Inside This Issue:

Toddler Play & Sleep Tips

1

Coloring Fun & Autumn Song

2

More Toddler Play & Pumpkin Patches

3

Pumpkin Recipes & Carving Alternatives

4

A Parent’s Report From Camp Gizmo ‘14

5

What’s Available at the Martinsburg Library?

6 & 7

Birth to Three Parents Share Experiences

8

It might look like just child's play, but toddlers are hard at work learn-ing important physical skills as they gain mus-cle control, balance, and coordination. Each new skill lets them progress to the next one, building on a foun-dation that leads to more complicated physical tasks, such as jumping rope, kicking a ball on the run, or turning a cartwheel.

Toddlers always want to do more, which can motivate them to keep trying until they acquire a new skill, no matter what it takes.

Take advantage of your toddler's natural desire to keep moving. Even at this early age, kids es-tablish patterns of activi-ty that carry through the rest of childhood.

So, an active toddler is likely to remain active later.

I’m Developing Skills

Playing and learning are completely natural for toddlers, so mastering

physical skills should be fun and games for them. Parents should give tod-dlers many opportuni-ties to practice their de-veloping skills while providing supervision so they stay safe while they learn.

In addition to these physical accomplish-ments, toddlers are de-veloping in other ways.

Provide opportunities for your toddlers to explore, ask questions, use his or her imagination, and practice fine motor skills, such as stacking blocks or coloring. www.kidshealth.org

Tidbits Volume 1, Issue 3

For Toddlers, It’s Much More Than Just Play

2014 West Virginia Birth to Three RESA 8 Newsletter

Do you know of a child

who is not moving,

hearing, seeing, learning

or talking like

others his age?

WV Birth to Three may

be able to help.

Call (304) 267-3595 or

1-866-681-4957.

Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

According to kidshealth.org, toddlers between the ages of one and two need 10 - 13 hours of sleep a day. Parents can choose how to best divide that time between nighttime sleep and naptime. We all know that getting a busy toddler to bed can seem like a struggle. Try to stick to a predictable routine, starting with a reminder to wind down well before bedtime.

Here are some additional strategies for successful bedtime:

Turn off the TV, video games and computer at least 30 minutes before bedtime Include soothing activities such as storytime Keep bedtime consistent

The Leaves of the Trees (To the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus")

The leaves of the trees turn orange and red orange and red, orange and red The leaves of the trees turn orange and red All through the town.

The leaves of the trees come tumbling down tumbling down, tumbling down The leaves of the trees come tumbling down All through the town. The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish All through the town. - Irmgard Guertges

Tidbits Page 2

Some Fall Color Fun!

How Much Play Time for Toddlers? (A lot!)

Page 3 Volume , Issue

How Much Activity Is Enough?

For children 12-36 months old, current Nation-al Association for Sports and Physical Educa-tion (NASPE) guidelines recommend this much daily activity: at least 30 minutes of structured physical activity (adult-led) at least 60 minutes unstructured physical activity (free play)

As a general rule, tod-dlers should not be in-active for more than one hour at a time, except for sleeping. That's a lot of work for parents and caregivers, but a lot of much-needed activ-ity for toddlers!

Encourage your toddler to be active, and re-member that he or she is learning a whole lot along the way.

Here's a guide to the physical skills toddlers are working, by age:

Early Toddler Skills (12-24 months) walks independently pulls/carries toys while walking stoops and gets back up begins to run kicks a ball holds railing going up/down stairs walks backward

Older Toddler Skills (24-36 months) balances 1 to 2 seconds on one foot climbs well bends over easily without falling runs well kicks ball forward both feet on step going up/down stairs starts to pedal tricycle throws ball over head

Reviewed by Mary L. Gavin, MD, July 2011 www.kidshealth.org

Where Can I Pick My Own Pumpkin (& Take Cute Pictures)?

Orr’s Farm Market – Martinsburg The pumpkin patch is open from mid-September to Halloween. Enjoy the hayride, small corn maze and pick a pumpkin. Location: 682 Orr Drive Ridgefield Farm and Orchard – Harpers Ferry Pick a pumpkin, enjoy a hayride, and get confused in the Corn Maze. Location: 414 Kidwiler Road Brookedale Farms – Keyser Come take a hayride out to the corn maze! This farm is open every weekend from Sept. 6 - October 26. Find more at brookedalefarm.com or 304-298-3760. Town & Country Nursery – Kearneysville Pick a pumpkin, take a tractor ride out to the corn and hay mazes. Feed a goat, too! Free parking & fresh produce available. Location: 1885 Darke Lane, ¾ of a mile from the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. 304-725-1252 Old McDonald’s Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze – Inwood Pumpkins, gourds and winter squash plus hayrides and corn maze plus the “Kiddie Korn Kastle.” Sept. 27- Oct. 31, 304-229-1723 Location: 1597 Arden Nollville Road. Find more at oldmcdonaldspumpkinpatch.com.

