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ment evelop Child D rts n Early uppo ping a m of S Develo ) Syste (ECD Fourth Edition Wint er 2005 Putting Children First Early Child Development Initiative (PCFI): Supporting Healthy Child Development 0—6 years The Putting Children First Early Child Development Initiative (PCFI) is funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development and is administered by Sea To Sky Community Services Society. The initiative is based upon a large body of research to support the healthy development of all children and their families. Our Vision: To improve the healthy outcomes of children 0—6 before they enter school. Our objectives: The 5 objectives support the overall intent of the Learning Initiatives – to develop a comprehensive, integrated service delivery system that supports children and their families: *(as CONTENTS BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS Page 7 EFFECTIVE PARENTING TIPS Page 2 EDI RESULTS Page 4 FAMILY LITERACY WEEK EVENTS Page 6 FEEDING BABIES Page 6 INFANT RESEARCH Page 4 KITCHEN TABLE DISCUSSIONS Page 5 MAPPING COMMUNITY ASSETS Page 1 PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST ECD INITIATIVE Page 1 READY SET LEARN Page 2 THE TWO YEAR OLD Page 3 UPCOMING WORKSHOPS Page 7 stated in the Provincial Implementation Guidelines.) Increased community capacity – communities come together, partnerships develop and communities learn how to work together collaboratively to enhance opportunities for children and families with their collective resources to enhance opportunities for children and families Increased effectiveness – in coming together, community partners learn how to work more effectively Engaging “hard to reach” families – in an effort to increase access to services for “hard to reach” families, undertake a range of activities to ensure that all families access necessary supports and services Increased opportunities for early identification and screening – explore new opportunities and ap- proaches for early identification, including preconception, universal newborn and toddler screening and using strength-based approaches cant difference for children, families, service providers and the community at large Improving outcomes for children and families – communities focus on ECD in ways that make a signifi- www.seatoskychildrenfirst.ca. Check out our website at: g Team and dePutting Children First Plannin s website was created by the Thi signed by Eckhard Zeidler. WHAT IS NEW! MAPPING COMMUNITY ASSETS PCFI continues to develop a list of existing services for children 0—6 and fami- WHAT IS NEW Page 1 lies—types of service, ages served, program location, hours of operation, cost, transportation, and more within the Sea To Sky Corridor communities. We would also like to continue to update and add to a list of resources, committees, and coalitions. Don't forget to add your ideas for improvement to our lists. SPECIAL THANK YOUS! Please watch for our form called ‘Community Inventory Survey’ online at www.seatoskychildrenfirst.ca as our website is updated regularly or contact Page 8 Jane Ballance at Janebd@telus.net for a copy. READY SET LEARN FOLLOW-UP Do you have a PRESCHOOL AGED CHILD but were unable to attend the open house at your neighborhood school last November/December? Please email us at Janebd@telus.net and we can make sure you get any updated information on the events being planned for the Spring 2005. 2005 SPRING PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN HEALTH FAIRS Start to watch for information on the Spring Health Fairs in your communities. The fairs provide an opportunity to get information about the services and programs available for children from birth to age 6 and their families. Lots of fun for everyone! ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Ten Tips for Effective Parenting • Be warm, loving and responsive • Respond to the child's cues and clues • Talk, read, and sing to your child • Establish routines and rituals • Encourage safe exploration and play • Make TV watching selective • Use discipline as an opportunity to teach • Recognize that each child is unique • Choose quality child care and stay involved • Take care of yourself http://www.iamyourchild.org/early.html Exercising The Brain The Two Year Old—Fine and Gross Motor Skills Article information taken from www.zerotothree.org A two-year old is very active. Adults often have difficulty keeping up. Running, jumping, and climbing are all part of their activities now. Your toddler's large muscles are growing and strengthening with age and use. In the same ways, the brain is also being "exercised." Movement and learning stimulate brain growth. Your toddler's brain is continually forming new connections that will be refined as she grows. You may notice that your toddler is getting better at drawing, using scissors, and building. Typically, a child will use both left and right hands, switching back and forth several times before settling on a preferred hand. This behavior is actually quite useful. It is a way of making sure that both hands master basic manipulative skills while the brain is still in its most intensive wiring period. Practice and repetition are key as they come naturally to your little one. The slide will be fun to climb on over