Building Blocks Magazine 2021-22

KINDERGARTEN READINESS It Can Take a Village to Ready a Child CLOSING THE GAP How to Increase Cognitive Skills CUSTOMIZED CARE Keeping Mom and Baby Healthy

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Giving every child a good chance for a great start

Shannon Nickinson

DIRECTOR OF EARLY LEARNING STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE Slow and steady wins the race, they say. That’s what we hope we are seeing in the new release of kindergarten readiness scores for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

In early 2021, the Florida Department of Education released annual kindergarten readiness rates. These rates are determined by testing done with kindergartners within the first 45 days of school.

The test tracks a child’s early reading and math skills — letter awareness, phonetic awareness,

shape and color recognition, counting, comparing, grouping and spatial awareness skills.

The results showed a modest increase for Escambia County’s children, up 1 percentage point to 48 percent, being “ready” and possessing a solid foundation in those skills that will help them be ready to learn, read, count and more.

The new data also brings with it some questions about what the full picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on our children’s school readiness.

• Nearly 550 fewer kids in Escambia County took the test this fall than last year. Statewide, there’s a drop as well in the number of children tested. The kindergartners who did remote school this fall are not counted in this data.

• In 2020, 18 Escambia schools had readiness rates less than 50 percent; in 2019, it was 19 schools. All but three of those 18 schools made improvements in their readiness rates, even if they didn’t get above the 50 percent mark.

• Santa Rosa County saw a huge jump in their readiness rates — and some big decreases in the number of test-takers at schools like Holley-Navarre, West Navarre and Gulf Breeze elementary schools.

The disruption that the pandemic caused all of us also impacted our children. And it made the

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A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the state.

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4 2021

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

work that the Studer Community Institute does even more important. Because COVID-19 showed us how important it is for parents to have resources, tips and advice in hand.

This magazine is built for two purposes. One is to share the news of what we have been able to accomplish in our mission to build an Early Learning City in Pensacola. Because we have made progress.

The second is to put tools into parents' hands so that they can use them. Right where they are.

That’s why we have added tools like the Brain Builder calendar and the chance to sign up for Basics Insights, weekly text messages that send brain development advice right to your phone.

We hope you use them and share them with other moms and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

That’s the only way we will saturate our community with the knowledge that everyday parents can use to build a child’s brain.

We want you to use the “Three T’s” from the University of Chicago; The Basics from Dr. Ronald Ferguson at Harvard University; and the advice in the SCI Brain Bag and its video lesson.

We want every child to have a good chance for a great start. And we want to see kindergarten readiness rates next year take a big step forward.

It’s how we will build a brain, build a life and build a community.

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Inside 4

20

WELCOME LETTER

08 BASICS INSIGHTS

New texting program aims to help parents build the brain of the young child.

12 KINDERGARTEN READINESS

12

Parents and communities have responsibility in the readiness of children.

BRAIN 14 SIBLING BUILDERS

Pilot project uses older siblings to help prepare their younger siblings for school.

16 THE BASICS

Toolkit hopes to engage parents and caregivers in the development of kids.

20

CLOSING THE GAP

Dr. Ronald Ferguson discusses how The Basics can help close the cognitive skills gap.

22 24 HEAD START PLAY SMART

Building learning and brain development into playtime.

26 BRAIN BAG UPDATE 26 28 HEALTHY START 30CALENDAR 34 FAMILIES MATTER

Customized care that keeps mom and baby healthy.

Empowering children at a young age.

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Other communities joining the Brain Bag effort.

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Alongside your child, explore the year with some fun activities.

Healthy families build healthy children who are ready for school and the world.

08

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BASICS INSIGHTS sends parents the right message

DATA SHOWS THAT THE TEXTS CAN GIVE PARENTS IMPORTANT NUDGES TO HELP BUILD THEIR CHILD’S BRAIN.

BY Reggie Dogan STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

B

uilding a baby’s brain and boosting a toddler’s literacy can be as simple as sending their parents a few texts a week.

Studer Community Institute and 36 communities across the country piloted Basics Insights, a twice-per-week text message program to help parents talk and interact more with their children under 3.

The texting program is part of The Basics Learning Network (BLN) founded by Dr. Ron Ferguson, faculty director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University.

Ferguson praised SCI’s leadership in launching The Basics in Pensacola and registering parents to use the Basics Insights.

“The team in Pensacola got busy during the spring of 2020 to register over 1,000 parents to receive our Basics Insights text messages, the most of any city in the Basics Learning Network during the same period,” Ferguson said. “Now, more of Pensacola’s infants and toddlers can achieve the early learning and brain development they need to thrive in school and life.”

The Boston-based Basics Inc. provides an online repository of videos, activities, handouts and other materials designed to provide routine interactions with families. The text program — called “Basics Insights” — is one of the newest tools in that kit.

In 2021, The Basics Inc., the nonprofit organization that leads the BLN, released

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an analysis of data from that pilot group, which included more than 1,100 Pensacola area parents.

The results were promising and showed that the texts can give parents important nudges to do more to help build their child’s brain.

“We are so proud to be part of The Basics family and to help the team in Boston learn more about how their tools can help parents,” said Shannon Nickinson, director of early learning for SCI. “The findings from the BLN team are exciting and show how important it is for every parent to get a reminder on how everyday things can be huge steppingstones in the development of a young child’s brain.”

The text-messaging program sends parents early learning content designed to support them in applying The Basics Principles with their children.

The Basics Principles are five simple and powerful ways for parents to build the foundation for school readiness from the beginning and to give their children a good and healthy start in life.

The Basics campaign was inspired by the fact that 80 percent of brain growth occurs during the first three years.

Parents of babies, infants and toddlers ages birth to 3 are eligible to sign up for free twice-weekly text messages that suggest fun, at-home learning activities.

While parents of all backgrounds can enroll, a priority is making sure the text messages are helpful and accessible to

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

families with low literacy levels or living in less advantaged circumstances.

Research has shown that sending parents tips through text messages is a successful way to educate them on child development and can improve academic performance.

The 2021 report on the Insights pilot group highlighted that text messaging is becoming a key component of The Basics

whole-community approach for helping parents understand the power they have to shape early learning and brain development.

Data from the pilot implementation of Basics Insights showed 37 organizations enrolled 2,296 families with children from birth to 3 years old from January through October 2020 (coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic).

Of the 2,296 enrollees, 780 (34%) responded to a baseline survey and 213 answered a 3.5-month follow-up survey, which they accessed by clicking on a link in a text message.

