WINTER, 2013 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 Childcare Connections A joint newsletter of the Alamance Partnership for Children and the Alamance Alliance for Children and Families Baby It’s Cold Outside… Carey Ann Watkins—Outdoor Learning Environment Specialist ...But not too cold to play Welcome to the most wonderful me of the year! A season filled with nostalgia and warm cocoa. It is easy to let this sea- son slip by us while we are caught up in the hustle and bus- tle. As children, we remember the magic that this season held, the opportunies for school to be closed, geng to- gether with all of the kids on the block, waking up to see the first snowflakes of the year; however, we are all grown up now. This winter I ask a favor of you all: don’t forget to play. It is easy to stay warm and dry inside the house when rain/ ice/snow is falling outside. We have grown out of jumping in mud puddles, making mud pies, having snow ball fights, and paying aenon to ice crunching beneath our feet. Our chil- dren have not. The kids in our lives are sll curious as to how soſtly they have to tread over the ground to not break the ice. They pay aenon to every mud puddle and wonder how hard they can jump in it before being completely cov- ered in mud. So, this year, my giſt to you is a ‘how to’ guide and to do list that should carry you all through winter and remind you that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Other ideas: Snow angels, “ice skate” on a porch or side walk, use food coloring to paint the snow, All of these acvies are fun and child-led that integrate gross motor skills, the senses, stress management, communi- caon skills, and promote bonding. As adults we oſten forget that winter is not meant to be spent cooped up inside the house with a cup of cocoa and a good movie; winter is meant to be explored, experimented with, and experienced. Good thing we have kids around to teach us a thing or two about how to truly enjoy these cold months. How to Jump in Mud Puddles: Step 1-Find the largest puddle you can. If you cannot locate one, ask the closest child to assist you. Step 2-Ask the child how to jump in the mud. He/She should respond with something akin to: “Bend your knees, feet together, swing your arms back, push off the ground with both feet, and land in the puddle. “ Repeat step 2 unl sufficiently “muddied up.” How to Make a Mud Pie: Step 1-Find a good mud source-perhaps the mud puddle that you just jumped in-children have a sixth sense that helps them locate mud, ulize this. Step 2-Pile mud onto paper plates, paper decomposes quickly Step 3-Deccorate with leaves, acorns, bark, etc. In the spring, when it is warmer, take off shoes and socks and walk in the mud pies. It isn’t oſten that we get to play with our “food.”
Transcript
WINTER, 2013
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2
Childcare Connections A joint newsletter of the Alamance Partnership for Children and
the Alamance Alliance for Children and Families
Baby It’s Cold Outside…
Carey Ann Watkins—Outdoor Learning Environment Specialist
...But not too cold to play
Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year! A season
filled with nostalgia and warm cocoa. It is easy to let this sea-
son slip by us while we are caught up in the hustle and bus-
tle. As children, we remember the magic that this season
held, the opportunities for school to be closed, getting to-
gether with all of the kids on the block, waking up to see the
first snowflakes of the year; however, we are all grown up
now. This winter I ask a favor of you all: don’t forget to play.
It is easy to stay warm and dry inside the house when rain/
ice/snow is falling outside. We have grown out of jumping in
mud puddles, making mud pies, having snow ball fights, and
paying attention to ice crunching beneath our feet. Our chil-
dren have not. The kids in our lives are still curious as to how
softly they have to tread over the ground to not break the
ice. They pay attention to every mud puddle and wonder
how hard they can jump in it before being completely cov-
ered in mud. So, this year, my gift to you is a ‘how to’ guide
and to do list that should carry you all through winter and
remind you that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only
bad clothing.”
Other ideas: Snow angels,
“ice skate” on a porch or
side walk, use food coloring
to paint the snow,
All of these activities are fun
and child-led that integrate
gross motor skills, the senses, stress management, communi-
cation skills, and promote bonding. As adults we often forget
that winter is not meant to be spent cooped up inside the
house with a cup of cocoa and a good movie; winter is meant
to be explored, experimented with, and experienced. Good
thing we have kids around to teach us a thing or two about
how to truly enjoy these cold months.
