Latest news with #WeekoftheYoungChild
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Growing importance of preschool part of week celebrating early childhood education
The hallway of the Berry Preschool, part of the Logansport Community School Corporation and located at the intermediate school, was full of children Wednesday morning. They were divided into groups of four and working to build towers out of plastic drinking cups. There was a lot of noise as towers rose and towers fell. But the noise was enthusiastically loud. After they cleaned up the detritus of their hard work, they lined up along the wall and practiced the songs they are learning for pre-school graduation. It was all part of the Berry Preschool's participation in the Week of the Young Child, an annual program sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The Week of the Young Child is meant to recognize the importance that the early childhood years, from birth to age eight, play in the foundation of a child's success in school and life. The first Week of the Young Child was held in 1971. Each day of the week the children participate in different activities. Wednesday was Work Together Wednesday. 'What kind of tower are you going to build?' one teacher asked. 'A big one!' a young boy shouted, jumping into the air and stretching out his arm to illustrate his goal. Berry Preschool director Melanie Lang said the week is focused on the importance of early childhood education. 'In the state of Indiana, we now have to retain third graders who don't pass the IREAD,' she said. 'The greatest indicator to encourage a child's academic growth is to involve them in early childhood education. That's a proactive thing as opposed to a reactive thing where the state says we have to retain them.' Alex Pasquarosa, an instructional assistant at the preschool, called the week chaotic but said the kids loved the activities. She said some of the goals for the week was for the kids to work together and try new things. 'Yesterday was Tasty Tuesday and we tried new foods,' she said. 'They loved it.' She said teaming up with other students was good for building communication skills, especially given the different languages spoken at the preschool. During Tasty Tuesday, the children also made their own treat which brought them great joy, said preschool teacher Jen Corcoran. 'They got to enjoy something that they made by themselves,' she said. Corcoran said she hoped that the community would see what an important week it is for the children and the school. 'Preschool is sometimes underrated and we just want the community to know how important preschool is,' she said. 'They are building social and emotional skills, fine and gross motor skills (building large muscles needed for walking, jumping, etc.) and look how well they are working together.' The week included Music Monday, Artsy Thursday and will end with Family Friday. 'Monday the Logansport Intermediate School sixth graders came to play their instruments,' said Sarah Beck, a teacher at the preschool. 'Friday we will have families come into the classroom and do activities with us.' Lang said she enjoyed watching the children participate in activities that encourage creative problem solving. 'All of their creativity is so fun,' she said. Lang hopes the state will begin to recognize the importance of early childhood programs and begin to fund preschool. 'It's something that needs to be funded universally to be more proactive about the concerns that people have,' she said. 'People are very concerned about our scores as a country right now in education but the best indicator of how to get ahead is not being funded in all 50 states. I'm very blessed to be in a school corporation that is choosing to fund it from within the corporation even. It's a passion project of (Superintendent) Michele Starkey's.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Advocates underscore need for diapers among families in Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — This week is 'Week of the Young Child,' and childcare advocates in Connecticut are highlighting the need for more diapers for families in the state. The Elizabeth Celotto Childcare Center at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven provides care for 19 families, many of them teen parents. Australian woman unknowingly gives birth to a stranger's baby after IVF clinic error 'Any teen parent or parenting teen is able to come to our center, enroll their child at 6 weeks, all the way to age 3 and receive services,' Robin Moore Evans, who is the executive director of student, parenting and family services at the center, said. Among those services are diapers, which former client Sierra Ransom says can be costly. 'A box of diapers is about $30 and you get maybe 70 in a box and that's nice because there's 30 days in a month, however, that would be the assumption if changed once a day,' she said. The Diaper Bank of Connecticut says it has been working for several years to expand Medicaid to cover diapers, and this year, state legislators passed a bill that did just that. However, due to funding uncertainty at the federal level, it's been stalled. 'The need has increased. Our resources to meet it have not, and so we're looking for the state to make an investment,' CEO Janet Stolfi Alfano said. At most childcare centers, parents have to drop off a supply of diapers for their children. If they don't have that support, for many parents, it might mean they have to miss work. A University of Connecticut study from 2018 showed more than 56 per cent of parents using childcare missed work 4 days a month on average because of not having enough diapers. Ransom says that without the support she had from Celotto, she wouldn't be where she is today. 'It really changed my life because it allowed me to just focus on being the mother I needed to be to my child, and being a great student,' she said, adding, she is now working on getting her Master's Degree. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Swish into summer — Spoons Summer Youth Basketball League hosts registration event
