Reading and School Success

Supporting and encouraging children to read is one of the most important things you can do to help them succeed in school. According to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), reading helps children in all school subjects and is the key to lifelong learning. The parent-child relationship can greatly effect a child’s attitude toward reading and his/her ability to read. As parents, teachers, etc., we have a responsibility to promote literacy. There are many ways we can accomplish this and USDE offers these tips:

Photo Credit: Elena Aguilar

• Start early. When your child is still a baby, read aloud to him. Reading should become part of your daily routine. 
• Make sure that your home has lots of reading materials that are appropriate for your child. Keep books, magazines and newspapers in the house. Reading materials don't have to be new or expensive. Ask family members and friends to consider giving your child books and magazine subscriptions as gifts for birthdays or other special occasions. 
• Show that you value reading. Let your child see you reading for pleasure as well as for performing your routine activities as an adult—reading letters and recipes, directions and instructions, newspapers, computer screens and so forth. 
• Get help for your child if he has a reading problem. When a child is having reading difficulties, the reason might be simple to understand and deal with. For example, your child might have trouble seeing and need glasses or he may just need more help with reading skills. If you think that your child needs extra help, ask his teachers about special services, such as after-school or summer reading programs. 
• Make reading fun! 

Check out these additional resources for:
Helping children cultivate a love for reading
Promoting independent reading
Helping your child succeed in school

Easter Seals: Make The First Five Count

Did you know that the first five years of children's lives shapes their future health, happiness, growth, and development?  Easter Seals is a leading provider of child development services and they encourage families to Make The First Five Count. Their website has valuable developmental information and services that help guide parents through the early years of development. They also provide a free online screening tool that helps parent keep track of their child’s growth and development during the first five years. For more information, check out the video below and visit www.easterseals.com/mtffc.

HMG is a Nonpartisan Issue

With the tumultuous and electrifying partisan politics that surround us, you may wonder where Help Me Grow lines up. Dr. Dworkin, founder of Help Me Grow, has updated his blog with a post which reminds us that, "The mission of Help Me Grow does not fall exclusively within either the liberal or conservative mainstream. Political beliefs can’t predict whether states and their leadership and policymakers will support early childhood system-building and early detection of vulnerable children at risk for adverse developmental and behavioral outcomes. Instead, we have found that when states, leaders, and communities share a strong commitment to the strength of families, then they are more likely to devote resources to supporting early childhood system-building and early detection of vulnerable children." Read on for more insights on the shared interest of strengthening families.

National Immunization Awareness Month

August is National Immunization Awareness Month! If you've ever wondered about the process vaccines go through to become recommended by the CDC, check out this infographic:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/infographics/journey-of-child-vaccine.html

HMG Partners with Western Health Center

HMG Central Alabama Coordinator, Danna
with Super Why

Exciting things are happening in Central Alabama! Through our great partnership with Reach Out and Read-Alabama, Help Me Grow care coordinators are building relationships with pediatricians and engaging families in their medical home to demonstrate the impact reading can have on the developing brain and connect families to additional resources when needed. Today Western Health Center of the Jefferson County Department of Health, is hosting a Prescription for Summer Reading event in collaboration with Reach Out and Read-Alabama and Alabama Public Television’s effort to promote summer reading in pediatric practices and clinics around the state. In addition, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama and the Caring Foundation will be presenting the center with 1,800 books to be distributed to patients through the year. The event will highlight the importance of reading for preparing a child to enter school, and will showcase the services that all families at Western Health Center have access to during well-child visits. Well-child visits are more than just a time for vaccinations, but an opportunity to focus on all areas of a child’s development and ensure parents have the knowledge, resources, and tools to best support their child starting at birth. To accomplish this, Western Health Center will be collaborating with other organizations in the community to offer families the following services:

Reach Out and Read Statewide Coordinator, Polly
with Super Why

1. Ages & Stages Developmental Screening
2. Developmentally appropriate books and instructions for parents about reading daily and brain development through Reach Out and Read-Alabama
3. Registration for all children in Dolly Parton Imagination Library to receive additional books through age five
4. Care coordination and referral for needed developmental services through Help Me Grow Central Alabama

School readiness begins at birth and primary care offices have a unique opportunity to engage families early. The services offered at Western Health Center are a great example of progress being made towards ensuring every child in Alabama enters school prepared to learn.

Getting Ready for School with PBS KIDS

PBS KIDS is a great place to find age-appropriate resources that help kids get ready for school! This website has fun activities for children, parent information on how to help children get ready for school, and classroom-ready digital resources for teachers. There is also a child development tracker, age appropriate activity search, and school readiness program. Remember to limit your child's screen-time, and the best way to prepare your child for school is through interactions with you and peers. For more information visit http://pbskids.org.

PBS KIDS

Preschool Readiness

ZERO TO THREE has some great suggestions about getting ready for preschool. Here are some highlights, follow the link for more details.

As you prepare for your child to being preschool, try to keep your efforts low-key. If you make too big a deal out of this milestone, your child may end up being more worried than excited. Here are some ways to focus on the fun.

• Use pretend play to explore the idea of preschool: take turns being the parent, child and teacher. Act out common daily routines, such as saying good-bye to mommy and/or daddy, taking off your coat, singing songs, reading stories, having Circle Time, playing outside, and taking naps.
• Read books about preschool: Choose several to share with your child over the summer before school starts. Talk about the story and how the characters are feeling. Ask how your child is feeling. Here is a list of nine “starting preschool” books to get the conversation started.
• Make a game out of practicing self-help skills: For example, you might want to have a "race" with your child to see how quickly she can put on her shoes. When you play school together, you can give your child the chance to practice taking off her coat, zipping her backpack closed, and sitting “criss-cross applesauce.”
• Play at your new preschool: Visit your child’s preschool together. These visits increase your child’s comfort with and confidence in this new setting.

During the two weeks before preschool starts:

• Purchase a backpack together with your child. If possible, let your child choose it himself.
• Label all items—backpack, jacket, shoes, blanket, teddy bear, etc.—with your child’s name and teacher’s name in permanent ink.
• Contact the preschool’s health professional if your child has medication that he or she takes on a daily basis. 
• Figure out how your child will get to school and how she will come home. Talk to your child about the morning and afternoon routine so that she understands that she will be safe, okay, and cared for. 
• Start using your child’s “school bedtime.” Help your child get into a preschool schedule by keeping to his or her school bedtime, beginning about two weeks before school starts.

For more ideas, visit ZERO TO THREE.