Spread Cheer by Adopting a Family
Looking for a way to get on the “Good List”?
At Alta Head Start, we care about our families as much as we care for our students. We’re looking for volunteers who want to change the lives of local families.
Every year, more and more families struggle to make ends meet. It is even harder for them around the holidays. Our “Adopt a Family” campaign is a rewarding way to give back to those who need it in our communities.
If you’re interested in volunteering to provide gifts and necessities to local families during December, please contact:
Carly Morris: [email protected]
Lily Simonds: [email protected]
Alta Head Start Farmer’s Market Returns May 20
The Alta Head Start Farmer’s Market returns to our Renaissance location Friday May 20, 2022 from 1-4 p.m.
This annual event is back and better than ever. Alta Head Start will be celebrating all of the families who have helped us throughout the year and meeting new faces from the community
Families will be able to purchase farm fresh produce with Alta Bucks they receive through volunteering. There will also be games, face painting and a petting zoo.
The event is completely free.
Here’s a look out our Farmer’s Market from last year.
Click here for more information.
A Year of Thanks
To say that the past year was interesting would be an understatement.
But in typical Alta Head Start fashion, we were able to adapt and exceed expectations.
The following video is our way of thanking everyone who made it possible. From our kids and families, to our sponsors and staff. Thank you all for making Alta Head Start the amazing place it is.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Reading with Children Early Benefits Lifelong Learning
Benefits of Reading to Children
Story time is important for brain development, even for babies who do not talk yet. When you read with children, they are connecting the words you say to the pictures on the page and to the things in their world. All of those connections are brain connections!
- Even before they can talk, children need to hear language to support brain development.
- Reading and telling stories with children is a great way to expose them to a rich variety of words.
- With language, both quantity and quality matter.
Research shows that:
- Infants pick up on language earlier than we realize. In fact, research shows that babies’ brains prepare to speak months before they say their first words. In order to complete this important brain preparation, children need to hear language.
- Books provide a great opportunity for back-and-forth interactions with older children. This supports word learning and pre-literacy skills.
- The quantity of words that children hear is important for language development, but so is the quality of language that they hear. Quality of language can refer to word diversity and to the speech signal.
- It is important to use new and different words for children to expand their vocabulary. Books often include words that adults would not otherwise use, like names of plants or animals.
- Research shows that babies prefer infant-directed speech, or “parentese.” The slow, exaggerated sing-song voice grabs babies’ attention and helps them identify individual sounds.
What Does It Look Like?
- Although some infants will listen to books, other infants want to turn pages and chew on corners. That’s okay! Any interaction that infants have with books is good. As they get older, the interactions will become more focused and intentional.
- Toddlers may like to hold the book and turn the pages. They may also like to help tell the story. Pause during stories that they have heard many times and let them fill in the missing words. Or ask them to tell you the whole story.
- Dialogic reading is a type of interactive reading. When adults ask children questions, explain new vocabulary, and relate the story to a child’s life, they are engaged in dialogic reading. This helps young children develop important preliteracy skills, like story understanding and critical thinking.
- You can use the words and pictures in the books you read to introduce new words and ideas to children. “This is a giraffe. Giraffes have spots and long necks. They like to eat leaves. Can a giraffe be a pet? No!” These interactions are important for growing children’s vocabulary.
Try This!
- Make reading several times a day part of your routine. Children thrive in predictable environments. Daily reading time creates the consistency and sense of stability that children need. Reading the same books over and over also allows children to predict elements of the story and learn through repetition.
- Reflect on how you use books with children. How might you encourage parents to use books for more than stories?
- Reading is not the only way to use books to engage with children. Use the pictures in a book to tell your own story. Or encourage children to be the storyteller!
- Enjoy story time! Reading is a great time to interact with children. As you read together, make funny sounds or sing songs that go along with the story. During home visits, encourage parents to do the same. Adjust your interactions to match children’s age, ability, and interests. This is how children learn best.
- Reading to babies and young children in “parentese” makes it easier for them to learn a variety of new words. “Parentese” is linked to greater language growth in later childhood.
- Connect families to the local library or other ways to access books in your community. Bring books on home visits and model dialogic reading for families.
Connecting at Home
Reading with your child helps build language and thinking skills. Even before children can talk, story time helps build babies’ brains.
