Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation funds scholarship program
What is a Nature Preschool?
Shedio Services and Tommy Williams Lend a Helping Hand to CECI
A B-I-G "Thank You!" to the Muench Family!
COVID-19 Safety Precautions
CECI Spring Festival 4/11/20 9:00am
The Children's Education Center of the Islands will host their 26th Spring Festival on Saturday, April 11, 2020. It will be held at the Sanibel City Park, next to the Playground on Periwinkle Way, from 9:00 to 11:00 and all families are invited to celebrate with us. The festivities will begin at 9:00 sharp with a free Easter egg hunt for children of all ages. Please remember to bring a basket to collect your eggs!
The games, contests and crafts will begin immediately after and will continue until 11:00. A $15 armband will allow each child unlimited fun to participate in all activities. The festival fun will include pony rides, a bounce house, giant slide, face painting, and many other crafts and games. Best of all, the Easter Bunny will be available at 10:15 for pictures! The festival will also include a silent auction with written bid sheets from over 40 baskets to choose from!
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a non-profit school run by a parent board. The school relies heavily on the support of the community. Proceeds from the Spring Festival will benefit the Education Center's scholarship fund and capital improvements. All residents and visitors are welcome to attend!
Celebrating 45 Years!
It’s our 45th anniversary! We have changed and evolved so much over the years! There have been so many memories and wonderful stories of many island families while attending CECI. Alumni, families, and community members; we welcome you to this momentous fundraising event! We will be fundraising for our Scholarship Program. Currently 25% of our students are on scholarship.
We are celebrating at Mudbugs on November 16th from 6pm-9pm. Hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and open beer/wine will be served! A live band, The Blue Gators, and live auction will surely make for great evening. Tickets are $100 dollars per person. They can be purchased by calling our school at 472-4538, at Adventures in Paradise in Tahitian Gardens, or at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/45th-year-ceci-celebration-tickets-74047850113
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of this event, please email or call CECI for more information.
If you can’t make it to our event but would like to donate to our school to support our Scholarship Program and further development of our nature education programs, you may donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrating-45-years?teamInvite=18xbjNL5go4cpV3yNxMjKZNbZ4KLhXSCeVgrmyHzddW2lXxkG95kJIl8tSCY1AL2
We thank you for your continuous support!
Local Company Supports School's Effort to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle!
Students celebrating their “new” play structure!
John Grey Painting has helped the Children's Education Center live up to one of their top priorities as a nature preschool, to reduce, reuse and recycle! On their playground is a wonderful play structure that while it was still fully functional, stood out like a sore thumb. It was large and blue with faded red handles. It had been discussed to tear the structure down, but the opportunities it offered the students in improving their gross motor skills with climbing and balancing, as well as the creative play, imagining that the play structure was a pirate ship or a submarine, were unmatched.
The preschool Director, Cindy DeCosta, discussed with John Grey over a Rotary breakfast the possibility of painting the play structure using specialized paint to adhere to the plastic as well as withstand the hot Florida sun. Using his expertise, said it would be no problem.
"The Children's Education Center truly appreciates the generosity of John Grey Painting in helping us with our dilemma. While it may be an easy paint job for them, allowing us to fulfill one of our nature school objectives is huge to us! It allowed us to save a substantial amount of money as well as reduce, reuse and recycle!"
In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic that the nature preschool uses, all students bring in their own water bottle daily, allowing the use of plastic cups to be eliminated dramatically, and the preschool encourages parents to pack their child’s lunch using reusable containers rather than plastic bags for their food.
John grey painting has been a gracious family-run business on the islands of Sanibel and Captiva for over 50 years. “It’s important to us to support our neighbors,” said John Grey, owner of John Grey Painting. “We are happy to partner with The Children’s Education Center and be a small part in creating a positive learning environment for island kids.”
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Preschool offering full-time and part-time classes for children ages 12 months to 5 years. The preschool is still accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year, as well as for enrolling for the 2019-2020 school year. Summer Camps are also offered. Scholarships are also available on a limited basis. For more information, call Ms. Cindy at the preschool at 472-4538 or email cindy@childrenseducationcenter.com.
Inspecting and adding final touches!
The play sturcture before being painted.
Green Spaces, the Secret to Happiness?
Look at the faces of the children in this picture. Look really closely. This is not a random clipart photo found on the internet. These are our students here at CECI. Tell me if you see any unhappy, frustrated, misbehaving faces. Are they sitting inside? Behind a desk? Behind a computer? The emotions that pop into my mind are joyfulness, happiness, freedom, excitement. Who wouldn't want those emotions in their children. Or in themselves? Recent studies have found that people who are in "green spaces" tend to have increased mental health, decreased depression and anxiety, lower rates of obesity as well as lower incidences of chronic diseases. Who wouldn't want that too? We, as an example to our children, need to unplug and get outside with our children and enjoy the green that is all around us. So I challenge you all today, leave your phone inside and go for a walk, a run, a shuffle if that's all you got. Then stop. Look around you. Close your eyes. Listen. Smell. Notice the little things like that anole flashing you his colorful underthroat, the clackty clack clack of the Casa Ybel Resort bridge, the call of a nearby bird, maybe even the howl of a coyote. Sometimes to find that true feeling of joyfulness, happiness, freedom and excitement all you need to do is to stop. Then again, you may just need to run through a nearby green space with a bunch of friends and laugh. Be the face in this picture. Enjoy life. Smile. Laugh.
