Holiday Updates and Reminders

Dear EEC Families --

Welcome to the holiday season. We know this time of year is a mix of emotions for many! Celebrating with your children is both joyous and incredibly overwhelming. We all want perfection -- guess what -- whatever you do with your family and what your children know is perfect! This time of year children are disregulated and negative behaviors increase. Remember to keep your expectations low and be prepared for more meltdowns (from moms and dads too)!

A couple of updates and reminders....

EEC Hours already on the calendar.

• December 23rd: Closed

• December 26th: Closed

• December 27th: 8:30-4:30

• December 28th: 8:30-4:30

• December 29th: 8:30-4:30

• December 30th: 8:30-4:30

• January 2nd: Closed

The number one way we continue to operate is by keeping our teachers and assistants healthy! We do have a concern, as we saw a post Thanksgiving illness spike, that between Christmas and New Years we will see a larger illness spike after the holidays. To make sure our current staff remain physically and mentally healthy throughout this already stressful season we will be on reduced hours the following weeks:

December 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd & January 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th our hours will be 8am-5pm. We know some families need before or after that. If we do not reach out to you, please reach out to us. Even if you need one day of longer care please let us know 48 hours in advance!

We are in a staffing shortage – this is a state/national early childhood staffing crisis. 70% of centers in Delaware have had to close classrooms and ask families to leave.

We are incredibly fortunate to have some staff that had gone part time or taken leave of absence that are returning. We welcome back Ms. Maya full time and Ms. Andrea, Ms. Erin F. and Ms. Erin R. coming back part time. Thank you to Ms. Taylor and Ms. Kayleigh for also temporarily going full time for us!

We have new staff that we are training, but we still need two full time teachers. We do the best on referrals so if you know someone, please have them email admin@eecde.org for more information.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Our teachers and assistants deserve a standing ovation for their dedication to their children and families – as well as EEC.Please take a moment to say an extra thank you – it goes a long way.