A local youth league is offering the opportunity for kids to make sure their summer is a slam dunk. The Spoons Summer Youth Basketball League hosted its first registration event on Tuesday. This year Spoons also offering a Biddy Camp so that younger kids can swish and score as well. Two coordinators spoke about what makes Spoons so special. Barber National Institute celebrates Week of the Young Child 'It's been real good. We keep them out of trouble,' said Melvin Witherspoon, commissioner of the Spoons Summer Basketball League. 'It's been successful, and the success needs to go to all of the people who volunteer to help me.' 'I see it as an opportunity for them to just have fun, like, we have a great time. It's not just about competition, it's about learning, teaching, you know, just having the best experience,' said Paige Collins, director of Biddy Camp. Those who missed out on Tuesday night's event will have a chance to register on Wednesday at the MLK Center from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information about the Spoons League, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Barber National Institute celebrates Week of the Young Child
A local school is participating in Week of the Young Child (WOYC) by teaching students mind, body, and spirit. WOCY is being celebrated by the Barber National Institute with week-long activities. LECOM offering free dental services to local children Saturday Tuesday's event was 'Tasty Tuesday,' where students learned about making healthy choices and eating healthy foods. One classroom teacher said students made a rainbow of healthy foods followed by their 'worms and dirt' treat at lunchtime, which included ice cream, Oreos and gummy worms. Fight to save Blessed Sacrament School continues 'It's very important to teach that whole child and that social, emotional piece. So, are they emotionally happy? Do they feel safe when they come to school? Are they having fun, you know? They're babies, so we're teaching them, and they're learning, but we're being fun about it. They have to get up and move,' said Alyse Wienecke, a classroom teacher at the Elizabeth Lee Black School preschool. The rest of the week includes 'Work Together Wednesday,' 'Artsy Thursday' and 'Family Friday.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Siouxland nonprofit teaching the next generation before kindergarten
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Education is essential for children, and one Siouxland organization is helping kids learn before they're in kindergarten. The Community Action Agency of Siouxland has many programs that have helped families for roughly 50 years, one of them being the Head Start Program for kids from six weeks to four years old. Habitat for Humanity homeowner applications open 'We offer a routine where children come to school and they are served breakfast, we serve families style, working on a lot of self-help skills,' early childhood director Rachel Ostermyer said. 'We have large group times, we have small group times. We also just have work time, which is the children's play, but for them, it's their work.' The program has 29 classrooms with over 500 kids enrolled, and teachers prepare their students for kindergarten through hands-on education. 'When we talk about science, we are planting flowers, especially this week,' Ostermyer said. 'We're planting flowers for the Week of the Young Child. We have science experiments going on, but it's all in the fun of their classroom. So they don't really know that they're learning science as they're learning science.' This week, the Community Action Agency is taking part in Week of the Young Child, celebrating children and their families as well as honoring the professionals who teach the next generation. 'We have a theme for every day this week where parents and children are able to do activities in all of our classrooms,' Ostermyer said. 'According to those themes, we have Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday.' While there are other programs across Siouxland that also handle early childhood education, getting enrolled can be difficult. 'Yes, we are at maximum capacity, and we have a wait list, so it never hurts for families to still apply,' Ostermyer said. Yet programs like those with the Community Action Agency of Siouxland will do their best to ensure children get the best education they can. 'Welcome to Sioux City' sign to be refurbished, relocated by Sioux City couple 'We fill that void by the family, can bring their child up,' Ostermyer said. 'But we also offer a lot of ideas and suggestions to parents every month of things they can do at home with their child, because our ultimate goal is to work with that family so that that child is ready for kindergarten and is successful beyond kindergarten.' The nonprofit also wanted to remind parents that educating their child can be as simple as having a conversation with them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