Pigs in Paradise Fundraiser!
The Children's Education Center of the Islands (CECI) invites community members to its 4th annual Pigs in Paradise pig roast on Saturday, October 20 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 p.m. at the Children's Education Center of the Islands, 350 Casa Ybel Road. The family-friendly evening will feature pigs roasted in two different styles by CECI parents and staff. Admission will include roasted pork, sides, beverages as well as a cookie bar. Beer and wine will also be available. There will be a silent auction with some wonderful auction items and a 50/50 raffle.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door and $10 for children ages 13 to 18. Children 12 and under are admitted at no charge. The preschool strongly recommends that people buy tickets in advance so they can get an accurate head count. Sponsorships are available and include tickets to the roast and display in promotional materials. Proceeds from the event will help fund student scholarships as well as capital improvements to the facility.
To buy event tickets, become a sponsor or donate items to the silent auction, please call Ms. Cindy at 472-4538.
Fall into Friends & Family date announced!
Join us for our Fall into Friends & Family as we enjoy the company of our CECI family and roast marshmallows, kick off our composting project, explore local Native American culture and learn to bang a drum in our very first drum circle! It will be Saturday, September 29 from 5:00-7:00. Come join in the fun!
Place-based Learning on Sanibel
“Place-Based Learning”
Here at the Children’s Education Center of the Islands we are creating a “place-based” learning environment. Our intention is to create a place where our children can connect to and experience things deeply. Instead of CECI only being a “space” (walls, windows, ceilings) we are intentionally decorating our classrooms with visuals that remind our children of home and of Sanibel Island. We are creating a learning place that is filled with emotional connection and important social interaction. Even our lessons are focused on what is happening in our outside world. We discover sea grapes and leaves. We learn about snowy plovers and how they make their nests. We conduct science experiments to create water pollution. We seasonally focus on what is happening outdoors to create a sense of deep connection and awareness of the nature around us.
To help us create this nurturing “place-based” learning environment, our new local friend, Mary Klunk, has hand painted some of our blocks to represent Sanibel Island. With the help of her two grandchildren (Melanie and Benjamin) she created the most beautiful representations of different things you might see outside on Sanibel. Thank you so much Mary! Everyone at CECI loves what you and your grandchildren have created for us!
Written by: Kerra Pike
Open House August 10, 5:30-7:00
Open House at Sanibel Preschool
The Children's Education Center of the Islands will host an Open House for prospective families and new CECI families for the communities of Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers on Friday, August 10 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. There will be an introduction to the school serving children ages 12 months to 5 years as well as to our free VPK (Voluntary PreKindergarten) class. Guests will be invited to tour all of the classrooms and meet the teachers. Children are welcome to attend with their parents to see their classrooms.
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Preschool offering full time and part time classes for children ages 12 months to 5 years, and offers free Voluntary PreKindergarten (VPK). The preschool is currently accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year, which begins on August 13. Scholarships are also available on a limited basis. For more information, call Ms. Cindy at the preschool at 472-4538 or email cindy@childrenseducationcenter.com.
The Importance of Climbing Trees
Some of us can remember climbing as far as you could to the top of a tree and feeling that you had conquered the world. Letting your imagination take over while you were the Captain of your ship, sailing through rough waters with a storm looming just ahead! Sadly, how often do you see a child in a tree anymore?
Learning how to climb a tree is becoming a lost art. Many parents are afraid their child might fall, might be bitten by a snake or spider, or worse yet, might get dirty! This mentality is depriving our children of so many benefits of learning to climb, and fall from, a tree. In today's world, so many of our children sit all day at school, in the car, on their phone, at the computer, that their bodies are becoming literally weak. It is our job as educators and parents to reverse this trend before it is too late.
In a recent beautiful day at our preschool, I was sitting 10 feet away from our magnificent wild tamarind tree watching as some of our students were attempting to climb the tree. Some were successful, some weren't, but all of them kept trying to get up that tree. One student was so excited that he made it up, he let go to shout and quickly fell straight backwards onto the ground. Now before you start thinking how awful I was to allow him to fall, that I wasn't right under him to catch him, please realize that once he caught his breath, he looked at me to see if he was in trouble (for falling??), I simply smiled, asked if he was okay and he started climbing right back up that tree! The amount of courage, perseverance, and determination by that child was a wonderful sight! And what a valuable lesson he learned! I could have told him fifty times to keep three points of contact on the tree, the technical way of teaching a child to climb a tree, or he could have learned it by falling four feet.
