Weekly Update December 8, 2023

Our dramatic play stations in December include a tree to decorate and a toy station. We have non-breakable ornaments on our tree and we take them off every night so the kids can decorate it again the next day. At our toy station, we have tools available so the kids can make or fix toys. Then we have wrapping paper and we take turns wrapping up and giving gifts.

All of this will lead to our holiday party right before break, where our kids will exchange gently used books as gifts. We will provide the books from our extensive collection. Children will have a chance to "shop" for a book to give to a friend, wrap it up, and exchange a gift with a friend.

Our calendar for 2024 is finalized. Both calendars are shared below; please be sure you select the correct location, as they differ slightly in days we are closed in January and February. We will send home paper copies as well, and you can ask for an additional copy anytime.

With winter weather upon us, this is a friendly reminder that we DO NOT follow the local schools' schedule in terms of weather related closing. There are simply too many districts and too many families coming from different locations to base our decision on the local schools.

Instead, we will choose to close when driving conditions near the center are dangerous. We will send a closing announcement via Remind, and post it on our Facebook page. Please be sure that you are signed up for our Remind classroom so that you don't miss these announcements.

We aim to make the decision to close by 6:00 AM and send out the announcement at that time. We understand that families need time to make other arrangements, and we try to remain open as much as possible throughout the winter.

If our center is open, and you feel that it is unsafe for you to drive your child in, please use our Therapy Schedule Update Form, or call the center and leave a message at 810-344-8082 ext. 1 for Brighton, ext. 2 for Burton to update as soon as you are able.

Please join us in congratulating two of our Burton staff members this week.

Hannah passed her exam to become a Registered Behavior Technician or RBT. The RBT credential requires a background check, a minimum of 40 hours of training content in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), passing a competency exam with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and passing a written exam with ABA content. At Strive Center, we require all of our therapists to complete this certification and to keep it updated annually, which requires an additional competency exam with a BCBA.

Danyelle graduates this month from the University of Michigan - Flint with a bachelor's of science degree in Psychology and a minor in Early Childhood Education. Danyelle has been a member of our team since 2020, and recently completed her fieldwork in a preschool setting, while continuing to work with Strive part time.

We are so proud of Hannah and Danyelle's accomplishments!

We will continue to play outside in both locations throughout the winter months. Playing outside is important for our children to develop a variety of skills, including tolerance of different clothing, putting on and taking off their own winter gear, and playing with friends.

We will play outside twice daily for about 15 minutes as long as the temperature feels like 20 degrees or warmer. Please send your child's snow gear, including boots, snow pants, hats, and mittens or gloves daily when it's cold outside. The easiest way to do this is place them in a reusable grocery bag or similar and send it in each day. We will send it back home each day so that you have the gear available each evening.

If you have any questions or concerns about playing outside, please ask your BCBA.

We'll just keep this link right here, for your convenience. For any absences scheduled in advance, please use this form to report the dates. You may take an entire day or half day, depending on your needs.

Therapy Schedule Update Form

Here are some upcoming dates that the centers will be closed:

Wednesday, December 20 - Tuesday, January 2nd - Holiday Break - Returning on Wednesday, January 3rd

If your family is planning a longer absence around one of those dates, or at another time, please let us know as soon as you are able!

Email: info@sc-centers.com
Website: www.sc-centers.com
Location: Burton and Brighton, MI
Phone: 810-344-8082