Encouraging Literacy Skills in Little Ones

A couple of times a year we are privileged to have Student Teachers work with us to learn more about early intervention as they prepare to complete an Early Childhood Education degree.  At the end of the student teaching time, these future teachers are asked to provide a small training on a topic of their choice to the staff.  One of our amazing student teachers recently taught on early literacy.  I want to share the suggestions she shared with us.

Early Literacy Behaviors

Book Handling

Behaviors related to a child's physical manipulation or handling of books such as page turning and chewing.

Looking and Recognizing

Behaviors related to how children pay attention to and interact with pictures in books, such as gazing at pictures, laughing at favorite pictures.  Child shows recognition of and a beginning understanding of pictures in books.

Picture and Story Comprehension

Behaviors that show a child's understanding of pictures and events in a book such as imitating an action seen in a picture or talking about the event in a story

Story-Reading Behaviors

Behaviors that include children's verbal interactions with books and their increasing understanding of print in books such as babbling in imitation of reading or running fingers along printed words.

Things to Do to Encourage Literacy Skills

• Talk with babies, they love to hear voices
• Play and interact with babies, they learn through touching, banging, shaking, mouthing, dropping and rolling toys
• Give choices
• Sing songs
• Tell stories
• Look at photo albums
• Encourage kiddo's to make sounds and actions
• Talk about things you are doing together, name things
• Ask questions
• Scribble, draw, and color together
• FOLLOW THE CHILD'S LEAD

Ideas on How to Share a Book

• Make it fun
• Talk and sing about the pictures
• Let the child turn the pages
• Make stories come alive by creating voices and sounds
• Make it personal, share family memories and stories
• Ask questions about the story, allow the children to ask questions as well
• Spend a few minutes on a book - you don't need to finish the book
• Make books part of the daily routine, meal times, in the car or bus, doctor's office, bath time, naptime, etc.
• Let the child tell the story 

I hope these tips help make books enjoyable to you and your child!

Parent Portal

Some of you may have already realized the benefit of the Parent Portal.  With our fully functioning, secure data base, you are able to have your child's Individual Family Service Plan and all the visit reports at your fingertips!  If you haven't logged onto the Parent Portal yet, give it a try and let us know what you think.

When a document like the Individual Family Service Plan or visit report is completed, it is saved in our data base and you automatically receive an email with a link to access the document.  The email gives step-by-step directions to see the current document or all the available information.  You also have the option to no longer receive notification when something is finalized in BTOTS (the Baby Watch data base).  If you have chosen not to receive notification and then decide you would like to have access to the Parent Portal, let your service provider know and they can allow you access.

The process for accessing these documents is simple.  You will receive an email with options to look at the most recently finalized document, access all your child's documents or unsubscribe.  Once you choose which option you would like, you will be asked some security questions.  This is so that we can protect the confidentiality of your child's information.  However, once you have answered these security questions, the data base will recognize your device and next time you access the Parent Portal using that device, you won't be required to answer the security questions.

We are currently working to become as paperless as possible.  If you are currently receiving handwritten visit reports, please take a look at the Parent Portal.  The information is also available online.

So when you receive an email from do-not-reply-parent-portal@utah.gov, take a look and use the available information to help your child reach their goals.

July Community Activities

Happy July!  There are so many fun things going on this month!  Just make sure you and your little ones are drinking lots of water to stay hydrated!

Also, before creating your own firework display, please check your city's restrictions.

North Salt Lake City:
July 3 - Annual Fireworks show with food and fun and live music starting at 6:30 pm with fireworks beginning at 10:00 pm at the Eaglewood Golf Course.

