CECI Thanks King Contracting Services

The Children’s Education Center of the Islands would like to thank Steven King for generously donating his time and expertise to remove a very large piece of playground equipment. Steven is a board state-certified building contractor that comes from a multi-generational construction family. He has been in the business for over twenty five years and says that it is his passion to build a business that changes people's lives. His generosity and willingness to serve his community does not go unnoticed at CECI! It has been an on-going project to mend, replace, and update this piece of equipment for well over a decade. Generations of island preschoolers climbed and played on this structure at CECI. Although it will be missed, CECI has big and exciting plans for the future for their outdoor space! CECI is currently in the process of certifying their playground as a Certified Nature Explore Classroom! Certified Nature Explore Classrooms are dynamic, nature-based play and learning spaces. CECI is thankful for its roots and for the continuous support of community members such as Steven King. If you would like to learn more about CECI, please visit their website at www.childrenseducationcenter.com.

Safe and Fun CECI Celebration

The Children’s Education Center of the Islands excitedly celebrated Halloween in a new and exciting way this year! In years past their families and friends would gather for a performance and costume parade. Due to CECI’s Covid policies, the performance and parade this year was not feasible. However, like all effective teachers do; CECI’s staff adapted and changed their tradition to still be able to celebrate and bring families together for a fun time. Only open to currently enrolled CECI students, their families were invited for a socially distant trunk-or-treat. CECI families parked their cars in the lot on campus, opened their decorated trunks, and passed out individually wrapped non-candy toys and crafts. All family members also wore masks to be mindful of the health of others. The educators at CECI thought it was very important to be able to provide a safe and fun “trick-or-treating” experience for their students, just in case their students were not able to go out into the community. One of the many benefits of being such a close-knit family school, is that they can still provide safe and fun activities for their students during this time.

CECI: A Nature-Based Approach

The Children’s Education Center of the Islands is passionate about teaching their children about foundational skills and nature conservation. Their curriculum is seasonally focused, which means that their children are learning about topics that they can tangibly see and touch in the natural world. This month CECI teachers have focused on topics such as wind and rain. With daily rainfalls and hurricane season in full swing, their children are learning about these forms of weather and making connections to their daily lives. This month CECI also based their curriculum and learning approach on sea turtles. Children counted turtle “eggs,” created sea turtles out of recycled materials, learned new interesting facts about sea turtles, and even created their own sea turtle nest! CECI would like to thank SCCF for providing supplemental information and resources to further extend this project. CECI children used the signage that SCCF uses to mark their “sea turtle nest” on their playground! Connecting children to the natural world so that they may learn foundational skills and become stewards of the Earth is why CECI teaches from a nature-based approach.