bags are a great solution. You simply store them in the freezer and the walls of the bags have built in cold packs that keep food cold for hours. You can find them at a lot of different places (Amazon, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, World Market, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and of course the PackIt website).
A wet bag is an easy and eco-friendly way for the ELC to store dirty or wet clothes while your child is at the ELC. It is a reusable, waterproof and leak resistant bag that zips shut to help keep odors (and liquids) from escaping.
Stainless steel kids water bottles and baby bottles are made with safe, BPA-free materials and designed specifically for kids.