The Basics theory of change is that the text messages, reinforced by supportive conversations and more from the broader community, can inform and inspire families from every background to apply The Basics principles of early childhood development. Over time, that could help reduce achievement gaps during the school years.

“We are especially excited about The Basics partnership and the opportunity to reach more parents and their children through this engaging text message system,” said Quint Studer, founder of SCI. “This tool is another innovative way to improve kindergarten readiness and improve the quality of life in our community.”

As the BLN expands, the Basics Community Toolkit and other resources and activities provide ongoing opportunities to share lessons to maximize impact of the learning experience.

Basics Insights text messages are an ideal tool in today’s technological age because almost every adult has a cellphone.

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DATA INDICATES that parents have embraced and benefitted from the messages. The report shows responses from parents after receiving the messages for just over three months:

Basics Pensacola moms like Barbara Scott Payne, with her son, Charles, use the weekly encouragement the texts provide to keep brain-building top of mind.

→ 74% report they have talked about the messages with a friend or relative. → 82% totally agree and 16% mostly agree that they would recommend the messages. → 61% totally agree and 30% mostly agree that the messages help them understand their child. → 60% totally agree and 33% mostly agree that they learn new things to do with their child. → 84% totally agree and 13% mostly agree the messages keep them thinking about how to help their child learn. → 38% use all of the messages and 46% use most of them, for a total of 84% who use all or most of the messages.

That’s according to a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center, which found that 99 percent of 18–to–49-year-olds own a cellphone of some kind, while 94 percent own a smartphone.

The spread of cellphones combined with texting technology opens up new opportunities to influence adult behavior. More than 95 percent of text messages get read compared to only 25 percent of emails, the Pew study showed.

And the messaging matters. Evidence is growing that prompts and reminders in text messages can improve a variety of health, education and life outcomes, from early learning to kindergarten through 12th-grade education and college attendance.

The bottom line is that Basics Insights text messages nudge parents and other caregivers to carry out behaviors across key areas for promoting young children’s learning and well-being.

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To make Basics Insights an effective tool means responding in two ways.

First, make sure parents with children in the birth-to-3 age range get registered for Basics Insights. Second, inspire parents by inquiring supportively and routinely about how they’re applying the messages, expressing excitement about the future for families, the community, and the nation, by seizing the brain-building opportunities those early years provide.

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BASICS INSIGHTS HAS THE FOLLOWING FEATURES: → A three-year curriculum spanning from birth to age 3.

Parents and caregivers can enroll at any point. → Two messages per week.

The first message shares a science-based “Fact” related to the child or caregiver’s development.

The second message offers a “Try This,” a specific suggestion for the caregiver related to the previous fact. → Additional tool with other Basics resources. The content for each week is aligned with one of the five Basics Principles. The text messaging can be used in combination with other Basics materials, such as videos and handouts from The Basics Community Toolkit.

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Executive director of Achieve Escambia, Kimberly Krupa wants all children to have the same opportunities and privileges that baby Ida Mae Wells had.

KINDERGARTEN READINESS and me THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE A KINDERGARTEN-READY COMMUNITY IS TO GIVE POWER BACK TO PARENTS AND COMMUNITIES

BY Kimberly Krupa ACHIEVE ESCAMBIA

M

y fourth child was born at 9 p.m. on July 4, 2020. The exact moment she debuted, a rainbow of backyard fireworks exploded outside my third-floor window at Baptist Hospital, all greens and blues and sizzling pinks. It sounded like 1,000 bottles of champagne popping, fizzing over, and popping again, a celebration of life and freedom and hope in the middle of a perilous pandemic summer.

I don’t usually write about myself when I write about kindergarten readiness. But the collective trauma of the past year has meant, for me, casting aside my old ways of doing things and forcing myself into the story.

I am privileged to lead a partnership, Achieve Escambia, whose members have set a bold goal of 75 percent of children entering kindergarten ready to learn by 2025. I am privileged to work with people who live and breathe this goal every day. I am privileged to now share the communitywide burden of achieving this goal as I

12 2021

raise up a member of the entering kindergarten class of 2025.

I am privileged to be a 42-year-old white woman whose children have “zero” opportunity gaps. My first three babies entered kindergarten ready to learn, and I have no doubt my newest baby will follow, if not surpass, their lead, as youngest children sometimes do. My oldest, a high school freshman once complained in a fit of rage, “I have to rake the leaves; they get to walk down the path.”

This 2020 baby? Don’t worry about her. She has a clean and clear path ahead of her, lined with excellent prenatal care, an uncomplicated birth, regular pediatric checkups and developmental screenings, a year of breastfeeding, rooms full of books, toys to meet each milestone, from crawling and pinching to clapping and singing and solving. Beyond that, a neighborhood with sidewalks and parks.

Married parents with two incomes. And, above all, white skin.

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

It is important to state what my privilege is, to make the invisible visible, to put myself in this story. I am not on the receiving end of a patchwork quilt of inequitable investments and practices that, in our country and in our community, are not distributed fairly to support young children on their journey to school. I have access to rapidly expanding insights into early brain and child development. I can afford every leg up our system provides because I know that system and, having power and privilege, I know who to call when the system malfunctions.

I can’t change the fact that I am a white woman raising children in a society where race and ZIP code are destiny.

What I can do is reveal how I’ve been able to experience an unequal set of opportunities, do something about it, and at the same time get more parents into the work of raising children to be ready for school … and ready for life.

One of the things I’m most excited about as we break out of our pandemic

year is Parent University Pensacola, which is designed to be a big open tent for all things parents. The model was born out of Savannah, Georgia, and is scaling to our community, slowly and deliberately, because its heartbeat is parents.

Parents invite parents, parents drive parents, parents cook for parents, parents coach parents. Parents design the curriculum, rate the instructor and choose who gets to be their expert.

Why does this matter? To balance white people like me, with all of my good intentions.

Because the only way to achieve a kindergarten-ready community is to give power back to parents and communities, to move over and make space for others to lead.

Dr. Kimberly Krupa is executive director of the Achieve Escambia cradle to career partnership. Learn more about the partnership on their website, AchieveEscambia.org.

WHY ARE SO FEW CHILDREN READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH DIGGING TO SEE THE CULPRITS: → One out of five children enter kindergarten with limitations in their social, emotional, cognitive and physical development that might have been significantly diminished or even eliminated through early identification and attention to child and family needs.

That’s why we often say in our partnership, “Early screening matters!” → Early experience matters. All of a child’s early experiences, whether at home, in the community or in preschool, are educational. Yet in our community, we have alarming rates of preschool expulsion. You read that right: 4-year-olds kicked out before they even have a chance. We have a mandate to support social-emotional development and address behavioral concerns early before they flare up in the classroom and in the court. → Pediatric primary care providers have access to our youngest children and families.

