June 2021 Newsletter

YMCA OF GREATER LONG BEACH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Walking Group HEALTH is WEALTH and NATURE is MEDICINE. Since April 17, staff, preschool children and families have been participating in weekly Saturday morning walks that will span a total of ten weeks. A huge thanks to all who woke up to begin taking plenty of steps in a healthier direction, all while seeing beautiful flowers, plants, water, ducks, geese, hawks, egrets, herons, turtles, bunnies, lizards, dogs and even a train. Join us every Saturday through June 19, at 8:30am, at C. David Molina Park.

JUNE 2021

Preschool Expansion Project With the full endorsement of our Board of Managers, the YMCA Early Childhood Education will expand services by adding a new Preschool in the Downtown/ Central Long Beach Neighborhood for the first time in our 25-year history. Over the next five years, we will significantly expand services for toddlers, a particularly dire need in our community. By adding an additional 80-104 spaces, we will expand access for toddler and preschool aged children in the area.

Expansion includes construction of four new classrooms, a kitchen, children?s restrooms, and a space for early intervention, trainings, and community engagement. This area has seen a large increase in need for early care and education in recent years related to increased population, development of affordable housing and decreased access to affordable childcare.

St af f Development Day On Friday, April 30th, the majority of the YMCA Early Childhood Education Programs staff participated in an all-day in-service at The Grand, for strengthening their teaching skills, team building and acknowledgment of hard work and years of service. From interactive activities to a dance contest, this Spring?s training was a refreshing opportunity to come together in person in a safe and uplifting way, after a long break from in-person gatherings. A huge thank you to all who made this amazing event possible.

Joy For ECE Our partners at Antioch Church of Long Beach hosted hundreds of our participant families and staff on April 13 to a day of blessings. Thanks to our Board Member, Jeanette Polk, and the Antioch Church of Long Beach, hundreds of families and YMCA staff were given a variety of household supplies, food, and appliances. From refrigerators and air fryers to smoke alarms and air mattresses, families were given items they needed to help them in a time of need. Assisting our families in this way, further strengthened the sense of community within our preschools.

Bring Me A Book On June 22, we will celebrate our Seventh Annual Bring Me a Book graduation. This fantastic event is a culmination of 30 weeks of parents and children reading together consistently for 20 minutes every evening. Books and prompts are provided to all of our children to take home, to encourage a love and routine of reading. Studies show that children who are read to regularly have much higher chance of academic and social success for the rest of their lives. An added component to this year?s event will be the dedication of a special painting called ?Literacy Angel?, by a local renowned artist, Rob Padilla.

Originally, this painting was meant for the new Billie Jean King Main Library in Downtown Long Beach, however, the new building mostly made of glass, did not have enough wall space to prominently display this special work of art. This year, Diane Jacobus, a dear friend of Barbara Egyud for which the painting was inspired, donated the painting to the YMCA Early Childhood Education Program, because Barbara, who passed away in 2018, loved how devoted our program has remained to the program which she brought to the YMCA in 2014. The painting is proudly displayed in an almost museum style set up in our corporate office lobby for visitors to admire, and to pay tribute to a person who?s vision for early literacy helped plant countless seeds within our community that will last for many years to come.

Emot ional CPR Emotional crisis is a universal experience.

When we are exposed to this extraordinary situation, we develop amazing and creative ways to protect ourselves. Through the eCPR course offered for three Saturdays in April/ May, ECE staff and parents who participated were provided with meaningful training on how to form supportive connections that empower a person to feel revitalized and resume meaningful roles in the community.

Teachers as Parent Trainers This year, under the direction of Director Alex Izaguirre, First Friendships Preschool teachers developed and presented content for parent trainings on zoom. Some of the trainings included:The Basics of Child Development, A Love for Reading: Having Fun with Flannels, Family Math Night and Exploring Art Through Painting Together.These trainings have been a huge success and fill up fast. In the fall some planned trainings include Nutrition, Cooking with your Child, Incorporating Music, Math and Language into Physical Fitness and another on Introduction to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Technology).Hopefully, the upcoming trainings will be held in person. All trainings are provided in English and Spanish concurrently.

Where Are They Now? It's exciting to see the incredible development that happens, beginning on the first day of preschool, to the couple of years later when they graduate from preschool. When most of our children begin on the first day, they are quiet and reserved.

By the time they graduate from preschool, children are confident in their skills and are prepared to continue their educational journey.

Occasionally when we hear back from some of our former graduates it?s a simple reminder of the important role we played in their formative years. In this issue we feature Darren Owens. who attended the YMCA Mayne preschool in 2010. Now, 11 years later, he is a thriving freshman at Mayfair High School. We are proud of the foundational role the YMCA preschool gave Darren and wish him continued success.

Child Abuse Prevent ion The next YMCA?s Five Days of Action on June 7 ? 11. With child abuse on the rise since the pandemic began, this is our third time in the last year focusing on child abuse prevention. Five Days of Action is an awareness building campaign. All our employees review and sign a pledge to keep kids safe, and we take a photo holding their pledge card. On social media, we share photos of employees, community leaders, and members holding up their signs and encourage others to print their own. We also share and review other local resources that are available for children and families to access. The more we normalize talking about abuse, the more prepared and able we can all be to intervene, support and even prevent abuse from happening to children.

A Thank You Not e t o Teachers Sometimes we forget the impact that teachers have. Throughout the challenges of a global pandemic, teachers were pushed to new limits to help meet the needs of students. With a brief compliment or a supportive conversation, the attention a teacher gives each of his or her students can remain with a young child for a long time, shaping their love of learning and attitude towards school. We want to acknowledge our teachers for their excellence during the pandemic and say thank you. Thank you for your patience.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for creating activities to engage both students and parents. Thank you for putting in the extra time and effort to help those who needed the extra support and encouragement.

Thank you for keeping your head in the game, showing children that learning can still be fun, even when there are additional barriers. Thank you for helping every child be their best self. Thank you for being a teacher.

YMCA of Greater Long Beach Early Childhood Education 3605 Long Beach Blvd.

Suite 210F Long Beach, CA 90807

The mission of the YMCA of Greater Long Beach Early Childhood Education Programs is to passionately serve communities to develop a stronger future; to provide children with access to quality child care programs that help them develop school readiness skills, while supporting their families to be active and engaged members of their communities.

70t h St reet Preschool 700 70th Street Long Beach, CA 90805 562.634.4924 Creat ive Beginnings Preschool 5600 Linden Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805 562.422.2616 First Friendships Preschool 6650 Orange Ave. Long Beach, CA 90805 562.984.2358 www.LBymca.org

Mayne Preschool 9630 Mayne Street Bellflower, CA 90706 562.804.1976 Play & Learn Preschool 2179 Pacific Ave. Long Beach, CA 90806 562.218.4693 MAIN OFFICE 3605 Long Beach Blvd.

Suite 210F Long Beach, CA 90807 562.279.1624

EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR Andrea Sulsona BOARD OF MANAGERS Colleen Triesch, Board Chair Vivan Ainis, Secretary Chris Petit, Treasurer Dr. Gabriela Cervantes Joey King Vivian Malauulu Jeanette Polk Dr. Eddie Quan Melanie Steele Luisa Valladolid Mary View- Schneider