and over and over again. This is a good thing, so allow plenty of time for practice. FUN AND SIMPLE ACTIVITIES: • • • • • Gross Motor: Spend time outside where there is lots of space to safely jump, run, kick a ball and climb Gross Motor: On rainy days, you can help your child build "crawling tunnels" out of sofa cushions and blankets. Gross Motor: Dance to music! Dancing gets the wiggles out and music is also good for language development. Fine Motor: As your toddler gets closer to age three, she may enjoy simple crafts that allow her to practice these skills such as cut and paste, coloring, or stringing beads. Scissors and small objects require supervision. Fine Motor: Don't forget your everyday activities. More and more, you’ll notice that your child wants to be independent. That will involve doing things for herself—many of which require use of her fine motor muscles; getting dressed, practicing with buttons and zippers, helping set the table, or pouring milk from a small pitcher into a cup or onto her oatmeal. The Early Development (EDI) results The Early Development Instrument (EDI) was administered in all School District #48 kindergarten classrooms last February. 300 students were tested. Dr. Clyde Hertzman, Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership provided the information to audiences in Whistler and Squamish on December 2, 2004. Videotaping of this presentation will be available to community groups. To view EDI results – please see Clyde’s presentation and maps on The Mapping Portal at http://ecdportal.help.ubc.ca. The Sea To Sky Community Services Society offices in Squamish and Pemberton are designated Mapping Portal Sites. The general public is invited to use the mapping portal computers and colored printers at each site for downloading and printing maps. Please contact Jane Ballance at Janebd@telus.net or Phone: 604-815-9115 to receive a report on the EDI or for more information on using the mapping portals. Howe Sound EDI results from 2004 – 300 children sampled in School District #48 kindergarten classes; Squamish North 96 children, Squamish South 95 children, Whistler 59 children and Pemberton 50 children.. % deemed vulnerable based on Provincial cut-offs Domain areas that are featured on the EDI • • • • • Social Competence—cooperative, respectful to others in classroom, able to work independently, self confident Physical Health & Well Being—fine and gross motor skills, level of energy, daily preparedness for school, washroom independence, established handedness Emotional Maturity—Prosocial behavior, helping, tolerance, empathy Language & Cognitive Skills—interest in books, reading, literacy issues, interest in simple math, numeric issues Communication Skills & General Knowledge—clear articulation, clearly communicating own needs, understanding others Proportion of students vulnerable on one or more subscales: By Neighborhood: Pemberton 34%, Squamish South 31.25%, Squamish North 24.21% and Whistler 10.17%. …………………………………………………………………………………… Researchers have discovered that infants not only prefer to look at high contrast graphics, but that such images can help to: increase concentration skills stimulate the creation of synapses (brain cell connections) increase an infant's attention span calm a baby (when she is bored) enhance curiosity Organizing a kitchen table discussion Another interesting idea from the BC Council for Families Website: www.bccf.bc.ca By bringing people together to tackle local issues and challenges, communities have the potential to create an environment that supports healthy families. One way to do this is through a “kitchen table discussion.” Kitchens have been a gathering place for centuries—it's time to bring communities to the table! 1. What is a kitchen table discussion? It's a small group of people talking together—folks like you and me who live in families, work with families, or care about families and believe they make a difference to the communities we live in. It's a place where we can talk about how we, as a community, can work together to encourage and support them. 2. Who hosts a kitchen table discussion? And who's invited? You do! Or your friend, neighbor, grandmother or boss. You don't need special skills to do this. 3. When? You want people to be relaxed during the discussion—not worrying about leaving to pick up a child at school, etc. Before setting a time, check with people you plan to invite what time works best for them. 4. How to begin • Start with a round of brief introductions. Ask everyone to say who they are and to share two or three of their family's strengths. Introductions help “break the ice” and get people talking. • Remind everyone that there are no right or wrong ideas. Ask that they: listen to others, don't interrupt, feel okay about asking questions if they don't understand an idea or want more information, don’t argue. Example:It's okay to say, “Do you mean that...?” It's not okay to say, “That won't work because...” • Make sure everyone gets equal time to talk. 5. So, what do we talk about? The following questions are a guide to a general discussion. The questions are as follows: What is a healthy family? What does a family need to be a healthy and function well? How can communities help support the development of healthy families? What is your community