How to Jump in Mud Puddles: Step 1-Find the largest puddle you can.
If you cannot locate one, ask the closest child to assist you.
Step 2-Ask the child how to jump in the mud.
He/She should respond with something akin to:
“Bend your knees, feet together, swing your arms back,
push off the ground with both feet, and land in the puddle. “
Repeat step 2 until sufficiently “muddied up.”
How to Make a Mud Pie: Step 1-Find a good mud source-perhaps the mud puddle that
you just jumped in-children have a sixth sense that helps them
locate mud, utilize this.
Step 2-Pile mud onto paper plates, paper decomposes quickly
Step 3-Deccorate with leaves, acorns, bark, etc.
In the spring, when it is warmer, take off shoes and socks and
walk in the mud pies. It isn’t often that we get to play with our
“food.”
CHILDCARE CONNECTIONS PAGE 2
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CARRIE THEALL
Welcome LaVonne Michael, Administrative Assistant
The Alamance Partnership for Children is so pleased to welcome LaVonne Mi-chael to the staff. Retired from Duke Energy after thirty years of service, LaVonne stays busy at the Partnership and working as a substitute teacher for the Ala-mance-Burlington School System. When she isn’t cataloging the massive amount of books coming in through the Barnes & Noble book drive, she keeps the staff laughing with her terrific wit!
LaVonne has been married to her wonderful husband, Sealo, for 37 years. She is mother to Gerrard and Kimery and grandmother to Jakala and Roman and loves being with her family and traveling.
Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are
surrounded by beauty and wonderment.
I am lucky enough to come to work eve-
ryday here at the Partnership, which is
located in the historic Glencoe Village.
Often times I forget how scenic it is here
until a visitor points it out to me. And
then I think, “Oh yeah, this is a pretty
cool place to work.”
Since there are so many changes occur-
ring out here—with the creation of the
Outdoor Learning Environment and the
Children’s Nature Science Center—I
thought I’d grab my camera and take
some shots of the sites surrounding me.
It was a great reminder to look around
from time to time and enjoy what’s right
outside my window.
I hope everyone finds time to stop and
appreciate the immediate beauty of this
holiday season.
Looking for child care? Call Referral Central toll free at 855-327-5933 or visit www.childcareservices.org/fs/finding .html.
through March 17th from 5:30pm-7:30pm at Alamance Re-
gional Medical Center, Education Center, Lower Level Dining
Room. Learn ways to take care of your baby and yourself,
share ideas with other parents, receive a FREE library of chil-
dren’s books, and enjoy dinner. This 8-week series will take
place on Monday evenings.
To register, call Alamance Regional Medical Center at 336-
586-4000 or sign-up online at www.armc.com.
Are you the parent of a preschool or school age child? Do you want to strengthen your par-enting skills?
The Incredible Years’ Program focuses on building a nurtur-ing relationship with your child and managing challenging behaviors.
When: Monday, Feb. 3rd, or Tuesday, Feb. 4th
Time: Dinner starts at 5:30pm/Class runs from 6-8pm.
For more information: Contact Kim Morabito at 513-0063 ext. 118 or [email protected].
Program Updates: PAGE 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2
Parents as Teachers is more than home visits! Each month,
PAT educators provide at least one group meeting oppor-
tunity to the families they serve. This year, group meetings
have taken on new life as we have been able to provide
incredible experiences for our PAT families. These
meetings have included story time and songs at May Me-
morial Library, playing in the Outdoor Learning Environ-
ment, a car seat check held at Centro la Comunidad and
much more.
In November, we had the chance to visit the Conservator’s
Center in Caswell County. There were 24 Parents as Teach-
ers families in attendance and thanks to the Conservator’s
Center they were able to have a free, up close and personal
experience with lions, tigers, wolves, lemurs and many oth-
er rare animals. Our PAT families are still talking about the
fun they had and the memories they made! The Alamance
Partnership for Children would like to thank the Conserva-
tor’s Center for providing this experience and we look for-
ward to working with them in the future.
