El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative

Play, Learn and Grow at ECPC

community

MESSY ART DAY March 19

You’re invited to ECPC’s annual Messy Art Day on March 19! This free event gives preschoolers and prospective preschoolers the chance to experience truly immersing themselves in art.

Who: This event is carefully designed for children 4 and under
When: March 19 11am – 2pm
Where: El Cerrito Preschool Co-op 7200 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito

*Got older siblings? There will be messy art activities geared towards older children (such as older siblings of preschoolers attending Messy Art Day) set up on Ashbury Avenue next to ECPC, which will be closed to traffic for the event. Food will be available to purchase.

*Please note: due to space restrictions, we will not be allowing strollers on school grounds. Stroller parking will be available outside. Also, Messy Art Day is truly messy. Come dressed for mess.

 

IMG_8371 IMG_8499 IMG_8484

Goodbye, Bev Bos

The ECPC community was saddened to hear of educator Bev Bos’s death. An advocate of play-based education through the Sacramento-area preschool she founded and her extensive writings and lectures, Bev Bos inspired generations of teachers and families at ECPC.

We send our condolences to the Roseville Community Preschool, which has posted information about the memorial service:

We will gather and celebrate Bev’s life and legacy on February 14, 2016, from 1-4 pm. The celebration will be held at Johnson Hall on the Placer County Fairgrounds. Please join us for this celebration and bring a dish to share.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to Bev’s memorial fund.
https://www.gofundme.com/5nncfus4

Igloo and forest ignite imaginations

A surprise welcomed our little ECPC co-opers back to school after the winter break. A milk-jug igloo and a forest of recycled Christmas trees transformed our front-yard sandbox into an imagination playground.

At a time when midyear doldrums threaten and children have to readjust to school after vacation, changes to the school environment can reignite their excitement and spark new play to entice them back into the routine. (And participating parents might say it helps re-engerize us, too!)

Parents collected rinsed-out gallon milk jugs for months ahead of time — many of them from Peet’s (thanks!) — and families brought in their Christmas trees after the new year. Before school resumed, volunteer parents gathered to prepare the scene. They built the milk jug igloo using hot glue guns (no kids allowed for this one!) and “planted” the trees in the sand.

Thank you to all the volunteers and jug/tree donors who made our winter wonderland happen! The igloo and forest have been a temporary treat, but don’t worry — just like Frosty the Snowman, this ECPC tradition will be back again next year (and as long as we have wonderful member families who keep our school the most magical place around…if that sounds like someone you know, they can apply today)!

ecpc-forest-1 IMG_0255 IMG_9867_Fotor IMG_0921IMG_2794

Winter Open House (plus magical forest!)

Please join us for our Winter Open House on Sunday, Jan. 10 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. This is a great chance for prospective preschoolers and their grownups to check out our amazing grounds and warm community. Parents and children are welcome.

What to expect at Open House:

  • Explore our school — 2 large yards with play structures and sand boxes, spacious playrooms and art room
  • Experience ECPC-style art and free play
  • Engage with current and prospective families
  • Enjoy snack for kids and grownups

It will be a fun morning for prospective families and a great chance to learn more about the programs and philosophy of our play-based cooperative. And as a bonus, visitors to our Winter Open House will get to explore our special January-only play installation: a magical forest of recycled Christmas trees planted in our huge front sandbox.

Click for more info on enrollment.

Bowl-A-Thon

We had our annual bowl-a-thon in the beginning of November. ECPC kids and their families turned out to Albany Bowl for a fun morning of bowling and school spirit.

This school tradition was a great opportunity for the kids to try out bowling, hang out with their ECPC friends, and reach out to their community to support their school. Plus, participants won prizes for their fundraising efforts. Thanks to everyone who made the bowl-a-thon happen!

IMG_3780 IMG_3759 IMG_3811

CCR’s John Fogerty recalls ECPC

Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty recalls happy memories of growing up in El Cerrito in his new autobiography, according to the Contra Costa Times — including of our own El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative.

“My mother, Lucile, was a teacher at a nursery school about half a mile from our home, down a dirt road,” Fogerty writes. “I remember walking there a few times when I was 4 or 5 years old. By myself. That’s how innocent our town — El Cerrito, California — was then.” (The nursery school is El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative.)

–“El Cerrito a source of fond memories, Fogerty writes in autobiography,” Contra Costa Times, 10/14/2015

See the full article.

ECPC has been operating as a parent cooperative in El Cerrito for 75 years.