Enjoy Story Time Together
Make funny sounds or sing songs as you read or tell stories. Reading is a great time for back-and-forth interactions with your child. This is how children learn best.
Reading Daily
Pick a regular time to read to your child, like every morning or at bedtime. Routines help children thrive. They may even like to hear the same books over and over again.
Books Introduce New Words
Choose books in your home language that focus on different topics, like animals, noises, or shapes. This is a great way to expose children to a variety of words. Reading books with new words helps build your child’s vocabulary.
Create a Dialogue
Talk to your child about the pictures in the book. “See the duck? The duck is yellow! What else in this picture is yellow?” Storytelling can go beyond the words on the page. This helps children build language and thinking skills.
Additional Links:
Readiness Skills: Language and Literacy
Minority Education Association Students Bring Joy to Alta Head Start Students
The Minority Education Association sponsored a Santa’s Penguin Helpers event for our children again this year. The YSU student members collected gifts during the month of November. They spent time during their December meeting wrapping all the gifts for children from a designated Head Start classroom. The gifts were delivered to these children at their homes, bringing happiness during this holiday season!
Thank You to Delta Dental Care for Making Our Children Smile!
Delta Dental generously donated 400 backpacks to our program for the children. Each backpack contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, water bottle, a dental brushing chart with stickers, a dental coloring book with crayons, and literature promoting dental hygiene. These bags helped Alta Head Start to reinforce the importance of brushing teeth at home, while providing helpful resources for the children and their families.
Goodwill Helps Alta Head Start Promote Literacy
Alta Head Start appreciates those in our community who provide services and/or materials which enhance our children’s lives. A sincere thank you to Goodwill Industries and the Junior Group, their volunteer organization, for donating over 200 books to our program for distribution to our children and families. This is the second beneficial donation we have received.
Children always enjoy receiving books that they can keep and love as their own!
Alta Head Start is the recipient of PNC Foundation’s Grow up Great “Grants for Great Hours”
PNC continues to support Alta Head Start’s services to our children and families through awarding a $3000.00 grant to our program. This grant is generated through the efforts of PNC Employees volunteer hours to our program. It is a double benefit, as the employees have graciously helped us complete needed tasks in a timely manner. They are truly invested in giving back to our community through their efforts!
Unfortunately, the actual volunteer hours were negatively impacted by these unusual times. Despite COVID-19 causing a volunteering pause, PNC Grow Up Great generously still provided us the funding.
Putting the ‘Thanks’ in Thanksgiving
Every year, Alta Head Start partners with the Swanston Foundation to bring our families food for Thanksgiving. This year may be a little different, but we’re still trying to make the best for our families.
Alta Head Start would like to thank the generosity of the Swanston Foundation that made it possible for all of our families to receive a Thanksgiving Produce Box.
Each box contained cabbage, pineapple, potatoes, green peppers, corn on the cob, oranges, apples, bananas, celery, green beans and carrots. This box will help our families have a great Thanksgiving.
Alta Head Start and the Swanston Foundation wish everyone a safe and healthy Thanksgiving!
Alta Head Start launches Storytime Fun series
One of the foundations to the Head Start program is preparing children for success in school. And reading is fundamental to success. With this goal in mind, we’re launching a new series on our Facebook platform to share our joy and appreciation for reading with Storytime Fun.
Storytime is important for brain development, even for babies who don’t talk yet. When you read to a child, they are connecting the words you say to the pictures on the page and to the things in their world. Those brain connections are helping to support their development.
Additionally, reading stories to children is a great way to expose them to a rich variety of words. And we know that the quantity and quality of language that children are exposed to is linked to their vocabulary development.
Consistency in reading is also important. Parents and or guardians are encouraged to make reading a part of a daily routine as children thrive in predictable, routine environments. Additionally, reading the same books over and over will allow children to predict elements of the story and learn through that repetition.
With Alta Head Start’s Storytime Fun, you can make reading a routine part of your week. Every Friday, we’ll feature educators from our Alta Head Start classrooms sharing a story followed by a fun interactive activity you can do at home with your little one to reinforce concepts learned from the story. These videos will be housed on our Facebook page where you can also rewatch them with your young ones.
Not only will you get a chance to get to know our teachers a little better, you can pick up tips and tricks on how to read to your little ones, which books are great for certain age groups and extend the learning beyond the end of the book with activities.
We can’t wait to see you for Storytime Fun at facebook.com/AltaHeadStart/.