Pediatricians can promote and use community supports, such as home visiting, quality early care and education, family support, early intervention, and libraries, which are important for addressing school readiness and are too often underused by populations who can benefit most from them. → Finally, we have parents themselves. Yes, it’s true that children demonstrate better readiness for kindergarten if they attended a higher quality, center-based preschool program. But it’s equally true that children are ready for kindergarten when they have parents who love them. Parents who are responsive and positive, parents who are highly engaged and parents who set up their homes as stable, safe spaces to support learning.

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2020 2021 13

SIBLINGS help build brains BROTHERS AND SISTERS IMPACT ONE ANOTHER’S LIVES

BY Reggie Dogan STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

T

here are few influences more meaningful than a brother or sister. In many ways, older siblings play a significant role in the lives of their younger siblings. Like parents, older brothers and sisters act as role models and teachers, helping their younger siblings learn about the world.

This positive influence became the driving force behind Studer Community Institute’s Sibling Brain Builders.

SCI believes the sibling relationship is a natural place for younger children to learn, develop and grow.

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And Sibling Brain Builders is the perfect place to bring older sisters and brothers together into the cause of helping prepare their younger siblings for kindergarten.

“Most of our programs have been aimed at assisting parents to develop better skills to help their children but did not directly target siblings themselves,” said Shannon Nickinson, SCI director of early learning. “Sibling Brain Builders was designed specifically to encourage sibling bonding and family engagement through reading, sharing and learning.”

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

Currently, SCI has two projects in selected elementary schools and one middle school for students to be a part of Sibling Brain Builders.

Media specialists and administrators at Lincoln Park, Montclair, O.J. Semmes and C.A. Weis elementary schools encourage students in third to fifth grades to read at home with their younger siblings. SCI provides books, materials, bookmarks and incentives to give to students who participate.

At Bellview Middle School, teacher Dee Wright provides selected middle

Media specialists and administrators encourage pupils in elementary school to read to younger pupils and at home to younger siblings. SCI provides the books and incentives to give to students who participate.

school students with donated books, tips and tools to take home and use with their younger siblings ages 0 to 5.

In both projects, the older siblings will get credit at school for the work they do at home plus incentives to keep it up. The younger children will get more time reading and engaging with someone who loves them and helps them learn.

“It is amazing how much influence siblings have in the lives of each other,” Wright said. “But the interested thing is that the influence goes both ways in that the older sibling in some ways is learning from the younger one.”

While Sibling Brain Builders is an innovative program to foster family engagement, its main goal is to help prepare children for kindergarten.

Escambia County’s 2020 kindergarten readiness rate is 48, which means that more than half of the nearly 3,000 kindergartners are not ready when they arrive at school.

Early education plays a critical role during the important developmental years of a child. Kindergarten readiness, in fact, is one of the 16 key metrics the Studer Community Institute uses to measure economic, educational and social well-being in the Pensacola metro area.

Family engagement traditionally centers around parent interaction with their children. Engaging parents to involve their children through talking and reading is among the easiest ways to increase brain development in babies and enhance literacy in children.

But there is ample research on how siblings affect one another, and new research is showing that siblings may well have a powerful effect on one another’s lives as parents.

It is partly due to what’s called the “sibling spillover effect.”

That’s when an older brother or sister can have a positive effect when they help their younger siblings by reading with them, helping them with their homework or giving them advice about school and learning.

In a Time magazine article that preceded his book, “The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us,” Jeffrey Kluger wrote, “From the time they are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and coconspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys.”

To be sure, sibling relationships provide children with their first peer interactions and the first opportunity to handle different aspects of long-term and intimate relationships.

Older brothers and sisters also can be crucial in the early childhood brain of siblings. Findings suggest that siblings can be a productive resource for teachers looking to build stronger relationships between school- and home-based literacy practices.

By taking advantage of family connections already in place, programs like Sibling Brain Builders promote literacy interactions between siblings in innovative ways that are educational and maintain an element of choice that generate new links between home and school.

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2020 15

THE BASICS aims to improve outcomes for kids

THE BASICS TOOLKIT IS EXPANDING WITH MORE WAYS TO HELP PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS

BY Reggie Dogan STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

16 2021

H

ow can parents improve outcomes in their children’s lives and help them get ready for kindergarten?

One way is to go back to the basics — specifically The Basics Pensacola.

Studer Community Institute partnered with Harvard University professor Dr. Ron Ferguson, founder of The Boston Basics, to ensure that parents and caregivers in Pensacola are fully equipped and supported to use the early learning principles in everyday life.

The Basics campaign was inspired by the fact that 80 percent of brain growth occurred during the first three years.

Ferguson, Harvard Kennedy School professor and faculty director of Harvard’s Achievement Gap Initiative, developed The Basics to help reduce the achievement gap and increase brain development in babies.

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

The Basics are five, fun, simple and powerful ways that help every family give every child a great start in life. The principles are: Maximize Love, Manage Stress; Talk, Sing and Point; Count, Group and Compare; Explore through Movement and Play; and Read and Discuss Stories.

The Basics Community Toolkit includes an online repository of videos, activities, handouts and other materials designed to provide routine interactions with families.

The toolkit now is expanding with more ways to help parents and caregivers.

For parents, free text messages, “Basics Insights,” is one of the new tools.

Parents with children between ages 0 to 3 can sign up to receive two text messages weekly for three years provided

by The Basics Learning Network.

The messages use science-based facts

and suggested activities to boost a child’s brain development and learning. These weekly tips are designed to help prepare children for school and life.

“We are especially excited about the partnership with Harvard University and the opportunity to reach more parents and their children through this engaging text message system,” said Quint Studer, founder of the Studer Community Institute. “This tool is another innovative way to improve kindergarten readiness and improve the quality of life in our community.”

SCI is inviting other organizations, agencies, businesses or people who have contact with parents of children 0 to 3 to join to help improve outcomes through Basics Insights.

Basics Insights text messaging adds to the videos, handouts, discussion guides

and other resources from The Basics Community Toolkit that community-based organizations use to reach parents and caregivers through activities ranging from workshops to casual conversations.

Moving forward, the text messages will complement and even enhance these activities that were going to happen anyway, while also serving as a standalone, three-year curriculum to increase the use of Basics-related caregiving.

Shannon Nickinson, SCI director of early learning, sees The Basics as another important tool in the ongoing efforts to improve kindergarten readiness and outcomes for children in this community.

