UW-Oshkosh Head Start

First 5 Fox Valley

As our community continues to recover from this week's tornado, we know many families are navigating more than just the physical cleanup. Children often have big questions and emotions after experiencing a storm like this.
Several members of our First 5 Fox Valley team, along with trusted community partners, recommended this wonderful resource from Sesame Workshop called Here for Each Other: Tornadoes. It offers simple, age-appropriate ways to comfort children, talk about what happened, and help them begin to feel safe again.
The resource includes interactive parent-child activities focused on:
💙 Talking about tornadoes in a way children can understand
💙 Helping children process big feelings
💙 Rebuilding routines and a sense of safety
💙 Strengthening connection during a difficult time
Available in English and en Español, this free resource is easy to share with families throughout our community.
Even small moments of comfort and connection can have a lasting impact on a child's resilience.
If you know a family who could benefit from this resource, please share it with them. We're all stronger when we care for one another.
🔗 Download the free resource here: https://sesameworkshop.org/.../here-for-each-other.../

❤️ Building Social-Emotional Competence in Young Children
Social-emotional competence is a child's ability to understand and manage their emotions, build positive relationships, show empathy, and make responsible decisions. These skills are just as important as learning letters and numbers because they help children succeed in school, at home, and throughout life.
Think about all of these emotions when teaching them to your children.

UW Oshkosh Head Start has a few openings for this upcoming school year.
Reach out for someone to contact you.
https://www.uwosh.edu/headstart/contact-us/

🌟 Child Development & School Readiness: Building Early Literacy at Home: What can you do?
Read together for 15 minutes each day.
Talk about pictures in books.
Let your child tell you the story.
Ask them to tell you a pretend story about (pick an animal).

👨‍👩‍👧 Family Engagement in a car ride. Ask these questions.
What made you smile today?
What was something new you learned?
How did you help someone today?

🎭 The Power of Pretend Play in Early Childhood

When children engage in pretend play, they are doing much more than having fun—they are building important skills that support their development and future learning!
&Imagination

Did you know?
Play is how young children learn best!
Through play, children develop problem-solving skills, creativity, language, and social-emotional skills that prepare them for success in school and life.

Gross motor development is such an important part of early childhood learning! 💙

From running and jumping to climbing, balancing, and dancing, children build strength, coordination, confidence, and independence through movement and play. These everyday activities help support healthy bodies, brain development, social skills, and school readiness.

When children move, they learn! 🌟

Supporting a child’s writing skills in early childhood is about building the foundations long before they can form letters clearly. Children need opportunities to develop hand–eye coordination and pencil control often experienced through practice.

In early childhood settings, sharing is often learned gradually through guided play and adult support, helping children feel confident in social situations and learn cooperation, positive relationships, patience and empathy 💛