Family Gardening

Starting a family garden is a wonderful way to provide healthy, fresh and organic food for your table.

Beginners Tips....Let's Start Digging

• Start Small- It's not the time to grow every vegetable you've ever wanted to serve on your table! Start small, and expect to make mistakes and learn as you go.
 
• Learn from the Experts- Talk with real people who have real-life gardening experience. Visit your local farmer's market and ask your friend with the green thumb to help you get started.

•  Get Down and Dirty- Let your children spend hours digging in the soil, planting seeds, and catching worms. Teach them to water the plants and watch for bugs.

•  Delegate Responsibility- Even the smallest member can help in the garden! Toddlers can rake dirt, pull weeds,  and dig holes for seeds. School aged children can help plan the garden, water plants daily, harvest plants etc.

• Celebrate your Bounty- Celebrating the fruits of your labor is the tastiest part of having a family garden. If you have a lot, share with you family, friends or even the less fortunate.

The best part is that gardening provides a place for your family to work together and build lasting memories and develop an appreciation for natural resources. Madison, 5, and CJ, 2, are excited to come home everyday after school and water the plants! You should try it with your family!


Michelle Macon, Program Coordinator

WHAT DOES MY CHILD NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO BE READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?

Children turning five years of age on or before August 31 of this year will be heading off to Kindergarten in the fall. Will they be ready for the rigors of this new environment? We often think about school readiness in terms of cognitive skills such as possessing knowledge of numbers, letters, colors and shapes, but did you know that there are key social and emotional skills your child will need to have in order to succeed in Kindergarten?

He or she will need:

 Confidence

 Capacity to develop good relationships with peers

 Concentration and persistence on challenging tasks

 Ability to effectively communicate frustrations, angers and joys

 Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive

So, is your pre-k student ready for kindergarten?

Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion Director

Week of the Young Child

Today is the first day of Week of the Young Child! Week of the Young Child happens annually and is sponsored by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Each year there is a different theme for the week and this year the theme is Early Years Are Learning Years. The purpose of this Week of the Young Child "is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs" (www.naeyc.org).

Partners In Learning celebrates and recognizes Week of the Young Child by having each day of the week be themed around something special!

We would love to see pictures of your children (and yourselves) dressing in the spirit of Week of the Young Child! Pictures will be put together to use for a poster that we will use next year during the Week of the Young Child! Show your spirit! Post pictures in the comment section below!

Monday- Hat Day - All children need to wear a hat. Let's see who can have the funniest hat! (Check out the great picture of one of our children with an awesome Dr. Seuss hat on ready for school this Monday morning!)

Tuesday- Inside Out Day - Wake up and turn those clothes inside out and wear them to school! We will look so silly!

Wednesday- Wacky Day - Dress wacky. The wackier the better! How funny can we look?

Thursday- Crazy Hair Day. Let your imagination run wild!

Friday- Pajama Day and Breakfast at School - Use the time that you would take to dress your child for school to come and eat breakfast with your child. We will have a special treat for everyone!

     Also on Friday, we will be having our Family Game Night! Turn in the registration ticket that your child's teacher handed out and bring the whole family for a night of fun! Sponsered by Just the Thing!

Saturday- Milk + Bookies! Boys and girls will be provided the opportunity to select, purchase and inscribe books that are then donated to their peers who do not have access to books of their own. The fun-filled events feature music, story time and, of course, milk and cookies. This Milk + Bookies event will benefit the children that receive CBRS therapy services through Partners In Learning. Story time with Ms. Jane Welch from the Rowan Public Library will be at 1:15 and again at 2:15! Ice cream sundaes will be sold benefiting Relay for Life.

All of the children will have their art displayed throughout the community. Your child's location will be posted in their classroom. Please take the time to go with your child to see their artwork.

Scholastic Book Fair will be all week in the Resource Room.

Post your Pictures in the Comment section below!!

Katherine Zink
Community Inclusion Assistant



 

Kindergarten Recoginition Day

Did you know that today, April 21st, is National Kindergarten Recognition Day? It was adopted in 2005 to "recognize the critical role that kindergarten year plays in the lives of our children," according to Senator Ken Salazar, who introduced the resolution. April 21st marks the anniversary of the first kindergarten classroom in 1837 by Friedrich Froebel in Blankenburg, Germany.

Well-rounded early education forms an essential foundation for a child's future success, and this holiday provides the perfect reason to celebrate and recognize high-quality education.

Favorite Kindergarten Memory:

Cedric, 27, found his childhood best friend, James, in kindergarten.

I cherished my "reading buddy", older brother, Angelio, coming to my class to read to me and my friends.


Click "Comment" to share your favorite kindergarten memory, story or testimonial on this blog our our Partners In Learning Facebook Page.



