Students Fall for Fun Learning Activities
LCCAA Head Start students practiced all sorts of skills with seasonal projects and adventures.
Pumpkins were explored with all five senses and multiple experiments. From carving, to painting to “exploding,” the favorite fall fruit was a staple in class-
rooms. Apples were also abundantly crunched, sliced and stamped!
Classrooms at Central Plaza and South Elyria invited families to visit for Fall Festivals to share the activities and fun. Thank you to all who participated!
Head Start Men Make a Difference Everyday
LCCAA Head Start knows that parenting is a team sport -- and men make a difference on the team.
Partnering with the Child Care Resource Center and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, LCCAA Head Start is holding monthly meetings designed to encourage and support fathers and father figures.
The series will explore how all of the players in a child’s life can work together toward the same goal: helping kids grow and thrive. Each session will give you a chance to
reflect, trade strategies and add new plays to your book.
Meetings include a free light meal, conversation with other parents and access to resources.
Staff Spotlight: Chef Luis Aguilar
What makes Head Start special?
What makes Head Start special to me is the real, meaningful impact it has on the community, especially because this is the same community I grew up in. I understand the people, the challenges and what it takes to make a difference here. Having been part of this program myself as a child, it’s incredibly meaningful to now serve as Head Cook (Chef) and come full circle. Every meal we prepare is more than food, it’s a way to bring comfort, joy, and care to the children and families we serve.
What personal or professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
One of my greatest accomplish-
ments is making my lifelong dream of living and building a career in New York City a reality. Growing up as part of Lorain’s community, I never imagined that someone like me could have a meaningful impact in such a diverse and fast-paced city. Over my 13+ years there, I achieved things I wasn’t even sure I was ready for, which speaks volumes about perseverance, determination and personal growth.
While in New York, I developed leadership skills, guided teams, and contributed to initiatives that connected food, culture, and community education. I now use those skills in my current role, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that same sense of community and joy reflected in every meal we serve. What’s something most people don’t know about you?
People may not know that I’m an
Meet at Griswold Head Start from 8:45 to 10:45 a.m.
631 Griswold Ave., Elyria
December 17
More Than Just the Score
Understanding how your child grows helps everyone win together.
January 14
Support from the Sidelines
A strong team of support makes a world of difference for everyone.
Current Site: Central Kitchen
Current Position: Head Cook
Years with LCCAA: 4 years
Years in Current Position: 4 years
avid sneakerhead. For me, that’s more than just collecting shoes, it’s about appreciating the design, culture, and creativity behind each pair.
Sneakers are a way I express myself and stay connected to trends and ideas that inspire me. My collection is sitting at about 200+ pairs and yes, I wear them all lol.
X Dec. 8: No School, Conferences
X Dec. 15: No School, Conferences
X Dec. 22 through Jan. 7: Winter Break
X Jan. 19: No School, MLK Day
Learning Links Connect School to Home
Have you noticed a bright sheet of orange, blue, yellow or green paper coming home with your child each week? Sometimes they wear it as a bracelet, and sometimes it is in their folder.
Have you wondered exactly what the purpose of this is? These are our Learning Links, and they help keep the children learning at home.
Each link is printed with an activity that aligns with our School Readiness Goals. We recognize that you are your child’s FIRST and BEST teacher, and the road to success begins with YOU.
The learning links are providing small activities that you can practice at home, in the car, or even while doing the grocery shopping. Not only does this enhance your child’s learning skills, but it also helps
Examples of activities include:
X Counting Objects in Your Home: spoons, doors, cotton balls, and more
X Identifying Shapes in Your Home: Is your table square? Oval? How about your chairs? Walls?
X Comparing Feet Sizes: Identi-
fying differences and enhancing vocabulary (longer, shorter, stocky, thin)
X Take an Autumn Nature Walk: Try to collect every color leaf. What other nature items can you collect?
X Take a Night Hike: Where is the moon today? Draw how it looks today. Take another hike a few days later. Does the moon look different?
At the end of the week, please complete the form and send it back to school. The teachers are collecting the learning links and finding creative ways to celebrate the learning that is happening at home.
We look forward to brightening our classrooms and your child’s future with our Learning Links!
Book of the Month: Grumpy Monkey
Kids will enjoy Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang. It is full of his jungle animal friends who keep asking him why he is grumpy. He replies “I’m not!” but his friends point out that his body language indicates otherwise. This is a great way to start conversations with children about reading people’s body language which can help them avoid dangerous situations.
In Head Start, we spend a lot of time helping students identify their own feelings and regulate them. All feelings are okay — even anger or sadness — but how you express your feelings can either be safe or unsafe. Staff help students manage out of control feelings and teach them strategies to manage themselves.
Parent & Committee Meetings
X Dec. 10: Griswold Parent Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
X Dec. 12: Hopkins Parent Meeting, 9 a.m.
X Dec. 17: Men Making a Difference, 8:45 a.m.