“The Basics is an innovative way to spread the word about the importance of engaging parents in the first three

years of their children’s lives,” Nickinson said. “Using text messages to spread the word during these times of uncertainty is the perfect way to keep the Basics principles in the forefront of parents’ minds and lives.”

Learn more about The Basics Network at TheBasics.org and StuderI.org.

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A Basics Community Contract We should sign a Basics Contract Wherein when it comes to babies, We would share an obligation With no ifs or buts or maybes.

1 Maximize love, manage stress.

We could guarantee that parents Would be rescued from their stress By supportive friends and neighbors Helping put their cares to rest.

This includes the types of friendship where When weary from no sleep, Every parent finds a trusted soul Their precious child to keep.

2 Talk, sing and point.

We would help each parent come to know The benefits of talking And the ways that pointing helps the child Decipher all their squawking.

3 Count, group and compare.

We would post on walls and billboards Things that little kids could count, Near some sculptures made for grouping To compare and climb and mount.

4 Explore through movement and play.

We would donate games and puzzles And some toys to use outside.

We’d make sure that every toddler has a tricycle to ride.

5 Read and discuss stories

And each child would be enthralled By all the wonders found through reading, For we’d offer to each family Any books they might be needing.

Hereby Resolved If we all embrace this vision (That means friends and neighbors too), Parents then will find the bandwidth To do what they need to do.

Yes, they’ll need to do The Basics, And by doing your small part, You will help more parents help their kids To learn and grow up smart.

If we all resolve to do these things We’ve learned will be required, Then each child our efforts benefit Will be a life inspired!

©2016 Ronald F. Ferguson PLEASE FIND RELATED MATERIAL AT WWW.BOSTONBASICS.ORG PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE AND SHARE FREELY AS LONG AS COPYRIGHT ATTRIBUTION IS INCLUDED.

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The Basics Caregiver Promise With my heart I will love you And shield you from stress.

With my mouth I will speak what I feel.

With soft words and sweet songs every time I behold you I’ll show you that my love is real.

With my fingers I’ll point at the objects I name And I’ll count them in groups to compare.

With my feet I will take you outdoors to explore While we play and enjoy the fresh air.

With my eyes I will read as I show you the world Through bright pictures and stories in books.

These are way to make sure that your brain is prepared For successes wherever you look.

This is my promise I make from the day of your birth That these basics I’ll faithfully do.

For my job is to help you grow happy and smart Starting now when your life is brand new.

You will learn that your life is an artwork.

And that you are the artist in charge.

But before your decide what to do with your life Listen now To the beat Of my heart.

©2016 Ronald F. Ferguson WWW.BOSTONBASICS.ORG AND WWW.THEBASICS.ORG

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2020 19 2021

How THE BASICS

can help close the achievement gap Dr. Ronald Ferguson has spent decades researching, writing and working to find ways to engage families and communities to help reduce the achievement gap in education.

An MIT-trained economist, Dr. Ferguson has made a career of intentional change through his work as an author, director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, founder of The Basics Inc. and more than 30 years of teaching at the Harvard Kennedy School.

In this interview, Dr. Ferguson details the scientific research, as well as his own familial experiences, that fuel his passion for spreading the five yet powerful Basics of early childhood caregiving.

Q. Thirty years ago, you recognized a relationship between academic and growing wage disparities, which is what got you started working on education.

Which specific academic skill disparities did you notice?

A. Initially, it was reading and math scores. In 1979, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) administered the Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT) to more than 12,000 14-to-21 year-olds.

20 2021

The NLSY interviewed the same young people every year, so 10 years later, at the end of the 1980s, we looked to see how their skills measured at the end of the 1970s (when the test-takers were teenagers) predicted their earnings and employment status when they were young adults. As it turned out, the scores from 1979 predicted most of the black-white and Latinx-white hourly earnings gaps in 1989 and ’90. It was stark evidence that reading and math skills really mattered.

The racial gap in academic skills seemed to be narrowing, but technology and other factors were making academic skills more valuable to employers, increasing economic inequality.

That’s when I and a lot of other economists started working on education.

Q. You developed the Tripod Project in 2001 (which later became Tripod Education Partners) to reduce the academic opportunity gap in elementary and secondary schools. What prompted the shift to early childhood through The Basics in recent years?

A. I didn’t switch. My work still focuses

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on cradle to career. I added the preschool and early childhood period because I saw in nationally representative data that the cognitive skill gap was evident by the age of 1, and pretty stark by the age of 2, less than half the way to kindergarten.

So the gaps that we care about, the disparities that predict later life outcomes, were already fairly well developed by the time children hit kindergarten. We really needed to back up and start focusing on families prenatally.

Q. Can you say more about these cognitive skill gaps?

A. By cognitive skill, we're talking about a child’s mental agility, the ability to respond well to intellectual stimuli.

And for little kids, it’s really a lot about the quantity and quality of adult-child interactions. For example, a scholar named Ann Fernald, with some of her colleagues, studies how rapidly children 2-year-olds and younger associate words with objects.

In one study, children from more advantaged backgrounds were already six months ahead in language processing speed,

compared to economically disadvantaged peers, by the time they were 2 years old.

There’s a fair amount of research that gives us a way to interpret those findings, showing that children from more advantaged backgrounds tend to experience more verbal language — their parents tend to talk to them more. So, they’ve had more practice at hearing and responding.

In addition to the sheer number of words, scientists tracked the amount of back-and-forth conversational turn-taking. Children who were engaged at home in more conversational turn-taking showed a distinct pattern in their brain scans: a part of the brain associated with language “lit up” more on the MRI screen when a researcher in the lab read the child a story.

So, it looks like it matters that children in back-and-forth conversations have to process what the other person is saying, then formulate and deliver their own response. And every one of those exchanges requires the use of that “muscle,” the brain. The more the child uses the brain, the stronger it gets.

Q. There is a consistent theme of research-to-practice in your work. What qualitative and quantitative outcomes do you expect from The Basics?

A. We’ve isolated the types of early childhood lived experiences that contribute to early brain development. Families who use The Basics consistently, who otherwise might not have, can alter their child’s lifetime trajectory of success.

We know that the ease of learning depends upon early brain development — a child’s orientation to life, their tendency to identify things that they’re interested in and become passionately engaged in learning more about those things. So, it’s not just how much the child knows, it’s the child’s tendency to set high aspirations and to be confident enough to investigate and learn things that they initially don’t understand.

There are a number of qualities that contribute to life success, and it goes beyond basic reading and math skills. More recent research is showing that self-management skills, called executive function skills, are really important in the long term.

