GMCAA Early Childhood Programs Newsletter

May 13, 2013 Volume 7, Issue 4

GMCAA Executive Dir ector, Tom Reed GMCAA Planner/Hel p Me Grow Director, Teresa Varian Find us on Facebook gallimeigscaa.webs.com

Gallia Meigs CAA Early Childhood Programs

Upcoming Events
Please check for cancellations and changes

call 992-5266 or 1-866-219-0110 to register if you will be attending any of the activities! Thanks!

May
Mothers Day Event Come Join us for painting fun and learn about picnic food safety on Wed. May 22nd at 10:00 The GMCAA offices will be closed on May 31 for agency training and employee picnic.

Help Me Grow has changed our name to Gallia-Meigs CAA Early Childhood Programs. Help Me Grow is only one of several comprehensive early childhood programs that GMCAA offers parents of children from pregnancy up to five years of age with up-to-date information relating to pregnancy, child development, and parenting support. Participation is voluntary. You choose what is right for your child and family because we know that being a parent is the most important job you will ever have.

community agencies, like WIC, to provide enrollment services. If you would like our services please request a referral when you visit these offices or give us a call at Gallia Meigs Community Action Agency Early Childhood Programs at 740-9925266 or 1-866-219-0110. You will be assigned a trained, nonjudgmental Home Visitor with an understanding, listening ear to serve you and your family. The Home Visitor will complete enrollment and will emphasize your familys strengths and help you set goals. You are your childs first and most important teacher. We are here to support you and help your family find the services your child needs to be healthy, happy and ready to learn. We hope that our name change will better reflect our mission to serve Gallia and Meigs counties early childhood families with the most comprehensive service and the most up-to-date parenting information available.

June Fathers Day event June 12th at the Annex with OSU Extension office and Linda King to learn about healthy snacks 10:30 July Backyard Playground Come join us to celebrate the grand opening of our backyard playground at our Powell St. office on Wednesday July 17th at 10:30.

GMCAA Early Childhood Programs can provide your family with regularly scheduled, ongoing home visits from trained home visitors that offer timely information on child health, growth, and development that is parent driven. You decide whats best for your family. There are several opportunities throughout your time in GMCAA early Childhood Programs for you and your family to interact with other families who share similar experiences. You can attend fun activities, talk with other parents and learn new and different approaches to parenting. GMCAA Early Childhood Programs work with doctors, hospitals, clinics and other

Page 2 of 4

GMCAA Early Childhood Programs Newsletter

Fun Books to Read with your Child

Reading aloud to your baby is a wonderful shared activity you can continue for years to come and it's an important form of stimulation. Reading aloud teaches a baby about communication, builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills. It also gives babies information about the world around them. Believe it or not, by the time babies reach their first birthday they will have learned all the sounds needed to speak their native language. Here are some fun books to read. Look for these at your local library.

CAN YOU MAKE A PIGGY GIGGLE? By Linda Ashman

How do I pick a baby name?

There are lots of considerations when you're deciding on a name, such as appeasing relatives, avoiding embarrassing initials or nicknames, and steering clear of names associated with bad memories. These are some of the main points to keep in mind: Sound and compatibility How your baby's name sounds when it's said aloud is one of the most essential things to think about. Uniqueness. An unusual name has the advantage of making the bearer stand out from the crowd. Relatives and friends. Many parents choose to name their babies after a grandparent, other relative or close friend. Ancestry and heritage. Your child's heritage is an essential part of who she is, and you may want her name to reflect that. Meaning. No one is likely to treat your daughter Ingrid differently because her name means "hero's daughter," but the derivation of your baby's name is something you may want to think about.
Initials and nicknames.

WHERES MY TEDDY?

Can you make a piggy giggle if you waddle through a puddle? A duck might chuckle but a pig wont giggle but everyone else will be laughing a lot.

By Jez Alborough Eddie can't find his bear when he comes across a gigantic bear with a similar problem.

MAISYS BEDTIME by Lucy Cousins Is Maisy ready for bed? Not yet!

