TLC November 2012 Newsletter (English)

It was way back in the early 70’s that Frank Habibian first learned about Thanksgiving. He was a new immigrant to the United States and was touched by the true meaning of Thanksgiving. He was so impressed with the tradition that he decided to invite anyone in St. George who did not have somewhere to go to share Thanksgiving with him and his family. Now, many hundreds of turkeys later, Frank again invites you to:

Free Thanksgiving Feast Thursday November 22

11 am - 4 pm. Red Rock Canyon School 747 East St. George Blvd.

All are welcome! If you would like to volunteer call the Washington County Volunteer Center 674-5757. If you can help by donating a turkey, call Tammy 673-6111. They need them by the 19th.

TLC Gets Ready for our Federal Review

Did you know that The Learning Center for Families has five different home-

visiting programs spread out over two states? It can be hard to tell which

program is which sometimes, even for our staff! This year, between now and

September 2013, we are anticipating a federal review team who will be

looking at all aspects of our Early Head Start program including our sites, our

services and our finances. They are eager to meet with the families who are

enrolled in EHS and find out what the program is doing to help you and your

child be successful. We do not know ahead of time which families they might

chose to visit, but should you be one of them, we are looking forward to

what you have to say about your experience. Continued next page

Head Start kind of has it’s own little language. Here are some of the

terms they might use when asking questions about our program:

Family Partnership Agreement- That is what you developed with your

Learning Consultant that outlines the goals you have for your child

and family. For some of you, your child is also in early intervention

and we have combined the FPA with your Individualized Family

Services Plan (IFSP)

Home Visitor- We call our home visitors Learning Consultants, which

some of you shorten to LC. Imagine the poor reviewer when you are

talking about your “Elsie” and they don’t know who that woman is!

Family Advocate- This is Head Start ‘speak’ for the person who

coordinates your services and helps you find support in the

community. Our Learning Consultants fill both the home visitor and

family advocate role so that someone is with you every week who

can help you get connected and reach your goals.

Socializations- These are our Play Groups

Program Governance- One of the best things about being in Early

Head Start is your opportunity, as parents, to make decisions about

how our program is designed and operated. This is accomplished at

the monthly Parent Committee Meetings at each of our sites.

Representatives to the TLC Policy Council that meets monthly are

also chosen at these meetings.

We are excited to have the federal team here to meet our incredible

families. Should you be one of the lucky families selected for a visit

from a reviewer, whether during a play group or a home visit, just

remember, they are there to observe our staff and program. What

they learn from you helps us tell the TLC story and better serve the

community.

Meanwhile, if you have an idea for some

improvements, please give me a call. I am

a former Head Start parent myself and

value your input into making TLC the

greatest family education program in the USA! Debbie Justice, Director

(435) 673-5353 x101

Continued from page 1

Numeracy Do you ever sit and daydream about what your child’s first day of kindergarten will be like? Perhaps while you are cuddling your 4 month old it is difficult to bring to focus something that is so far off in the future. However, school will be here sooner than you think and there is plenty you can do to make sure your child, and you, are ready.

Generally when we think of being ready for school we think of books, ABCs and the like. But this month our topic will be numeracy. Numeracy is defined as the ability to reason and to apply simple numerical concepts. Most often that brings to mind skills such as counting, adding, subtracting, etc. But math also requires shape identification, size comparisons, classifying and sorting. So getting started early in numeracy will be easy because it is everywhere around us and routine in children’s play. Here’s some easy, fun ideas to make early numeracy a part of your child’s everyday life: For babies: • When you are diaper changing, take a moment to count baby’s toes. You can

make it a giggle-fest by counting slowly on each foot “One! Two! Three! Four . . . ” and with “Five!” you can tickle your fingers all the way up to your wee one’s tummy.

• A basic shape sorter is a great numeracy play thing for an older infant. Better yet, an empty oatmeal container can also be cut with two different sized holes to allow your baby to push blocks and disks into the box.

Young toddlers: • This is the age for seeing how things fit together. Let your little one play with empty containers

that fit one inside another. Various sizes from spreads, yogurt or sour cream containers work just fine for this activity. Use plastic nesting bowls if you have them.

• Share a mathematical teddy bear tea party. You, your child and a stuffed animal can sit in a circle while you ask your child to give a cup to you. “Now give one to Teddy. Now you get one.” As you continue to play, use phrases like “May I have one more?” “Teddy wants one too.” “Here, you take another.”

Older toddlers: • Have your child help you match the socks in the laundry basket by color and

size. Toddlers can also sort the forks and spoons from the dishwasher so that you can put them away.

• Your toddler can help you count at the grocery store. “We need three cans of tuna. Help me count. One, two, three.”

So there you have it! Beginning math. So cinchy you can do it every day. And in just a few short years . . . Your baby will be ready to learn and excel in kindergarten! -Debbie Justice

School Readiness Corner

Fall is a terrific time of year to introduce your little one to new flavors. Try these recipes for a little change up in your eating routine:

Low Sugar Pumpkin Pancakes:

1/3 c whole-wheat or buckwheat

flour

2 tsp dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

pinch salt

1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin (not

pie filling)

2 tsp maple extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

Boiling water, as needed

Directions

Heat non-stick pan over moderate

flame. Combine dry ingredients in a

medium bowl. Add pumpkin and

extracts, followed by enough boiling

water to achieve a batter consistency.

