WATERVILLE — Educare Central Maine was recently awarded a grant to host a series of special classroom activities starting Monday, April 13, as a way to celebrate the value of the community’s youngest children at the 56 Drummond Ave. school. The grant was awarded by Maine Roads to Quality, the statewide professional development and credentialing system for early care and education teachers in Maine, according to an Educare news release.

“We are so pleased to receive the support of our Maine Roads colleagues to bring together our community partners with our children, their families, and staff over this special week,” said Educare School Manager Rhonda Kaiser in the release.

On Monday, Snow Pond Community Music in Sidney will kick off its four-week music and movement program designed for the school’s 200 infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. Through hands-on musical play, children develop mathematics, language and literacy skills while having fun and exploring musical instruments.

Educare’s Chef Dave Poulin will serve healthy, homemade taco’s for lunch Tuesday, April 14, and provide families with nutrition education and recipes. A self-serve taco bar including locally grown ingredients will be available to families throughout the day.

Local artists from Common Street Arts Center and Colby College students will get together Wednesday, April 15, and Thursday, April 16, with Educare’s children and families to build their own visual art creations, according to the release. Recyclable materials will be available in the common area for families and children to create art together. Kidz B Kidz Colby, a student-led program affiliated with the Kidz B Kidz nonprofit in Boston, teaches children about empathy and the importance of helping others through art. Children’s art work will be displayed starting Wednesday, when Educare will host its Fifth annual Art Show from 6 to 7 p.m.

Activities conclude Friday, April 17, when Waterville Rotary members read with children, and families work with their children to make quilt squares that represent their family. The family squares will create a large quilt that will displayed at the school.

For more information, call 680-7200 or visit educarecentralmaine.org.

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