Executive function skills are the skills an individual uses to make a plan and actually follow through on it, to shift their attention from one thing to another, to resist the temptation to do something that they have an urge to do but know that they shouldn’t.

Executive functioning skills are strongly affected by the sense of security children have early in life, which helps make the first Basic, Maximize Love, Manage Stress, so important.

Each of The Basics is linked to a set of skills and attitudes that are foundations for lifelong success. The big impact we want to document over time is the trend line in school readiness rotating up. There is still a large percentage of children who arrive in kindergarten without having the executive function skills that they need to do well.

Along the way, we want to be able to document changes in parental knowledge and childcare routines, as well as some markers of early childhood developmental progress. But ultimately, over a period of several years, The Basics is a community-wide public health initiative to raise that trend line in school readiness. Research at the Brookings Institution indicates that over 80 percent of kids who

enter kindergarten school-ready are still on track with reading and math skills as of fifth grade, but fewer than half are if they entered kindergarten underprepared.

We want parents to become empowered with their infants and toddlers, then stay engaged for the rest of the children's lives, knowing that what they do as parents actually makes a difference.

Q. Talk about how you were raised and your child-rearing years.

A. My grandmother was a master teacher of special education students. Even at home, she was constantly teaching. On top of what my parents did, she spent a lot of time with me as a preschooler building my skills and confidence. She was also my oldest son’s childcare provider for the first year-and-a-half of his life.

I grew up the oldest of five boys, no sisters. We each had our own unique mix of relationships with our parents and grandparents, which I think helps explain why we turned out so differently. My coauthor Tatsha Robertson and I have written about it in a chapter on siblings, in our new book, The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children.

The book reveals a pattern with eight principles or “parental roles” we found in how exceptionally high-achieving young adults were raised. It covers birth through adolescence and also addresses why some siblings didn’t do as well. The Formula is a great supplement to The Basics, for parents of older children.

Q. Thank you for sharing your personal journey. Now we have a deeper understanding of your dedication to this work.

A. Let me end by saying that one reaction we get regarding The Basics is that we’re wasting our time trying to reach parents who are preoccupied with life’s stressors, like how to pay rent.

They mean that parents need help first dealing with emotional baggage from a lifetime of stress and hardship. Surely some do.

But my reaction is, “Let’s tell them about The Basics anyway, and let them decide for themselves,” instead of arbitrarily and paternalistically making the decision for them.

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Early learning playspace

Boosts Brain Development

OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OFFERS EXPLORATION FOR KIDS TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THEIR SENSES AND NATURE

BY Reggie Dogan STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

T

hree Pensacola area families made a $30,000 investment in the children of Moreno Court.

The Sitton, Bear and Kugelman families made their commitment to the families of young children in Moreno Court through the construction of a nature-based, early learning playspace.

All three families collaborated to make sure that the playground could be brought to life.

“Kristen and I get so much joy out of helping people in the community, especially children,” said Josh Sitton. “We are excited to have been a part of this

22 2021

amazing project for children to enjoy for years to come.”

The Bear Family Foundation chose to support this project to enable children in the community the chance to enjoy the outdoors in a healthy and playful setting, said Cindi Bonner, member of the family foundation’s board.

“The Sitton Bear Kugelman playground provided an opportunity for children to communicate, in person, with one another and to also spend time together with other family members,” Bonner said. “Furnishing the space allows a child to explore their imagination and for memories to be made.”

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Jane Lauter, president of the Kugelman Family Foundation, said her family is thrilled to be part of the project.

“The Kugelman Family Foundation is elated to support this project with other local foundations,” Lauter said. “We believe in our Pensacola community and working hard to make it better each and every day. Together, we can do great things and allow opportunities for children to continue to grow and advance in positive ways.”

Studer Community Institute has shepherded the project as part of their partnership with Area Housing Commission,

which manages the housing complex off Old Corry Field Road.

Bear General Contractors managed the construction and installation of the playspace, which is based on a similar space at the Bodacious Brew. Both were designed by Caldwell and Associates.

Research shows that being in nature boosts a child’s brain development and ability to focus, be creative and solve problems. This project takes elements of play and nature and combines them into a learning space that is beautiful and fun.

Area Housing Commission management donated the space for the project and will maintain the garden to keep it clean and available for children to use and enjoy. Managers on site work with residents to help maintain the space as part of the community volunteer hours they are required to give annually.

“SCI’s mission in our early learning work is to build a brain, build a life and build a community,” said Shannon Nickinson, director of early learning for the nonprofit institute founded by Quint and Rishy Studer in 2016. “By investing in the families of Moreno Court, the Sittons, the Bears and the Kugelmans have shown that they value the potential of every child. We hope their investment in this neighborhood will serve as an example to the rest of the community about the commitment to building a culture of early learning from the ground up.”

Adding this to the common space of Moreno Court, which serves Warrington Elementary School, enhances the living space there and gives those children an important outlet for play and learning beyond what traditional playground equipment can provide.

The goal of the project is to provide the children of Moreno Court with an educational playspace that highlights nature and the environment as part of the design. This will inspire their play to be purposeful, it will give them a connection to the natural world they do not currently have, and it will inspire the community at large to replicate such an investment in other under-served areas.

Shirley Henderson, deputy executive director of Area Housing, said the playspace will be used as the location for lessons about the importance of play, about ways to build parent talk and interaction into play time and to provide an outlet for learning in a safe, fun environment.

“Children learn about their world through their senses,” Henderson said. “Creating a safe, diverse and developmentally appropriate outdoor learning environment can allow them to explore and learn so much more about their senses and nature.”

Top: Josh Sitton of Bear General Contractors shares how the playground space helps children learn and discover nature. Bottom: Children learn about their world through play and their senses.

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2021 23 2021

HEAD START

gives children a good start in life EMPOWERING CHILDREN WITH THE CONFIDENCE TO EXCEL IN SCHOOL AND ACHIEVE SELF-SUFFICIENCY AS ADULTS

BY Reggie Dogan STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

E

→ medical/dental screenings → nutrition services

→ mental health services

very child deserves the opportunity to succeed in life and that learning process starts at an early age.

Escambia County’s Community Action Program Committee offers many opportunities for parents to be actively involved in their child’s development and recognize parents as partners in education.

CAPC’s Head Start/Early Start programs are specifically designed to meet each child’s developmental needs by empowering families and providing access to services needed to reach their goals.

In Escambia County, Community Action Program Committee operates the local Head Start/Early Head Start programs.

CAPC Head Start serves 670 children from ages 3 and 4 in Escambia County. Early Head Start serves 88 children from birth to 36 months.