X Jan. 14: Men Making a Difference, 8:45 a.m.
X Jan. 22: Policy Council, Central, 5 p.m.
X Jan. 29: Education Advisory Committee, 9 a.m.
foster independence.
Practice, Play Build Fine Motor Skills and More
As children’s hands develop and grow, muscle strength improves. Practicing these fine motor skills is critical to children’s success in kindergarten and beyond.
Every day, LCCAA Head Start teachers work fine motor development into every activity they can. Teachers also employ different ideas — such as standing while using scissors — to improve success and increase confidence.
And they have a wide variety of manipulatives and other supplies that make it fun!
Tearing paper is a fun and easy way to strengthen small hand muscles in preparation for using scissors. Picking up small objects with tongs helps children learn the pincer movement they will need to write. Using an eye dropper for science experiments reinforces that movement.
Using GeoBoards to stretch rubber bands helps strengthen the small muscles in the hands. Wikki Stix
Fire Safety Discussed
Wellington Head Start students made their annual walking field trip to the local fire station in October. All the students had a great time seeing the trucks and equipment, learning about Stop, Drop and Roll, and about calling 9-1-1 only in case of an emergency.
Students also saw a firefighter dressed up in all his gear and heard the sounds air tanks make so they won’t be scared if they ever see a fire rescue in real life.
Chief Mike Weatherbee recommends families have a designated meeting spot outside if everyone ever has to escape the home due to a fire.
can be twisted or bent to create shapes – and they do double duty as tools for letter and number recognition. Play-doh and clay are a good work out for fingers and the imagination.
If you have questions about how you can work on fine motor skills at home, talk to your child’s teacher.
Read for the Record has expanded into a year-long celebration.
Previous books are being revisited in the lead up to Read for the Record Day on February 26. Books to share with your child over the winter months include: X Dec. 8: Bunny Cakes X Dec. 15: Not Norman: A Goldfish Story X Dec. 22: The Bear Ate Your Sandwich X Dec. 29: Quackers
Jan. 5: Maybe Something Beautiful
Jan. 12: Thank You, Omu!
Home-Based Events
Wild About Health Events Feature Food, Fun
LCCAA Head Start families got Wild About Health last week at two events full of family fun and learning.
Activities included crafts, exercise and teeth brushing demonstrations. Door prizes were awarded and a tasty dinner was provided by our Food Service staff.
The menu included spaghetti with meat sauce, Texas toast, fruit salad, cookies, juice and water.
A variety of community groups were also present with information on health-related topics.
Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy this great evening. If you have questions about health or nutrition, please reach out to Head Start staff.
Head Start Tests for Lead Exposure
Lead is the number one environmental danger facing children in Ohio. Although lead paint was outlawed in 1978, as many as two thirds of Ohio’s homes potentially contain lead paint.
Ohio ranks second in the nation in the number of children who have elevated levels of lead in their blood. In Ohio, 5.2 percent of children have Elevated Blood Lead Levels (EBLLs) while the national rate is 1.9 percent.
Pediatricians typically test for lead exposure at 12 months and 24 months. Head Start tests for lead exposure as well.
Ongoing lead testing is recommended for children who are Medicaid eligible, have a sibling or playmate who has or had lead
poisoning. Testing is also recommended for children who live in or regularly visit a building built before 1978, especially if the building has had recent renovations, is being remodeled or has paint in poor condition.
Samples are sent to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and parents are referred for treatment if needed.
Treatment for lead exposure may include:
X Advice and resources to help find and get rid of the source of lead to prevent more exposure.
X Nutritional counseling for suggestions about foods that can reduce the amount of lead absorbed into the body.
X Iron supplements.
X Ongoing monitoring of lead levels.
X Referral for developmental testing and monitoring over time to identify concerns and intervene as soon as possible.
Health Screenings will be held at all our centers between Jan. 12 and 16. Contact your Family Services Assistant for details.
Scan this code to see the latest menu for most of our Head Start Centers.
Out of the Box Series Returns
LCCAA Head Start Nutrition Staff’s unique Out of the Box cooking demonstrations continue to expand families’ cooking skills and their kitchen equipment.
The latest series continues this month. Our Dec. 3 demonstration featured Vegetable Barley Soup. On Dec. 10, No Knead Bread will be demonstrated. The increasingly popular series features a video demonstration shared online.
Those who register and attend then receive a box of ingredients to make the recipe at home. The boxes also include various pieces of kitchen equipment that would be useful in making the recipes.
The video demonstrations feature Head Start Chef Luis Aguilar and Dietician Marge Robison from our partner Pisanick Partners.
Both recipes are already on the Head Start Recipe Blog on our website. Scan the QR code to register for the bread demonstration.
Pumpkin Tried, Barley Next
LCCAA Head Start’s Nutrition Staff are always looking for ways to encourage healthy habits and introduce children to new foods.