Reference: NCaeyc


Michelle Macon, Program Coordinator

How Young Children Learn

Play Is How Children Explore the World and Find Their Place in It -- And Learn in the Process!

Learning to reach for objects

 A child is primed right from the beginning to grow and to learn. Any baby developing in a healthy way will not need to be taught how to play -- it just comes naturally.

Experimenting with magnets

  But sometimes we adults think we need to rush a child along. Because we know how important education is, we want our children to learn and so we set out to teach them as much as we can. Although this impulse is good in itself, sometimes we can actually get in the way of a child's learning by trying too hard to teach them!

Manipulating objects in the context of math

We don't need to push children or cram information into their heads. We just need to ensure they have the opportunities to explore knowledge for themselves. We can expose them to a rich environment and then allow them to explore it freely.  

Let's step away and let the PLAY begin!

Norma Honeycutt, Executive Director

MY BABY”S HAVING A BABY

My youngest child, Victoria is expecting her first child in November.  We’re all very excited.  Here is a planning checklist for parents experiencing those first few weeks of pregnancy:

Weeks 1-8*

[ ] Take pregnancy test

[ ] Tell your partner the good news

[ ] Find an OB/GYN

[ ] Schedule prenatal checkup

[ ] Research insurance -- how does it deal with pregnancy and children?

[ ] Make sure partner has short and long term disability

[ ] Figure out how pregnancy, baby and maternity leave will affect finances

[ ] Create a savings plan for your child's future expenses

[ ] Make a budget to start saving now

[ ] First prenatal checkup (week 4-8)

http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/first-trimester/articles/first-trimester-to-dos.aspx?MsdVisit=1

Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion Director

Sign Language and Autism

Because communication delays are a significant part of the issues that children with autism face, sign language can be a great option for some children in order to ease the pathway to communication and language. Signing can be easier to learn than verbal language and once the child learns sign, the transition to verbal language is less difficult for them.

If you decide to use sign language with your child, follow these simple tips and steps:

1) Choose the type of sign language you wish to use. There are many different forms of sign language, such as American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL).
2) Make sure that everyone in the family and environment of the child are aware of the fact that you are teaching sign laugauge. If everyone is consistent, the process is much smoother.
3) Practice the signs before you teach them to your child. Also, do the sign multiple times while you are performing the act (sign "eat" while eating).
4) Once you introduce the sign, form the child's hand into the sign and repeat the word.
5) Prompting of the sign will become less necessary as the child learns.
6) Once the child is fluent with a number of signs, transition to requiring the child to verbally say the word and the sign in order to communicate.
7) Begin having your child eliminate the signs and using their words only.

Sign language provides social, emotional, cognitive, and communicational benefits to your child if you choose to use sign with your child. Benefits include:
- stimulation of speech and language development
- reduction of negative social behaviors
- increase in social interaction and self expression
- development of cognitive structures

Sign language is a great option as a pathway toward language and communication for your young child. Children as young as infants can begin to learn sign. Children, whether they have disabilities or not are capable of signing.

If you would like to begin learning sign language and teaching your child, come to our Sign Language Workshop! Tuesday, May 22nd from 6:30-8:00 at Partners In Learning. Registration is free, but space is limited so CALL TODAY! Childcare will be provided.

We will also be having a sign language breakout session at our Special Needs Mini-Conference on Saturday, May 5th from 8:00-12:00 at Catawba College. Call today to register for this FREE conference, childcare will be provided at Partners In Learning!

Katherine Zink
Community Inclusion Assistant

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Cecilia and friend

Piotr was invited to join his daughter, Cecilia, for lunch at her school. He was surrounded by a group of little girls when the following conversation took place:

“Daddy,” Cecilia offered, “Do you know who you remind me of?”

“No, Cecilia, who do I remind you of?”

“You remind me of Patrick from the Sponge Bob cartoon.”

“Really, Cecilia, and why is that?”

“You remind me of Patrick because Patrick doesn’t have a brain.”

This last comment was followed by a chorus of little-girl giggles.

(Actually, Piotr is a very intelligent person. Fortunately, he also has a good sense of humor.)


Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion

Music for the Soul

As Easter weekend passes,  many of us spend Sunday at some type of church service with lots of activity, worship, and music. Doesn't that music just make you feel good deep down inside your soul?

Music is GREAT for adults and children, and it can be especially effective with children who have special needs.

Music has an instinctual foundation and function to it, which allows us, as humans, to be drawn to the rhythm and beat.

Some people say that music can have a healing effect on people with disabilities, or who have medical problems.

Elderly patients with memory loss, often can remember hymns or how to play an instrument due to the instinctual aspect that music has on us.