CAPC’s education program is designed to meet each child’s individual needs. Every child receives a variety of learning experiences to foster intellectual, physical, social and emotional growth. Children participate in indoor and outdoor play and are introduced to many concepts to progress and achieve school readiness goals throughout the year.

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IN ADDITION to preparing children for kindergarten by providing an educational program, CAPC also provides:

The main objective of CAPC Head Start/Early Head Start is to assist children and their families to develop social, educational, emotional and physical competence by empowering families and providing access to all available services needed to reach their goals.

Head Start was originally created in 1965 as a summer program that would teach low-income children what they needed to start elementary school.

It was designed to help break the cycle of poverty, providing preschool children of low-income families with a multi-pronged program to meet their developmental and educational needs.

In 1994 Early Head Start was created to give all young children equal opportunities to succeed in school and in life.

Both programs are free to families and federally funded to promote school readiness.

These programs encourage parent involvement through regular visits to the child’s home, regular opportunities for parents to volunteer in the program, and special activities. Head Start and Early Head Start programs also link children and families to other services in the community.

Head Start combines services such as education, early childhood

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→ disability services

→ family engagement Applications are accepted Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., at 401 Brigadier St. Call 1-844-356-8137 for an appointment to complete your child’s application.

Walk-ins are welcome.

PLEASE BRING the following items to complete your application: → Child’s birth certificate → Proof of income

→ Tax return/W2, or two current paystubs, child support and financial aid → Proof of residence, either a lease or any bill with the address listed → Social Security cards for everyone in the family → Proof of Public Assistance – TANF or SSA → Proof of Medical insurance → Guardianship paperwork (if applicable) → IEP/IFSP (If applicable) Children who will be 4 by Sept. 1 are eligible for our Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program.

Children in the Escambia County Head Start program use blocks to learn shapes, sizes and sharing skills that will help prepare them for kindergarten and school readiness.

development, health, nutrition, mental health, disability services, family support, and parental involvement with the goal of enhancing the child’s life and building a strong family unit.

Through these services, Head Start empowers children with the confidence to excel in school and achieve self-sufficiency as adults.

While Head Start/Early Head Start are designed to help young children prepare for kindergarten, parental involvement is needed and greatly encouraged.

Parents are first and foremost a child’s first and most important teacher.

There are many ways for parents to get involved in Head Start/Early Head Start,

including volunteering in the classroom, sharing a special talent and participating in program governance.

Parent involvement in education, in fact, enhances the ability of parents, staff and the community to work together to support each child’s growth and learning in the home and program environments.

That’s why the overall goal is to bring about a greater degree of social competence in children of lowincome families.

Then, the child’s entire family, as well as the community, can be involved to create and sustain quality programs and assist the child with school readiness and success in life.

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2021 25

Brain Bag UPDATE

N

ot even a pandemic can stop babies.

While the COVID-19 pandemic changed countless things about our world in 2020, one thing that didn’t stop was baby births.

And thanks to the support of the community, the Studer Community Institute’s cornerstone project — the Brain Bag — kept getting to parents. Since the spring of 2017, the Brain Bag has been a learning tool shared with parents to help them use and harness the power within themselves to build their child’s brain.

More than 18,000 of the kits have been shared since the program began, with some 4,494 going home with parents in the pandemic year of 2020.

Laurel Woodfin Farrell of Pensacola was among some of those grateful 2020 parents. She said the Brain Bag helped

26 2021

her learn so many helpful ways she can help her son grow.

“My 5-month-old loves his water mat for tummy time. We also started doing a little tummy time each day from Day 1,” she said. “I didn’t know babies should start that early until I read about it in our Brain Bag at the hospital. Now he loves it and spends a lot of time on his tummy playing throughout the day.”

Kathleen Whibbs’s twins were among the first Brain Bag bags in the program. As grateful as she is for the advice and support the program has brought her family, her work as a nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital allowed her to see the impact on other families, too.

“When you just have a baby, especially if it’s your first, you are confused, excited and emotional. (The Brain Bag) gave you something tactical to do with your child,”

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BY Shannon Nickinson STUDER COMMUNITY INSTITUTE

Whibbs said. “In the (neonatal intensive care unit) and labor and delivery, as a nurse, I would see the parents at bedside reading, and it was their first connection with their child as a parent.”

HOW IT STARTED SCI’s Early Learning City effort works to improve kindergarten readiness in the community by giving parents the understanding of the power of language and interaction in the first three years of life to build a child’s brain.

That early brain development is key to the foundation of a child’s readiness for school and ultimately for putting that child on a path for success in school and life.

That is crucial in Escambia County, which state education data indicates has a kindergarten readiness rate of 48 percent (as of 2019, the most recently available data).

The Brain Bag is built around a video lesson, based on a two-year research partnership with the University of Chicago’s TMW Center. That research showed that a video lesson built on a handful of key teaching points can effectively boost mom’s knowledge about early brain development and the role parent talk and interaction have in that development.

Dneisha Moultrie is among many parents who use the Brain Bag, which provides tools, tips and books to help them build their baby’s brains.

When the Institute’s work began, kindergarten readiness stood at 45 percent.

That means more than half of our children are missing some of the fundamental language and academic skills they need to be ready for school.

In 2020, SCI added a partner hospital — Santa Rosa Medical Center — thanks to a sponsorship by Sandi Kemp, publisher of The Navarre Press. That added 365 families to the program.

WHAT’S NEXT Two years ago, a team from Cincinnati, Ohio, wanted to learn more about the program, and 2020 was the second program year of the version conducted under TriHealth’s network of in-hospital, pediatric and family practice clinics in the southern Ohio city.

TriHealth hospitals account for about 9,200 births per year, with another 9,000 to 10,000 pediatric visits in their family medicine and primary care practices, according to Stacy Heller, the program coordinator for the project.

The first year of the program, they gave out 17,784 Brain Bags, including children up to age 18 months in the “catch up” period where they tried to reach as many TriHealth families as possible.

COVID-19 was part of the reason for the catch-up period, putting the

team about six months behind, mostly due to supply chain issues. Part of the catch-up effort also included children who use TriHealth pediatric clinics but weren’t delivered at a TriHealth hospital, transferred into the system or otherwise missed receiving a bag.

TriHealth also has made it part of the electronic medical record system to document that families received their bag. If that button isn’t clicked, it’s a flag to staff at subsequent wellbaby appointments to review the material with parents.

Ultimately, when those Brain Bag babies age up to 4 years old, the electronic medical record will include documenting that school readiness screening was done, too.

