Speaking of playgrounds, Alex Sidorsky donated $4 this fall to help support CMEE's playground effort. Alex, his sister Julia, and their friends created a lemonade stand this summer at the corner of Division and Elizabeth Streets in Sag Harbor. In addition to lemonade, they sold cookies and brownies for 15 cents each (or 2 items for 25 cents). These young entrepreneurs donated half their earnings to a local community organization. While Alex made his donation to CMEE, his sister Julia supported our neighbor, the South Fork Natural History Museum. To those who believe young kids are too immature to become philanthropic, Alex and Julia's examples show how deeply children care about helping their community. By participating in community organizations like CMEE, kids build self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and leadership skills. Alex presented CMEE Executive Director Steve Long with his donation last month at the Museum.

In collaboration with Sandpiper Music Together, CMEE is delighted to unveil Cantemos Juntos (We Sing Together) later this winter at the Museum.  This weekly program is designed to enhance the parenting, literacy and language skills of Spanish-speaking parents and their children ages zero to four.  Studies have long demonstrated the improvement in language acquisition when incorporating music into the curriculum and CMEE's exhibits are perfectly suited for inspiring song!