More Than Baby Talk

Happy Thanksgiving! This week we are thankful for parents, relatives, and child care teachers who intentionally work to focus on quality interactions with young children. Nurturing an infant or toddler’s language and communication skills can have lasting effects on math, reading, and science later in life. Our Thanksgiving gift to you comes from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. The Institute has created “More Than Baby Talk: 10 Ways to Promote the Language and Communication Skills of Infants and Toddlers” (pdf). This brief guide outlines 10 research-based practices for nurturing language and communication skills among infants and toddlers.

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We hope you have a happy Thanksgiving – and share this resource (pdf) with someone you’re thankful to for impacting the life of a young child.

Friendships and Children with Disabilities

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For parents of children with disabilities, friendships for the child can sometimes be a source of worry and stress. PBS Parents offers some great ideas and helpful tips for parents to consider. Friendships are important for everyone – teaching children appropriate social skills and creating opportunities to practice them can make a big difference.

First Impressions- Saying hello to others, waving, smiling, and making eye contact are learned habits. For children who have difficulty with these, parents may need to help other children recognize their child's interest. Additionally, when a child's clothing and grooming fit in with his or her peers, this can reduce some of the initial barriers.

Identify Potential Friends- If a child is in child care or at school, the teacher can be a good resource for identifying other children who show an interest in the child. Parents of children with disabilities can reach out to the parents of other children who already indicate a willingness to interact.

Play Dates- Play dates should be intentional with careful thought towards the activities planned for the children. Parents should try to establish a space and use toys that their children are comfortable with and willing to share. Families can also meet at a public place like a museum, library, or park. Play dates can be relatively short; just one to two hours should keep things manageable.

Demonstration and Practice- Parents should purposefully model positive social skills and point them out to their child. Talking about what it means to be a good friend and praising good behavior can be powerful reinforcements. Parents should allow opportunities for children to use their skills with peers and to learn from others.

To read the whole article, get more ideas, and access resources, visit PBS Parents.

Tweet a Day for Learning & Play

The Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) is a member of the Help Me Grow National Network. The APC has recently launched its own Twitter account and Facebook page. The new social media campaign is entitled 'A Tweet a Day for Learning and Play', and will target parents, early childhood professionals, business leaders and partners in the state. APC will share early care and education tips and research, including information on initiatives and partners. Each month, the content will highlight a specific focus area related to young children and will coincide with the APC's FOCUS (Focus On Children Under Six) packet. For instance, in the month of November, APC Twitter and Facebook content is focusing on early literacy. Monthly topics include school readiness, quality early care and education, play, advocacy and more. Follow these links to check out the new Facebook and Twitter pages.

Plan for the Future to Have a Future

This 5-minute video depicts a theory of change from Frontiers of Innovation for achieving breakthrough outcomes for vulnerable children and families. It describes the need to focus on building the capabilities of caregivers and strengthening the communities that together form the environment of relationships essential to children's lifelong learning, health, and behavior.

Reading and Language Milestones

Do you ever wonder when a toddler should be speaking in simple sentences? Or how a preschooler should start reading and writing? Well, these are skills that aren't mastered all at once. Reading and language milestones start in infancy and progress through early childhood (and hopefully for life!). Check out this page from PBS to learn about listening, talking, reading, writing, and appropriate activities and games for newborns through third graders. The site can give you some great ideas for helping your child grow towards the next age-appropriate milestone. Follow this link to get started.

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First Class Pre-K

Here at Help Me Grow, we believe high quality early childhood experiences are a key factor towards a child’s long-term success. We are glad the state is expanding its First Class Pre-K program, and there have been recent events attended by many state and local officials featuring three child development programs.

A program of the Department of Children's Affairs

On September 19th there was a First Class Pre-K ribbon cutting event at Kitty Stone Elementary in Jacksonville. Del Marsh, President Pro Tempore of the Alabama Senate, State Representative K.L. Brown, and State Representative Randy Wood attended and gave insightful remarks about the importance of quality early learning. The event received media coverage from multiple news outlets including Fox 6, The Anniston Star/Jacksonville News, and AL.com.

A similar event was held on October 9th at University Daycare in Auburn. Mike Hubbard, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, and State Senator Tom Whatley were both present and spoke about the high return on investment in early childhood. The Opelika-Auburn News, WSFA, and others have covered this story.

The last Pre-K classroom to hold an official ribbon-cutting in this series was at Heavenly Sent Learning Center in Foley, Alabama on October 14th. State Senator Tripp Pittman and State Representative Stephen McMillan were both on hand to join in the celebration. Both legislators serve on committees that appropriate funds which ultimately reach First Class Pre-K. Read more about the event in Foley from the Press-Register.

HMG National: Importance of Research

For those of you out there who are interested in the research behind Help Me Grow's model, you should definitely read HMG Founder Dr. Dworkin's latest blog post. He describes the importance not just of collecting data, but analyzing and presenting it in a way that is useful for discussion about policy formation and implementation. Visit his blog and learn more about why we do things the way we do them.

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