Provider Newsletter | November 7, 2022

The Big Give 2022 – Thanksgiving Giveaway

If you, or someone you know, needs help providing a turkey for Thanksgiving, Stone Creek Church, in cooperation with The Urbana Meijer and The Universitv of Illinois Office of Volunteer Proqrams, is offering a whole frozen turkey and a bag of holiday groceries this Thanksgiving season.

To receive a Thanksgiving Meal please pre-register in ONE of the following ways:

Option #1 – Online Registration (preferred option)

Complete the online registration form by visiting sccwired.com/urbanabiggive.  (Registration opens October 24th at 12:00pm)

Option #2 – In-Person Registration

Register in-person at any of the following Stone Creek Food Pantry dates: October 24th OR November 7th, 4:00 – 6:00 pm at Stone Creek Church

Option #3 – Registration by Phone

Please note: This is the longest method.  Only call: 765-280-6417 to register by phone beginning on October 24th. Do not call the church.

When you register, you will be assigned a time to pick up your turkey and groceries. You can pick up your turkey at your assigned distribution time. When you arrive at your distribution appointment, you must bring a Picture ID. However, if you are picking up for another person that registered in advance, you can bring their ID and pick up food for them.

Distribution:

Saturday, November 19th at Stone Creek Church Stone Creek Church, 2502 S. Race St. Urbana IL

For more information, please email us at thebiggive@stonecreekwired.com.

Ofrenda para el día de Acción de Gracias 2022

Si usted o alguien que usted conoce necesita ayuda obteniendo un pavo para el Día de Acción de Gracia, la Iglesia Stone Creek, en colaboración con Mejier de Urbana y la Oficina de Programas para Voluntarios de la Universidad de Illinois están ofreciendo un pavo congelado entero y una bolsa con comida para complementar la cena en esta temporada de Acción de Gracias.

Para recibir la cena de el día de Acción de Gracias por favor registrarse con anticipación eligiendo UNA de las siguientes maneras:

Opción #1- Registrarse en línea (opción preferida)

Llene el formulario en línea visitando la pagina www.sccwired.com/urbanqbiqqive ,  empezando el 24 de octubre a las 12:00pm

Opción #2- Registración en persona

Regístrese en persona en cualquiera de las siguientes fechas: Octubre 24 0 Noviembre 7, de 4:00pm-6:00pm en la Iglesia Stone Creek

Opción #3- Regístrese por teléfono

Por favor tenga en mente que este es el método mas largo.  Solamente use el siguiente número telefónico: 765-280-6417; usted puede empezar a llamar desde el 24 de Octubre. Por favor no llame a la Iglesia.

Después de registrarse, usted será asignado (a) una fecha y hora para pasar por su pavo y la bolsa de comida. Cuando usted llegue a su cita, usted deberá presentar un documento de identificación. Si usted esta recogiendo la comida de parte de otra persona, usted simplemente necesita presentar la identificación de esa persona y puede llevarles la comida.

Distribución: 

Sábado, Noviembre 19 en la Iglesia Stone Creek, 2502 S. Race St. Urbana IL

Para mas información, por favor enviar un correo electrónico a thebiggive@stonecreekwired.com.

Quality Improvement Funds-Cohort (QIF-C) Grant for Licensed Programs

Applications Due December 16, 2022

QIF-C FUNDS CAN BE USED TO PURCHASE MATERIALS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR CHILDCARE PROGRAM


Eligibility Requirements and Expectations:

  1. Programs must be working towards/maintaining* an ExceleRate™ Illinois Silver or Gold Circle of Quality.  (“Working towards/maintaining” ExceleRate™ Illinois means program administrator must have at a minimum completed the appropriate “Orientation to ExceleRate™ IL” training or currently hold an ExceleRate™ IL Circle of Quality.)
  2. The same administrative staff member must attend and participate in three cohort meetings to be held virtually starting in February 2023.
  3. Attendee must have completed “An Introduction to the Environment Rating Scales”. If needed, this in-person training is being offered on 1/28/23. Call our office for further information and to register.
  4. Complete a self-assessment using the appropriate Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS-R, ITERS-R, ECERS-3, SACERS-U).
  5. Meet with a CCR&R Quality/Infant Toddler Specialist four (4) times.
  6. Develop a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Plan to support requested items.

