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Assistant School Community Coordinators are meeting with families to complete registrations for new students. Reach out to a Registration Hub with questions or to schedule an appointment with ECE staff to register.  If your child is currently attending a CPS preschool program and will return to preschool for the 2021-22sy, ASCCs are reaching to complete the small packet of forms to secure your child's seat for the upcoming school year.
If you need assistance or looking for an ASCC contact information call 363-0240  and choose from the options:
option 1: Vine
option 2: LEAP
option 3: Carthage
Rising Stars Cheviot-Westwood call 513-363-1575.

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Empathy is the ability to imagine how someone else is feeling in a particular situation and respond with care. This is a very complex skill to develop. Being able to empathize with another person means that a child:

-Understands that he is a separate individual, his own person;

-Understands that others can have different thoughts and feelings than he has;

-Recognizes the common feelings that most people experience—happiness, surprise, anger, disappointment, sadness, etc.;

-Is able to look at a particular situation (such as watching a peer saying goodbye to a parent at child care) and imagine how he—and therefore his friend— might feel in this moment; and

-Can imagine what response might be appropriate or comforting in that particular situation—such as offering his friend a favorite toy or teddy bear to comfort her.

What You Can Do To Nurture Empathy in Your Young Child:

-Empathize with your child. For example, “Are you feeling scared of that dog? He is a nice dog but he is barking really loud. That can be scary. I will hold you until he walks by.”

-Talk about others’ feelings. For example, “Kayla is feeling sad because you took her toy car. Please give Kayla back her car and then you choose another one to play with.”

-Suggest how children can show empathy. For example, “Let’s get Jason some ice for his boo-boo.”

-Read stories about feelings. Some suggestions include:

I Am Happy: A Touch and Feel Book of Feelings

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

How Are You Peeling by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers

Feelings by Aliki

The Feelings Book by Todd Parr

Baby Happy Baby Sad by Leslie Patricelli

Baby Faces by DK Publishing

When I Am/Cuando Estoy by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza

-Be a role model. When you have strong, respectful relationships and interact with others in a kind and caring way, your child learns from your example.

-Use “I” messages. This type of communication models the importance of self-awareness: “I don’t like it when you hit me. It hurts.”

-Validate your child’s difficult emotions. Sometimes when our child is sad, angry, or disappointed, we rush to try and fix it right away, to make the feelings go away because we want to protect him from any pain. However, these feelings are part of life and ones that children need to learn to cope with. In fact, labeling and validating difficult feelings actually helps children learn to handle them: “You are really mad that I turned off the TV. I understand. You love watching your animal show. It’s okay to feel mad. When you are done being mad you can choose to help me make a yummy lunch or play in the kitchen while mommy makes our sandwiches.” This type of approach also helps children learn to empathize with others who are experiencing difficult feelings.

-Use pretend play. Talk about feelings and empathy as you play. For example, you might have your child’s stuffed hippo say that he does not want to take turns with his friend, the stuffed pony. Then ask your child: “How do you think pony feels? What should we tell this silly hippo?”

-Think through the use of “I’m sorry.” We often insist that our little ones say “I’m sorry” as a way for them to take responsibility for their actions, but they may not fully understand what these words mean. A more meaningful approach can be to help children focus on the other person’s feelings: “Chandra, look at Sierra—she’s very sad. She’s crying. She’s rubbing her arm where you pushed her. Let’s see if she is okay.” This helps children make the connection between the action (shoving) and the reaction (a friend who is sad and crying).

-Be patient. Developing empathy takes time. Remember, empathy is a complex skill and will continue to develop across your child’s life.

Information Adapted From:

https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/5-how-to-help-your-child-develop-empathy

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Speech Sound Development and Preschoolers

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Speech Sound Development and Preschoolers

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As many preschoolers develop language, they become excited about expressing themselves to let their needs be known as well as share exciting experiences.  Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what they are saying.  This can lead to frustration for the child as well as the listener.  As a parent, you may question whether your child’s speech is developing appropriately.  Should you request that your child be seen by a speech therapist or is this normal?  There are several things to consider before taking that step.

