Each year, Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA) awards Seed Money grants to emerging projects that offer approaches to growing needs in the Durham community.  We are honored that the Partnership's Early Childhood Faith Initiative has been selected this year among the following new programs, which were announced as grant recipients during the DCIA Annual Meeting on January 24. 

• Achieving Health for a Lifetime, in collaboration with Healing with CAARE, will be offering new, free fitness and sports programs for families and adolescents in Northeast Central Durham.
• Circles of Support and Accountability will be organizing volunteer teams from faith-communities to provide social support and reflection with sex offenders in the Durham area, to support rehabilitation and prevent recidivism.
• Durham Crisis Response Center's Faith Based Initiative will be equipping faith-communities for ministry with domestic violence victims, and extending its network of contacts and support for victims.
• Durham Economic Resource Center will be extending its workplace training and job-placement service for chronically unemployed adults.
• Durham’s Partnership for Children's Faith in Books project will be providing bilingual board books for young children to congregations in Northeast Central Durham.
• John Avery Boys and Girls Club will be building its coaching staff and improving accessibility for Latino youth in its programs.
• Latino Educational Achievement Partnership will be providing pre-Kindergarten readiness services for Latino children and families.

DCIA is an interfaith, inter-racial organization of 62 congregations. The DCIA mission is to bring together congregations to promote understanding across boundaries of faith, race and ethnicity and build an inclusive community of justice and peace.

How to Apply
Beginning January 30, 2012, you may call 919-403-6950 ext. 6820 to set an appointment time between February 6 and April 6, 2012. 
You may also visit one of the following Durham County Head Start offices beginning February 6, 2012, where a family counselor will assist parents in filling out the application.
• 215 Seminary St. (across from McDonald’s and the YMCA)
• 1313 Halley St. (Lyon Park)
• 908 Liberty St.  (Leathers Meacham)

Click here to download the NC Pre-K flyer for more information. [En Español]

For more information about financial assistance for child care, contact Child Care Services Association at 919-403-6950 or contact Durham County Social Services at 919-560-8360.

Durham County’s NC Pre-K program is working to provide high-quality early educational experiences for 4-year-olds who are not attending preschool for various reasons. The program is community-based, voluntary, and designed to prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten. The NC Pre-K program operates in private class rooms, Durham Public Schools, and Head Start.

The Durham County Universal Pre-K Application project is supported in part with funding from Duke’s Doing Good in the Neighborhood giving campaign. This process ensures that at-risk four-year-olds are matched to proper pre-kindergarten education services.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America -- one out of three -- live in biological father-absent homes. Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.  Source: The National Fatherhood Initiative

The Early Childhood Faith Initiative seeks to address this critical issue through its upcoming Lunch & Learn session, "Getting Fathers Involved with Young Children," from 11:30 am to 1 pm on Tuesday, February 7th.  Jeff Quinn, MPH, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University will present an overview of the importance of father involvement in early development as well as suggestions on how fathers can get involved in their child's life.  He will be joined by a panel of ministers who will share their suggestions of how congregations can help fathers get involved in their children's lives as well as their own personal experiences as fathers.  The session will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church (2620 Weaver Street) in the fellowship hall.  Bring your lunch.  Beverages provided. 

Registration is encouraged by contacting Winnie Morgan (winniewmorgan@juno.com or 919-732-1524), Early Childhood Faith Initiative Coordinator for the Partnership.  This session is free and open to the public.

The Faith Initiative is a collaborative initiative between Durham’s Partnership for Children and End Poverty Durham that recognizes the role that the faith community plays in providing support to families and children.  Click here to read more about this initiative.

Parents of rising kindergartners have many questions in the months leading up to the start of school, when their child will begin their journey into the public classroom.  Starting kindergarten is one of the most important transitions a young child will experience.  On top of the doubts and fears that parents may have, they are also faced with important choices.  Some of the most frequently asked questions by parents include:

How do I locate my child’s assigned school?
Go to the Durham Public School home page at www.dpsnc.net and click on the Student Map Assignment symbol and follow the directions to locate schools assigned to your address. You may also call Student Assignment at 560-2059.