Find the most comprehensive list at

www.wvagriculture.org

No Knives Necessary for Jack-o-Lanterns

If you want a hands-on, sensory-rich Jack-o-Lantern experience minus the sharp knives, consider fun alternatives like painting your pumpkin, getting out the glitter glue and puffy paint, raiding your Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head supplies or even making your pumpkin his very own costume.

Craft stores also offer a wide variety of sticky foam and felt shapes and ideas.

Page 4 Tidbits

Easy, Tasty & Versatile Pumpkin Dip

Great for dipping apples, pears, celery, pretzels, baby carrots or whatever you want.

8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature 1 cup light brown sugar ¾ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (or pureed fresh roasted pumpkin)

First blend cream cheese and sugar together, then add spices and finally the pumpkin.

Health Benefits from Pumpkins & Pumpkin Seeds

You may already know that pumpkins are low in calories and contain no saturated fats or

cholesterol. They are also rich in fiber and anti-oxidants, and they are loaded with Vitamin

A and Vitamin C. Use pumpkin in soup, pie, muffins, cookies, smoothies and more!

Raw kernels or roasted, pumpkin seeds are a healthy, crunchy satisfying snack loaded with

fiber, vitamins and minerals. Pumpkin seeds can be added to salads, granola bars, breads,

biscuits or casseroles.

To roast pumpkin seeds, toss washed seeds lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt or what-

ever spices you like most, and roast at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Volume , Issue Page 5

Camp Gizmo: It’s Better than Great

A Parent’s Report from Camp Gizmo 2014

Laura Turman is the WV Birth to Three Parent Partner for RAU-8.

You may have heard, “Camp Giz-mo is really great -- you should go!” We did not go for several years. Then, my role expanded from being a special needs moth-er to mother and WV Birth to Three Parent Partner for RAU-8. As a result, attending be-came this summer’s big event for my own family and so that I would know first-hand what the experience can be for Birth to Three fami-lies like mine.

The WV School for the Deaf and Blind in Rom-ney, WV graciously hosts this five-day camp, and the campus accommodations were ideal for our two-parent, two-kid crew, typ-ical of many families we met. Families bring scooters and bicy-cles and swimming suits and balls; the school has a pool, a basketball court, an play area with jungle gym equipment and lots of pleasant green grassy space. Our “focus family” team of WVU graduate students, a returning parent, and a school speech ther-apist, was led by psychologist Colleen Moran of Charleston. Loaded with biographical infor-mation about our daily life, the team guided us through a series of evaluations in the Mobility Lab, Self-Care Lab, the Sensory Lab,

the Vision Lab and an Augmenta-tive Communication Lab. During these sessions, teams of profes-sionals assessed our family’s needs. Additionally, families like ours depart not only having had a (fun!) one-stop opportunity to test

new strollers, walkers, bicy-cles, spoons, plates, lights, toys, swings and more - they exit with ideas for bringing new equipment and strate-gies into a child’s daily life.

This is what we needed

most: to try different things, to see what worked best for our son, and to know how to get what he needs.

Days were decidedly full. Team meetings were followed by Gen-eral Session presentations about sensory processing and behavior, assistive technology and the law, parent rights and responsibilities regarding special education, and a resource panel for special needs families.

All kids attend Kids Camp, and brothers and sisters could join “Sib Shop” to enjoy a stress-free environment to discuss life as a special needs sibling.

Everyone could visit the Make & Take lab to assemble all sorts of sensory rich toys using donated materials. (You can do a lot with dollar store Mardi Gras beads and hair gel!)

Like others, we had swimming pool time with physical therapists and evaluations with speech ther-apists. We tested computers and switches, ate too much ice cream and attended moms and dads only support groups.

We saw familiar WV Birth to Three faces, met lots of wonder-ful families and professionals, and like others, we were able to sit down with some of the state’s most important advocates for special needs children.

Thanks to Camp Gizmo, we feel better equipped than ever about what we need to do next for our son’s healthy development.

For once, we felt just like every other family in the crowd!

Bicycles are fun and they can help

with a child’s walking gait, too!

Beyond Books at the Martinsburg Public Library Keeping Children Engaged & Participating

To say that Martinsburg chil-dren’s librarian Jane Levitan is enthusiastic about her work is an understatement. Jane is pas-sionate when describing all that the Berkeley County library has to offer, which, as you would ex-pect, goes far beyond books. Patrons can expect to find a wide variety of children’s books; they might not expect to find board books in Chinese, Span-ish, Russian, German and French and other languages.

