August 30, 2019 National Center Releases Guide on Children’s Eye Health In celebration of Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness is offering a newly revised guide for families to monitor their child’s vision health. About The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health supports the development of a public health infrastructure to promote and ensure a comprehensive, multi-tiered continuum of eye health and vision care for young children. In support of family education, the Center released a revised version of its resource: A Guide to Vision Health for Your Newborn, Infant, and Toddler. The guide highlights up-to-date information on a variety of topics, including visual development milestones, warning signs, strategies to help develop a baby’s vision, and more. To read the guide, visit their digital PDF page. Learn More To learn more, visit the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health website. *Information provided by the U.S. Department of Education
August 22, 2019 Young Children Experiencing Homelessness Summit Congress approved provisions prioritizing children who experience homelessness to be served by Head Start, the Child Care Development Fund, and other high-quality early learning programs. On September 16, professionals are invited to the “Young Children Experiencing Homelessness Summit: Educate. Collaborate. Inspire.” to explore these changes, identify challenges, and discuss the future. About Thousands of young homeless children are in shelter or living doubled up in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey, and in Delaware. High-quality early learning programs like Head Start can strengthen their resilience, but access is a challenge. Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Deborah Bergeron, National Director of Head Start, this Summit will explore what has happened since those changes, identify local and national challenges, and consider the role of intermediaries. Registration To attend the Summit, complete the event registration webpage. Learn More To learn more, visit the event page. For questions, contact Joe Willard at 267.777.5851 or jwillard@pec-cares.org. *Information provided by the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey
August 19, 2019 First Up: Champions for Young Children Join First Up on September 24 as they celebrate the 2019 Champion of Young Children and raise funds for a worthy cause! About For 25 years, First Up has honored individuals and companies from outside the field of early childhood education for their dedication and commitment to young learners at the Champions for Young Children event. Past Champions have included elected officials, authors, industry leaders, foundations, and corporations that have made a significant investment to benefit all children in Southeastern Pennsylvania. At this event, participants will eat, dance, and play, with ticket purchases including open access to a selection of beer and wine, a chef-curated menu, and opportunities to release their inner-child through quality early education experiences with a grown-up twist. Registration Registration for this event is now open and can be completed on the First Up website. NAEYC Members NAEYC members receive a $50 discount by registering with Drew Martin at drew.martin@firstup.org. More Information For more information, contact First Up at info@firstup.org or 215.893.0130.
August 16, 2019 Improving Outcomes for Families Affected by Opioids Join the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness on August 22 for “Improving Outcomes for Families Affect by Opioids” to learn how Early Head Start and Head Start are uniquely positioned to support children and families impacted by opioids and other substance use disorders. About In this three-part webinar series, expert specialists will provide information on: perinatal opioid use; infants exposed to opioids; the impact of the opioid crisis on young children, parents, families, and communities; and how to help support young children and their families impacted by opioid and substance misuse. Registration To register for the webinar, visit the event webpage.
Pre-K Assessments the Right Way (Webinar) Community members are invited to join Keith Kline and Valerie Zaryczny on August 28 for a webinar on formal and informal pre-k assessments. About Pre-k assessments, both formal and informal, are a powerful tool in identifying students’ progress, discovering areas that need attention for remediation, and providing insight into how professionals can adjust their curriculum to meet all student needs. Pre-k assessments enable professionals to assess their children holistically in the areas of writing, language, literacy, and math and offer a way to communicate student progress. This edWebinar will be of interest to pre-k teachers and school leaders. Time for questions will be provided. Learning Objectives This edWebinar will help participants: understand the purpose of informal assessments; maintain student portfolios and information gathering; implement three informal assessments on readiness, writing, literacy, and math; learn observational skills needed to assess students in the classroom; utilize three observation checklists that will help guide assessments; use the collected information to focus on instruction; and effectively communicate with the families and others involved in the child’s education. Registration To register for this webinar, visit the edWeb website.
