ONE AMAZING KID

An idea that came about to help a grieving grandfather has expanded to help many more senior citizens. Eleven-yearold Preston Horton formed “Joyful Melodies” with his younger siblings in 2018 to bring music to older people in need of company. When COVID-19 restrictions forced Preston to revamp that work, he moved performances outdoors and performed for smaller, socially distanced audiences. For his exemplary volunteer work, the sixth grader at Copper Mill Elementary School in Zachary has been named Louisiana’s top middle-level youth volunteer by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, an honor that includes a $2,500 scholarship and a silver medallion. Preston is no stranger to volunteering, which he started doing at his school and a local food pantry. This Easter, he provided 70 baskets for residents at a local nursing home and created a virtual concert for them to enjoy. “I’m an average kid who enjoys helping others,” Preston says. “My faith in God and the principles I’ve learned from my church motivate me to serve.” The entire Horton family is musical, including parents Marvin and Precious, and siblings, Joie, Marlon, Presley and Princeton. Mrs. Horton says Preston is mature, selfless and giving. “He’s the type of child that steps in wherever someone needs a helping hand,” she says. “Most people can’t really believe he’s only 11. His ideas are far beyond him.” With his service-oriented heart, Preston is certainly one amazing kid. ■

About 200 fifth graders participated in the Louisiana Elementary Math & Coding Olympiad. Although this year’s event was virtual, the competition was real as the students were challenged by a complex test featuring questions from various math topics aligned to Common Core. Hosted by Kenilworth Science and Technology School, the event provided a challenging, engaging experience. This year added an optional coding competition, featuring questions aligned to code.org elementary courses A-F. Awards were given to the winning students and their math teachers. Lillian Qian from Buchanan Elementary placed first in the math competition, and Kaylee Meng from Wildwood Elementary placed first in the coding competition.

A recipient of the 2021 Outstanding High School Volunteer Award from the Greater Baton Rouge State Fair Foundation, Julia Coffey was recognized for her model service within her school and community. A junior at St. Michael the Archangel High School, Julia has participated in nine mission trips and has worked with women’s shelters in Texas and closer to home with Revive 225 to rebuild homes after the devastating 2016 floods. Julia’s service to others began with encouragement from her grandmother, whom she says is her biggest influence. “She asked me to go volunteer with her for the United Methodist Women’s Group when I was in middle school, and I loved meeting all these people from different places,” Julia says. The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo are scheduled for this summer, but Episcopal School of Baton Rouge students are already going for gold. Sixth-eighth graders competed in the Middle School COVID Olympics featuring activities including soapy marbles, pass the orange, and ping pong bounce. “We wanted to do the COVID Olympics this spring to balance out some of the (necessary) seriousness from the fall,” says MS Division Head Mark Engstrom. “With so many unknowns and fears around the pandemic somewhat now understood, we thought we could craft enough socially-distanced activities to have a great time.” Such activities benefit students’ emotional health, providing a stronger sense of connection to the school and each other.

Elementary age students are often enthusiastic, creative storytellers as they learn about how books are created and published. Second graders at University Laboratory School had the script flipped when they became the subject of books written by high school creative writing students. For a project in Tamara Empson’s creative writing class, the older students interviewed the younger, and the resulting illustrated books told their stories and were a delight when they read them together. Second graders’ faces lit up with joy, mostly from the attention from high school students, but also because of the books that featured their own stories. While some students were learning virtually, they were still able to read together via Zoom.

A new research hub for early childhood education has launched at LSU. The LSU Early Childhood Education Institute connects research, education and advocacy of practice for children from birth-three years. An outreach arm of the College of Human Sciences & Education, the institute is designed to improve collaboration among child development and early childhood professionals in many contexts throughout the state. “The timing of the launch of this institute could not be more appropriate as both state and national education leaders are turning their attention to the significant impact early childhood education programs have on the learning success of students following the PreK experience,” says LSU CHSE Dean Roland Mitchell, PhD.

Students in Tara High’s IBM Cy-Tech program are connecting with the EBR Council on Aging to help older adults learn computer skills. Tech It Forward, the partnership among the school, council and VIPS, helps seniors stay connected to family and friends online, and the students also benefit from the intergenerational connections. “This is an incredible opportunity for the youth and the elderly in our community to interact,” says Tasha Clark-Amar, CEO of the council. “This program will allow seniors to share generational life wisdom, enable the youth to bridge the technical divide that plagues the senior community, while collectively, the group will be bridging the ever-increasing generational disconnect.”

