Editor’s Block by: Vickie Manning Director Chair by Dirk ... · Teamwork Times Dec. 2012 Kids’ Corps, Inc. 2012 Page 1 Editor’s Block by: Vickie Manning Director Chair by Dirk

Teamwork Times Dec. 2012

Kids’ Corps, Inc. 2012 Page 1

Editor’s Block by: Vickie Manning Director Chair by Dirk Shumaker

In my role as Executive Director, I frequently meet with representatives from community groups as diverse as the United Way and the Chamber of Commerce. A question I am frequently asked is “What difference does Head Start make in the community?” Often this discussion leads to questions about school readiness. Are children and families better prepared for kindergarten as a result of their participation in our program? How do we know?

One way we can answer this question is to point to our child assessment results in Teaching Strategies Gold. In this month’s Teamwork Times you will find a

summary of the fall checkpoint results for our agency as a whole. In Alaska, such detailed child outcomes data is unique to Head Start programs. I don’t know of any other early childhood program that tracks children’s progress as carefully and comprehensively as we do. I commend KCI’s teachers, assistant teachers and center directors for their conscientious efforts to provide accurate and reliable observation based assessment for every child. The data provides important information that should be of interest all Kids’ Corps stakeholders, from the board and Policy Council to staff, parents and taxpayers.

On another note, although the snow hasn’t been flying yet, winter is definitely here, which means that the holiday season is upon us. Unfortunately, the season of celebration can also be a stressful time for some. If you hear about a family at your center who may be in need, be sure to let your Family Advocate or Center Director know.

Have a safe and festive holiday season. See you at Open Forum.

December is already upon us. I usually feel like it has snuck up on me… This year however, it snuck up at warp speed! The September/October moves certainly made time move quickly!!! The winter break is an excellent opportunity for staff to rest up and enjoy their families. Please, enjoy your time and stay safe. We will look forward to staff returning in January feeling refreshed and rested☺ CDA Saturday… KCI will hold its second CDA Saturday on Saturday, December 8, 2012. The

Editor’s Block by Vickie Manning

topic? Child Growth Development. We will be discussing brain development and understanding typical child development. The workshop will be 2 hours from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon and a light refreshment will be provided. This training also has a follow-up “homework-like” activity that counts as an additional 3 hours of training if it is turned in to Vickie by the 9th of January. This training will be held at the East Center in the conference room. Please contact Vickie if you are interested in more information. OR just show up! This is COMPLETELY voluntary for staff wishing to gain

more hours toward their CDA. Therefore, it is NOT considered work time. Feel free to invite parents to the CDA Saturday. Because no parents were present at the last CDA Saturday, we will not be offering child care. If more parents are interested in future trainings, we will consider adding childcare for parents.

Te-Laya Tundra Rachel Y. Ayla Sarah



Kimberly Thomas? Nick name: Kim From: Arkansas In Alaska: Many Years At KCI: Since October 2007 Child(ren): Son –Tremaine & Daughter- Nivea

Favorites: Color: Red Author/Books: The Coldest Winter Ever Food: Peach Cobbler Holiday: Christmas Family Activity: Relaxing with Kids Family Dinner: Pasta & Salad Movie Genre: Columbiana Something you may not know: I Love Sunshine & Beautiful Sights!

Mai Nou Lor From: Sacramento, California In Alaska: 6 Years Husband: Peter Child(ren): Son - Kadyn Parents: Cha & Youa Siblings: Jenny, Maidao, Yingiee, Lucky, Ging, Micheal & Jackson. 10875

Favorites: Color: Pink! Book: Any... Food: Any... If it is Tasty Family Activity: Family Day (Alone) Holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years Something you may not know: I Love Shopping!

Sally Therrien? From: Colorado Springs In Alaska: 3 Months At KCI: Since August 2012 Pets: Tinker bell & Buddy (Dogs) Mr. Wilson (Cat) Family Members: Keith, Rebecca, & James

Favorites: Color: Pink & Black Food: Cheese & Pickles (but not together) Family Dinner & Activity: Hanging out together watching a movie & ordering Pizza Movie: Man on Fire Holiday/Cultural Tradition: Christmas / Mexican Food (Mmmmm)

Chue Her?

From: Clovis, California In Alaska: 4 Years Family Members: Sai & Kenji Siblings: Mai Neng, Tong, Sher, Koua, & Melissa

Favorites: Color: None Food: Thai Fried Rice Holiday: 4th of July Family Activity: Watching movies together

How Well Do You Know…



Peer Recognition Selina would like to thank Terry for all of his hard work in getting the Early Head Start center childproofed! He even got down on his hands and knees and bleached the drain area under the crawl space under the sink before securing it to make sure we wouldn't have any issues with future Food Inspections! Charles would like to extend a big “THANK YOU” to Sarah Midthun for stepping in and being a co-presenter at the AAEYC conference! Ayla & Luz thank you for accommodating Senator Begich’s staff into their classroom, it was sincerely appreciated. ~ Charles Ronnie wants to acknowledge Katrina for coming back to work full force, taking on the donations, the letters and putting together the holiday party without missing a beat! Welcome back Katrina!!! George, Stacy, Vickie, Ronnie, Jessi and Dirk want to thank Dave and Terry for all of their assistance during the admin office move in October. They dismantled furniture, made numerous trips to storage and picked up and moved all the odds and ends that escaped the professional movers. Thanks guys for your patience and flexibility. Amy says Thank you Ashley for your willingness to move mountains and make things happen for the kiddos at South!! Miriam V., Rachel Young would like to say Thank you for always being willing to help with signing in or out and when we need extra help you never hesitate or complain you just step right in. It is much appreciated. Congratulations to Judy on her new position as Family Advocate. Christine @ East says: So far, for this year’s plunge, we have a great group formed!! The roster includes: Kacey, Sally, Michelle, and myself!! If anyone else is interested, you can go to www.specialolympicsalaska.org and register!! Register under team, "Ninas Frias (Cold girls)"!! (We are not restricted to girls...but are accepting male participants as well :) )We are raising money for a GREAT cause and will be having a BLAST while doing it – we'll be Freezin' for a Reason!!! Won't you join us?! I want to thank Natalie and her team at Muldoon for their gracious welcome. It's great to be back in a Head Start center again.