In clinic settings, medical assistants manage the handoff and education related to the Bag. “Parents love the fact that they can make a difference without tools,” said Dr. Joseph Bailey, the pediatrician leading the charge on this program.

“They didn’t know just plain old talking could be such a help to their child.”

Bailey says when he presented the program during the roll-out stage, he knew he would be asking staff to do more work. How did they receive the news?

“They applauded” when he finished the presentation, he said. “Once people realize they can make a difference, they want to.”

It also includes a storybook, P is For Pelican, the ABCs of Pensacola, which uses landmarks in our community to build letter awareness and encourage family reading; Baby Steps, a baby book that can be personalized to help parents track early brain development milestones in the first three years of life; a toy; and community resource information to help support parents.

The Brain Bags are stored, assembled and delivered by Arc Gateway’s Pollak Industries, which offers life- and work-skills training for adults with developmental disabilities.

The Brain Bag survey to ask moms two questions: On a scale of 1–to–10, rate your knowledge of how parent talk influences early brain development before the Brain Bag, and then rate it after. Here is how the responses breakdown by hospital.

HERE IS HOW THE RESPONSES BREAKDOWN BY HOSPITAL West Florida................................7 to 9.6 Baptist.......................................7.4 to 9.5 Sacred Heart ............................7.9 to 9.8 Santa Rosa Medical Center …..5.1 to 9.2 Overall .....................................6.8 to 9.5

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2021 27

Every baby deserves a

Healthy Start PROVIDING A CUSTOMIZED CARE COORDINATION PLAN FOR MOMS TO ADDRESS THEIR NEEDS WITH THE GOAL OF KEEPING MOM AND BABY HEALTHY

BY Allyson Anderson ESCAMBIA COUNTY HEALTHY START COALITION

P

regnant women have dedicated resources available to them, free of charge, to help guide them through pregnancy, delivery and the caring of their newborn.

In a pandemic environment with widespread isolation, the Healthy Start team stands ready to provide critical coaching, encouragement, support and education that will help guide them through an already stressful time.

Healthy Start was created by state legislation in 1991 with the goals of reducing infant mortality, reducing the number of low-birth-weight babies, and improving health and developmental outcomes for all of Florida’s babies.

Healthy Start care coordinators provide support, including assistance finding a

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doctor, nutrition education, help with quitting smoking, childbirth classes, breastfeeding support and education, and inter-conception care.

Any woman can choose to be screened by her obstetric provider or self-refer to be eligible for Healthy Start services during pregnancy or at time of delivery. This confidential screening helps identify babies who may have a greater risk of poor birth outcomes.

Healthy Start care coordinators Jackie Mitchell and Margaret Blakely helped an expectant mother, Destiny, into prenatal care, which identified pregnancy complications leading to premature birth and diagnosis of a severe life-threatening illness.

Throughout her baby’s treatment, staff worked closely to provide education, support

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and resources to ensure a healthy outcome for mother and baby. Now, Destiny and her son are living a healthier life.

At Healthy Start, we provide a customized care coordination plan for moms to address their needs with the goal of keeping mom and baby healthy.

We offer a wide variety of programs and services, including: → Connect (Coordinated Intake and Referral): Our coordinated intake and referral process ensures the optimal fit for families and eases their access to vital services. Simultaneously, it streamlines program enrollment and retention, reduces duplication of services and builds a broader system of care. Connect programming helps pregnant women and new mothers with a one-stop entry point for essential services, such as education and support in childbirth, newborn care, child development, food and

nutrition, mental health services and self-sufficiency. → Safe Sleep Ambassadors: Escambia County Healthy Start Coalition’s Cribs for Kids program educates the community about the importance of providing a safe sleep environment to reduce the risk of accidental suffocation injuries and deaths of babies in our community. In addition, we provide free Pack and Play cribs and survival kits to the Escambia County’s most vulnerable infants and children, thanks in large part to the generosity of community members and donors. → Stork Stock: With gratitude for the overwhelming support of our community, Healthy Start is now proud to offer free diapers, wipes and formula to those most in need. Our “Stork Stock” inventory is available to families at no cost. We are so appreciative to our donors for their support of this critical lifeline to families.

HOW TO CONNECT: If you are interested in enrolling in Healthy Start or learning more about Connect programs, call us to connect with our services at: → (850) 696-2291

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2021 2021 29

BRAIN BUILDER

Calendar

MAY S

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Color of the month: Green Shape of the month: Trapezoid

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Let’s Create Together Build fine motor skills through activities. A toddler’s curiosity grows by the day, and art and creative play are great outlets for that curiosity.

For example: Place different art supplies in front of your child. With little instruction, see what finished product they come up with. Allow your child to be creative. Incorporate art projects into learning sessions.

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Gather supplies to create a new project.

Encourage your child to count out objects as you gather them.

Grab a sheet of paper and trace your and your child’s hands and feet. Afterward, color or paint the images.

Create an “art gallery” in your home. Having a designated area to display your child’s work will bring positivity.

Create lacing cards! Punch holes in a piece of paper and encourage your child To lace through the holes.

Pick a book relating to art. Have your child draw a picture of something from the book.

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Talk with your child about their friend group.

Find out the qualities that they desire in a friend.

Create a song about sharing. Sing and dance to your silly song.

Take your child to the park. Encourage them to play with new children.

Read Aloud: Take turns with your child telling a story.

Encourage your child to use words such as thank you and please. Reward their politeness!

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Color of the month: Purple Shape of the month: Oval

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Helping children to develop social skills creates a foundation for healthy interactions in all aspects of life.

Encourage sharing whether your child is playing among peers or with you. For example: Hand out six crayons between you and your child. To receive new colors, your child must ask nicely. This simple concept will go a long way!

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Be a friend

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Families are the key. That’s why we built this calendar. It shares things large and small that you and your child can do to get ready for school. The skills in this calendar are the kinds of skills children develop in the year between their third and fourth birthdays.

Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Let’s write Writing is a fundamental part of your child’s life. Writing is also a way in building their fine motor skills.

Try to create a stress-free environment to encourage learning. Make writing fun!

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1

Spell your child’s name on a piece of paper in marker. Have your child trace letters in crayon or pencil.

Choose an alphabet book to read with your child. Go over the letters that are in your child’s name.

Spread shaving cream on a flat surface.

Encourage your child to write letters in the cream.

Write out numbers in marker. Have your child trace over the numbers. Also, help them count.

Encourage your child to write their name on their own. Help along the way.!

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

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Read a story related to physical activity.

Imitate the motion that characters are doing in the book.

Encourage your child to do a simple exercise.

Count aloud with each movement.

