Will you be my valentine? These are words used to communicate a message or make a con-

nection. Our infants and toddlers might not have words yet but they have many ways of

communicating their needs and desires. Being a responsive caregiver includes taking time to

observe how they are trying to communicate and then positively responding. Responsive

interactions required knowing the essentials:

No two children or families are alike

Slowing down to observe and wonder about a child or family helps you understand

them

Responsive interactions requires you to take cues from a child and follow the child’s lead

Everyday routines provide opportunities for engaging in responsive interactions

Until next month – Wishing you well!

Click on the picture to view

Responsive Interactions Video. —>

Cathy Gaskin Education Coordinator 903-988-7635 cgaskin@esc7.net

Early Head Start Education Services February 2016

Spring Calendar & Deadlines March 3rd CPR 9:00am – 3:30pm Session 047962 Pine

Room March 4th Teacher Made Books 12:00pm – 3:00pm Session

048181 PFK March 18th EHS 3rd Parent Contact Due April 18th – May 20th GOLD PLUS

April 19th CPR 9:00am – 3:30pm Session 047932 Pine Room

May 6th - EHS Assessment # 3

May 12th School Readiness 9:00am – 1:00pm Session 047093 Dogwood Room

School Readiness Goals 2015-2016

*The data driving these goals was drawn from Teaching Strategies Gold student/Mental Health/Health/Program

Compliance/Disabilities/Nutrition data and are subjective to revision after each assessment.

Approaches to Learning

Children will manage emotions with increasing independence.

Children will manages actions, words, and behavior with increasing independence.

Social & Emotional Development

Children will engage in positive relationships with adults and peers.

Children will begin to develop and demonstrate control over some of their feelings and behaviors

(self- regulation.)

Language & Literacy

Language Goal- Children will develop strong receptive and expressive language skills in order to

establish meaningful relationships and connections with others and the world around them.

Literacy Goal- Children will increase literacy skills in order to establish a strong foundation for

reading and writing.

Cognition

Children will learns to use a variety of strategies in solving problems.

Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development

Children will demonstrate control, strength and coordination using large muscles for movement and

position.

*Revised 12/4/2015

Region 7 ESC Head Start 1909 N. Longview St., Kilgore, TX. 75662/903.988.6700/Fax 903.988.6945

DISABILITIES February Focus: Language Development—Sounds

Language is the foundation of all learning, so developing the language of your students is key! If you have concerns, please contact Gina Akin, EHS Disabilities!

NUTRITION & HEALTH American Heart Month

The American Heart Association recommends 60 minutes of physical activity in children. All children age 2 and older should:

Participate in at least 60 minutes of enjoyable, moderate-intensity physical activities every day that are developmentally appropriate and varied.

If children don’t have a full 60-minute activity break each day, try to provide at least two 30-minute periods or four 15-minute periods in which they can engage in vigorous activities appropri-ate to their age, gender and stage of physical and emotional development.

Kid Activities for Healthy Heart month.

Decorate classroom with hearts and have children wear on their shirt a red heart. These can be made and decorated by the chil-dren.

Plan a day filled with “healthy” heart fun, aerobic activities that get children up and moving. You may want to set up several skill stations.

While dining with your children, show them how to eat slowly and enjoy every bite of a meal. Talk about the food. Why is a vegeta-ble serving larger than a serving of something loaded with fat or calories? What can we eat to keep us healthy and strong? Go out-side to play. Don’t just stand and watch from the sideline; move! Walk or run in place or do some jumping jacks. Show your students how easy it is to be active and healthy!

MENTAL HEALTH My toddler is biting, what do I do?

Try to locate stressors in the toddler’s life: Not enough struc-ture, too much structure, not enough rest, eating, bowel hab-its, connection, attunement, etc.

Start a stress reduction program at home and school. More touching (skin to skin), body massage games (I am saying

goodnight/goodbye to your legs, arms, hands, fingers, head, etc.)

I Love You Rituals with attuned interactions Chest and lap time while downloading calm More visual schedules and routines Shadowing and teething necklace: There is nothing you can do

to help a child learn other ways of getting his or her needs met after the bite has occurred. You must catch the child before the bite. Most bites occur during transitions and non-structured time. Have a person shadow the child who is biting. When the child begins to bite:

Toss the teething cloth into the child’s open mouth. The mouth will close.

Say, “You wanted _____(take an educated guess as to what the child wanted). Say _____(acceptable words) or do _____(acceptable action)!”

Firmly say, “STOP. No bite! Ouch (make pained face) biting hurts.”

Make visuals of alternatives to biting: My turn, play, move, etc. After age three, children usually bite when they feel powerless

or scared, such as when they are losing a fight or think they are going to be hurt by another person. Children older than three who frequently bite other people may need to be seen by a doctor. This type of biting may be a sign that a child has prob-lems with expressing feelings or self-control.

Infants up to 1 year old

Focus on building receptive language, or understanding the language you hear. Talk to the children ALL THE TIME! Talk about what you are doing as you move through the day’s ac-tivities. Notice and talk about what is going on in the environ-ment around them. Sing songs and read poems and stories each day!

Toddlers

Focus on vocabulary and work on making beginning sounds! Continue talking about all of the day’s activities, being sure to name all of the objects and actions throughout the day. En-courage the children to imitate sounds. Start with simple vowel sounds. For 2-year-olds, move on to making the follow-ing sounds:

/b/ - such as baby /d/ - such as dada /m/ - such as mama /p/- such as papa /n/ - such as no or nana

5-7 months 8-13 months 15-36 months

Why Teething or dis-

comfort around

the mouth

Overexcited Stressed, frustrated, as a

strategy to get some-

thing, often during tran-

sitions

Who Caregivers Caregiver or

child nearby

Children

What To Do Teething rings

Overreact to bite

with face and

sounds (ouch!)

Overreact with

"ouch" and face.

"Biting hurts." A.C.T.

method

Downloading

throughout the day to

regulate

Locate and reduce

stressors

Start stress reduction

program, secure during

transitions

Shadow to interfere

Use biting intervention

strategy

Message "My mouth hurts.

Help!"

"I'm so excited, I'm

over aroused. Help!"

"I know no other way to

get what I want or ex-

press myself. Help!"