August 14, 2019 A Tapestry by Design (Online) In this online professional development course, participants will discuss early education content and pedagogy, based upon an understanding of how young children grow and learn. Topics such as interculturalism, family engagement, inclusion, and the importance of play will be highlighted. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from October 28 through November 15, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your network. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
Working With Diverse Families: Supporting Dual Language Learners (Online) In this online course, participants will engage in an interactive professional development session to build and strengthen knowledge in working with diverse children ages birth to five and families. To support early childhood practitioners serving this population, this session will focus on current research strategies when teaching dual language learners, and techniques to engage families. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from September 16 through October 4, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
August 9, 2019 From Scribbles to Writing | Online Webinar Art is the “first language” of the beginning reader and writer. Children usually draw or paint before they write. They use what might seem like just scribbles, lines and blobs to represent things. But isn’t that what writing is all about? About Both art and writing are a process of symbol making and can be a means of communication. Children’s pictures are words to them and represent an essential step on the road to literacy. In this edWebinar, participants will: Look at the ages and stages of writing from infants to kindergarten and explore the many ways to support children’s beginning writing and art skills; Explore the essential social and emotional aspects of art and writing expression while building an emotional vocabulary; Develop new ideas for process-based art activities for self-expression and storytelling; Use poetry and the work of modern artists to inspire children’s art and writing; Build positive and supportive strategies for talking to children about their art; and Define the current brain research that supports the importance of art as a tool for self-expression, language, and writing. This edWebinar will be of interest to pre-k and kindergarten teachers. Register To register for this webinar, visit the EdWeb event page.
August 7, 2019 Education Dept. Launches Online Book Nook Initiative The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) recently launched an initiative aimed at promoting literacy even when school isn’t in session. Each week, PDE unveils a new video featuring a prominent Pennsylvanian reading a children’s book to an at-home audience. Upcoming Readings The initiative kicked off with Secretary Pedro Rivera reading the book, Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, one of his personal favorite books to read to young audiences. In upcoming weeks, the initiative will feature several officials from the Wolf Administration reading books related to the work they lead, including: Brent Miller, Trooper | Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Police Station Rachel Levine, DOH Secretary | Charlotte Cowan’s Katie Caught a Cold Dr. David Volkman, Executive Deputy Secretary of Education | Natasha Wing’s The Night Before the Fourth of July John Wetzel, Corrections Secretary | Becky Birtha’s Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family when a Loved One is Incarcerated Patrick McDonnell, Environmental Protection Secretary | Sesame Street’s The Monster at the End of This Book Glenn Miller, Commissioner for Libraries | Lindsay Barrett George’s Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse Where to Watch The videos are accessible on PDE’s Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages. Learn More To learn more, read the full press release or visit the PDE website. *Information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education
August 2, 2019 PA DHS Announces KinConnector Helpline On August 1, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (PA DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller and Aging Secretary Robert Torres announced a helpline for families in kinship care situations, including grandparents raising their grandchildren because of the opioid crisis. About The KinConnector helpline was created by Act 89 of 2018, which established a kinship navigator program for Pennsylvania. KinConnector will act as a bridge that helps families identify resources, including gaining access to local, state, and federal resources. The KinConnector helpline is staffed by Kinship Navigators–compassionate, knowledgeable social service professionals prepared to help families locate, understand, and access resources that may be able to help them. This helpline, however, is just the beginning. A website of resources is set to launch in late 2019. KinConnector Helpline KinConnector can be reached by calling 1.866.KIN.2111 (1.866.546.2111). Assistance is available Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Services Examples of provided services include: connecting caregivers to health, financial, and legal services, connecting caregivers to training and parenting advice, identifying local physical or behavioral services, identifying support groups, helping caregivers enroll a child in school, helping caregivers apply for federal, state, and local benefits such as CHIP and Social Security, and other services designed to support caregivers. Why Kinship Matters Kinship care is becoming more common in Pennsylvania, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings often stepping in to fill the role of parents who are seeking treatment or, in the most tragic cases, have died from the disease of addiction. Kinship care guardians often make a selfless choice to care for a young relative and ensure they receive care and support from a family member they know and trust, even when processing their own emotions around their family’s situation. Children being cared for by relatives are less likely to end up in foster care and will experience better outcomes when they are living with a relative or someone they know. KinConnector will help ease the burden on these families and give them the tools and resources they need to be successful. More Information For more information on resources available for kinship families and grandparents raising grandchildren, visit dhs.pa.gov. Information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