doing to help build healthy families? Make a list. What can your community do better? How can that happen and who could/should be involved? What next? Your kitchen table discussion will be worthwhile even if there's no follow-up activity planned. If you choose, you can simply thank people for their contributions and say goodbye. However, if the people in your group would like to stay involved, here are some other suggestions. Tell the BC Council For Families about your kitchen table discussion. What were some of the ideas that emerged? Do you think your community might use them? Send them an email and with your permission, they will post a selection of ideas received. Spread the word and get others involved too! Email: bccf@bccf/bc/ca Submitted by: Kathy Romses Community Nutrionist, Vancouver Coastal Health Topic: Updated Recommendations for Feeding Babies Health Canada recently released two updated recommendations for supporting optimal growth for babies. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life for healthy term infants. The introduction of solid foods should begin at 6 months with a focus on iron rich foods. Examples of iron rich foods include iron-fortified cereal, meat, fish and poultry. All breastfed, healthy term infants should be given a daily vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms or 400 IU. This should continue until the babies diet includes at least 10 micrograms or 400 IU per day of vitamin D from other dietary sources or until the baby is one year of age. Sunlight is one of the main sources of vitamin D but babies under one year should be kept out of direct sunlight because of skin cancer concerns. Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Fatty fish, fish oils and egg yolks are some of the main sources. Vitamin D is added to infant formula and cow’s milk (not recommended before 9-12 months of age). If you would like more information, visit the Health Canada website at www.healthcanada.ca/nutrition or call Dial-A-Dietitian at 1-800-667-3438. The phone service is available in 130 languages. FAMILY LITERACY WEEK EVENTS January 22—29th Literacy Café took place at Chef Big D’s on Tuesday, January 25th Tea for Literacy took place at the Squamish Public Library on Thursday, January 27th Scrabble for Literacy Tournament and Fund-Raiser took place at the Squamish Public Library, Whistler Public Library and Pemberton Public Library. BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS? Submitted by: Elizabeth Wood and Gabi Moeller Indoor Activities with outdoor levels of energy: Hall Soccer: Close the door in the hallway, give your child a big soft ball and let him do some kicking Over, under, and through: Set up a mini obstacle course across some couch cushions, under the table and through a big box that is open at both ends (check for sharp edges on tables and cover them) Bottle Bowling: Half fill with water 5 or 6 big plastic bottles; set them up in a bowling pattern and let your child knock them over by rolling a ball Carnival Games: throw some balls, beanbags, or rolled up socks into a laundry basket Dance Class: Put on a favourite CD and dance with your child. UPCOMING WORKSHOPS Call: 604-852-1236 in Abbotsford for information and registration Dr. Bruce Perry presentation on THE IMPACT OF THE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ON THE DEVELOPING BRAIN; HOW HEALTHY COMMUNITIES CREATE HEALTHY CHILDREN Abbotsford: Friday, February 18th Abbotsford: Thursday, March 10th 8:30—3:30 8:30—3:30 Cost: $100.00 Cost: $35 before February 18th $50 after February 18th Diane Benoit presentation on ATTACHMENT—SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN Note: Several participants from the Sea To Sky Corridor will be attending these workshops so please contact Jane Ballance if you require a ride to and from the workshop. Thursday, March 17th at the Squamish Public Library from 9:30 am —12:00 Joanne Schroeder, Community Liaison Coordination, Human Early Learning Partnership presentation on ECD MAPPING. OVERVIEW: Early development results in the school district; What is the EDI? Interpreting the EDI results, Vulnerability Maps, Provincial Cut-offs, Considerations and applying the EDI results, Mapping Portal Stations and What’s Next FREE WORKSHOP Sponsored by PCFI. Please call 604-815-9115 or email: Janebd@telus.net SPECIAL THANK YOUS! Thank you to Chef Big D’s restaurant in Squamish for supporting our first Family Literacy Café . We appreciated the use of your restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious desserts. Thank you to all the presenters for making this evening special and fun for families and children in the community: Jeanne Cameron, Peter Leggett, Kathy Daniels and the cast from Dracula, Jaslyn, Melanie and Christine Williston. Thank you to the Squamish Public Library for allowing us to use their library space for our Nippissing Information Workshop. Thank you to the Lions Bay Playschool for the donation of wonderful toys and easels . These donations have already made their way to Baptiste and Skatin and the remaining items will be delivered to the new Head Start Child Care Program in N’Quatqua. Please call or contact Jane Ballance at any time to learn more about PCFI at 604-815-9115 or email: Janebd@telus.net. Visit our website: www.seatoskychildrenfirst.ca