PODCAST

The Internet has made it possible for adults to interact and work throughout the pandemic, but we have a generation of toddlers who have not had a playdate in over a year–if ever. Coaxing a two year old to sit in front of a screen and interact with a peer is not likely to happen. Attention spans are forming at this age, so watching another toddler play with her toys is not interesting. The most problematic issue parents worry about is that their toddler has missed learning social cues because she cannot physically interact with her peers. Research is beginning to say otherwise.

Parents watch their infants discover and start recognizing familiar faces, learn simple games like peek-a-boo and begin understanding social interactions. At around age one, they start following simple directions like cleaning up their toys. They are gaining much-needed independence around that age, too.

It seems that the moment they turn two, everything changes. It feels “terrible,” but it is some of the most incredible memories. The youngest of toddlers are exploring who they are and what they like and do not like, and their autonomy becomes everything, if not challenging.

When it comes to playing with peers, two years old is when social interactions get tricky. Cynthia DiCarlo, Ph.D., the Executive Director at the LSU Early Childhood Education Institute, explains, “Although they are interested in other children, they prefer to play near, but not yet with other children.”

However, COVID-19 has taken away toddlers’ abilities to even sit in the same room with one another. They are missing an integral part of the socialization process. It is between two and three that little ones explore themselves and how to interact with other children. Dr. DiCarlo explains this stage, “As they approach their third birthday, children begin to identify themselves in the mirror, know their gender, and play with other children. Twos play more independently

from adults and are beginning to share.”

By age three, children learn how to play games that are both real and imaginary. Parental supervision is necessary because curiosity can lead to negative consequences. However, having play partners around their age is some of the most critical interactions.

In the final years of toddlerhood, a four year old begins to understand empathy for others. One of the most essential skills they learn through this is sharing and consequences for negative actions. Children start PreK at around this age, and it is also part of the curriculum, but COVID-19 has unfortunately put a pause on in-person classes.

The good news is, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Normality is returning. Many parents think their little ones will be playing catch up, but they are more resilient than we think.

All children are incredibly resilient when they have supportive adults in their lives. In many ways, they need parents or guardians more than they need to interact with other kids. It might feel like the loss of 2020 has stunted your toddler’s overall development, but it has only postponed it by a little. Rest assured that they will catch up on their socialization skills.

We underestimate the adaptability of our tiny humans, especially the youngest of them. Yes, in a perfect world, they would interact with other toddlers regularly, but it is perfectly okay if they do not. Pets, siblings, and parents can nurture and provide the socialization skills they need for future success.

Margie Stiles, the mother of a four year old, is thankful for their pandemic pet, “My son had just turned three, and we went into lockdown. Jacob was going to start preschool, and I found a five-daya-week job. Things changed really fast, including the addition of a fuzzy mutt we both needed.” She continues, the memories causing such mixed emotions, “I was so scared about everything, but I watched Bark [dog] and my son learn from one another. I would watch them play in the mirror for hours and would not take a moment of that back.”

Every child is different. The pandemic did not change that fact. As parents, we are having to relearn some of the same things that will be brand new for them. And, that is okay. Social and emotional learning is something that starts when we are infants and continues throughout our lives. During those first years, we develop coping mechanisms, build empathy, and learn to take responsibility for our mistakes. Research is starting to show that, while Coronavirus has led to loneliness, it is not necessarily true that it is causing long-term harm or depriving toddlers of their physical and emotional needs. As long as the needs are met at home, there is no damage done.

We are turning the corner on this once-in-a-hundred-year event. Toddlers will likely come out better than many of us; their resiliency is amazing. But, take one step at a time. The first few playdates might be a trial-and-error situation and feel challenging for all involved.

Dr. DiCarlo reminds parents of the rules of the road when it comes to any successful playdate. “In order to have a successful playdate, remember to consider your child’s schedule and plan for the playdate when he is well rested and fed. Playdates should be for a short duration, depending on your child’s age, and be supervised by adults,” she says.

If you worry that your toddler is stunted socially, try not to because it’s likely that he is not. Some of your toddler’s social skills might be on pause, but he will pick them right back up without missing a beat. ■