A Great Place To Read

The reading corner in the Parent-Outreach Play Room has a new fun reading house.
The reading house was made using a small folding craft table extending the legs.
A twin size bed sheet was used to cover the front and the two sides of the table. Fabric is used for the back panel.
Openings for the door and window are trimmed in duck tape, card stock and felt. A window shade was created by using the left over sheet from the door opening.
To give the house a square shape appearance, velco was used to attach the sheet on the sides to the back fabric wall. Colorful pillows of various sizes were purchased at http://www.kaplanco.com/ and made a great addition to the reading house.The pillow cases can be removed easily for cleaning
Props such as a flashlight, sleeping bag and puppets can be added for dramatic play.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

February Parenting Building Blocks

Building- Good NutritionInfants and toddlers can not eat enough at one meal to last them until the next scheduled meal. Their small systems require more frequent feedings. Healthy snacks should be scheduled throughout the day.Preschoolers like to plan menus and make their own foods. Foods can be served on a fun sectional plate or even in ice cube trays. Serving sizes should be small and flavors mild. A half cup of milk may look more appealing to small eyes than a full cup. Offer water or milk with meals and snacks. Serve juices after meals and snacks.Remember....mealtime should be calm and is not the time for strict discipline.Your role as a parent is to provide healthy foods and to model healthy eating habits.The role of the child is to decide how much of the food to eat.A decrease of appetite during the preschool years is normal.Take the following precautions to reduce the risk of choking:

· Do not allow your child to play or run while eating.

· Serve foods that have been cut into strips, not in chunks, (hotdogs, grapes)

· Remind your child to chew their food. Some children will hold food in their cheeks and may choke on it later.

· Offer plenty of water or milk with meals and snacks.Stack Up Your Snacks : Graham Crackers, String Cheese, Frozen Low Fat Yogurt, Fruit, Frozen Fruit Juice BarsAvoid: Cookies, Potato Chips, Donuts, Ice Cream, Granola Bars, Popcorn ( under the age of three) Juices During MealsSource: www.beeactivekids.org/

Parent-Child Outreach News!

February Parent-Child Outreach activities will focus on fine motor skills. Children will enjoy magnetic fun at the water table and sensory bottles in Science Center. In manipulatives, children will practice using scissors as they fill up the indoor swimming pool with colored paper cuttings, stringing buttons of various shapes and sizes, matching/hanging felt clothing to a clothes line to name a few. At the art table children will create a heart using finger paint and they will use heart shapes to make a Bee Healthy Busy Bee. In addition , Miss Maggie and Kanga will share information about dental health.

During Make-It ,Take -It, parents will make a " Shape Snake" for their child and receive information about Parenting Building Blocks. The February Building Block is posted below.

Each month children may check out educational toys from the Partnership Lending Library and will receive a book to add to their library at home.

Parent-Child Outreach groups meet on Monday and Thursday mornings in the Parent-Child Outreach Room located in the Partnership Building. Registration is required. To register or for more information about Parent-Child Outreach contact: Belinda Bost Community Partnership Facilitator Alexander County Partnership for Children 828 632-3799

You are Invited to Join the Coalition

Did you know 17.5% of Alexander County children ages 2-4 in the North Carolina Nutrition and Physical Activity Surveillance System (NC NPASS) system were classified as overweight? The "Alexander County Physical Activity and Nutrition Coalition" is comprised of a dedicated group of individuals from agencies, businesses, and organizations from across the counties who are committed and compassionate and care about the health and fitness of Alexander County children. The coalition is seeking new members.

This coalition is currently exploring the childhood obesity epidemic by focusing on young children, from birth through age five, in community settings and child care by developing a county plan to tackle this problem. Currently the group is exploring the expansion of community gardens and sharing the message to prevent early childhood obesity. Members of the committee provide the ideas and necessary input to make the vision reality-healthy and fit children. If you believe in health and fitness and you believe in our children you are needed on the coalition.