The benefits of a simple task such as climbing trees are vital to our children. While climbing trees, a child must think about the best route to go with their hands and feet to go up, and down, which develops critical thinking and problem solving skills. Spacial awareness is also being acquired as they figure out how to fit their bodies in between branches and tight spots. Gross motor skills and muscle strength are being challenged as they must lift their bodies with their arms and legs while reaching with their hands and feet. Core strength is being developed. Concentration is being tested as they truly focus on their next move. And once they have climbed as far as they are comfortable, self-regulation, the confidence and boost of self-esteem that will be beaming from them is absolutely invaluable. There is also the lessons learned from falling from a tree. Honestly, how many of us fell from a tree more than once and never broke a bone? I bet you next time they will hold tighter to the branch or choose a different path up that tree. Very valuable lessons can be taught from falling. The cherry on top is a child exploring the world around them, giving them an appreciation for nature which in turn will turn in to an appreciation for conservation, something our little island values tremendously.
So the next time you longingly look at a tree and wish you could be dangling from the tippy top branches yelling "Ahoy Matey!", grab your child and encourage them to climb. Remember, it they need a boost, they aren't quite ready, be patient little grasshopper, they will indeed figure it out in due time.
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Preschool offering full-time and part-time classes for children ages 12 months to 5 years, and offers free Voluntary PreKindergarten (VPK). The preschool is still accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year, which begins on August 13. Scholarships are also available on a limited basis. For more information, call Ms. Cindy at the preschool at 472-4538 or email cindy@childrenseducationcenter.com.
Now accepting 12 month olds!
Spring Festival 2018, March 31, 9:00-11:00
The Children's Education Center of the Islands will host their 24th Spring Festival on Saturday, March 31, 2018. It will be held at the Sanibel City Park, next to the Playground on Periwinkle Way, from 9:00 to 11:00 and all families are invited to celebrate with us. The festivities will begin at 9:00 sharp with a free Easter egg hunt for children of all ages.
The games, contests and crafts will begin immediately after and will continue until 11:00. A $10 armband will allow each child unlimited fun to participate in all activities. The festival fun will include pony and unicorn rides, a bounce house, giant slide, face painting, and many other crafts and games. Best of all, the Easter Bunny will be available at 10:15 for pictures! The festival will also include a silent auction with written bid sheets from over 60 baskets to choose from!
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a non-profit school run by a parent board. The school relies heavily on the support of the community. Proceeds from the Spring Festival will benefit the Education Center's scholarship fund and capital improvements. All residents and visitors are welcome to attend!
Yard Sale, Sat, March 10!
On March 10 from 7:00 until 11:00, the Children's Education Center will be having their Annual Yard Sale! Come on by to grab some great deals and to support a great preschool! We are also accepting donations of your gently used 'stuff'. Drop items off at the preschool!
Hurricane Closings
Following Lee County Schools, we will be closed on Thursday, September 7 and Friday, September 8 due to Hurricane Irma. We will continue to post updates regarding reopening and/or additional closings.
Spring Festival 2017, April 15 9-11
The Children's Education Center of the Islands will host their 23rd Spring Festival on Saturday, April 15, 2017. It will be held at the Sanibel City Park, next to the Playground on Periwinkle Way, from 9:00 to 11:00 and all families are invited to celebrate with us. The festivities will begin at 9:00 sharp with a free Easter egg hunt for children of all ages.
The games, contests and crafts will begin immediately after and will continue until 11:00. A $10 armband will allow each child unlimited fun to participate in all activities. The festival fun will include pony and unicorn rides, a bounce house, giant slide, face painting, and many other crafts and games. Best of all, the Easter Bunny will be available at 10:15 for pictures! The festival will also include a silent auction with written bid sheets from over 60 baskets to choose from!
The Children's Education Center of the Islands is a non-profit school run by a parent board. The school relies heavily on the support of the community. Proceeds from the Spring Festival will benefit the Education Center's scholarship fund and capital improvements. All residents and visitors are welcome to attend!
Flamingo Frenzy Hits the Islands
Several flocks of flamingos have been spotted in people's yards around the islands of Sanibel and Captiva. While these beautiful, pink flamingos may seem harmless, they are actually very territorial and capable of creating great conversation, laughter and even in some cases, good hearted revenge! In case you did not know, unless they are placed on someone else's lawn, they will roost on your property for a very long time! Removal of the flock of pink, plastic flamingos should be attempted only by trained professionals. The Children's Education Center of the Islands has specially trained Removal Technicians that you can call and who will remove the flock without harming them, for a small donation.
If you would like to a flock a friend and support the Children's Education Center, please call the Flocking Hotline at 472-4538 and they will happily send GPS locations of your friend's address to the head flamingo in charge.