West Bountiful:
July 3 - 6:00 pm Safety Fair at City Park followed by concerts and other activities.
             10:00 Fireworks display

July 4 - 7:30 am  Flag Raising at City Hall
             10:30 am  Parade
             11:30 - 2:00 Fun for free and Food for purchase at City Park

Bountiful:
July 23 - 24 - Bountiful Handcart Days
July 23rd -12:00 to 10:00 pm enjoy food, entertainment, games, and rides at Bountiful City Park. 6:00 pm is the Parade
10:00 Fireworks at Mueller Park Jr. High

July 24th enjoy more food, entertainment, games and rides from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Centerville:
July 3 - 6:30 pm Children's Parade at the White Church (160 South 200 East)  All children are invited to participate
             7:00 pm Activities in the Park at Founders Park
             9:45 pm Fireworks

July 4 - 7:00 am Breakfast in the Park
             9:00 am Parade on Main
            10:30 am Activities and Entertainment in the Park

July 17 - Movies in the Park  - "Annie" begins at dusk

July 31 - Movies in the Park - "Lego Movie" begins at dusk

Farmington:
Farmington Festival Days are July 6th - July 11th
Check the city website for a complete list of activities.  Here are a few:
July 6 - 7:30 pm Kids Bike Parade at Forbush Park
             Dusk - Movie Night "The Sandlot" at Forbush Park

July 11 - 7:00 - 9:00 am  Breakfast in the Park
               10:00 am Parade beginning at 500 North and Main and ending at 200 South and 200 West
               12:00 - 10:00 pm Festival Booths and Entertainment
               6:00 pm Free Ice Cream in the Park
              10:00 pm Fireworks at Forbush Park

Kaysville:
July 3 - 7:00 pm  Block Party on Main in front of the Kaysville Theater

July 4 - 7:30 am  Breakfast at the DATC  $5/person
             11:00 am Parade
             5:00 - 9:30 pm  Family Festival in the DATC Basin
             10:00 pm Fireworks

Layton:
July 4 - Layton Liberty Days Celebration
             6:00 - 10:00 am Breakfast in the Park at Layton Commons Park Bowery  $5/person or $22/family of 5 between 6:00 and 8:00. After 8:00 it will be $6/person and $24/family of 5.
             8:30 am Flag Raising Ceremony at the Ed Kenley Amphitheater
             10:15 am Kids Bike Parade
             10:30 am Parade Begins
             12:30 pm Concessions, Vender booths, and Entertainment at Layton Commons Park
             10:00 pm  Fireworks

Clearfield:
July 2 - 7:00 - 9:00  Free admission to the Clearfield Aquatic Center for a Beach Party/Family Fun Night
             Dusk - Free Family Movie at Fisher Park "Paddington"

July 4 - 7:00 - 10:00 am  Pancake Breakfast (Boy Scout Fundraiser) at Kent's Market - Adults $5, Kids 10 and under $2 or $15 for a family of 4
             9:30 am  Hometown Parade starts at City Hall
             6:00 pm  Festival at Fisher Park
             10:00 Fireworks

West Point:
July 4 - 6:00 am Flag Raising Ceremony at Loy Blake Park (550 North 3500 West)
             6:30 - 9:00 am  Community Breakfast at Loy Blake Park in the Large Bowery  $5/person or $25/family of 6
             8:30 am  Grand Parade from the LDS Stake Center at 2300 West 550 North heading south to 300 North and west to 3650 West
             10:00 am - 2:00 pm  Kids Corner - activities for kids ages 2 to 12 at Loy Blake Park
             6:00 pm Picnic in the Park at the Big Bowery.  Drinks available for purchase.  No charge for dinner if you are a West Point resident.
             Dark - Fireworks

Clinton:
July 8 - 11 - Clinton Heritage Days
Please check the city website for a full list of activities.  Here are just a few:
July 8 - 10 - 4:00 - 10:00 pm Carnival open

July 10 - 9:15 pm  Movie in the Park at The Clock Tower

July 11 - 7:30 am  Macey's Community Breakfast  $5/plate or $20/family
               9:00 am Parade
               10:00 Vender booths and Carnival open
               10:00 pm  Fireworks

Sunset:
July 17 - 18  Sunset FunDays
Please check the city website for a full list of activities.  Here are just a few:
July 17 - 4:00 pm  Carnival opens at Central Park
               9:30 pm  Movie in the Park "Big Hero 6"

July 18 - 7:00 am  Breakfast in the Park at Central Park  $3/person
               10:00 am Parade on 250 West
               11:00 Carnival opens at Central Park
               12:00 Kids Corner Make and Take at Central Park Bowery
               Dusk Sky Divers and Fireworks at Central Park

Don't forget the regular activities, like Story time at the Library or Family First Monday at Station Park on July 6 from 5:30 to 7:30.  The theme for July is Whoopee Water Play.

