Media Wrap-Up: October 24-December 9

Prescott E-News: (The same article also appears in Prescott Valley E-News and Chino Valley E-News)
http://prescottenews.com/index.php/education/education-news/item/22683-best-gift-for-kids-under-6-simple-toys-quality-time-with-adults

Daily Courier:
http://dcourier.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=125722&SectionID=36&SubSectionID=1119&S=1

YCESA newsletters:
http://ycesa.com/files/Nov2013newsletter.pdf

http://www.ycesa.com/files/Dec%20%202013%20newsletter%20v.3.pdf

YRMC “Adopts” Families in Need for the Holidays

This month, the children of 44 families in the Quad-city area will be having a more joyful Christmas thanks to the generosity of several departments of the Yavapai Regional Medical Center.

YRMC is participating in “Adopt a Family for the Holidays”, a program that invites hospital departments to purchase gifts for the children of families participating in YRMC’s ‘Healthy Families’ program. Healthy Families is a free and voluntary home visiting program for families with children ages prenatal to five years old that is funded in part by First Things First. Through the program, families receive home visits every two weeks from a family support specialist, who partners with parents to boost the learning and development of their child through information, activities, developmental assessments and connection to other community resources. Healthy Families also holds monthly playgroups for families to come together, learn and have fun.

When YRMC CEO John Amos and YRMC COO Larry Burns heard about the “Adopt a Family for the Holidays” program from Healthy Families Director Lance Spears, they sent an email to every department of the hospital inviting them to participate. The response was huge.

“We’re so grateful to the staff of YRMC for bringing a joyous experience to the kids of forty-four families in our program,” said Spears.  “Many of the families we work with are struggling financially, and we’re seeing a great deal of need.”

The families ‘adopted’ by the program created holiday wish lists, which were provided- without mention of family names- to participating hospital departments. Most of these wish lists included things like warm children’s winter clothes, diapers, basic toys, and household necessities. One family, who has been unable to afford a vacuum cleaner, put one on their list. These gifts will be dropped off to families at their homes by their family support specialist.

“Without this generous help, there wouldn’t be holiday gifts for most of these kids,” said Spears.

Community members wishing to support the children enrolled in the Healthy Families program are invited to donate diapers and children’s books, which can be dropped off in the lobby of the YRMC East Campus. For more information about Healthy Families, please call Lance Spears at 771-5651 X 3945.

 

Families Celebrate Halloween, Learn about Oral Health at VVMC

On Tuesday, October 29^th, a bumble bee, a cat, a football player, a ninja turtle, a cowboy, a dinosaur and more than a dozen other little creatures could be seen parading the halls of the Verde Valley Medical Center, stopping by staff offices to ask for a treat.  The procession is a yearly Halloween tradition of Verde Valley Healthy Families and Parents as Teachers, which are both free home visitation programs for families with young children ages birth to five years. Both programs are funded by First Things First.

Through the programs, families with young kids partner with a family support specialist, who visits their home every two weeks and provides them information and activities to help their child grow and learn, assesses the development of their child, and connects them to other community resources.

“We love this program and tell our friends about it all the time,” said Stacey Adcox, who is enrolled in Parents as Teachers with her husband Adrian and their 18-month old son, Adrian.  “We learn activities we can do with him that are based on his stage of development.”

Every month, Verde Valley Healthy Families and Parents as Teachers hold a joint playgroup for their participating families to come together, learn and have fun. Each October, the playgroup is held at the Verde Valley Medical Center, where parents and kids don their Halloween costumes to trick or treat around the hospital offices. Besides giving out the traditional sweet treats, hospital staff also gave out oral health friendly items, such as bubbles and pencils.

4-year old Kyra practices good tooth brushing techniques

 on a set of giant teeth at the Halloween playgroup at VVMC.

 

Verde Valley Healthy Families recently received a grant from Delta Dental, which gave them the ability to bring dental health information, activities and materials to their family playgroups. This year, Dr. Mitzi of Cottonwood Children’s Dentistry also donated toothbrushes so that every child could bring one home with their Halloween treats. “We’re grateful to both Cottonwood Children’s Dentistry and Delta Dental because they have enabled us to educate families on early oral care,” said Susan Lacher, Director of Verde Valley Healthy Families. At the Halloween playgroup, families learned important dental health tips, including cleaning teeth every day, limiting sugar, and making sure their children have regular dental checkups beginning at age 1.

