Strengthening Families Newsletter
Highlights from the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham
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UPCOMING ANNOUNCEMENTS!
YOGA+ WITH EVE: MOVEMENT, MUSIC, AND STORY! MONDAY, MAY 22 AT 11:00 AND TUESDAY, MAY 23 AT 10:00
MORE JOY IN LEARNING THROUGH MUSIC WITH REJANE DE MUSIS
SAVE THE DATE!
DON'T MISS REJANE DE MUSIS, BRAZILAIN CHILDREN'S MUSICIAN, LIVE SATURDAY JUNE 3RD AND 10TH AT 3:30 AT THE FRAMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY 49 LEXINGTON STREET!
Rejane DeMusis Inspires Us All!
Rejane de Musis, will reurn in June for the ECAF Family Celebration on June 8th for those families participating in our playgroups and ParentChild+ program. We will also honor our graduates at this time. Save the date: June 8th at 3:30 at Criterion Child Enrichment playground!
Click here to sample her entertaining way to engage families in early learning. Check out Rejane de Musis, talented Brazilian children's musician, on Spotify!
TO GROUP AND PARENTCHILD+ FAMILIES ONLY
CURIOUS TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT?
AGES & STAGES 3rd Edition: The Building Blocks of Child Development "Fine Motor"
With Fine Motor Development, the muscles of the hand and fingers, as well as the coordination between the eye and the hand are developed. In infancy, offering toys for your child to reach for and play with is a great way to encourage these skills. As they grow, they will gain more control over their movements such as using their whole hand to pick up objects and learning to use their fingers to manipulate them. They may bring objects to their mouth, move them between their hands, and throw them. Board books to look at and practice turning pages can provide a lot of entertainment as children approach their first birthday.
Toddlers may begin to pick up small objects with their finger and thumb (pincer grasp) and mealtime is a convenient time to work on this with cereal or small pieces of food. Children will enjoy getting messy practicing eye hand coordination by trying to feed themselves with their hands, a spoon, and fork. Stacking blocks, practicing coloring, stringing large beads, playdough, peeling stickers and putting them on paper, water and sandbox play, are all fun activities and help them strengthen their little hand and finger muscles.
Young Preschoolers practice lots of writing skills. Offering different things to use such as crayons, markers, and pencils and showing them how to draw simple shapes and lines can help keep this interesting. Painting using brushes, hands, or foam sponges is great too! Color Wonder markers, Wonder Wow books, and doodle boards are mess free and easy to take with you on car rides or a restaurant.
Good activities for Older Preschoolers are gluing, using stickers, cutting (with an adult), puzzles, magnets, velcro, and letting them help dress and undress themselves. As your child approaches 5 and begins to get ready for Kindergarten, they may learn how to hold a pencil correctly (with their fingers and thumb), draw shapes, letters, and their name. Practicing cutting out shapes and stringing small beads can be fun too!
The Ages and Stages for these skills, as well as all developmental areas, vary with each child. Every child develops skills on their own timeline. However, the goal is to provide a variety of activities and objects for them to explore and give them opportunities to continue to learn and grow their fine motor skills in many different ways!
To learn more about your child's development, scroll down for more information about the Ages and Stages or click here.
Kindergarten Registration
Communtiy Announcement: Important Mass Health Announcement
Starting April 1, 2023, MassHealth will begin the eligibility redetermination process, renewing all 2.3M members over the following 12 months. This will generally be the first-time members are at risk of losing their coverage since February 2020. In preparation for this effort, MassHealth has increased staffing significantly to handle a greater volume of calls and applications, improved our systems to automatically renew as many members' coverage as possible, and is working in close collaboration with health plans, providers, and other stakeholders. Even with this preparation, we understand that this may be difficult for members.
We’re asking for your support as part of our outreach strategy.
MassHealth is sharing the Phase 2 Redeterminations Outreach Toolkit for you and your partners to help educate members and make sure they are prepared and know how to complete their renewal. This toolkit includes key messages as well as downloadable flyers, posters, and other materials in 9 languages. This toolkit also includes materials for specific populations, such as children and families, members experiencing homelessness, or members with disabilities. We are also excited to share the MassHealth Renewal Help Guide, a new resource for individuals who interact with members.
We ask that you share these materials in your offices and community spaces as well as through your own communication channels and social media to help all members receive this important information. You can learn more about the upcoming redeterminations process at mass.gov/masshealthrenew.
