Presentations were made by local superintendents Dr. Stephen Gainey, Dr. Aaron Woody, and Dr. Sharon Castelli. After a brief Q&A and remarks by members of the Committee, the floor was opened to public comments, which were limited to two minutes each.

On behalf of the early childhood community and Randolph Partnership for Children, Director of Marketing and Community Engagement Micki Bare spoke during the public hearing. Here is the statement she shared:

“Most of my career has been spent in early childhood education. We know now that most brain growth, 85% or more, happens by age 5, before a child ever walks through the doors of their elementary school. We know now that the interactions and experiences children have in those first 5 years lay the foundation for learning, health, and success. We know now that if those interactions and experiences are insufficient or negative, the long-term negative effects can last a lifetime and are difficult and costly to overcome.

“Learning begins at birth. An Education System for North Carolina’s future must not only take this into consideration, but also intentionally and richly support early care and education. It must encompass the whole child, from birth through college. It must be inclusive, accepting, non-judgmental, and able to see the great potential in every individual child, if we truly want every child to thrive and succeed; and if we truly want a thriving economy.

“The structure is already in place. An Education System for North Carolina’s future could include subsidizing child care facilities to ensure they have qualified, licensed, early childhood professionals earning professional salaries with benefits, as well as the materials needed to ensure that the highest quality early care and education is offered to all children of parents who choose it. It could include close coordination with families of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers through home visiting programs. 

“When it comes to education, supporting the current workforce, and building our future workforce, we must address high quality care, whether in centers or at home, for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. 

“We also know now that investing early will save you at least 13 times your investment in the future. For example, an investment of $4000 in each of the 8000 children birth-5 in Randolph County today ($32 million) would have a return-on-investment of $416 million dollars.

“Thank you for your time and service, and for all you do to ensure the best for all of North Carolina’s citizens.”

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Connecting with others is an important part of social-emotional development for young children. It allows them to feel connected to the world around them and provides a sense of identity. Interaction with others also enables children to find new and engaging ways to express themselves.

Unfortunately, the impact of COVID makes it difficult for people to connect. Since connections are so important, we’ve been on the lookout for creative ways to connect with others during these times of social distancing and quarantining.

One of our favorites is the traveling rocks trend. They provide a safe and creative way to connect with others. Traveling rocks are painted (with eco-friendly paints that won’t hurt the surrounding environment or people who handle them) rocks that are left for others to find. Businesses, groups, families, and individuals use traveling rocks to spread inspiration, encouragement, and the message that you’re not alone and people care.

Families and caregivers of young children can take on traveling rocks projects to build a sense of connectivity. Painting provides an opportunity for creative self-expression. Heading out into the community to leave rocks provides outdoor time, which boosts mood and encourages exercise. Leaving rocks for others to find provides a sense of community and goodwill.

By posting pictures of traveling rocks online (there are traveling rocks groups, pages, and hashtags), you and your little ones can connect with others who are participating in this movement and find inspirational ideas for your own rocks. Online posts also provide conversation starters to use with young children about places, seasons, people, giving, and more.

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IMPORTANCE OF SELF-IDENTITY
Self-identity begins with knowing and understanding who you are. As it grows, it can build the confidence you have in yourself and your abilities. It helps you identify your strengths and talents. It also builds appreciation for the uniqueness of others.

As we build our self-identity, we are able to cherish those things that make us unique. We can more clearly see what we bring to the table in our interactions with others.

When we don’t have a strong self-identity, or feel negatively toward our personal characteristics, it can affect how we interact with others. Anxiety and feelings of inadequacy can lead to shutting down, shying away from, and even lashing out at those around us.

SELF-IDENTITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
In early childhood, building a positive sense of self-identity along with managing and redirecting negative feelings associated with self-identity are critical components to a healthy start in life. Young children need opportunities to reflect on and celebrate who they are and what makes them unique. As teachers, parents, and caregivers, we also need opportunities to self-reflect and learn and appreciate who we are.

MIRROR MIRROR ACTIVITY
One way of encouraging self-discovery and building self-identity among young children is through activities in which they can focus on their uniqueness.