Intentional Teacher submitted by Charles Freeman

"The Intentional Teacher," Ann Epstein observes that the intentional teacher needs to balance both child-initiated and adult-directed activities. Intentional teachers support child-guided learning when children:

Investigate how things work by actively exploring materials, actions, and ideas

Establish relationships on their own

Turn to one another for assistance Are motivated to solve problems

on their own Are so focused that adult

intervention would interrupt them Challenge themselves and one

another to master new skills Apply and extend existing

knowledge in new ways Intentional teachers use adult-guided learning when children:

Are unaware their actions may be unsafe or hurtful

Have not encountered materials or experiences elsewhere Cannot create systems of knowledge (e.g., letter names)

Are not aware of something likely to interest them (e.g., the smell of flowers)

Do not engage with something they need for further learning (e.g., shape names in geometry)

Ask for information or help, especially after trying several unsuccessful solutions on their own



Volunteer Opportunity:

Classroom Volunteering

Parent Committee Meetings

Parents Participating

in Parent Volunteer

Day

Parents R Us

Just For Moms

Man to Man

Center Volunteered at: Davis 12 1 1 East 24 2 1 1 Mt. View 17 2 3 1 Muldoon 7 - - South 6 - 1 1 Gladys Woods - 3 - - Creekside Park 5 7 - - Willow Crest 7 3 1 1 Early Head Start 7 (Group Social) 8 2 1 0

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance in each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on." "As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home you can pick it up tomorrow."

Wellness Committee

Number of Parents Participating:

"Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while."

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life: * Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live. * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person. * Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. * We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. *A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.



SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Monday Munch Pay Day KCI Holiday

Party 6-8 pm

CDA Boot Camp 10am

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Managers

Meeting EHS Volunteer Day

BOD & PC 6pm @ Muldoon

Timecards are Due

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 EHS Group

Social South Volunteer Day Pay Day

Open Forum No School Timecards are Due

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Holiday Holiday

Winter Holiday! 30 31

Will Return to work on January 7th, 2013

Winter Holiday!

December 2012

Immunization Audit As you may or may not know, all KCI centers were recently audited by the State for compliance with child immunization regulations. During this process, the auditor looked at the immunization record for every child enrolled in our program. They checked to make sure that all children had immunization records, that each child was up-to-date with their immunizations, and that each immunization was properly verified by a health provider. Not surprisingly, KCI passed the audit with flying colors! Eight of our nine centers were 100% compliant. East Center had two minor documentation errors that require verification from physician’s offices. With those two minor errors, we were over 99% compliant! Big thanks to Rita Stoufflet, our Health & Nutrition Specialist, for ensuring a successful audit! Also a big thanks to all the Family Advocates who worked with families at enrollment and beyond ensure each child had a current immunization record in their file!



Kids’ Corps, Inc. Children Not Meeting Widely Held Expectations Teaching Strategies Gold, Fall 2012 Checkpoint

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

26%

17%

35%30%

39%31%

57%

33%

24%

39%

Fun Facts about Children Fact 1: The average age children begin to use a microwave is seven. Fact 2: A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. Fact 3: Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight. Fact 4: On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day. Fact 5: Watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children. Fact 6: In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives. Fact 7: Children’s kneecaps only start to turn bony at 3 years of age, until that they are made of cartilage. Fact 8: Both boys and girls in 1600s England and New England wore dresses until they were about seven years old.





The Going Green committee would like to welcome its newest members: Ayla Richardson Michelle McCandless Mai Moua-Calugay

Please contact Charles If you are interested in joining the “Going Green” committee or have an idea to share.

It’s that special time of year when we all want to do something to help make the holidays special for people in our community.

Our Mary Kay Unit has adopted local residents (Elderly, Special Needs, or Shelter Residents) as a Christmas project and we want to present each of them with a special gift for Christmas. This may be the

only gift some of them will receive this holiday.

We’re asking for sponsors in the community to adopt residents for Christmas. Your $20 donation will sponsor a gift for one resident and help bring them joy. Your business card or special message can be included on a card attached to the gift so they know it is from you.

Did you know?

Please help give the gift for the Providence Extended Care Facility. If Interested in Helping Contact Christine Boivin or Thong Lor. Let’s put a Smile on someone Face this Holiday Season.

• Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U. S . Treasury.

• Coca-Cola was originally green. • It is impossible to lick your elbow. • The State with the highest percentage of people who

walk to work: Alaska • The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now

get this...) • The percentage of North America that is wilderness:

38% • The average number of people airborne over the U. S.

in any given hour: 61,000 • Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their

hair. • The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom

Sawyer. • The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile

National Monuments.

Christmas Cares / Adopt-a-Resident Program

• Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:

o Spades - King David o Hearts - Charlemagne o Clubs -Alexander, the Great o Diamonds - Julius Caesar

• Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

o A. One thousand

• Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

o A. All were invented by women.

Editor’s Block by: Vickie Manning Director Chair by Dirk ... · Teamwork Times Dec. 2012 Kids’ Corps, Inc. 2012 Page 1 Editor’s Block by: Vickie Manning Director Chair by Dirk

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