ECFE

Today was mine and Evan's first day of ECFE. When we moved to Minnesota, all I heard about from the other moms was that Evan and I had to register for an ECFE class. I had no idea what everyone was talking about. Once I got filled in on what an ECFE class is, I thought hey why not winter is long and cold and this class will break things up a bit!

For all of you who haven't heard of ECFE, it stands for Early Childhood Family Education. It is a 2 hour class held once a week where Evan and I attend together. We are in an early childhood classroom where there are toys, books, puzzles, crafts, ect. There are 7 children total, ranging from 15-24 months. A parent accompanies each child. For the first 30 minutes the children play and the parents either talk to each other and/or play with the children. Then the parents go into a different room and have a discussion facilitated by a parent educator. We discuss a different toddler-related topic each week and also talk about anything that our child is going through. While the parents are enjoying adult conversation the children stay in the classroom with an early childhood teacher and classroom assistant. The children do a craft (except my child who for some reason refuses to do any kind of craft whether it be at ECFE or nursery at church!), play, sing songs, read books, ect. Evan's favorite part was the sand table where he could drive trucks through the sand and dig! He was so sad when they put the cover on the table and the sand was all gone until next time. It is a good chance for Evan to try to learn to share and play along side other kids about his age.

We had a really good experience this first class and are excited for the weeks to come. This ECFE session continues through the end of January and then if we wish we can sign up for the Spring session. ECFE will be a good thing for Evan and I to have somewhere to go in the winter since supposedly it is dangerously cold here. Sorry no ECFE pics, but I'll leave you with this charming picture of Rob and Evan bonding over Cocoa Puffs. In this picture it is clear that Evan has no worries and is just a chillin' kind of kid!