february 2013 the k state center for child development
TRANSCRIPT
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February 2013
Parent
The K-State Center for Child Development Center Mission Statement: The K-State Center for Child Development
provides a family-centered early childhood program in a professional and
nurturing environment that meets the developmental and educational
needs of children, incorporates the experiences and values of all families,
and encourages children to explore their diverse world.
Important Dates
The CCD will have Parent Teacher
Conferences March 4-8
The CCD will be CLOSED
March 8: from 12:45– 5:30 for Parent Teacher Conferences
March 20-22: Teacher Inservice training & Facility Maintenance
In This Issue
Important CCD Dates
Honoring Children’s Art
Childhood Screening
Health Curriculum
Family Traditions & Rituals
Honoring Children’s Art
BIRTH TO FIVE Early Childhood Screening
February 1, 2013 from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Peace Lutheran Church 785-776-6363 Please call in advance to make an
appointment.
Would you like information on your child’s development? The screening
will include vision, hearing, general health and developmental milestones.
Transportation can be arranged if needed. Sponsored by: Manhattan-Ogden
Public Schools, Infant-Toddler Services, Parents As Teachers, and Riley
County Health Department.
Share it: When children bring home lots of art, it may start feeling
overwhelming and not as much like a treasure to you, but it might
brighten the day of a grandma, friend, or neighbor.
Display it: You can’t get another refrigerator, but you can
create special places for children’s art. Hang a string or
yarn on a wall and clip the art to it with clothespins.
Frame it: Frame the really special pieces and hang them
on the wall. You can always change out what is in the frame quarterly.
Store it: Put all the special art work in a big box. At the end of the
year, have children choose which ones to keep in another container. As
children grow older, they enjoy looking back at their earliest art efforts
over the years..
“I finally realized I had painting down to perfec-tion when I could imitate what children drew.” Pablo Picasso
It may take a little time,
but sharing children’s
art, finding a place to
display it, or storing it
away as a keepsake
is well worth the effort.
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Please remember our
holiday policy. We do not
celebrate holidays in our
classrooms, including
Valentine’s Day. If you would like a copy of our full holiday policy,
please let a mem-ber of management know. Thank you.
KSU CCD
Website
Our website will
be updated
monthly with
events,
newsletters,
important dates,
& announce-
ments. Visit
k-state.edu/ccd
Dental Health Facts for Parents of Young Children
February is National Children’s Dental Heath Month. As a part of our “MyGarden To MyPlate” health and nutrition curriculum we will have a lesson on dental care. We’d like to answer common dental care questions asked by parents.
When Should I Start Cleaning My Child’s Mouth?
Clean your baby’s mouth by wiping the gums with a clean washcloth after feedings. This will get your baby used to oral hygiene activities.
Brush baby teeth as they appear, gently with a child-size toothbrush and water, this will continue to make brushing a familiar activity.
At 2yrs old, brush your child’s teeth with a pea-sized amount of non-fluoride toothpaste. Teach them to spit out the toothpaste and rinse thoroughly.
Continue to brush your child's teeth twice a day until they are able to do it properly – you will need to monitor their tooth-brushing until they are 6 or 7 years old.
What if My Child Doesn’t Like Brushing?
Books such as the “Brush, Brush, Brush” board book by Scholastic or “The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist” will be read at the CCD as a part of the “MyTeeth” lesson. Consider purchasing these books for use at home. Often when children see their favorite characters doing an activity they are likely to want to do it themselves.
Let your child pick out their own tooth brush.
After you are finished, allow your child to “brush their own teeth” for a while.
Download the free app, “Time2Brush”, on your smartphone. It has a 2 minute timer, a fun song and each session earns items for the tooth brush character.
Have your child brush their teeth while you brush your teeth so that they understand that it’s a part of everyone’s daily routine.
When Should I Start Taking My Child to the Dentist?
The American Dental Assoc. recommends that parents take children to a dentist no later than their first birthday and then at intervals recommended by their dentist. Although the first visit is mainly for the dentist to examine your child’s mouth and to check growth and development, it’s also about your child being familiar and comfortable. If you don’t have dental insurance you can contact Konza Prairie Community Dental Clinic in Manhattan at (785)320-7291 which is an organization that uses income guidelines to set fees and care cost can be reduced by 25-100%.
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What’s so Important About Family Rituals and Traditions?
More and more families are recognizing the importance of family traditions.
Childhoods zoom by in a flash. All of a sudden, Carla no longer needs her beloved teddy
bear to hold when she goes down for a nap. Riley has outgrown being rocked in the rocking
chair or snuggling first thing in the morning. Meg does not believe in the tooth fairy, and
Connor no longer paints the walls of the bathtub with charming sudsy pictures, nor does he
insist on drinking out of his boot-shaped cup.
Meg Cox, author of The Book of New Family Traditions:
How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays and Every Day,
says, “If parents make an effort to create traditions, and
then routinely, reliably practice those traditions, they
are sending a message very loudly that their kids aren’t
just a bothersome distraction from plowing through
the to-do list but are the central focus of life.”
We often think of holidays when we think of family
traditions. We may fly from faraway places in our efforts to be
together. The preparations for these festive
occasions can take a lot of planning. Presents may be part of the
celebration, and we cook special meals or foods. These are special
times, but it’s good to remember that family rituals can also
celebrate the simple things—such as stopping by the park after
every piano recital or flying a kite every spring.
Bring on the family rituals and
traditions! Celebrate the everyday
moments as well as the once-a-year
holidays. It translates to close families
and even more happy memories!
Ten Good Things Rituals Do for
Children
Impart a sense of identity
Provide comfort and security
Help to navigate change
Teach values
Pass on ethnic or religious heritage
Teach practical skills
Solve problems
Keep alive a sense of depart-ed family members
Help heal from loss or trauma
Generate wonderful memo-ries
Cox describes a ritual as a “series of actions we parents perform
intentionally, in a particular order with prescribed words and actions.”
This might be reading a bedtime story every night or always kissing a boo
-boo. Ellen Galinsky, cofounder of the Families and Work Institute, and
author of Ask the Children, found through extensive research that what
children remembered most about their childhoods weren’t the family
feasts, or gifts or the huge celebrations, but simple gestures of affection or
made-up stories. These are the things that make children feel like a
cherished member of the family.