Spoon about 2 tbsp batter per

pancake onto hot pan, brown on both

sides. Can be served

with your favorite syrup,

apple sauce or sour

cream on top. Yum!

Cream of Butternut Squash and Apple Soup:

1 butternut squash about 1 lb.

3 tart green apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

3-1/2 cups water

2 slices white bread

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream

chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.

In a large saucepan combine all ingredients, except

cream and parsley. Bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered for

45 minutes. Remove butternut squash and scoop out the

pulp. Discard the peel and add the pulp to the soup.

Puree with a blender until mixture is smooth (if you do

not have a hand blender, you can do this in a regular

blender in several batches). Return soup to saucepan

and bring to a boil. Just before serving, stir in the cream.

Serve hot and garnish each serving with chopped

parsley. For extra fun for your children, drizzle a smiley

face on top using plain yogurt or sour cream.

Autumn is the perfect season for babies and toddlers. At this age, they are more into learning by destruction rather than construction. So what better way to play and learn with you child then something like . . Playing in the fallen leaves! You can kick them, rip them, fall into them and throw them in the air. Be mindful to keep your child from putting the leaves in their mouth. Another wonderful fall activity is cleaning the seeds out of pumpkins. The squishy, stringy pulp is an exciting texture for small children. Again, you want to be careful that your child doesn’t mouth the pulp. So lots of supervision will be necessary. Worried about the mess? Then strip your child down to a diaper and when you are finished, it’s into the bath we go. This will make for some really cute baby pics. And lastly, cuddling feels extra terrific when the temperatures start to plunge. So grab a book and snuggle up. After all, here in S. Utah, summer is just a few months away! - Debbie Justice

This year is shaping up to be very tough for families to be able to provide for their children during the

holiday season. If you need help, please be sure and let your Learning Consultant know.

Conversely, if you are a family that is feeling abundant this season and can share, please let Stacey

Parra know at 673-5353 x123. We have several deserving families that need to be adopted. Please

note that all families we work with will be listed through a system that prevents them from being

chosen twice, for instance, by you and Coins for Kids.

Let's work together to make the holiday season bright for all children!

Health clinics and doctors’ offices are gearing up for this year’s flu season. The Southwest Public

Health Department has flu vaccine available for $18 or NO CHARGE with some insurances including

Medicaid. Attend your local Flu Shoot-Out or come by the office.

“An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to reduce the chances that you

will get seasonal flu and lessen the chance that you will spread it to others,” says Susan

Peck, SWUPHD Nursing Director. “We have the regular flu shot or the high-dose version

for seniors, along with nasal spray vaccine that is approved for ages two to 49.”

The flu vaccine is formulated to protect against the strains of influenza most

likely to infect people this fall and winter. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises

everyone over 6 months of age to get vaccinated, although special emphasis is placed on

people over 65 years old, pregnant women, and those with chronic health issues. Family members and

caregivers of those groups are also a high priority.

Your healthcare home should have flu vaccines available. However, here are other locations where

you can get immunized to prevent this year’s flu:

Are you ready for the winter… have you had your Flu Vaccine yet?

Beaver Dam

Canyonland Healthcare

3272 East Rio Virgin Road

(928) 347-5971

Mesquite

Southern Nevada Health District

830 Hafen Lane

(702) 346-9161

St. George

Southwest Utah Public Health Department

620 South 400 East

(435) 673-3528

The Learning Center for Families has been serving families with very young children since 1993. It has always been bittersweet that our services have to end once a child turned 36

months of age. That is why we are so excited about our new Healthy Families America program (HFA). Although you have to be pregnant to enroll in HFA, families can stay enrolled until their child turns five years old! This is brand new territory for us and we are tickled to

learn new curriculum for parents of older children. So who is eligible for HFA? HFA is designed to help parents who are currently, or in the past, experiencing a great deal of stress. Like all of our TLC programs, there are some eligibility restrictions:

You must live in Washington County You be pregnant to enroll

In addition to being pregnant you must fall into one of the following categories:

Teenage parent(s), (either parent is under the age of 20) Military parent(s) either currently serving or a veteran

Parent who has ever had an open case with DCFS Parent(s) with history of issues around substance abuse

The eligibility requirements are quite a mish mosh aren’t they? But you only have to meet one criterion and it is not implied that just because you serve in the military, for instance, you

have a history with DCFS. There is no income restriction for this program. If you know a pregnant mother that you believe meets the requirements for this program, please have her call Alicia Weigle, our HFA Supervisor, at (435) 673-5353 x102

What’s to Eat at the November Play Groups? 11/13 LaVerkin- Whole Wheat English Muffin Milk Peaches 11/13 SG & 11/15 CC- Ground Beef Tacos Spanish Rice Refried Beans Milk 11/27 LaVerkin- Happy Hard Boiled Eggs Whole Wheat Toast Banana Slices Milk 11/27 SG & 11/15 CC- Chicken Pot Pie Sweet Corn Fresh Fruit Salad Milk

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Thanksgiving!

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SG Play Strategies

10:00-12:00

LV Play Group

9:30-11:30

SG Play Group

10:00-12:00

SG Play Group

4:00-6:00

SG Play Strategies

10:00-12:00

LV Play Group

9:30-11:30

SG Play Group

10:00-12:00

SG Play Group

4:00-6:00

CC Play Group

5:00-7:00

CC Play Group

5:00-7:00

2044 S. Mesa Palms Drive

St. George, UT 84770

Don’t Forget to

Tuesday November 6