I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Childproofing Tips 2

Kale Chips Recipe 2

Naturally Flavored Water

3

Kindergarten Transition Tips

3

Hand Writing Benefits 4

Science Activities 4

HEAD S TART AND

EARL Y CH I LDHOOD EDUCAT ION

NORTHWESTERN OHIO COMMUNITY ACTION COMMISSION

1933 E. SECOND ST., DEFIANCE, OH 43512

419-784-2150

Janet Yaros,

Head Start/ECE

Director

www.nocac.org

visit us on facebook

A P R I L

2 0 1 9

Perfect Attendance Awards Congratulations to:

Edon: Jace

Defiance:

Jaxxon & Kelsey

Montpelier: Jaxson

Napoleon: Charlotte

Pulaski: Addilyn & Chloe

The following Head Start

children have received a

Perfect Attendance Award

for the first half of the year.

What an accomplishment!

needs that range from

providing clean clothing to

medical care.

In the United States, child

protective services referrals

involve 7.2 million chil-

dren each year.

There are resources availa-

ble for you. You are not

alone. In an emergency,

call 911.

N AT I O N AL C H I L D

A B U S E H O T L I N E

1.800.422.4453

www.childhelp.org

N AT I O N AL D O M E S T I C

V I O L E N C E H O T L I N E

1.800.799.7233

www.ndvh.org

R AP E , AB U S E & I N -

C E S T N AT I O N AL

N E T W O R K

1.800.656.4673

www.rainn.org

Source:

http://

www.joyfulheartfoundation

.org/learn/child-abuse-and

-neglect

Child abuse are acts that

result in serious harm or risk

of harm, including physical

violence, exploitation, and

death. Failure to take ac-

tion to stop the harm is also

considered child abuse.

Child neglect is the failure

to provide a child’s basic

FREE Preschool NOCAC Head Start

is NOW accepting applications

for the 2019-20 preschool year. If your child will be at least 3 years old

by the Kindergarten cutoff date

in your school district

you can complete an application

for them now!

Please call 419-784-5136 Ext 1140

or email glarson@nocac.org.

Includes meals and

transportation in most

classrooms.

P A G E 2 A P R I L 2 0 1 9 T H E F A M I L Y C O N N E C T I O N

Defiance Family Resource Center/

Head Start Photos: (Left) It is snack

time and Lilly is working on spread-

ing cream cheese on her bagel.

(Right) Acheron stops for a rest

while playing in the sunshine.

Kale Chips Recipe 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Rinse and dry kale.

Remove the center ribs and

stems from each leaf.

Tear the leaves into 3-4-inch

pieces.

In a large bowl toss kale with

olive oil using your hands rub-

bing each piece of kale with

the oil.

Spread kale in single layer on 2

baking sheets lined with foil.

Lightly sprinkle the kale with

salt.

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Store in an air-tight container

for up to 1 week.

Source:

FreshBaby.com

Submitted by:

Tiffany McBride

Health & Safety Assistant

As we jump into spring this month’s

featured vegetable is kale. Sea-

sonal vegetables are the most fla-

vorful, often affordable, and more

readily available.

Tip: Kale leaves can be sandy.

Get rid of sand easily by filling the

sink with water, add kale and

swish it around. Kale will float and

sand will sink.

Ingredients:

1 head kale

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Childproofing Tips for Grandparents your neighborhood.

On shopping trips, whenever

possible choose stores that

offer child-friendly shopping

carts with seats that are low to

the ground. Do not place

your own car seat into a shop-

ping cart, and avoid putting

your grandchild in the seat at

the top of the cart if possible.

If you have a tricycle or bicy-

cle at your home for your

grandchild, make sure you

also have a helmet for her.

Let her choose a helmet in a

special design or color.

Although playgrounds can be

fun, they also can be danger-

ous. Select one that has been

designed to keep children as

safe as possible; those at

schools or at community-

sponsored parks are often

good choices.

Inspect your own backyard for

anything hazardous or poison-

ous.

If you have a backyard swim-

ming pool, or if you take your

grandchild to another home

or a park where there is a

pool, familiarize yourself with

these water safety guidelines:

There should be at least a 4-

foot-high fence with a lock-

ing gate surrounding the

pool.

Make sure that fences en-

close neighbors’ pools, as

well.

Practice touch supervision

anytime your grandchild is in

or near water.

You should also know CPR

and how to swim.

Submitted by:

Sheana Behringer, LPN

Child Health & Safety Manager

Safety Outside of the Home

Buy a car

seat that you

can keep in-

side your own

car. Make

sure you install

it properly (or

have a

trained pro-

fessional install

it for you) and

that you can strap your grand-

child into it easily. Experiment

with the buckles and clasps

before you buy the car seat

since their ease of use varies.

Make sure you know that your

grandchild is out of harm’s

way before backing your car

out of the garage or down the

driveway.

Purchase a stroller to use when

taking the baby for a walk in

T H E F A M I L Y C O N N E C T I O N P A G E 3 A P R I L 2 0 1 9

Naturally Flavored Water pineapple and watermelon

to work well for flavoring wa-

ter. If you don't want to buy

whole ones, many grocery

stores sell small containers of

pre-cut fruit.

Herbs -- these are optional,

but many herbs are a surpris-

ing complement to fruit fla-

vors; almost any herb will work

depending on your personal

preference.

