Champaign County Early Childhood Collaboration

GETTING THE HANDS READY FOR WRITING

Providing opportunities for squeezing can help strengthen a child’s grasp, important for holding a pencil.

Try one of these activities this week!

https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/fine-motor-squeezing-activities/

This afternoon, Fran and I visited our first great-grandchild, Betty Jane, who was born yesterday!

https://www.waterford.org/upstart/

Waterford Upstart Early Learning Program – Online Registration With Waterford Upstart, children build foundational skills in reading, math, and science, wherever they learn! Fill out this form today to see if there’s a program in your area!

Help! If you are a child care provider or know someone who is, please ask them to complete this two minute survey ( QR code below)to help the early childhood collaborative plan some activities for
them. Thank you!

Good information!

Good Morning AGP,

I like to refer to charts like this often to remind myself that some of the behaviors we see as teachers could be due to students’ trauma histories. Although a trauma history may not always be the cause, there is often no way of knowing, which is why our responses should always be sensitive to the possibility.

When a child with a trauma history is triggered by a real or perceived threat, the survival instincts of fight, flight, or freeze responses could be activated. During fight, flight, or freeze, the neocortex part of the brain that controls language, reasoning, planning, and reflection are not accessible.

Three actions to keep in mind if you think a student may be operating from the primitive part of the brain are: validate, mirror, and emphasize. Validation takes practice, as it is often our instinct to say “it’s ok”, or “no, you’re really good at this”. A child in fight, flight, or freeze needs validation for how they are feeling in the moment before they can regulate and access the part of the brain where reasoning occurs.

Later I’ll post a video about how to validate, mirror, and emphasize.

- A Teacher at Ana’s School

Child Mind Institute An independent, national nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need to thrive.

For all those interested, it is a free 4 week course.

Victoria meets Vinny at the early childhood expo!

Look for this creature at the expo!

Cookie mouse is here!