May Activities
Mothers Day Event
Gallia Meigs CAA Early Childhood Programs is holding an after Mothers Day event for all Mothers that are enrolled in any of our early childhood programs. It will be held at our office at 1369 Powell Street in Middleport on Wednesday May 22nd starting at 10:30. We will be painting flower pots. We will have all materials on hand. There will be a special presentation by Linda King from OSU Extension office about picnic food safety and she will prepare a treat for us to sample. Please call 740-992-5266 or 1-866-2190110 and let us know if you plan on coming so we will have enough supplies for everyone. craft if any Moms and Dads would like to join us please give us a call at 740992-5266 or 1-866-219-0110.

People, especially kids, can be cruel when it comes to nicknames, so try to anticipate any potentially embarrassing ones. Remember, none of these are hard rules. The most important reason for a name is simply that you and your partner like it.

Fathers Day Event

June Activities

We will be celebrating Fathers Day On June 12th at the OSU Meigs County Extension Office 117 East Memorial Drive at 10:00. Linda King will be demonstrating a healthy snack for us to sample. We will be doing a simple Fathers Day

GMCAA Early Childhood Programs Newsletter

Page 3 of 4

July Activities
Backyard Playground Grand Opening
Gallia Meigs Community Action Agency Early Childhood Programs will be having a grand opening of our new playground equipment on Wednesday, July 17th at 11:00 AM. Project LAUNCH provided the funds for the playground equipment. They are a division of Integrating Professionals for Appalachian Children (IPAC). IPAC is a rural health network committed to improving the health of young children by fostering collaboration among professionals, families and community agencies. Join the fun and come ready to play.
Homade Bubble Solution and Bubble Blowers. Here is an easy recipe for bubble solution that you and your kids can make at home from ingredients you may have in the kitchen. 2 cups hot water cup of light corn syrup cup of liquid dish soap. Stir together hot water and corn syrup until syrup is dissolved. Add dish soap and stir in until incorporated. Pour the bubble solution into a bottle or a container with a lid. Let the solution rest for a few hours before using it for the best results. For bubble blowers secure several straws together with rubber bands to make a super bubble blower or use pipe cleaners to bend in different shapes. Look around your house for items to use as bubble blowers.

Fun Learning Songs and Finger Plays

Finger Plays and Nursery Rhymes are something you and your children can enjoy together. Children of all ages can reap more benefits from music and movement than just enjoyment. From exposure to these things children can enhance their language development, body awareness, auditory discrimination, self-esteem, muscular coordination; these areas of development are thought to be a crucial prerequisite to other, more academic activities. So go ahead, dance sing and do finger plays with your child. You are helping them with early learning skills though play.

Three Balls
Heres a little ball, Heres a bigger ball Heres the biggest ball. How many balls did we see? Shall we count them? One, two three.

Wiggle My Fingers _
Can begin standing or sitting.

Hands Go Up
Sing to tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Hands go up and hands go down I can turn around and round I can jump upon two shoes. I can listen; so can you. I can sit. Ill show you how. Storytime is starting now.

I wiggle my fingers. I wiggle my toes. I wiggle my shoulders. I wiggle my nose. No more wiggles are left in me. So Ill be as quiet as I can be.

Soft Kitty Soft kitty, warm kitty, Little ball of fur Lazy kitty, pretty kitty Purr, purr, purr.

GMCAA Early Childhood Programs 1369 Powell Street P.O. Box 129 Middleport, Ohio 45760 Phone: (740) 992-5266 1-800-219-0110 Fax: (740) 992-6553 Give your child a helping hand right from the start!

Car Seat Safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration And Ohio Buckles Buckeyes Car Seat Safety Class.
height or weight limit allowed by your car seats manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, its time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.

Birth - 12 months
Your child under age 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. There are different types of rear-facing car seats: Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

8 - 12 years
Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. Remember: your child should still ride in the back seat because its safer there. Now that you understand the different types of seats and their importance, GMCAA Childrens Early Childhood Programs will be having a car seat safety class for Meigs th County residents on Wednesday, June 5 at 1369 Powell Street in Middleport at 10:30. Please call 740-992-5266 or 1-800-219-0110 to reserve your seat and quantities are limited. You must be able to qualify for WIC to receive a car seat.

1 - 3 years
Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. Its the best way to keep him or her safe. Your child should remain in a rearfacing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seats manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.

Visit us on Facebook! Meigs Help Me Grow

4- 7 years
Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top

GMCAA Help Me Grow 1369 Powell Street P.O. Box 129 Middleport, Ohio 45760 galliameigscaa.webs.com