Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

 

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has a recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher is presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In May, Ms. Katy Phillips was chosen as the recipient for her outstanding dedication to providing quality care to young children. Ms. Phillips is a child care teacher and PlayWorks Early Care & Learning Center. Ms. Phillips uses educational materials with the children daily to promote learning.  In her classroom, meaningful language is used throughout the day to promote literacy in the classroom.  She provides numerous incidents of intentional learning in the learning centers to increase vocabulary about different topics.  Ms. Phillips also shows the children love and attention so that they are able to create a relationship with their caregiver.  Ms. Phillips’s hard work and dedication is a reflection of the learning that goes among young children in the classroom.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children appreciates her dedication to serving children in Wilkes County. Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.

 

 

 

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has a recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher is presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In April, Heather Adams was chosen as the recipient. She is the owner and operator of Little Miracles Daycare. Heather has been a licensed childcare provider for 13 years. She completed her Early Childhood Education at Wilkes and Surry Community Colleges with a 4.0 in Child Guidance, Creative Activities and Early Childhood Education. She currently has a 3 star rating. She serves children birth to 12 years old and provides before and after school care. Heather accepts subsidized children through the department of Social Services and participates in the Child Nutrition Program. Wilkes Community Partnership for Children appreciates her dedication to serving children in Wilkes County.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes March Teacher

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has a recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher is presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In March, Ms. Anna Marie Holland was chosen as the recipient.  Ms. Holland is a teacher at Miller Creek Child Care and was recognized for her outstanding dedication to providing quality care to young children.  She facilitates active discussions with the children daily.  In her discussions, meaningful language is used throughout the day to promote literacy in the classroom.  She also provides numerous opportunities of intentional learning to increase knowledge about different topics. Wilkes Community Partnership for Children appreciates her dedication to serving children in Wilkes County.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.

Invest 2000

This article will be the first of a series of articles by Wilkes Community Partnership for Children to help parents and caregivers make the most out of the first 2000 days for children.  

 

There are only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when that child shows up for the first day of kindergarten. Experiences during these 2,000 days have a lasting impact on later learning, health and success. That is because children’s earliest experiences literally determine how their brains are wired; lay the groundwork for future health; and form the foundation of the social and emotional skills needed for academic and workplace success.

With quality early childhood education, children will be school ready; have higher graduation rates and grow into productive citizens and valuable employees.

Today, neuroscientists are able to show that early experiences actually shape the architecture of the brain and strongly affect whether a child grows up to be a healthy, productive member of society.

Early experiences are built into our bodies. Not only do they shape the wiring of the brain, they impact how biological systems develop. There is scientific evidence that many common diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are linked to processes and experiences that occurred in early childhood or even prenatally.

Academic ability alone does not make for a successful adult.  Social and emotional skills, what some refer to as “soft skills” or “character traits” are equally important in determining success in school, in work, and in life according to researchers. Social and emotional skills include the ability to self-regulate, manage mood and control anger, self-motivate, manage relationships, empathy, and the ability to relate to and influence others.

Research indicates that a child’s quality of life and the contributions he or she will make to society can be directly traced to the first few years of life, back to those first 2,000 days. We know through research that high quality early education yields higher graduation rates, reduced crime, higher earnings, and better jobs. As a result, economists estimate that every dollar invested in early education produces a 10% return on investment through increased personal achievement and social productivity.

Early childhood investments produced sustained results at the local, state, and national level and are critical to keeping the United States competitive in a global market.

If you would to learn more about why the first 2000 days matter- check out www.first2000days.org . In addition, Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, offers a variety of programs designed to ensure that young children enter school healthy and ready to succeed. Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, is a United Way funded agency.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has a recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher is presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In February, Ms. Kelly Brewer was chosen as the recipient. Ms. Brewer is the “Kitchen Manager” at Easter Seals UCP Woodlawn Children’s Center and has been since December 2010. As Kitchen Manager, Ms. Brewer is responsible for planning menus for breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack, as well as inventory, purchasing, and other duties. As a participating center, this must be accomplished while keeping within strict guidelines and regulations for the child care food program. Ms. Brewer plans and serves lunch menus that are catered to the center and prepares and serves breakfast and afternoon snack.

Child care centers last year employed an intervention called NAP-SACC , which stands for “Nutrition and Physical Activity Self - Assessment for Child Care”. NAP-SACC was developed at UNC-Chapel Hill in response to the North Carolina Healthy Weight Initiative for Children as an “obesity prevention” model. Centers assess how they are doing compared to best practice standards in the areas of nutrition and physical activity and where changes can and should be made, then seek to implement them. Using NAP-SACC as a model, Ms. Brewer became interested in creating healthier menus and experimenting with new ideas for breakfast and snack. She attended a training last Fall sponsored by the Child and Adult Food Program of NC called “Building A Better Menu.” The training inspired her to delve further into creative ideas that would improve food quality and nutrition and introduce children to new choices. Melinda Swofford, Child Care Health Consultant with Wilkes Community Partnership for Children stated “It is important to inspire children to make internal choices toward a healthier lifestyle. We do this by introducing them consistently to healthy ideas and concepts, as well as modeling behaviors that support these concepts. Ms. Brewer is making strides toward “best practice” in the area of nutrition and we are very proud of that.”

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has started a recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher will be presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In January, Ms. Andora Gambill was chosen as the recipient. Ms. Gambill is a licensed Family Childcare Home Provider. She has been in business for over 26 years. She enjoys spending time with children and giving them the nurture and love that they need. Although child care is demanding business, Ms. Gambill is looking forward to in enrolling at Wilkes Community College to further her education and increasing her star rated license.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children recognizes Early Childhood Teachers

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children has started a new recognition program for child care teachers based on observations by the Partnership staff of outstanding achievement in child care. Each month a teacher will be presented with a door plaque with the teacher’s name in appreciation for the dedication to the children they serve. In December, Ms. Amber Shoemake was chosen as the recipient. Ms. Shomake is the three and four year old teacher at The Children’s Center of Wilkes.  During her recent Environmental Rating Scale Observation, an assessment instrument for early childhood and childcare program quality, she scored a 5.97 out of a 7.00.  Her hard work and deep compassion of teaching is reflected by her score.  Wilkes Community Partnership for Children appreciates all of her hard work and dedication. Ms. Sara Caudill, Child Care Development Specialist, presented Ms. Shomake with the door plaque. Wilkes Community Partnership for Children, a local Smart Start agency, is a United Way funded agency.