Get started with this Mirror Mirror activity. You’ll need a shatterproof mirror, paper, and crayons (or other coloring media). Ask the child to look at their reflection in the mirror and draw what they see. Encourage them to express their favorite unique qualities through art. Remind them to look for lots of good things. You can give examples to guide them, such as, “I see your chocolate brown curls framing your happy face.” Model the activity by audibly finding unique characteristics in your own reflection and drawing your self portrait. Finally, share, point to, and talk about the pictures. Have the child share what they created and discuss what they like about their self-portrait. You do the same with yours.

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During the holiday season, we may have a few extra strands of lights in our homes. They can also be readily found in stores and are often inexpensive.

High quality early learning programs understand how magical lighting can be in calming and soothing our children, so why not try some things at home to create calming and comforting environments?

In early learning classrooms, default lighting is often stark fluorescent lights, installed overhead. Educators have learned how there is a correlation between bright or stark lighting and the energy levels of children. The brighter the light, the higher the energy. 

And this may be perfect for certain activities. But, if an early educator or a parent is dealing with high anxiety – such as we often experience during the holidays – things that bring anxiety levels down are critical.

A great strategy: turning off the overheads and using natural lighting, by opening blinds or draperies, or low lighting, by incorporating lamps, string lights, or fairy lights, for example.

These lighting techniques:

• Help provide a calming environment
• Help children focus and not be super high energy or anxious
• Can provide calming effects for the parent and other family members, too

Holidays are great time to experiment. Try these ideas to bring soothing lighting into your child’s environment:

• Fairy lights in a Mason jar
• String lights around a plant or tree branch
• Experiment with different ways to create a homey space for the children (plants, pillows, blankets)
• Lights can also be great learning tools:
  • Talk about their different colors
  • Play with the shadows they cast

You might find these techniques so effective and eye-pleasing that you keep the lighted mason jars and branches long past December!

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Becoming good at math begins long before a child enters school. Each one of us is born to be a “math person.” Even babies can do simple math, such as noticing amounts and patterns. Toddlers love learning math concepts and games, such as comparing sizes and shapes. These concepts help them make sense of the world.

For a fun way to think of this, just remember: Count, Group, and Compare.

Taking this simple learning activity outside makes it even more fun—because, together, you can Count, Group, and Compare natural elements like acorns, sticks, pinecones, poplar balls, and other objects found outside.

In high quality child care programs, early educators call things like acorns and sticks “loose parts”—they can be moved around easily, are free or don’t cost much, and spur great imaginative play among young children.

Best of all, these activities can be replicated perfectly at home by parents in back yards, or at grandma’s house, or at your local park – because things like sticks and pinecones are easy to find!

Sometimes when you go outside to Count, Group, and Compare, you may find that your child does all of the imaginative work for you. They begin to role play, creating stories around their outdoor fun. This uninhibited creativity was likely the inspiration behind Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis.

In this picture book, a little pig-like creature finds a stick. The grown-ups are telling him to be careful with the stick, look where he’s going, and look where he’s pointing it. In the piglet’s wonderful imagination, he is using what he has found to paint like Vincent Van Gogh, be a prize weight lifter, and fight off a fire-breathing dragon.

Outdoor play with loose parts and natural elements can spur language development and early reading literacy. Ask questions and play along to create an oral story around your child’s play. Then retell the story during your daily reading time. Incorporate books like Not a Stick along with the oral stories during reading time.

Building math and reading literacy skills may seem daunting. However, there’s no need for parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers to fret about brushing up on  math and reading skills before going outside. Just get out there and follow your child’s lead. Let nature be your child’s inspiration, and then piggy back off of their play to build math and reading skills.

Nature’s beauty at this time of year will naturally draw your child and you into activities where you can Count, Group, and Compare; Read and Discuss Stories; and build a strong foundation for future learning success—all while having lots of fun!

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Birds and butterflies are just two of many beautiful things nature offers to EXPLORE THROUGH MOVEMENT & PLAY, but they are two of the very best things!

Why birds and butterflies?

• Birds have always inspired us by their songs, their ability to fly, and their seemingly infinite variety of shapes, sizes, and coloration.
• The birds you can observe in your backyard or at a nearby park, will vary with the weather, making each season feel new and different.
• Butterflies are native pollinators (along with bees).  You can thank pollinators for one of every three bites of food you eat.
• Butterflies are the finished products of metamorphosis, and this presents great learning opportunities for children and adults alike.
• Birds and butterflies are commonly found in all settings, in every community!

