WELCOME BACK
Welcome back, and welcome to our new families to CCC and our fall programs. I think fall is one of my favorite times. The weather is still great, Michigan football is happening, new kids are starting child care, and the school age kids are back in school. CCC settles down into a nice easy pace after a summer of hectic fun.

The month of September our curriculum will be primarily based on activities we can explore and experience outside and in our tent in the field. The plan is for all age groups to follow the same theme with different cognitive expectations designed for each age group. The projects will be designed to introduce the children to a multitude of cognitive concepts through creative art, writing, activity centers, dramatic play, music, cooking, walking trips, sports, dance, and thinking.

I am so excited to begin the fall with all of our families. Great things are planned of the months ahead, and I am so glad we will share in them together.

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS & FALL UPDATES
We had a fabulous summer camp at CCC. Our performances of “CCC and the Chocolate Factory” were a huge success. We had a magical benefit evening when many alumni and old friends came back to CCC to celebrate with us. We managed to offer the opportunity to see the show in three ways; as a limited and masked audience in the theater, live streamed in the tent, and live streamed to YouTube. Peter led the interns in a robust and fun magical musical presentation on the deck after the Friday and Saturday performances. The show, the parties every night, the memorable theater moments, and all the parents who made it all possible contributed to make it a week we will all remember for a long time.

We had ten scholarship children enrolled in summer camp and four in our preschool program that benefited from our Trust, which helps supplement the cost of child care for families that are in financial hardship and meet certain criteria. The summer show helps with the high cost of providing child care for these children, helps families with emergencies and crisis care, Christmas, groceries, and general support throughout the school year.

The show’s success was due in great part to the unbelievable support from our parents. Many of them spent countless hours painting sets, making costumes, selling tickets, designing and printing posters and programs, working backstage, and helping with our opening night benefit performance. We literally could not have done it without them. I am profoundly grateful for their commitment to CCC and the children whose lives they have changed forever.

We began the summer knowing that some of our typical camp experiences would have to be different this year, and planned alternative ways to have fun together. We scheduled summer experiences that came to CCC and they were exciting and creative for the kids. We did our overnight camp at CCC with a new schedule of activities and we had a great time. We spent most of our summer outside and our new tent was a great outdoor classroom. All in all we made the best out of a challenging summer, and had a lot of laughs along the way.

The staff worked very hard, the interns were amazing, charming, and awesome (most of the time,) the children were wonderful (most of the time,) the show was incredible, and I think we all had a blast. It was especially moving to know that the interns were children who have been a part of CCC for ten years or more, the older kids in our summer show were performing in their fifth or sixth show with us, and that the staff just never gets any older. CCC is a special place and I am so proud of all the hard work and dedication on everyone’s part that makes all that we do possible. Together we really do make a difference.

STAFF UPDATES
Our beloved Karl will be taking a leave of absence this fall to go back to school and work part time at the Children’s Institute on EMU’s campus this fall. He will work some late afternoons at CCC, so the kids will still get a chance to see him. We will miss him deeply. He is committed to staying involved with the CCC community and plans to be around as much as possible. Karl plans to return full time for summer camp. I am so proud of Karl for returning to school and pursuing his degree. You can’t come back if you don’t go away. We all love him so very much and although we are sad to see him go, we celebrate this new chapter in his life and we will support him and keep him in our loving embrace forever.

We are so excited to welcome Leteria back to CCC this fall! She has been pursuing her degree in nursing and has decided to leave her current job and come back to CCC to work with me and the preschoolers! She is so much fun and exudes such positive energy all the time!

LUNCH AND SNACKS
CCC will provide snacks and lunches on Wednesdays and Fridays in the fall. On those days your kids do not need to bring lunch or snack. You will need to bring them two snacks and a lunch on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

SUNFLOWER FUN
We are going to dissect sunflowers as one of our Fall projects. If you have any sunflowers in your garden that you could share with us, we would love to have them. We need around 20! I may just have to stop by the side of the rode and snip some.

WATER BOTTLES AND SUNSCREEN
Make sure your child has a water bottle that they can leave at CCC, or remember to bring every day. Please put their name on it. Also make sure you apply sunscreen before your child comes to CCC in the morning, and maybe have them bring a hat. Please send a bottle of sunscreen that we can keep in their cubby in case we need to reapply some in the afternoon.

So GO BLUE, GO TIGERS, GO LIONS and sometimes GO SPARTANS, and a happy and safe Fall to all of you from all of us at CCC!