Music alters our brain waves, and can often put us in another state of mind that is more calming and almost meditative. Our breathing becomes heavier (with high tempo music) or softer. Our blood begins to pump and we feel the need to move and dance.

Partners In Learning's very own Mr. Matt held a music session for children with special needs this past Tuesday. He had instruments from guitars to pianos to drums to bells. The kids LOVED it! Check out some of the pictures from the event!

We need to make sure that music is a significant part of our children's lives. It has the potential to have many benefits that can last throughout their lifetime!

Katherine Zink, Community Inclusion Assistant

Leftover Magic

 

If you use a little creativity, leftovers can be fun, tasty, inexpensive meal starters. By camouflaging the leftovers from meal to meal, even your pickiest eaters will have trouble recognizing the roasted chicken from dinner two nights ago in today’s pasta salad luncheon.

The first thing you should know about leftovers is the correct way to store them. Follow these tips to keep you and your family safe:

• Refrigerate or freeze unused food within two hours after cooking.
• Wash your hands before handling leftovers.
• Place leftovers in small, shallow containers with a secure cover. This helps the food cool down quickly.
• If a stored leftover seems questionable, throw it out.
• Remove stuffing from cooked poultry before storing.
• Don't keep leftovers for more than four days.

         Beautiful Buffets

Plan one meal each week that uses up the assorted leftovers accumulating on the refrigerator shelves.  It’s like getting a free meal every week.  After accumulating about half a dozen containers of leftovers, reheat them in the microwave and portion out a little bit of everything onto each person's plate.  The variety of items gives it the look of a full plate after you have gone through the buffet line.  Toss some crackers, sliced cheese, and fresh cut veggies into the mix, and you have an easy, tasty dinner for next to nothing!!

Sandwich your leftovers into savings

A favorite use for leftovers is to make sandwiches for lunch or dinner.  Rolling leftover meats and veggies into a cold flour tortilla with a bit of cream cheese and a pickle is also a delicious way to add some variety to the typical sandwich presentation.

Stretch the Bird

Chicken and turkey are dreams come true if you want to stretch one meal into several others.  For a family of four, you can usually stretch at least three meals from each chicken purchase:  a roast chicken dinner meal with drumsticks, thighs, and wings; a casserole, stir-fry, or skillet meal prepared with the cut breast meat roasted the night before; and a hearty, homemade chicken soup made from any leftover meat and bones.

Don't Toss the Salad

Mix leftover salad in a blender with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and garlic or herb seasonings for an amazingly good salad dressing.  Also, process leftover salad in a blender with ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock.  Pour into saucepan, stir in another ½ cup stock or more to suit your taste.  Season, add meat or vegetables if desired, heat thoroughly and enjoy!

For more information, follow the links below:

Tracy Barr at http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-leftovers.html
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/easy-dinner-ideas/10-meals-to-make-from-leftovers.htm
Mary Hunt at www.DebtProofLiving.com

Colleen Carman
Finance/HR Director

MORE BAD NEWS ABOUT SUGAR

Did you happen to watch 60 minutes last Sunday? I did, and I learned about the new research conducted by the University of California Medical Center at San Francisco. Here are some of the results:

1. Sugar is as addictive as cocaine.

2. Sugar ignites the feel-good chemical called dopamine, and like cocaine, once your body gets used to receiving a certain daily quantity of sugar, it will crave larger and larger intakes to achieve the same feel-good effect from the dopamine.

3. Sugar may be as harmful to your heart as animal fat.

4. Sugar is NOT good for our brains, because it tampers with the outer lining of our brain cells.

5. Check your labels. Sugar is showing up everywhere these days.

6. Through evolution, we have the innate knowledge that anything containing fructose is not poisonous, so we are naturally attracted to things that taste sweet.



This is all bad news, especially with the Easter Bunny showing up in a few days!  I guess the best advice is moderation.  If you’re not good at moderation for things like, well chocolate for example, then you and I have something in common, and we should avoid sweet things altogether.  Good luck.

Katherine Generaux, Community Inclusion

12 Tips to an Autism Friendly Classroom (or Home)

This past Saturday, many of the teachers here at Partners In Learning went to 19th annual The Coming Together for Children conference in Concord, NC. It was titled, "Oh the Places You Will Go!" and the theme involved Dr. Seuss and many of his valuable quotes.

Both sessions that I attended involved working with children with autism. PIL’s own Cindy Webb hosted one of the sessions on how to use intervention strategies most effectively when working with children on the autism spectrum. Part of her presentation involved these 12 tips.

1)      Keep it Structured

a.       Children with autism thrive in a structured environment

b.      Establish a routine and keep it as consistent as possible

c.       In a world that is ever changing, routine and structure provide great comfort to a child on the autism spectrum

2)      Visual Supports

a.       Define routines using visual cues

b.      Children with autism learn faster and with greater ease when you use visuals

c.       Visual supports maintain a child’s focus and interest. So what can you use visuals with? Just about anything!