For more information on Verde Valley Healthy Families, a program of Verde Valley Medical Center, please call (928)-639-6566. For more information about Parents as Teachers, a program of Arizona’s Children Association, please call 1-888-771-3425 X 2026.  

 

Local Consortium Focuses on Kindergarten Readiness

What are the skills that children need to be successful in kindergarten? It is this question that led dozens of educators to come together at Yavapai County’s first Early Childhood Education Consortium (ECEC) for a much-needed discussion about the transition from the preschool years to kindergarten.

The consortium was held on Saturday, November 2^nd at the Mariposa building of Prescott College, and was attended by preschool directors, child care providers, kindergarten teachers, and other education professionals from across the Quad-city area. The event, sponsored in part by First Things First, was organized by Prescott College student Sheila Atwater and Prescott College Faculty member Wendy Watson with the help of several other local education experts: Gena Hahn, Micaela Janowski, Vickey LaMotte, and Dr. Vicky Young. 

The stakes are high for today’s kindergarteners, and it is critical that early educators of young children- including parents, infant care providers, child care providers and preschool teachers- are on the same page. The focus of the consortium was to get pre-K professionals and kindergarten teachers talking about the skills and dispositions kids need to be ready for kindergarten, and to create a list of these things to share with the public.

“Pre-k and kindergarten teachers rarely have the opportunity to come together to meet and converse about bettering the education of the young children in our community,” said Prescott College student Sheila Atwater. “By holding this event, we wanted to do something meaningful for education.”

“School readiness is not just about the child, it’s about ready schools and a community ready to support them,” said Wendy Watson, speaking at the consortium. Watson also said that the definition of kindergarten readiness often differs from school to school. “The same child with the same strengths and needs can be considered ready for kindergarten at one school, but considered not ready at another,” said. “That’s why it’s important to get this conversation going.”

The discussion, which was facilitated by Lori Deutsch of FAST consulting, yielded some exciting results. Participants were able to create a broad list of cognitive, behavioral and social skills that all kindergarteners need to succeed, which include the ability to pay attention and focus, the ability to take turns and share with others, basic letter recognition, and confidence.

When more children enter kindergarten prepared to learn, everyone benefits, and the Early Childhood Education Consortium was the first part of a continuing discussion about school readiness. Consortium organizers hope that this project will expand and grow to other parts of the county and the state, ensuring that more kids in Arizona enter kindergarten ready to succeed.

For more information about the Early Childhood Consortium or to be put on the mailing list for future events, please contact Wendy Watson at wwatson@prescott.edu.

 

Free Parenting Classes Work to Strengthen Family Relationships

When Sedona residents Sandra Papas and David Collin learned about the free parenting education classes available in their community, they jumped at the opportunity. To them, it was a no-brainer. It wasn’t that their family was having any issue in particular; they just wanted to gain more knowledge, tips and tools to strengthen their relationship with their two daughters. “We signed up to gain more skills, have some fun and reduce the stress in our family,” said David.

Now, the couple attends “Becoming a Love and Logic Parent”, a class taught by parent educator Sandi Cheney. Classes like these are made available across Yavapai County to parents and caregivers of young children ages birth to five years through a grant from First Things First.

“Becoming a Love and Logic Parent” meets once a week for a span of six weeks and includes free child care. Through the class, parents learn about child development and a variety of parenting skills, including simple communication tools and effective, low-stress discipline techniques.  The class is not about telling parents what to do; it’s about giving parents a whole toolbox of ideas. It’s up to them to choose what works best for their family.

“I feel like I’m learning a new language,” said David. “In stressful moments, getting mad and yelling doesn’t get your goal accomplished. This has really helped me to step back in those moments and think of what I can say and do.”

“This has been helpful to us, and I think it can be helpful to any parent,” said Sandra. “It gives us additional skills, ideas and choices.”



Sandra Papas and David Collin  meet with Parent Educator Sandi Cheney

their “Becoming a Love and Logic Parent” class at the Sedona YMCA.

 

Parents and caregivers can learn about the parenting class opportunities available across Yavapai County by visiting ParentsAZ.org, where they can find a calendar of upcoming classes. For more information about parenting education or to ask about a class near you, please call (928)-708-0100.