CASY Family Newsletter

Monday, January 20th - President's Day

For the Classroom and At Home

Whether you are an educator in a classroom or a parent at home, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to teach valuable lessons about love to the children around us. Click here for more.

Flying cupids, launching hearts, and so much more! Let’s kick off the season with 14 days of STEM Valentines challenges. Valentine STEM activities are simple twists on your favorite, everyday STEM projects. Adding hearts, traditional holiday colors, or themed candies/supplies makes for fun Valentine’s Day activities for kids. Encourage a love of learning with simple STEM activities!

Find out more here.

Most parents want to encourage their kids to be kind, empathetic, and generous. But focusing on these aims, such as by helping kids perform random acts of kindness, can easily get lost in the shuffle of teaching more tangible skills like how to tie their shoes or write their letters.

Plus, it may seem that caring for others and being a good person are innate qualities rather than traits to be developed. However, putting an emphasis on kindness and giving your child chances to put it into action can cultivate this quality. Read the tips.

Empathy is a skill – one that we can cultivate and strengthen with practice. It requires us to imagine how someone else is feeling and then respond in a caring manner. Picture book author Anna Dewdney offers this wonderful definition: “Empathy is an understanding that other people have feelings, and that those feelings count.”

When kids care for living things – from babies to animals to plants – they exercise their empathy muscles. They learn through experience that 1) everything has needs; 2) these needs are not always identical; and 3) they can help meet those needs.

Click here to learn more.

Your child is soooo…dramatic!

Whether those words come from a babysitter, a teacher or the judgy lady in line behind you at the grocery store, they’re usually the last ones you want to hear about your kid.

Yes, for most parents, the thought of a dramatic child conjures nightmarish images of red-faced toddlers throwing temper tantrums in the middle of the produce section. But even if we just described your teary-eyed tyke to a tee, don’t worry! There’s another kind of dramatic that can be really good for you – and for your kids, too! Read more here.

February is National Children's Dental Health Month (NCDHM) - a great time to promote the benefits of good oral hygiene, because developing good dental health habits (including regular dental visits) helps children get a jump start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

Baby (primary) teeth are a child’s first set of teeth. A baby’s teeth start to come in at 6 to 10 months, and by the time a child is 2½ to 3 years old, all 20 baby teeth will have come into the mouth. Taking care of a child’s baby teeth is important for the child’s overall health and development. Learn more here.

Brush, Book, Bed, a program of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), has a simple and clear message for parents:

1. Each night, help your children to brush their teeth.
2. Read a favorite book (or two)!
3. Get to bed at a regular time each night.

Having a predictable nighttime routine will help them understand and learn to expect what comes next. Additionally, routines may ease the stress that some families experience at nighttime.

Click here for resources to help you get started with your child's Brush, Book, Bed routine!

Click here for quick, nutritious snacks and meals made with inexpensive ingredients. Little ones can help with many of the steps, such as measuring, stirring, and mashing.

Every child — including yours — grows, learns and develops in a unique way. When a child’s development doesn’t follow the typical path, families have many resources available to get support — and get it early, which is the best time. In Indiana, families of children from birth to three can find developmental supports through First Steps. Learn more here.

Families, teachers and children are better together. That’s why the Child Care Resource and Referral Network is proud to serve as a navigator for families, expertly assisting them in finding high-quality child care and connecting them with additional opportunities to meet their needs.

Is your family struggling to make ends meet? Could you or someone you know use assistance with paying for utilities, accessing a food pantry, or connecting to job training or employment services? Call 800-886-3952, ext 2. to learn more!

For personalized support in finding a child care program that best meets your family's needs,

contact CASY, Child Care Resource and Referral, Family Engagement Specialists

at 800-886-3952 and choose option 2.

You can also complete the referral request form by clicking here.

Our Family Engagement Specialists will follow up with you by the next business day when you submit the online form.

Follow CASY on Instagram @casy_terrehaute

Email: ccrr@casyonline.org
Website: http://casyonline.org/
Location: 1101 South 13th Street, Terre Haute, IN, USA
Phone: 800-886-3952
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CASY.Inc