Congratulations to the 28 partici-pants who completed IY classes this fall. A graduation ceremony was held at Eastlawn on Decem-ber 17th for the English and Span-ish IY classes that were taught there with Mr. McIn-nis of Eastlawn officiating!
Feb. 10, 2014 Self-Management: Please, Teach Me What To Do 6:00p-8:00p $ 5.00 2 Gwen Adair-Howell
Feb. 10, 2014 Good Nutrition Does Matter Phone Seminar 6:30p-7:30p $10.00 1
Feb. 22, 2014 ASK Conference: East Chapel Hill High School 8:30a-3:00p $70.00 $45.00 Group fee for 10 or more
Mar. 18, 2014 Choice and Preference: Preventing Power Struggles With Preschoolers 6:00p-8:00p $5.00 2 Gwen Adair-Howell
Apr. 7, 2014 Choice and Preference: Preventing Power Struggles With Preschoolers 6:00p-8:00p $5.00 2 Gwen Adair-Howell
The following two trainings are offered through Alamance Community College. Register at http://www.alamancecc.edu/continuing-education-site/registration/
Jan. 5-May 14 Incredible Years For Teachers 8:00a-12:00p $50.00 3.6 CEU’s Bonita Brown & Lisa Rettie
Apr. 5, 2014 BSAC-Basic School Age Care 9:00a– 2:00p $20.00 .5 CEU’s Lisa Rettie
Outdoor Learning Environment
1/21/14—”Big Movement, Small Spaces”-1½ hour training based on Be Active Kids’ games and ideas for indoor play and the development of movement skills.
2/25/14—”Rainy Day Games” – 1½ training based on Be Active Kids’ suggestions for outdoor games in the rain.
3/25/14—“Gardening with Kids” - 1½ hour training focusing on gardening ideas and recipes that can be done with kids in outdoor learning environments.
From the Desk of Lauren Hamrick... Story of Dillan I was referred to 5 year old Dillan (names changed for confidentiality) by his school, because of concern for extreme emotional behaviors he was exhibiting at school. Dil-lan was an intelligent boy, who became emotionally volatile when he was unable to do the activities he wanted to do in class.
Dillan had hit and kicked his teachers and would scream so loudly that he was removed from class on a regular basis. At the time of the referral the school was strongly considering removing Dillan from school. I spoke with Dillan’s mother, who was very concerned for her son. She reported that he was emotional and sensitive with his siblings. She felt worried he would not be ready for kinder-garten because of his outbursts. I agreed to observe Dillan at his school and meet regularly with his teacher. The school was welcoming and excited to have someone come in to help pro-vide strategies to decrease the outbursts.
Dillan proved to be a warm child. He would display love, hug-ging his teacher, and saying encouraging things to his class-mates. It was also obvious that Dillan wanted a lot of atten-tion, any way he could get it. Dillan would make loud noises and annoy other children and his teachers. After several ob-servations it was apparent that Dillan was very responsive to encouragement and that with encouragement he would make more positive behavior choices. His teacher was on board with learning strategies to help diffuse temper tantrums and to provide encouragement. She practiced new techniques often and helped Dillan learn ways to calm his self. Dillan was so responsive to this new way of interaction that his disruptive behaviors almost immediately stopped! The teacher and I cre-ated an encouragement chart where Dillan earned stickers for positive behaviors and was able to earn classroom “fun days,” such as “wacky tacky dress day.” As a result of focusing on Dillan’s positive behavior the teacher and peers felt more pos-itive towards him. By the end of the consulting Dillan was ex-hibiting consistent emotional control, an increase in positive interactions with peers, and no aggressive behaviors towards his teachers.