What are my child’s choices for elementary school at DPS?
Attend your Neighborhood School, apply to a Year Round School, or apply to a Magnet School.

What is a Neighborhood School?
A Neighborhood School is a school that is close to your home, which usually begins in August and ends in June. Call 560-9403 if unsure which is your Neighborhood School. Registration for Neighborhood Schools begins at the school in March.

What is a Year Round School?
The Year Round School calendar begins in July and ends in June. Instead of one big summer break, students in Year Round Schools have three week breaks in September, December, and March.  There are three elementary schools in Durham (Holt, Easley, and Pearsontown) that are Year Round Schools. Every address in Durham is assigned to one of the three Year Round Schools.

What is a Magnet School?
Durham Public Schools has seven Magnet Schools, which are schools that have a special focus such as the arts or foreign languages. For example, Burton Elementary is a Geo-World Magnet that helps children learn about the world and society and Sandy Ridge Elementary is an Arts Magnet, allowing students to take art, music, dance, and performing arts or drama classes.

What resources are available to assist parents in making this decision?
DPS is hosting a Choice Fair on January 21, 2012 from 9 am to noon at Hillside High School. At the Choice Fair, parents can learn about assigned neighborhood schools, year-round schools and magnet schools in Durham and how to apply. Call 560-9403 with any questions or visit the Schools of Choice page on the DPS website.

DPS will host its final Kindergarten Welcome Session of the year on March 6, 2012 from 6 to 7:30 pm at the DPS Staff Development Center (2107 Hillandale Road).  Kindergarten Welcome Sessions cover how to register your child for kindergarten, opportunities for magnet and year-round programs in DPS, information about before and after school care, and conversations with kindergarten teachers.  Call 560-9403 to reserve a seat.

Visit the Partnership Transition to Kindergarten web page or the DPS kindergarten website with additional questions.

This past fall we featured NC State’s Natural Learning Initiative and its connection with Durham Early Head Start (EHS) classrooms on the Partnership blog as a way of highlighting outdoor learning environments in the early childhood setting. Since the introduction of those newly renovated outdoor learning environments to the centers in Durham, site directors and teachers have been hard at work maintaining the grounds and incorporating the outdoors in their curriculum.
 
To build upon their expertise, EHS teachers and directors recently participated in a "Preschool Garden Train the Trainer" workshop offered through the NC Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program. Consumer Horticulture Agent Michelle Wallace began the training with some basic tips for garden management, including how many gallons of water newly planted trees need, how to use a rain gauge with young children, what type of mulch is best for playgrounds, why perennials are so appealing to young learners, and how to manage weeds in the lawn.  She helped teachers build a Garden Exploration Tool Kit and guided the early educators through a series of hands-on activities perfect for very young minds.  Activities listed below:

Germination Necklace
Items required: Basil seeds, Yarn (cut for necklaces), Cotton balls, 1"x3" ziploc bags
Note: The germination bags, once assembled, are to be worn as necklaces because the warmth of the body naturally helps the basil seeds grow.

Garden Hat
Items required: 19.5" in diameter commercial coffee filters, Masking tape, Magic markers
Note: Allow the children to use the markers to design their own garden hat. 

Sammy Soil Heads
Items required: Knee highs, Potting soil, Rye seed, Rubber bands, Plastic cups
Note: This is like constructing your own Chia pet, the "hair" of which should grow within a week. Other seeds can be used, but rye seeds make great "hair." Take photos throughout the process and use to show time-lapse progress.

Garden Terrariums
Items required: Clear plastic containers with lids (like a mayonnaise jar), Pea gravel (for drainage), Potting soil, Shells/Glass Beads (for decoration), Small ground cover plants such as moss or sapling pines
Note: A terrarium is simply a contained environment. With just the right amount of water in this garden terrarium and with the lid kept closed, children will be able to see the water cycle.

Vermi-composting
Items required: "Diary of a Worm" (literature), Plastic opaque container with air holes on top, Shredded newspaper, Leaves, Cup of soil from the garden, Red wiggler worms, Vegetable scraps, Plastic bucket with water
Note: This is not for the faint of heart, but children seem to love seeing the wiggly creatures in action.