Lil' Flippers Summer Activities

Last week we held our Lil' Flipper Summer Community Activities.  We had so much fun!  Thank you to Brittanie and her staff for helping us out with this activity!  They do a great job!

Lil' Flippers offers a class for Special Needs kiddos from 4 months to 3 years old.  These classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00 am.  You can stop by the office and schedule your free trial class!  The Special Needs class helps with developing large and small motor skills, cognitive learning, social skills and behaviors, and listening skills. 

Brittanie also offers a special needs preschool.  Ask her for more information if you are interested! You can contact Lil' Flippers at 801 593-8484.

Thank you Brittanie and your staff for another fun community event!

The Value of Make-Believe

This is an excerpt from Toddler 411 by Denise Fields and Ari Brown, M.D.

Do you remember playing dress up or cops and robbers as a little kid?  Of course, you do.  Kids love to pretend, if given the opportunity.  Why the heck do kids do this?  And why is it important that we give them the opportunity?

Kids like to pretend because it gives them the chance to work out situations they experience in real life.  This is part of normal development.  And it's a red flag if a child doesn't pretend, imitate, or have "symbolic" play.

Psychologists think pretend play helps kids develop critical thinking skills and something called "self-regulation."  A self-regulated child controls his behavior and emotion.  Self-regulated kids not only do better in school, with lower dropout rates, but they succeed on all levels of development.

Some researches feel that the changes in the way children have played over the past 60 years has taken its toll on children's emotional and intellectual development.  As kids play more with structured toys and less with just their imaginations, self-regulation has declined.  Translation: lots of expensive "developmental" toys aren't necessarily a good thing.

When kids play independently and pretend, they make up their own rules and follow them.  They talk to themselves about what they are doing.  That inner voice equates to self-regulation.  As a child gets older, he has more elaborate pretend play with other kids.  He has to act out his role, remember what the other actors are doing, and improvise on the plot twists.  That requires self-control.

As one developmental researcher, Dr. Adele Diamond, points out, we might have fewer kids diagnosed with ADHD if more kids learned self-regulation as toddlers and preschoolers.

The message: just let your kid keep on pretending. . . and give him the free time to do it.

Sensory Issues

This post was submitted by Carol Trillia, a Developmental Specialist with Davis Early Intervention.

Have you ever planned a trip to the children's museum with one of your friends who also has a toddler similar in age as yours?

In this next scenario you may find some similarities to what you have experienced.

You are excited to visit with your friend, you make it to the museum, as soon as you park your toddler starts to become upset, the parking garage is cold and echoes! You go up the stairs and now it is bright and hot!  By the time you make it in the door your child is really upset. You meet your friend and while you are in line, things really fall apart… your child is screaming on the floor,  you are desperately trying to pay and console at the same time….

You make it through the doors and things are now loud, shiny, smelly, and children are running all over. Your little one is now having a full fledged meltdown… You feel awful. Your  friend's little one toddles off enjoying all the chaos, while you are left trying to calm yours… So,  you pull out all your magic tricks; blankie, cup, snacks but  things get worse…  You try holding, cajoling, bribing, distracting all to no avail… so you apologize to your friend and head to the car, within 10 minutes he is singing "itsy bitsy spider"  in his seat! Now you are the one who wants to scream!

We have seven senses: Touch, Vision, Smell, Taste, Hearing, Proprioceptive  ( sensory receptor, found in muscles, tendons, joints, and the inner ear, 

that detects the motion or position of the body ) and Vestibular (balance: where the body is in regards to time and space).

Children with a disorganized sensory system, have a hard time regulating.

They become very agitated with very little.

Their sensory system is constantly being overloaded with information, and they have a hard time filtering out unimportant sensory information. Little things can be very overwhelming, such as light, smells, tastes, touch, noise, movement, etc.  Things that  normally don't bother children who don't have sensory issues, can become very devastating for a child with a Sensory  Issues.