Eight Counties Launch North Carolina’s Parenting Initiative Eight counties have started delivering the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program in a North Carolina initia-
tive that aims to help more than 160,000 families throughout the state. To date, almost 400 providers have been trained in Triple P across counties Pitt, Alamance, Buncombe, Madison, Cabarrus and Appalachian District (Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga.) By mid-2014, an estimated 1000 providers throughout 33 counties will be offering Triple P at no cost or low cost to eligible parents of children up to 12 years, or parents of children up to 16 years. Counties joining the Triple P rollout next year are: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Durham, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Mecklenberg, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, War-ren and Washington. As of November 2013, 33 counties in North Carolina have been fund-ed by a consortium of funders to train child serving providers to de-liver Triple P. In addition, all the implementing sites have come to-gether to share knowledge through the North Carolina Triple P State Learning Collaborative, a group facilitated by the North Carolina De-partment of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, and key county representatives.
The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health is also supporting the counties’ Triple P rollouts with Stay Positive, a cohesive communications strategy. Stay Positive aims to help destigmatize the idea of parenting support, raise awareness of Triple P and give providers clinical and practical support to help with their delivery of Triple P. A spokesperson for the North Carolina Triple P State Learning Collab-orative said counties were choosing their own selection of Triple P programs, depending on the needs of the parents within their com-munities. “Triple P isn’t a one-size-fits-all program. It has a range of interven-tions that offers anything from a brief encounter, to seminars or workshops, to more intensive courses for parents at risk. It also has programs tailored for parents of children from birth to 12 years, and for parents of teenagers,” said the spokesperson. “Counties are choosing the levels of Triple P that best match their community’s needs, with many offering Triple P in both English and Spanish.” Visit the Triple P website for more information.
The Alamance Alliance for Children and Families’ Cultur-
al and Linguistic Competence (CLC) Committee provides
outreach services to Alamance County agencies, organi-
zations, and faith based community to help improve ser-
vices that children, students, and families receive. The
CLC committee’s work focuses on infrastructure building
at the service, organization, and policy levels through
the development and administration of CLC mini grants,
provision of technical assistance and workforce develop-
ment opportunities, establishment of faith based part-
nerships and AlaScene Learning Group, and partnering
with the Alamance County Community Collaborative.
On Monday, December 9, the Cultural and Linguistic
Competence Committee, held a milestone celebration.
The purpose of the celebration was to reflect on work
completed since May 2010. CLC Committee members
and child-serving partners took part in the event. Partic-
ipants highlighted the impact of the CLC work on them
personally and professionally.
Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee: Milestone Celebration
CHILDCARE CONNECTIONS PAGE 8
News About Children’s Mental Health
Little Kids, Big Questions: A Parenting Podcast Series From ZERO TO THREE” - ZERO TO THREE’s podcast series,
Little Kids, Big Questions, addresses some of the most common (and challenging) issues facing parents of babies and toddlers, such as: helping a baby learn to sleep through the night; dealing with a picky eater; and learning to set limits on children’s behavior. These questions—and more—are covered in this series of 12 podcasts, hosted by Ann Pleshette Mur-phy, a past contributor to ABC’s Good Morning America Parenting Segment and Vice President of the ZERO TO THREE Board of Directors. Each podcast features an interview with an expert that focuses on how to apply the research of early childhood develop-ment to your daily interactions with your baby or toddler. For more information or to download the podcasts go to http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/funded-projects/parenting-resources/podcast/ or https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/little-kids-big-questions/id476415235.
Registration is now open for the 27th Annual Children's Mental Health Research & Policy Conference
Time to start packin' for the 27th Annual Children's Mental Health Research & Policy Conference in Tampa, Florida
March 2 - 5, 2014.
Helping Foster and Adoptive Families Cope With Trauma
The American Academy of Pediatrics is out with a new guide focused on helping foster and adoptive families cope with trauma. The purpose of this guide is to support adoptive and foster families by strengthening the abilities of pediatricians to identify traumatized children, educate families about toxic stress and the possible biological, behavioral, and social mani-festations of early childhood trauma, and empower families to respond to their child's behavior in a manner that acknowl-edges past trauma but promotes the learning of new, more adaptive reactions to stress.