Durham EHS is a free, comprehensive child development and family support program for low-income families with children aged birth to three years old and to pregnant women. It is a collaboration between Durham’s Partnership for Children, Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project and Healthy Families Durham.
 

The child care industry in Durham County is big – with good reason.  Locally, more than 7,000 children are enrolled in licensed child care settings.  Families in need of these services utilize a great deal of resources to find the perfect early care and education provider for their child.  With so many children in need of care, it is no wonder that families begin their search early. 

Join Child Care Services Association during one of the following free Choosing & Using Child Care Information Sessions. During the sessions you will learn about:

• What steps to take during your child care search
• North Carolina licensing regulations for child care programs
• What quality child care looks like
• Different financial assistance resources for help paying for child care
• How to access other community resources that are available to support your family
• How Child Care Services Association can help you during your child care search

January 23, 1:00pm-2:00pm (Webinar with an infant/toddler care focus)
Durham County Health Department
Register by phone (919) 560-7771or by email to request a registration link: wrobinson@durhamcountync.gov

January 24, 12:30pm-1:30pm
UNC Women's Hospital, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Register by email: Stork@unch.unc.edu

February 8, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Teer House, 4019 North Roxboro Road, Durham, NC 27704
Register on-line at http://teerhouse.dukehealth.org or call (919) 416-3853

Children want to be made a priority; of this we are reminded within the pages of the Early Childhood Faith Initiative’s January newsletter.  Prioritizing young children can be – not surprisingly so – a challenge, and one that we must empower parents and caregivers to take on.  Putting the needs of a young child first means taking into account what constitutes good parenting.  We must reframe how we think by imagining what a young child would say if asked, What do you want in a parent?

Sure, they would doubtless want a parent who allows them to have that adorable puppy they’ve been pleading for.  Perhaps the parent who feeds them ice cream every morning for breakfast might round out their ultimate parenting scenario.

Though – in the grander picture of parenting success – these young children might in fact express their needs in the following ways:

From: The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start by Brenda Nixon

The Faith Initiative is a collaborative initiative between Durham’s Partnership for Children and End Poverty Durham that recognizes the role that the faith community plays in providing support to families and children.  Click here to read more about this initiative.

Click here to read the full January newsletter.

Did you know that Durham has been recognized as a Playful City USA by KaBoom? Playful City USA is a national recognition program that honors cities that make play a priority by using innovative programs that foster active environments for children.  Last year, 151 cities and towns were recognized. 
For the benefit of our children’s healthy physical development, parents and caregivers should be encouraging children to spend at least an hour a day playing outside where some of the most exploratory learning often takes place.  Encouraging children to go outside, get moving, and connect with nature are all ways to avoid childhood obesity, but there are other benefits too. Kids who play outside are happier, healthier, and stronger.
Yet families often experience many obstacles when it comes to spending time outdoors: busy schedules, technology, community violence, and fear of getting hurt.  Another common barrier to outdoor play is lack of access to public parks and playgrounds.

Fortunately for Durhamites, a number of nearby parks and play areas are located on the bus route.  Here’s a small listing:

OF INTEREST:  Did you know that the Museum of Life and Science offers free admission on Wednesdays from 1 -5 pm to all Durham County Residents? ID required. The museum is located at 433 West Murray Avenue, Durham, NC 27704.

So get out, explore, and learn in our playful city of Durham!

The final day of the Partnership’s Annual Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive was December 31st.  Partnership staff members continue to distribute the 2,880 books that were collected over the course of the 8-week drive to Durham-based organizations that serve young children.  Thus far, books have been donated to more than 15 community agencies serving children in home visiting programs, social services, medical facilities, and a variety of family support and family literacy programs.

"From across the community, the support we have seen for the book drive has been phenomenal,” said Cheri Hodges, Community Relations Manager at the Barnes & Noble store. “Those who purchased and donated books to this year’s drive have a big heart for Durham’s young children and have provided the gift of literacy to those in need."

The immediate result of these book donations is that a young child is provided with the tools for developing early literacy skills. Each and every book helps to advance a child’s curiosity for words, language and stories. We are grateful to have a community that comes together to make this book drive a success.

Thank you to the generous community members who have contributed to this cause.