There is a natural order in which speech sounds usually develop. (Every child is different and there can always be exceptions).  Development of speech sounds is directly related to development of muscles of the mouth which also develop in their strength and flexibility with age.  It is not expected that a child will be able to say all of the sounds of the English language at age 3.  Sounds that your child should be saying clearly by age 3 include b, p, m, h, n, and w.  They should be gaining stronger skills in saying k, g, d, t, and -ing.  By age 3, some children are producing these sounds and many more and their speech is easy to understand.  However, there are some children who may be a little harder to understand but are still on track with speech development.  (See chart and link below)

How much of my child’s speech should I be able to understand

25% - 50% Age 2 and under

50% - 75% Age 2-3

75% - 90% Age 4-5

90% - 100% Age 5+

At what age should my child be able to say each sound: (link also at end of article)

https://www.asha.org/siteassets/Practice-Portal/Late-Language-Emergence/Consonant-Acquisition-Chart.pdf

No matter where your child may fall in their development of speech and language, it is important to continue to encourage them to express themselves.  Always acknowledge each attempt to communicate.  If you are not able to understand what your child is saying, utilize strategies for clarification such as “Can you show me what you are talking about?”, Ask yes/no questions “It is _?”, “Can you act it out?” and other questions as needed.  Sometimes, even after these attempts, you still may not be able to understand.  Encourage your child by letting them know that it is ok if sometimes they have trouble being understood.  They are growing and learning and as their parent, you will always try your best to figure out what they are saying.

If after, reviewing the charts, you have questions about whether your child’s speech is developing appropriately, talk to your child’s primary care provider as well as their classroom teacher.  Cincinnati Public Schools has Early Childhood Education programming to address these issues.  Your child’s teacher is familiar with the referral process and can advise on next steps.

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Hopefully warm weather is near after a long and cold winter.  It is time to get outside, get some exercise and learn something in the process.  Here are a few outdoor learning activities that kids love:
Scavenger Hunt:
Go for a walk around the neighborhood and look for specific things.  One day you could see how many colors you can find, another day you can look for different shapes or different letters.  You could count the number of animals you see.  There are limitless ways to make any walk educational.
Sink or Float:
Fill a bucket or bowl with water and see which common items sink or float.  You could try a spoon, a ball, a piece of ice or a rock.  Try putting a rock inside a zip-lock baggie and see if you can put enough air in it to make the rock float.  Watch a sponge start out floating and wait to see what happens.  Kids love this fun science experiment!
Measuring Nature:
Tale a ruler outside and measure different items and make a list to arrange them from shortest to longest.  You could measure a rock, a blade of grass, a flower, a pinecone, a stick you find on the ground, a leaf or anything else you find in your yard or at the park

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Job & Family Services
222 East Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45202

(513) 946-1000

Hamilton County Job and Family Services administers state, federal and local programs designed to help those in need and help families work toward self-sufficiency.

Services include:

Workforce development

Job placement

Cash assistance

Food assistance

Medical assistance

Local child protection

Adult protection

Elder Protection

Child Care-Caretakers (Parents)

Child Care-Providers

Child support enforcement

https://www.hcjfs.org/

Ohio Means Jobs
(Formerly Super Jobs)

1916 Central Pkwy,
Cincinnati, OH 45214

(513) 946-7200

Provides free educational workshops, career coaching, job leads, job search assistance, and transportation services as well as hiring events and training that offers opportunities for residents including dislocated workers, veterans and their families to connect directly with employers work.

https://www.omj-cinham.org/

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DID YOU KNOW?

An appropriate serving size for a preschooler is about half of an adult serving.

Make half your child’s grains, whole grains. Whole grains are full of fiber, iron, nutrients, minerals and antioxidants.
Whole grain foods aid digestion and metabolism.

Switch to fat-free or low-fat milk.

Limit processed food and sugary drinks. Sugary drinks can lead to cavities and unhealthy weight gain.
It is best to serve juice with a meal, as juice is more likely to cause cavities when served between meals.

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Each color contains different, and important, nutrients that your body needs.

Red foods: good for you heart, blood and joint health

Orange foods: helps prevent cancer and heart disease

Yellow foods: good for skin, eyes, digestion and immune system

Green foods: good for your bones and immune system

Blue and Purple foods: good for memory and brain function.

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Offer new foods one at a time, and remember that children may need to try a new food 10 or more times before they like it!

A parent’s role:

Set a good example of healthy eating for your child.

Plan regular meals and snacks times  and give kids enough time to eat.

Plan a quiet time before meals and snacks. Kids eat better when they are relaxed.

Don't use food as a reward.

Having a preschooler help with food preparation is a good way to encourage them to try new foods.  They are less likely to reject foods that they helped make. Have them help by:

Adding ingredients

Counting foods

Cracking eggs / Peeling fruits and veggies

Measuring dry ingredients

Setting the table

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August Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/makenzie_morse/tlpc6mhbg3soudxe

September Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/richajo/aukmz20vuad55rgh

October Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/leydani/hjw4x91239tppylo

November Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/baertia/eq4wkrdjsk22fvbr

December Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/baertia/lnv4rgmk7dp15f3x

January Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/baertia/wnof121i2jcw7hrm

February Newsletter:
https://padlet.com/leydani/zjszkyzp86m8lh54