If you know what things trigger your child's sensory overloads, you can work on minimizing exposure and concurrently work on desensitizing.

You can help your child,  by having him/her wear sun glasses or a hat, when it is bright. Ear muffs or sound canceling head phones if the environment is going to be loud.

Also plan short visits rather than long ones. (Be prepared to leave)

Park in a parking garage ,sit and wait a little,  get out slowly and if necessary get back in the car, talk about what you hear and see, take your time, let the child familiarize him/herself with the new surroundings..

If you are going to a store, make the visit short, have the child very involved in the shopping experience, be empathetic and talk about the experiences. Become hyper alert to all sensations, light, smells, temperature, sounds etc.

Keep in mind that simple things as fluorescent lighting can be very alerting and disrupting for your child's  fragile sensory system .

At home practice smelling, tasting, touching, swinging, etc . Prepare the child for an adventure.

"We are going to… and we are going to …"

If your child becomes upset, take a break, find a quiet place where the child can re-organize and relax… try again… if it doesn't work, you will have to leave and try another time…

Most children with hyper alert sensory systems have a hard time verbalizing what is bothering them. This is because,  there are a multitude of things that can be causing the overload, and pinpointing a  specific one  can be very challenging, especially for a toddler.

In order for your child to understand, what he/she is going through you need to help him/her figure out the problem. When you start to identify the triggers, label them "oh! it is too bright!", or "It is so loud!", etc. labeling and empathizing helps the child identify and later verbalize.  Once you and your child start to identify triggers, you can work on desensitizing, by talking about the trigger and finding ways to cope.  If  noise is a trigger, work on wearing ear muffs… Start at home, it will take a lot of practice before your child understands and accepts some sort of solution… Patience and a lot of sympathy are needed in order to help your child navigate this world that keeps bombarding him/ her with millions of sensations.

June Activities

Happy Summer!  Finally the weather is warming up!  Here are some great Community Activities to enjoy this month!

June 1st

• Family First at Station Park  5:30 to 7:30 pm  The theme for June is Princess and Pirate Party. Enjoy free face painting, a balloon artist, story telling, Princesses and Pirates!

June 6th 

• Free Fishing Day from 10:00 am to Noon at Any Adams Community Fishery (1800 East Gordon Ave.).  Activities include fishing contests, a fish fry demonstration and samples, and prizes.  You do not need a fishing license for this activity.

June 12th

• Down Syndrome Families United at Legacy Park "Splash Pad" (1140 West 1100 North, North Salt Lake).  4:00 - 7:00 pm.  Bring your family and a picnic.  Have fun and meet other families.  Questions - call/text 801 783-6329.
•  Polynesian Festival Concert at City Hall in West Bountiful  7:00 pm.  A Luau-like celebration of Polynesian dancing and music - Expect fun audience participation.
• Concert in the Park at City Park in Bountiful (200 West 400 North) 7:00pm

June 13th

• Arts and Music Festival at Heritage Park in Kaysville (150 North Fairfield Rd.) beginning at 6:00 am with Yoga in the Park and ending with the Lego Movie at 8:30 pm.  Enjoy a full day of arts and music.

June 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th

• Free Summer Matinee Movies on Thursdays and Fridays at 12:00 and 2:15 pm.  All movies are rated G and PG.  First come first seated at Kaysville Theater.  (No movie on July 24th)

June 19th and 20th

• Coats for Kids Car Show on Bountiful Main Street

June 21st

• FATHERS DAY!!!!

June 26th

• Concert in the Park at City Park in Bountiful (200 West 400 North)  7:00pm
• Woods Cross Annual Garden Walk on June 26th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and June 27th from 9:00 to 11:00 am.  Check the website for details (woodscross.com)

Don't forget our Lil' Flippers Activity days for children in Early Intervention and their siblings.  June 23rd at 9:00 for the crawlers and scooters and June 25th at 9:00 for the walkers.  Crawlers/Scooters and Walkers have been each given designated days, but if you can't make it on that day, please come on the other one.  Please let your service provider or myself know if you are planning to come and how many children you will bring.  (Mandy 801 402-5403 or mzeschke@dsdmail.net)