October at Bright Beginnings

To the Mayors, City Council Members, Chamber of Commerce Representatives, and WESTMARC leaders - thank you for listening as my voice shook and for seeing past my nervousness to the heart of what I was sharing. This issue affects thousands of Arizona's working families, business, and our entire workforce.

To the Mayors, City Council Members, Chamber of Commerce Representatives, and WESTMARC leaders — thank you for listening as my voice shook and for seeing past my nervousness to the heart of what I was sharing. This issue affects thousands of Arizona’s working families, businesses, and our entire workforce. Please know you are appreciated — our communities appreciate YOU. At Bright Beginnings, we believe childcare deserts can end. We have solutions to support both small and large businesses, and to help cities ease the enormous cost of the childcare crisis. Together, we can bring understanding, knowledge, and action to build a stronger future for families and our economy.

Hello Again! We are so excited to once again share a preview of the fun and meaningful themes we will be exploring this month. Our teachers have planned engaging activities that will encourage creativity, self-expression, social skills, and plenty of hands-on learning. Each classroom will participate in the same themes but in ways that match their developmental stage making sure every child has opportunities to learn, grow, and shine.✨ We will get the month started with our All About Me theme, giving the kids a chance to celebrate what makes them unique! Ms. Holly’s three-year-olds and Ms. Vania’s four-year-olds will create self-portraits, crowns, and collages with lots of details, and they’ll practice sharing stories about their families during Show & Tell. Meanwhile, our toddlers will explore these activities in their own way. Ms. Heather’s one-year-olds and Ms. Brie’s two-year-olds will focus more on the sensory side — painting, stickers, and pointing out family members in their photos. No matter the age, every child will have a chance to let their personality shine. 🖼👑🎨 Next, we will explore Feelings & Emotions. This theme will give the preschoolers a chance to think about what emotions mean, and how we can use words and art to express them. Ms. Holly and Ms. Vania will guide their classes through activities like emotional wheels, drawing their feelings, and having group talks during circle time. For the toddlers, Ms. Heather and Ms. Brie will keep things more sensory-based with messy paint art, handprint crafts, and colorful materials to represent different feelings. The younger kids may not be using all the words yet, but they will begin to recognize and share how they feel in their own special way. 🎭🖐✏ Our Five Senses theme will give the children opportunities to explore the world around them. Preschoolers in Ms. Holly and Ms. Vania’s rooms will dive into “I Spy” games, scented play dough, texture boxes, and sound shakers, while practicing observation and conversation skills. Toddlers with Ms. Heather and Ms. Brie will experience these activities in a more hands-on way squishing, shaking, smelling, and exploring through touch. Each child will get to make exciting discoveries about how their senses connect them to the world. 👃🧩🎶 🤝 We will also spend time focusing on Friends and what it means to be kind and caring. Ms. Holly and Ms. Vania’s preschoolers will enjoy friendship-themed books, make bracelets, and work together on a center-wide “friendship hands” art project. They will also prepare a fruit salad as a group. A delicious way to practice teamwork! In the toddler classrooms, Ms. Heather and Ms. Brie will focus on the basics of being a friend: turn-taking, helping one another, and making simple crafts like friendship handprints. Whether through art, cooking, or play, the children will practice kindness and connection. 📚💞🍎 To close out the month, we will welcome the season with our Fall into Autumn theme. Even though our town doesn’t bring the same colorful leaf changes as other parts of the country, our preschoolers with Ms. Holly and Ms. Vania will still get to enjoy festive projects like leaf painting, pumpkin stamping, pinecone painting, and fall tree collages. They will also talk about the subtle changes we do notice here in the desert, shorter days, and of all the signs of fall we see in books and decorations. Toddlers with Ms. Heather and Ms. Brie will enjoy simplified versions of these activities, focusing on textures, stamping, and sensory play. And of course, everyone will love dipping pretzels in chocolate and sprinkles. A perfect (and tasty) way to celebrate the season together. 🎃🍁🍫 Here are our September Birthdays 🎂 September Birthdays. We are so excited to celebrate our Community members with birthdays this month! Please join us in wishing them a very special day. 🎉💛 September 7 – Anysia Aguilar (Staff) September 8 – Yadiel Rios (4 years old) September 18 – Ivy Summers (10 years old) September 19 – Erick A. Daniel Lagarda (3 years old) September 20 – King Chacon (7 years old) September 20 – Mia Garcia (4 years old) September 21 – Aamiyah Parrett (5 years old) September 26 – Ryder Chambers (4 years old) Happy Birthday to all of you🥳🎁🎈💛 Thank you for being part of our Community. We look forward to a month filled with creativity, discovery, and joyful memories. Together, we will make this September one to remember! 🌟 We can't wait to show you what we have planned next. Stay tuned 📺

Hello Friends! We’re thrilled to share what our little learners are up to this week—it’s one of our favorite themes of the year: Pets! So many of us—students and staff alike—have pets at home, and this week is all about celebrating them! Whether your pet is furry, feathery, scaly , or even a little slimy , we want to hear all about them. Big or small, cuddly or quirky—every pet is welcome in our conversations! Sharing is Caring We’re inviting families to send in photos of your pets! These pictures will be added to our classroom family trees and displays, creating new ways for students to connect with each other and their teachers. It’s a great chance for kids to talk about something meaningful to them and learn about the different animals their friends have at home.

Howdy, Partner! We’re saddling up for Wild West Week, and each classroom has exciting activities planned! From preschool to school-age, students will explore the Wild West through age-appropriate lessons, including circle time, art, gross motor play, and dramatic dress-up. This week, students will make their own cowboy and cowgirl hats using card stock and construction paper—great for building fine motor skills like cutting, gluing, and shape recognition. They'll also design custom sheriff badges using fun materials like foam, cardboard, or cardstock, giving them another chance to practice name writing and creativity. Another highlight is a cactus-themed art project using yarn, stickers, tissue paper, and more—no two cacti will look the same! Plus, the kids will go on a gold nugget hunt , searching for hidden treasures around the classroom. Let’s have a rootin’-tootin’ great week—be kind, be joyful, and don’t forget to smile!  We’ll wrap up the week with a Western dress-up day —bonus points for Woody or Jessie costumes! Throughout the week, children will also enjoy reading, sensory play, and making memories with friends.