The next coalition meeting will be Thursday, March 1, 2012 at the CVCC Alexander Center. If you would like to attend the meeting and be a part of this dynamic group email Andrea Little at andrea@alexanderchildren.org or call 632-3799. Hope to see you there!

IT IS IN THE STARS!!!!

Alexander County Partnership for Children announces the first group of STAR providers of the month. This is a new initiative through the Alexander County Partnership for Children to reward early childhood teachers throughout the county for excellence in child care. The criterion to receive this award includes positive engagement, meaningful interactions, intentionality in lesson planning and encouragement with and for young children.

Mrs. Sharpe, a teacher at Head Start, was seen allowing the children to select the units of learning. The children are asked what they wish to study on a regular basis. Mrs. Sharpe has taken an interest in sign language and uses this throughout her classroom. This classroom is well organized with a focus on child engagement. When told she had received this award said, “Really?? Thank you so much.” In her free time she enjoys being with her family and being a Tarheel fan!

Mrs. Laws is a busy teacher of two year olds at Lulu’s Child Enrichment Center. During several visits to Lulu’s she was seen consistently playing indoors on rainy days trying to get some energy out of some very active two year olds. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her two kids but loves having some down time to read a good book.

Mrs. Herman runs her own child care, Sandy’s Daycare, out of her home. She was seen on the floor teaching the children to successfully complete a somersault on a rainy day. Mrs. Herman was explaining to the children that they must look around them before they somersault to keep everyone safe from getting kicked. In her free time she enjoys stamping and sewing projects. We are so excited to see physical activity happening despite the weather.

These child care providers are from two child care centers and one family child care home. Alexander County is currently home to eleven child care centers and eight family child care homes. These nineteen facilities care for 593 children in Alexander County.

Reach Out and Read To Start!

Getting books from the doctor will soon be a routine part of regular pediatric checkups at Alexander County Health Department and Family Care medical practices in Alexander County. Alexander County Partnership for Children is working with Reach Out and Read® to make books and literacy guidance a reality for children and families in Alexander County. The new Reach Out and Read clinical locations join more than 4,779 programs nationwide that are preparing America’s youngest children to succeed in school.

Susan Cogdill, Executive Director for the Alexander County Partnership for Children (ACPC), expressed excitement for the expansion of literacy efforts in the county. “This is a wonderful opportunity for Alexander County and our children. Reach Out and Read will assist in the partnership’s focus to bring books to more families and children in our county. The ACPC Board of Directors has embraced literacy as means to ensure children enter school healthy and ready to succeed.” The Partnership hopes to expand Reach Out and Read to other medical practices in the county.

Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals incorporate Reach Out and Read's evidence-based model into regular pediatric checkups by advising parents about the importance of reading aloud and giving developmentally-appropriate books to children.

The program begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age 5, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities. Families served by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills, and better prepared to achieve their potential.

During the 2011 legislative session, The North Carolina General Assembly added a requirement for Smart Start to implement an evidence-based pilot literacy program. The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc, the organization that oversees Smart Start, chose Reach Out Read because it builds upon Smart Start’s success in working with pediatricians. Smart Start currently works with pediatric offices to provide developmental screenings during well-child visits. Smart Start has always included a focus on developing early literacy skills and has been implementing the evidence-based program, Raising a Reader since 2007.

Alexander County Partnership for Children is one of 14 Smart Start partnerships selected to implement Reach Out and Read. The others include Anson County Partnership for Children, Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County, Inc., Smart Start of Davie County, Inc., Down East Partnership for Children, Duplin County Partnership for Children, Franklin Granville Vance Smart Start, Madison County Partnership for Children and Families, Inc., Randolph County Partnership for Children, Region A Partnership for Children, Rockingham County Partnership for Children, Inc., Smart Start Rowan, Inc., Children’s Council of Watauga, Inc., and Wilkes Community Partnership for Children.