Combination bags containing books with CD’s are available, although patrons can certainly make up their own combina-tions, too! Jane was eager to provide Birth to Three families with some book suggestions. Jane knows her stuff, and she singled out books that the librar-ians really enjoy reading to groups of children who come to the library’s reading times. Her book choices work well in a home setting, too.

“Call & Response” books have a lot of repetition, which children love, and they are a great way to get a child energized about reading and saying (or shouting) words or phrases. Jane says keeping children engaged and participating is key.

Some children are drawn to tex-tures, and Jane said the library has lots of children’s books with a sensory component. Also, for active listeners, there are lots of books aimed at getting kids up and moving around.

Check out a Play Away View for one week.

If you think this is Uncle Ned and not a bunny rabbit, then you must be reading “Guess

Again,“ by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex.

“What Will The Fat Cat Sit

On?” by Jan Thomas encour-ages listeners to yell out,

“NOOOOOO!” if the fat cat threatens to sit on a cow.

Adults cardholders can check out nifty Play Away

Views. These are essential-ly personal mini DVD play-ers pre-loaded with a series

of your favorite children’s books or docu-mentary type program.

Supply your own earphones and you’ve got 8 hours of

content per viewer!

SENSORY BOOKS, TOO!

Lots of children’s library books have a sensory component, and

“Pop Warhol’s Top” by Julie Appel introduces young readers

to one influential artist while allowing them to feel textures on

different tactile pages.

Braille for the whole family in a beautifully illustrated book called “To Market, To Market” by Anne Miranda. Fabulous illustrations

plus the text in Braille on each page!

If you want to know what a duck

says in Japan, check out “Everywhere the Cow Says

Moo,” by Ellen Slusky Weinstein. (Guess what? Everywhere,

the cow says ______!)

“Tap Tap Bang Bang,” by Emma Garcia is a colorful

book filled with tools and all the fun sounds they make! Children can “cree craw”,

“chippity chip” and “zzzzzz” with the tools and see what

can be made from them.

Movement books also do a great job of keeping a child’s attention! Check out this very large and beautifully illustrated

book by Eric Carle called “Head to Toe.”

The Berkeley County Library in downtown Martinsburg will offer Lap Babies for parents and 0 – 2 year olds starting in October, meeting once a week,

generally on Wednesdays, beginning at 10:30. Pre-schoolers can participate on Thursdays and Fridays at 10:30, also starting in October. On weekends, the whole

family can join in for reading and crafts activities every Saturday at 10:30.

The good news is that your child is transitioning out of Birth to Three! The sad news is that your child is transitioning out of Birth to Three! Like many Birth to Three parents, Amanda Mowery is grateful for the team who comes to her house to work with 2-year old Liam. Because Liam was her first child and she was a new mother, Amanda relies on her developmental specialist to let her know what’s “normal” and what issues may be cause for concern. Liam is deaf, and none of their friends or family members had a deaf child, and so Amanda knew from the beginning that she had to learn a “whole new language,” and she would have barriers to overcome. Amanda says her Birth to Three team helped the family get signing DVD’s and an FM system which amplifies voices for children with cochlear implants. Futhermore, her team helped her connect with other families who were going through similar experiences. “They’re always looking out for you, even if you don’t realize you need it.” Transitioning away from this level of attentiveness might seem daunting, but Amanda says her team has helped make im-portant connections for Liam’s next step, pre-school and kindergarten. Amanda knows she will have IEP’s in the future. She feels confident, though, and says that Birth to Three has prepared her to pay attention to Liam and what he needs.

RoShal Saenz felt “pretty well informed,” when it came time for her daughter, Averie, to transition to the public school system. She said her team told her what to expect in addition to attending their first IEP meeting. RoShal says that Averie’s Birth to Three speech therapist was “awesome” and knew exactly what was needed from the school. RoShal appreciates that now she will act as her child’s advocate. To address Averie’s speech ther-apy and sensory processing concerns, she does feel that the services are there for her daughter, but she may have to work to get those services. She said that public school has been very good. Like Amanda, RoShal appreciates that her Birth to Three team was “always on top of things.” When it came to helping her, she said it was “never a bother for them.” Information about transitioning starts well before your child’s third birthday (4-6 months before), so families have lots of time to ask questions about the next stages if services are still necessary. Families’ service coordinators will assist with meetings with the public school, Head Start or others at least 90 days before the child’s third birthday. Families have time to prepare and ask questions before their next step.

WV Birth to Three is administered by the Department of

Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health,

Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health

in cooperation with the Early Intervention

Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC).

Region 8 Regional Administrative Unit

109 South College Street

Martinsburg, WV 25401

Transitioning Out of Birth to Three:

Be your child’s best advocate