Read a story of your choice. Afterward, come up with a silly song about the story.

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Ask your child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Role play their answer.

Pretend play a chef with your child and count the different ingredients.

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Take your child to the park for free play.

Choose a place for pretend play with your child.

Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

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Talking to your child helps the development of their brain. Nearly 90-95% of your child’s brain is built by age 5. Help your child’s brain grow by talking and interacting with them every day!

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Color of the month: Orange Shape of the month: Circle

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Pretend play gives children the chance to practice their life skills and to deal with issues they are just beginning to understand. Although playing seems simple, its power to help a child learn important skills.

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Count it Out! Play a game of leapfrog.

Measure how far your child goes.

Pretend play

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Talk about it! While making a snack or meal, explain each step to your child.

Have your child tell a story, encourage the use of expressive language.

Play a game of telephone with your child.

Use receptive language during the role play.

Encourage your child to draw a picture of their feelings for the day.

Explore outside. Use Receptive Language and explain what each object is.

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

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BRAIN BUILDER

Calendar

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Teaching your child shapes and colors before VPK will allow them to have a more productive experience during school. Help your child get ahead!

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During pretend play, use blocks to build.

During pretend play, use blocks to build.

Arrange manipulatives into like categories.

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Encourage your child to be curious about the world around them. For example: What happens when you mix paint with water? Use a dropper to squeeze paint into a bowl of water. Explain what is happening. Asking your child questions about the world will increase their curiosity.

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towel tube. As a bonus, paint the tube!

During pretend play, use blocks to build.

During pretend play, use blocks to build.

Arrange manipulatives into like categories.

Everyone loves a delicious meal. While you are grocery shopping, talk with your child about the items you are getting. For example, point out colors, shapes, and sizes of different fruits and vegetables.

For younger ones, be sure to talk, talk, talk!

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1 Read Aloud! Make a grocery list with your child.

5 Bake cookies with your child and measure

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Let’s eat

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Let’s explore

6 Make a telescope out of an empty paper

Color of the month: Grey Shape of the month: Hexagon T

While reading, draw shapes that are in the story.

shadows on the sidewalk.

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Draw a picture by using shapes.

1 Take It Outside! Use colorful chalk and trace

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the ingredients.

Pretend play “restaurant” and have your child “cook” you a healthy meal.

Read a book related to food. Discuss your child’s favorite food group.

Make a cookbook that has healthy meals and your child’s favorite recipes.

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Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

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Feelings and family

Color of the month: Teal Shape of the month: Heart

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Your child has feelings, too. Teaching a child how and when to express their feelings will increase their emotional well-being, no matter what age.

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Notes: _____________________ 5 Play music based on your child’s mood. ___________________________ 9 Read a book about feelings..

14 Share with your child the people they ___________________________ can trust. ___________________________ 26 Read a story related to love. ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Stop! Look! Listen!

Children must learn how to listen to and follow directions. As we know, this is not only for learning purposes, but also for their safety. Incorporate learning how to follow directions by playing different games or while getting dressed. Be sure to use positive reinforcement when your child listens.

4 Play a game that requires taking turns and listening. Reward your child when they follow directions.

8 Listen to the story, “Going on A Bear Hunt” 19

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then conduct a scavenger hunt with your child.

While reading a new story, ask checkpoint questions. Explain why it is important always to listen.

Play a game of Simon Says showing the importance of following guidelines.

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_____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

Clean up time Set aside time each day for specific chores. For example: Before it is time to take a nap, make sure toys are picked up and put away, and that dirty clothes are put into the laundry basket or hamper. Make cleaning fun by singing songs or dancing!

2 Create a chore chart with your child!

Use symbols and rewards to encourage daily clean up.

11 Choose a book that relates to chores.

16 Build a fort with your child. Afterward, help

your child put the items back in place.

Make recycling bins as an activity. While cleaning, separate paper, plastic and cans.

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Have your child pick their favorite chore to do.

Notes: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

BUILDING BLOCKS, A PARENT MAGAZINE

2021 33

Families Matter:

HEALTHY FAMILIES BUILD HEALTHY CHILDREN WHO ARE READY FOR SCHOOL — AND THE WORLD

Voluntary prekindergarten, like this class at Gonzalez United Methodist Child Enrichment Center in Escambia County, gives children the chance to learn and grow together, skills they will need to be successful in school.

BY Vicki Nall Pugh EARLY LEARNING COALITION OF ESCAMBIA

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etting children ready for school, friends and life begins early.

You have what it takes to help your child physically, emotionally and mentally. Because your family is powerful.

Families are where a child learns the soft skills and hard skills they need for life. Soft skills are not about specific content knowledge. Instead, this skill set addresses how children deal with new environments, interactions and discoveries. Children’s regulation of their emotions and attitudes and dispositions toward learning are soft skills that, in turn, are critical building blocks for the hard skills that are content driven, such as math or reading.

Families can teach those things.

As children grow, their ability to establish relationships with peers and with adults influences how they view themselves and the world. Positive and adaptive social behaviors result from interacting with others who have

different characteristics and backgrounds.

With the help of supportive familiar adults, young children expand their capacities to recognize and express their own feelings, and to understand and respond to the emotions of others.

Family dynamics teach children how to identify positive and negative emotions, how to verbalize their needs appropriately, and how to interact with other children as well as adults.

When a responsive, familiar adult soothes a baby with a touch or soft voice, the baby learns that people can be trusted. When a preschooler tries to comfort a sad family member, he has been taught the soft skill of empathy and concern — a necessary skill for teamwork at school and in the workforce.

Helping your child develop creativity and inventiveness at any age — whether building a Lego tower or finding a new way to move oneself before learning how to walk — gives

a child the self-confidence of persistence when something may be a bit difficult, skills needed in school as well as on a job.

Learning how to plan by making decisions on what she wants for breakfast not only gives a child ownership but also teaches her how to use past experiences to make decisions, which in turn builds more self-confidence.

Family life can be complicated and stressful, and everyone needs help sometimes.

Resources can be expensive to buy and timeconsuming to find. Resources may be nonexistent in some households.

The Early Learning Coalition is a place where families can find help. The Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Specialists at the ELC can provide connections that link families to quality childcare and community resources such as food, medical care, workforce support, housing assistance, creative financial assistance options, child development information and more.

For more information: ccrr@elcescambia.org or (850) 595-5915. Vicki Nall Pugh is the Director of Community Impact, Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County. To learn more about the tools they offer to help families and children, visit ElcEscambia.org.

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Caring for you and the generations to come

BAPTIST WOMEN’S CENTER

e B A P T I S T H E A LT H C A R E . O R G