The Child Care Council of Westchester & Westchester Children’s Association warmly invite people who care for and care about children to

 2012 Legislative Breakfast on Young Children
Friday, February 17, 2012, 8:00a.m.-10:00a.m.

Greenburgh Town Hall
177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh
Registration/Continental Breakfast at 8 a.m.; program begins at 8:30 a.m.
The 2012 Legislative Breakfast on Young Children will be held on Friday, February 17, from 8:00-10:00 a.m. at the Greenburgh Town Hall in Greenburgh. Elected officials from Westchester County and New York State will form a panel to discuss the policies that impact children from birth to age eight. Welcome to attend this complimentary breakfast and forum are parents, grandparents, child care professionals, elected officials, policy-makers, advocates, educators, social workers, health care providers, clergy, community leaders.
Breakfast is free but you need to register  at www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012_Legislative_Breakfast

Learn about the children’s most recent activities in the January 2012 newsletters for the Little Flower, Blossom and Sunshine Room!

The Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc. is a private, non-profit agency that is a community resource for all aspects of child care. They offer a wide variety of services to families as well as to organizations. Many of these services are available at no charge. 

 A trained Child Care Specialist is available to assist all parents with their child care needs.
 
Call them at 914-761-3456 ext 140.  
   
For 24/7 access to child care
go to www.ChildCareWestchester.org          

NEED HELP PAYING FOR CHILD CARE?
FREE assistance to help understand and apply for the Child Care Subsidy Program
There are financial resources to help pay for child care that are available to working families who live in  Westchester County. 
  
Contact their Subsidy Support Services at
 914-761-3456 ext 122 or email the Child Care Council
 
They Can Help Parents:
Determine if a parent may be eligible for financial assistance.
Assist parents in obtaining and completing an application to apply for financial assistance.
Educate parents in understanding the rules and regulations surrounding the financial assistance programs available.
Assist parents with other situations or concerns regarding their child care financial assistance. 
 
PARENT EDUCATION
Parenting Newsletter, Workshops and Support Groups
The Council has resources to help parents stay connected:
 
Check out their latest PARENT CONNECTIONS.
Parent Support Groups for parents and/or caregivers with infants from birth to 12 months old.
Provides Parenting Seminars in the community. 

 
For more information or to join their email list, contact them at 
914-761-3456 ext 139 or email the Child Care Council

Making Grocery Shopping Fun
 
 Connection to learning: Ensuring you and your child are prepared and ready for that shopping trip helps both of you have a more enjoyable time. Here are some ways to help make your trip to the grocery store fun and a learning opportunity for your child.
 
When grocery shopping with children of all ages, be sure to bring a toy or book that will keep your child busy and learning while you shop. Plan trips when your child is rested and not hungry.
 
 
For your young baby (birth to 8 months)
Make the most of routines. Do things in order when you get to the store, and explain each step to your infant. Say “First we will find a grocery cart. Then we will look for some bananas.”
 
For your older baby (9 – 18 months)
Show your baby an item, then talk about it. Pick up a pear and say “Do you know what this is?” Pause and then say “It’s a pear.  Pears are fruits.  Pears are green, yellow or brown.  Pears are sweet and yummy.”  Let your baby hold or touch the pear.
 
For your toddler 
You meet lots of people at the grocery store. Say “hello” and “thank you” to the people at the bakery or deli counter.  Then ask your child to say “hello”, “thank you” and “goodbye”.
 
For your preschooler
Set up a signal that it is time to go.  Let your child hold your wallet or a card at the checkout.  Older children can help unload items from your cart.
 
The Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc. and United Way of Westchester and Putnam promote Born Learning, a public engagement campaign dedicated to helping parents and caregivers create early, fun learning opportunities for young children to ensure school readiness and continued success throughout their lives.

The Seed warmly welcomes all new children and new staff members!

Glance through the September 2011 newsletters to find out what has been happening. . .

Click on the various newsletters to find out what the children have been doing at The Seed’s Summer Camp.

Everyone has been having a great time, from drama, literature, and science in the Sunshine Room, to themed activities in the Blossom, to special art and water activities in the Little Flower.

Check it out!

These days, lots of early childhood specialists advocate an approach to misbehavior called “Positive Discipline,” originally developed by child psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs.

Dreikurs’ own books are still in print and are very readable (Children the Challenge is a good place to start). However, some people find his books a little dated.  There are many, many articles, books, and even sophisticated programs accessible through the Internet which explain and apply updated and modified versions of Dreikurs’ approach.

Some of the many child-rearing challenges we all face and that Positive Discipline addresses:

• How to help children make choices
• How to re-direct misbehavior
• How to help children build self-esteem and character
• How to avoid power struggles
• How to create mutual respect

Just start surfing the Web and you’re bound to find the work of this great man. Help is definitely “on the way” once you discover this wise, meaningful approach to positive discipline.

NEED HELP PAYING FOR CHILD CARE?

FREE assistance to help understand and apply for the Child Care Subsidy Program through the Child Care Council of Westchester.

There are financial resources to help pay for child care that are available to working families who live in  Westchester County.

Contact their Subsidy Support Services at  914-761-3456 ext 122 or email them at ArleneL@cccwny.org.

They Can Help:

• Determine if a parent may be eligible for financial assistance.
• Assist parents in obtaining and completing an application to apply for financial assistance.
• Educate parents in understanding the rules and regulations surrounding the financial assistance programs available.
• Assist parents with other situations or concerns you may be having regarding their child care financial assistance.

Have you ever seen the “Active Kids Pyramid”? It’s similar to the familiar food pyramid except that, instead of healthy food choices, it shows healthy activity choices.

At the base level, which is the broadest, it exhorts kids to play with friends, family, and groups. Then it gives ideas for activities in that category. I’ve highlighted in red the activities here that are great even for children as young as three, if they are suitably modified:

Team Sports • Basketball • Soccer • Baseball • Hockey • Riding Bikes • Nature Walks • Martial Arts • Swimming • Frisbee • Fly A Kite • Skateboarding • Inline Skating • Skiing • Ice Skating • Kickball •Tag • Hide-And-Seek • Sledding • Make A Game Out Of Chores • Backyard Adventures

As you can see, even very little kids can engage in the majority of these fun, movement-based activities.

The middle level tells children to move more. Three-year-olds can do almost ALL of the following activities!

Walk • Dance •  Jump • Run •Throw • Catch • Wiggle • Hop • Climb • Ride • Leap • Dig • Bounce • Kick • Tumble • Jog • Stretch

As you might imagine, the tip of the pyramid says, spend less time . . .  Watching TV • Playing Video Games • Just Sitting Around.

Now that the weather is warm and the pollen count is decreasing, it’s a great time for all of us to go outside and move  AND have lots of fun while we’re at it!

Find out about all the learning that’s going on in The Seed’s kindergarten and pre-K!