A GLIMPSE AT THE PARENTCHILD+ HOME VISITING PROGRAM: GETTING SCHOOL READY
INTERESTED IN THE PARENTCHILD+ PROGRAM? CONTACT US TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION!
OPENINGS AVAILABLE!
Did you know Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham (ECAF) is the home for your local ParentChild+ program? Our program offers home visits for families with young children age 16 months to 36 months right here in Framingham for two years! The ParentChild+ Program will help your family in your role as your child's first and most important teacher. Our Early Learning Specialists share fun ways to help your child learn at home with free books and toys! We envision a world where every child enters school ready to succeed because every parent has the knowledge, skills, and resources to build school readiness where it starts: the home!
Throughout the 23 week school year, an Early Learning Specialist brings each week a gift of a high quality educational toy and book for your child to keep. Visits are 30 minutes long twice a week and can be scheduled at your convenience, day or early evening. You'll learn creative ways to read and play with your child and become actively involved in your child's education. We work together to ensure language isn't a barrier. There is NO COST!
So if you are a family who lives in Framingham with a child 16-36 months or know someone who you think may be interested, contact us at 508-782-6932 or email jdehaven@framingham.k12.ma.us for more information.
NEW! We now offer the ParentChild+ Family Child Care Educator Model for caregivers who take care of children in their home. Click here to complete the Family Child Care Interest Form. To learn more about the ParentChild+ Family Child Care Model, click here.
To learn more about the internationally recognized home visitation program, CLICK HERE!
Resource Guide For Early Childhood 2023 Edition
AND THERE IS MORE....
THE ECAF PARENTING JOURNEY SERIES: A PRERECORDED FAMILY EDUCATION PROGRAM
We will try to offer a road map stopping and exploring common grounds, celebrating developmental milestones, sharing inevitable pitfalls, and refueling with the energy that keeps us moving. These sources or tools advance our knowledge and provide us with more information allowing us to anticipate what may be ahead and plan our travels into Parenthood and Early Education accordingly. Let’s call it a guidebook that leads us through the parenting journey , not alone, but together as the journey can sometimes be lonely and it is always more fun when we have others join us, and, it’s easier to reach our destination safely. No matter how many stops or bumps along the way, we aim to ensure future opportunities for successful excursions.
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR 1ST STOP ON OUR ROADTRIP: DIALOGIC READING
ECAF VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM LIBRARY
BILINGUAL STORY TIME AND ACTIVITIES
Raising Emerging Bilinguals Thank you Mae, Maya, and Mateo for sharing stories and important conversations with the ECAF family!
- Storytime Bilingüe featuring “Baby Teeth/Dientes de bebe”
- Storytime Bilingüe featuring “This Bug Needs a Boat/Esta oruga necesita un barco”
- Storytime Bilingüe featuring “Los bebes aman/ Babies Love”
Storytime with Vera
- STORY TIME IN PORTUGUESE - "Vamos à caça de um Urso" (We're Going On a Bear Hunt)
- STORY TIME IN PORTUGUESE - "O Sapo Vai ao Médico"
FRAMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY PROGRAMS & MORE
Framingham Family Resource Center
WGBH FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES & MORE
WGBH Family Fun Activities and More
FEDERATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (FCSN)
OUTDOOR RX
Virtual Program 1: Bark Rubbing
Virtual Program 2: Nature Bracelets
RESOURCES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS INCLUDING FOOD SECURITY AND OTHER EMERGENCY RESOURCES
- A more inclusive list of community resources at your fingertips
- City of Framingham Resources - click the link to access the City of Framingham website. There is helpful information and resources for residents as well as the latest updates on the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
WHAT FAMILIES NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHILD CARE REOPENING Guidelines from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)
Spanish - Portuguese - ChineseAn important creative and family friendly educational message about wearing masks
- Massachusetts Home Visiting Initiative Comprehensive list of resources
- MASS 211 need help call the multilingual hotline 24/7 to access resources at: 1-877-211-6277
- Social Story What Nathan and His Friends Can Do English Spanish Portuguese
- Hello I Am A Virus! A kid-friendly booklet about COVID-19. Author: Manuela Molina Cruz
English - Spanish - Portuguese - Arabic - Free From Audible Books - Children's Stories
Who Makes the Magic? Meet Our Team
Contact Us
Email: jcohen@framingham.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/domain/72
Location: 19 Flagg Drive or 49 Lexington St Framingham
Phone: (508)782-6932
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earlychildhoodallianceofframingham/
Twitter: @strongstart16