Jars or pitchers -- I use 2 quart

mason jars primarily, but any 2

quart pitcher will do. Fruit infu-

sion pitcher--I recently pur-

chased one of these--it's an-

other option if you think you'll

be making infused waters

regularly; a very easy, tidy

way to strain fruit from water.

fruit infusion water bottle--I

love using this for a portable,

on-the-go option. Use a mud-

dler or wooden spoon for

mashing fruit and herbs.

Water -- I use filtered water,

but regular tap water is fine if

yours tastes good to you.

Source:

https://www.theyummylife.com/

Flavored_Water#EmbedRecipe_251

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-

much-water-should-you-drink-per-day

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/ten-tips-make

-better-beverage-choices

Submitted by:

Tiffany McBride

Health & Safety Assistant

Instead of sugary drinks, drink wa-

ter. Regular soda, sports or ener-

gy drinks have added sugars that

are not healthy for us. Water is an

important nutrient for the body.

Thirst is a good indicator of your

water intake, however eight 8 oz.

glasses of water per day is rec-

ommended. You can still enjoy

your favorite beverage if water

won’t do, just cut back on the

amount you have per day.

Supplies Needed for your own

Naturally Flavored water:

Fruit -- whatever kind you like

(except no bananas); make

sure it's good and ripe for

maximum sweetness and fla-

vor. I like to use all kinds of

citrus and berries. I also found

Kindergarten Transition Tips continue to get your child pre-

pared for moving to Kindergar-

ten:

Read to their child every day

Provide crayons for drawing

and scissors for cutting Do playful number activities

such as counting, telling the

number before and after a

quantity, and telling how

much you have when there is

one more or one less than a

quantity

Offer markers, Legos, and oth-

er small manipulatives to sup-

port development of their

child’s grasp and fine motor

coordination

Give their child opportunities

to make decisions and smart

choices

Institute early bedtimes and

provide healthy meals

Source: http://www.ehow.com, Kinder-

garten Transitions

Submitted by:

Terri Bittinger

Coaching Specialist

Most families already do activities

at home that support their chil-

dren’s experiences and learning

in your program. By providing

your child activities to do while at

home and discussing with them

why it is important to do them,

can help

them be-

come more

prepared for

the transition.

Here are

some ideas

that you can

PHOTOS: Below, children at the Leggett Street Head Start had an

awesome time during one of the winter’s big snows. On the right,

Izabella and Adrianna are practicing up on their tooth brushing at

the NOCAC Child Development Center, Archbold.

THE FAMILY CONNECTION HEAD START

Fax 419-782-5648

www.nocac.org

indicated that perceptual and motor systems become linked only when individuals learn through self-generated actions? Basically, we learn more by doing an activity ourselves versus watching some-one else complete the same ex-act activity.

Some research has demonstrated that we learn symbols better if we write them by hand during learn-ing than through other forms of practice, including visual, audito-ry, and even typing.

The simple activity of writing sym-bols on a page help the brain de-velop new pathways and have

visual memory of letters, shapes and symbols.

The researchers concluded that handwriting experience plays a crucial role in the formation of the brain network that underlies letter recognition.

Source: www.YourTherapySource.com

Submitted by: J. Nichols-Ewing Disabilities & Inter. Coordinator

Have you ever stopped to think about the benefits of writing by hand? Technology has started to take over our lives. Are students and adults losing out on the bene-fits of writing by hand?

In today’s technology-focused society, do you wonder why both-er writing by hand? We have voice activation, voice to text, smartphones, tablets, and lap-tops. Who needs a pencil when you have a keyboard? There are research studies that indicate the benefits of writing by hand instead of keyboarding.

Did you know that research has

Hand Writing Benefits

Floaters and Sinkers Fill a large bowl or sink with water., collect objects that will sink and float. Make sure to collect objects that are similar in size but vastly different in density, like a rock and a tennis ball. Ask your child to pre-dict whether the object will sink or float and let them drop it in the water. Have your child classify them into two different stacks, the “Floaters” and the “Sinkers.”

What children are using: Children are using scientific inquiry when trying to explore what items they have around the house that will be “floaters” and what will be “sinkers”, language when learning what new words mean, and math when examining each object by their sizes of small, medium, and large.

Marble Run Don’t throw away your paper towel and toilet paper rolls; use them to make a marble run! Add to the marble run by using differ-ent items like paper, food box containers, etc. Have the children

add the new materials to the mar-ble run and see how the marble moves from each different level. Have the whole family sit in a cir-cle and take turns testing the mar-ble run.

What children are using: Children are using fine motor skills to bend paper and place the marble on the marble run, cogni-tive skills when trying to make the marble run work, scientific skills using different tools to make the marble run go, and social emo-tional skills working together as a team.

Even though we were looking at science activities, look at all the different skills they are using. The kids will have a blast. And remem-ber everything you do gives them a spark of curiosity; helps develop questions, as well as problem solv-ing skills to find the answer!

Source: https://babbledabbledo.com/20-science-projects-for-preschoolers/

Submitted by: Bethany Pieper Education Assistant

Some parents may think science is above the heads of preschool aged children. Preschool age chil-dren are inquisitive and open-minded, perfect traits for budding young scientists! Kids are mesmer-ized by chemical reactions, and love exploring nature. Here are some activities you can do at home to help your child explore science.

Nature Shadow box Prepare the Shadow Box by just getting the lid of a shoebox. Next go outside to collect nature items. Go back inside and let your child pour glue into shoebox lid. Then add the nature items.

What children are using: Children use fine motor skills to grasp or pick up items, gross motor skills when going up hills or looking around for nature items, art skills to design their shadow box, and cognitive skills by asking them; “What’s something that belongs in nature?”

Science Activities