3)      Schedules

a.       Children with Autism like order and detail. They feel in control and secure when they know what to expect. Schedules help children know what’s ahead.

b.      Provide a predictable and consistent activity and classroom activity.

4)      Reduce Distractions

a.       Children with Autism find it difficult to filter out background noise, visual information, and smells.

b.      Children with autism pay attention to detail. Wall charts and posters can be very distracting.

5)      Concrete Language

a.       Always keep your language simple and concrete. Get your point across in as few words as possible.

b.      Give clear choices and try not to leave choices open ended. You’re bound to get a better result by asking “Do you want to draw” than by asking “What do you want to do now?”

c.       Avoid using idioms. “Put your thinking caps on,” “Open your ears,” and “Zipper your lips” will leave a student completely mystified and wondering how to do that.

6)      It’s Not Personal

a.       Children with autism are not rude. They simply don’t understand social rules or how they’re supposed to behave.

b.      As an example, if you enthusiastically greet a child with autism and you get the cold shoulder, create a “Social Story”

c.       Social stories are simple descriptions of everyday social situations, written from a child’s perspective. Social stories can be used in different situations. For example, social stories can help a child prepare for upcoming changes in routine, or learn appropriate social interactions for situations that they encounter.

7)      Transitions

a.       Children with autism feel secure when things are constant. Changing an activity provides a fear of the unknown. This elevates stress which produces anxiety.

b.      Give ample verbal and visual warning. When you ask a child to transition from a preferred activity, they might be very resistant if they have no idea when they will be allowed to resume.

c.       Using schedules helps with transitions too as students have time to “psyche themselves up” for the changes ahead.

d.      If a child is particularly struggling with a transition, it often helps to allow them to hold onto a “transitional object” such as a preferred small toy or an object of their choice. This helps a child feel in control and gives them something to look forward to.

8)      Establish Independence

a.       Teaching students with autism how to be independent is vital to their well-being. While it is tempting to help someone that’s struggling to close a zipper, it’s a much greater service to calmly teach that person how to do it themselves.

b.      Making decisions is equally important and this begins by teaching students to make a choice. Offer two choices.

c.       Give choices in which you win in both situations, for example: “Suzy you can either come to the art table or go to blocks” or “Billy you can come to bed in 5 minutes or now” (use this one 5 minutes until bedtime).

d.      Nothing works in a day whether it’s a diet, an exercise plan or learning to behave in class.

e.       Make sure you allow ample time before you abandon an idea. Remember that consistency is a key component of success.

9)      Rewards Before Consequences

a.       Rewards and positive reinforcement are a wonderful way to increase desired behavior. Help students clearly understand which behaviors and actions lead to rewards.

b.      Every reward should be showered in praise.

10)  Creative Teaching

a.       It helps to be creative when you’re teaching students with autism.

b.      People on the spectrum think out of the box and if you do too, you will get great results.

c.       Often, people with autism have very specific interests. Use these interests as motivators.

11)  Use Multi-Sensory Strategies

a.       Hugs

b.      Swings

c.       Carry heavy objects

d.      Sensory bag

e.       Squeeze

f.       Sign language

g.      Music

h.      Massage

i.        Textures

j.        Soft/active areas

12)  Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

a.       The goal for all children to be happy and function as independently as possible so pick your battles.

Katherine Zink, Community Inclusion Assistant

National Autism Awareness Day 2012

World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD)shines a bright light on autism as a growing global health crisis.  The estimated number of U.S.children with autism has skyrocketed by 78% since 2000, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  One in 88 American kids has autism, according to the new figures. Among boys, it's one in 54. 
 
The Center for WAAD activities help to increase and develop world knowledge of the autism epidemic and impart information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally, WAAD celebrates the unique talents and skills of persons with autism and is a day when individuals with autism are warmly welcomed and embraced in community events around the globe.

Partners In Learning staff and families will be celebrating WAAD by wearing blue and "lighting it up blue".  
By bringing together autism organizations all around the world, we will give a voice to the millions of individuals worldwide who are undiagnosed, misunderstood and looking for help. Please join us in our effort to inspire compassion, inclusion and hope.

Support is essential for families affected by autism.  The photo above is a family cookout of some our support group families.  They meet the last Thursday of each month at Port City Java in Salisbury, NC.  They also have a Facebook page.  You can find them by clicking on this link:  Find us on Facebook .
Thank you for celebrating the wonderful people in our lives affected by autism on April 2 and throughout April which was Autism Awareness Month. We look forward to celebrating with you on April 2, 2012!