Here are a few no-cost or low-cost fun things you can do with your children to explore birds around your home:

• Take a bird walk. Look for birds and signs of birds high and low (feathers, nests, tracks, droppings). Talk about what the colors and sounds you are seeing and hearing. Can you identify some of the birds? Can you spot a nest?
• Use toilet paper rolls to make pretend binoculars and practice observing birds.
• Talk about what makes a bird a bird. You might talk about feathers and the fact that all birds have feathers and are the only animals that do have feathers.
• Imitate the bird calls, whistles, and chirps that you hear.
• Use your arms to imitate how birds soar, flap, turn, and land.
• Conduct fly-like-a-bird relay races in your backyard.
• Once back inside, build a pretend nest out of sofa pillows or bed pillows and allow your infant, for example, to crawl through the nest. Or get your pretend nest all nice and comfy and then read together or maybe talk about all the things birds need to survive – food, water, shelter, air.
• If you’re lucky enough to find a feather, allow your child to squirt a small amount of water on the feather and see what happens. Talk about how feathers repel water! Or allow the child to paint with the feather.  This indoor activity will help the children understand the texture, weight, and capacity of a feather.
• If you and your children enjoy being in the kitchen together, you can make edible bird nests:
  • Melt chocolate chips
  • Mix with little pretzel sticks or shredded wheat or chow mein noodles
  • Shape into nests
  • Add jelly beans for eggs
• In your yard, can you find a caterpillar to photograph together?
• Can you spot a butterfly pollinating a flowering plant?
• If you have a spare planter and a bag of dirt, sprinkle in some flower seeds and grow a little pollinator garden for your neighborhood Monarchs.
• Back inside, all it takes is a few sheets of construction paper to design a set of wings and then color or paint in the spots.
• Learn further about butterflies through beautifully written children’s books, including Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Your child’s curiosity – and your own – will guide you to many other exciting explorations that will fill the season’s warm, beautiful days. Find the scientist within, and enjoy!

Here’s a great resource: Our Feathered Friends STEM Preschool Teaching Unit – www.massaudubon.org/education

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We encourage child care providers, preschools, and parents alike to use and share these activities as well as visit NAEYC for more resources to celebrate the Week of the Young Child.

Week of the Young Child Activities

April 12, 2021 Mindfulness Monday
Bring a little zen into your classroom’s day. Do a yoga routine, create a zen garden, or simply just breathe; and see the peaceful change that takes place.

April 13, 2021 Teamwork Tuesday
Parachute play, circle songs and games, and follow the leader are just some activities that promote teamwork and emphasize communication, collaboration and cooperation. Build groups; two or three friends work together on art projects or a larger group creating a mural. Re-enact an all-time favorite, Stone Soup by Jon Muth or enjoy We are Better Together by Roger Priddy.

April 14, 2021 Wild Wednesday
Let’s get wild on Wednesday! Indoors or outdoors, you can increase teacher-led physical activity by having the children perform wild animal movements, do the chicken dance or practice animal yoga. How about creating animal masks in art class or reading and acting out Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak? And since Randolph County is home to the North Carolina Zoo, Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire would be a great book to highlight on Wild Wednesday.

April 15, 2021 Thoughtful Thursday
On this day take time to be kind! Spread joy by being kind to others as well as nature. Encourage children to share a toy with a friend, give a compliment, create a card for someone or even take a nature walk and embrace nature’s beauty.

April 16, 2021 Feelings Friday
Celebrate all the feels on this day! Emotional intelligence allows children to recognize their own emotions and those of others, label emotions, and use that information to guide their behaviors. Sing silly songs! Roll a dice with different emotions on each side and have the children try to express that emotion and talk about what makes you feel that way. Read books such as Today I Feel Silly, The Feelings Book, or Glad Monster, Sad Monster. Take pictures of the children showing various emotions and make a homemade book for the reading area. Children are so expressive so today let those feelings be free! Remember feelings are just visitors, let them come and go!

And don’t forget to take a walk through downtown Asheboro to enjoy 2021 Art Explosion! You can also view the VIRTUAL GALLERY of this year’s Art Explosion thanks to Randolph Arts Guild. 