For Try Day experiences, classrooms receive the food in raw form and investigations involve all five senses. Sometimes information is shared on how the food is grown or a story about the food is read.
In October, students explored pumpkins and tried Pumpkin Overnight Oats. With the help of our partners, Pisanick Partners, lobby tastings were held for parents at both Griswold and Hopkins Locke.
In January, students will try barley. Barley and bean salad will be served for lunch and lobby tastings are planned at Central Plaza, Griswold and Hopkins-Locke.
Apples Crunched Across Region
Once again, LCCAA Head Start students and staff participated in the Great Apple Crunch on Oct. 9 along with hundreds of students across the Great Lakes region.
Our center-based classrooms received a locally grown apple for snack time. Classes in Firelands and Wellington received apples to take home and a recipe for Apple Crisp for One.
Pathways HUB Now Offering Doula Support
LCCAA’s Lorain County Pathways HUB will provide a new level of support for pregnant women thanks to a new grant from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health.
The grant will provide doula services for up to 20 clients enrolled in the Pathways HUB through its Care Coordination Agency partners.
“Doulas provide emotional and physical support at the end of pregnancy and during birth,” said HUB Director Melissa Carroll, herself a trained doula. “They work alongside the medical staff to help ease a birthing mother’s pain and anxiety.”
Examples of a doula’s skills or tasks include:
X Advocating for the woman’s wishes and ensuring her preferences are respected by healthcare providers.
X Providing educational information about labor, birthing options and post-partum care.
X Helping mothers find the most comfortable positions during contractions.
X Postpartum assistance with breastfeeding, infant care and emotional recovery.
Under the HUB, doulas will be teamed with a Community Health Worker to best serve clients of the HUB.
“Doulas are a great complementary service to the work the HUB is doing,” Carroll said. “By providing more support to mothers, we can ensure more babies celebrate their first birthday – and beyond.”
The HUB is a free program seeking to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of at-risk moms and infants in Lorain County. LCPHUB links mothers with a local, trusted and caring Community Health Worker. Addressing key health and social issues (premature births, low-birth weights, access to quality care, etc.), the HUB supports families and reduces the alarming rate of infant mortality.
Learn more about the HUB on our website.
Programs Keep Heat Flowing in Lorain County
LCCAA and the State of Ohio have multiple programs to help you heat your home this coming winter. Each program has a slightly different set of requirements and procedures. Here’s what you need to know.
Emergencies only.
Appointment required.
The Winter Crisis Program will help you if your primary heating source is disconnected, a disconnection notice has been received, or you have less than a 10-day
supply of bulk fuel.
Appointments for Winter Crisis can be made only online. All appointments will be conducted over the phone.
If you receive a disconnect notice during the crisis period, make an appointment right away. If you make an appoint-
ment for at least 48 hours before your scheduled disconnection AND you enter your utility account number, the utility will put a hold on the disconnect while you are waiting for your appointment.
If you miss or reschedule your appointment, the hold is removed and you
may lose service.
Winter Crisis will operate through March 31, 2026.
Apply online. No appointment needed.
HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) helps you pay to heat your home during the winter.
PIPP (Percentage of Income Payment Plan) reduces your utility bills to a percentage of your income.
For more details on all these programs, please visit our website.
Take Advantage of Agency Produce Center
Residents throughout Lorain County can take advantage of the LCCAA Produce Center every week.
Households living at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($60,000 annually for a family of four) are eligible to order from the center.
Ordering windows are open from 8 a.m. Monday to 11 p.m. Sunday or until all appointments are full. Pickups are the following Wednesday and Thursday.
Appointments must be made via the online system and honoring appointments is critical. Those picking up are also asked to approach the Produce Center using Reid Avenue and West 10th Street and not cut through the parking lot at 936 Broadway Ave. Please follow all signs and staff instructions. Staff
will bring food orders to your car.
LCCAA operates the Produce Center in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio and Food Forward Lorain. The center has also benefited from extra produce grown in Lorain by Solidarity Farms.
The Produce Center is staffed by youth assigned to LCCAA’s Youth Services program.
Visit our website for more information or to place your order. Contact Center Manager Deirdre Paynter at 440-457-0327.
Community Connections Can Lower Energy Costs
LCCAA’s Community Connections program has returned.
Teaming up with Ohio Edison, the program offers energy-efficient refrigerators, freezers and light bulbs to income eligible Ohio Edison customers.
LCCAA is contracting with Greener Homes to conduct energy audits for low-income families. If appliances are assessed as inefficient, the program replaces them.
Customers can also receive energy efficient light bulbs for all fixtures.
Clients must live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line and be a customer of Ohio Edison. Renters can qualify if they own the appliances. Verification and a waiver of liability from the landlord is required.
For a full list of requirements and an application, visit our website.
Join us for Winterfest
Head Start families are invited to visit classrooms between Dec. 17 and 19 for Winterfest.
Classrooms are planning fun activities for you and your child.
Ask your child’s teacher or FSA for exact time and more details.