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On March 11, Scarlet Welborn, Infant-Toddler TA Specialist, talked with WGHP Fox 8’s Cindy Farmer about the benefits of gardening with little ones during the morning news show’s Mommy Matters segment.

Gardening is a great way to engage all the senses, which is exactly what infants and toddlers need. Here are the takeaways from their conversation.

Gardening is great for tactile and sensory learning. The texture of the dirt, smell of the plants, and feeling the cool or hot weather all boost sensory development. Ways to encourage tactile experiences with your little ones include encouraging Baby to move back and forth across the grass and through mud and dirt. Let baby poke holes in the dirt and then drop in seeds. Let Baby help pour water and then splash the stream as it comes out of the hose or watering can.

Gardening builds a sense of pride. When little ones see the seedling push through the dirt, then the plant as it grows stronger, then the vegetable or flower when it appears, they enjoy the same feeling of accomplishment and wonder that you do. They begin to understand the work it takes to grow food or flowers. They learn to take care of their plants, which helps build a foundation for independence. And best of all, when Baby helps grow vegetables and herbs, they’re more likely to try those new foods.

Embrace the mess. Since infants and toddlers learn best through hands-on sensory experiences, we have to be willing to let them get dirty. With infants especially, just make sure that they are able to sit up or stand on their own and that you are right there with them through the experience. The messier Baby gets, the more Baby explored through movement and play in the natural environment, which is great for connecting neural paths in the brain.

Gardening helps young children self-regulate. The texture and smell of the dirt has a calming effect for all of us, Baby included. Feeling the wind blow encourages Baby to take a moment to breathe. Being active releases endorphins that make Baby feel good. 

So, take advantage of the warmer weather and sunshine as you garden with your infants and toddlers. Not only does it promote healthy brain growth, it’s a healthy hobby they may carry with them right into adulthood!

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During the month of February, we had the opportunity to screen the documentary Starting at Zero, which addresses the impact of quality early education on K-12 success, the workforce, and the economy. Starting at Zero explores the power of investing in high-quality early care and education so that all children and families have the opportunity to attain the American Dream. The documentary chronicles the nationally renown First Class Pre-K program in Alabama and presents data that demonstrates how high quality early care works to close the achievement gap. If you didn’t have an opportunity to watch it, we recommend participating in an online screening event through the Starting at Zero website.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Additional resources:

• Takeaways from the documentary TAKEAWAYS
• Rebuild NC Child Care infographic INFOGRAPHIC
• Alabama’s 2019 NIEER profile AL & North Carolina’s 2019 NIEER profile NC
• Information about The Basics Randolph

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That’s why we’ve got 5 suggestions, one for each of the Basics Randolph, for 2021 New Year’s resolutions that will help build a great foundation for baby’s future learning, health, and success.

Maximize Love & Minimize Stress: Do one thing every day for you!
It can be small, and last only moments, but play your favorite song and belt out the lyrics, sip your favorite tea, stop for a few minutes of yoga or cardio. Be selfish for a moment each day to take care of you, because a happier you makes it easier to handle the stress of parenthood and caregiving.

Talk, Sing, and Point: Point to one object inside and one object outside.
We all babble and talk to babies. Adding the gesture of pointing helps build connections that help with understanding. Point to toy when you ask baby if she wants it. Point to a bush or flower when you notice and mention it while out for fresh air.

Count, Group, and Compare: Add counting with baby to mealtimes.
Count the crackers or orange slices as you place them on a napkin or plate. Count each spoonful as you feed baby pureed carrots. Or count silverware as you set the table. When you count as  you go, you’re building a foundation for success in mathematics and science.

Explore Through Movement and Play: Let baby touch something new.
Each day, find something new or go to a new place where you can expose baby to new things (like playing with sticks, rocks, feathers, shells; or placing baby on a blanket in the yard where she can roll around and see and touch grass, leaves, dirt). Everything new that baby processes through touch, sight, and smell is building neural paths and connections in the brain.

Read and Discuss Stories: Read one book a day with baby.
Don’t worry about the number of minutes or books. Just pick one book (it can even be the same book) each day, snuggle together and read with fun voices, ask questions, point at pictures, and enjoy the escape from the stress of the day. Doing this right before bedtime really does help settle baby for a good night’s sleep!

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