The Quality Improvement Funds application can be found at https://ccrs.illinois.edu/files/2022/10/QI-Funds-FY23-.pdf. Be sure to complete and return pages 5-7, the supplemental application C on page 10, and include all supporting documentation. Applications will be accepted by email to ccrs@illinois.edu, mail, or delivering to the Child Care  Resource Service office at 905 S. Goodwin, 314 Bevier Hall, Urbana, IL 61801.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE DECEMBER 16, 2022

Acceptance or denial notifications will be emailed to all applicants NO LATER THAN January 10, 2023. Further details will be included in this email.

THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN THE REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS – 75% OF FUNDS WILL BE ALLOCATED UPON CCRS APPROVAL OF ITEMS

If you have questions, please contact Tina Wiegel, Jenny Garinger, or Kathy Martin at 217-333-3252, Option 3.

More Physical Activity, Less Screen Time Linked to Better Executive Function in Toddlers

Toddlers that spend less than sixty minutes looking at screens or engaging in more than 60 minutes of exercise per day tend to have better executive function than toddlers who do not meet these guidelines, according to a study involving participants from FRC’s STRONG Kids 2 cohort. “The influence of engaging in healthy behaviors on cognitive abilities appears to be evident in early childhood, particularly for behaviors surrounding physical activity and sedentary time,” said Naiman Khan, a kinesiology and community health professor who led the study.

To read more about this study, go to: https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/702754550 

The Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) is partnering with the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health to conduct a post-pandemic assessment of nutrition and physical activity-related practices at licensed early care and education (ECE) centers and homes statewide. This is a follow-up to a previous assessment we conducted in December 2019 – February 2020 in which you may have participated. We are hopeful that the information gleaned from this assessment will enable us to better tailor training and technical assistance (TTA) programming and support ECE-related advocacy efforts statewide.

To help us with the assessment, we would like to ask you (as Director or head of your site) to complete a brief online assessment about your site’s practices. The assessment takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. This survey is entirely voluntary and your responses will remain completely confidential and nothing will be reported back to any agency including your sponsor (if applicable) or any state or federal agency. Your responses will be combined with all of the responses from providers statewide and the findings from this study will help to inform TTA programming going forward.

UIC is conducting this assessment on behalf of INCCRRA and IPHI. Further information about the assessment and your participation is provided in the survey link below.

Upon completion of the assessment, you will be entered into a raffle to win one of 300 $25 Amazon Electronic Gift Cards!

Daddy Dialogue

Are you a daddy or soon-to-be-daddy that would enjoy getting together to talk about topics that directly impact you as a dad? All dads – past, present, and future – are welcome!

For questions, please contact Jeremy Smith at (309) 322-6621 or at JSmith@TheBabyFold.org.

This Month’s Topic:  “The Importance of Fathers”

Guest Speaker:Tzia Hibler, LCSW

November 15, 2022
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
105 N Mattis Ave, Suite J
Champaign, IL 61821

Zoom Training Opportunities for Child Care Providers

The following Zoom trainings will be available to our child care providers in December:

Power of Words, Part 2 – Exploring Positive Guidance Strategies to Enhance and Deepen Caregiving Skills (Part 1 not required for attendance)

Saturday, December 3, from 9:30 am – 11:30 am, 2.0 Training Hours   FREE

Presenter, Cathy Welsh, Early Childhood Consultant

This training is an extension of the training titled, “Power of Words: Enhancing Positive Guidance & Caregiving with Young Children.” Positive guidance and caregiving are rooted deeply in relationships formed among children, families, primary caregivers, and peers. Even during challenging moments of the day, positive guidance and caregiving influence each child’s development of well-being, belonging, exploration, and communication. In this extended workshop, participants will dive deeper and practice applying strategies that will enhance their day-to-day guidance and caregiving with young children.

Reality Bites

Tuesday, December 6, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, 1.5 Training Hours   FREE

Presenter: Randi Kinsella, Mental Health Consultant, Caregiver Connections

Biting is inevitable and common among children under the age of three. It is important to understand the developmental reasons for biting in order to prevent it and deal with it when it happens. Dealing with biting in group care calls on a variety of strategies to prevent and discourage biting and promote pro-social behavior. Through discussions you will have the opportunity to explore your own emotions and work on practical solutions to decrease this challenging behavior.

Tinies, Toddlers & Twos: Fine Motor

Thursday, December 15, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, 1.5 Training Hours  FREE

Presenter: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Specialist, Child Care Resource & Referral

Do you care for little ones? Focus will be put on striving for quality child care (using the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale) in both family child care homes and child care centers. In this training, we will focus on fine motor development and activities that you can provide for children in your care.

In-Person Provider Training Classes

We are offering in-person trainings this fall! Listed below are the trainings being offered for November.

Trash to Treasure (In-Person)

Wednesday, November 9, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Rantoul Public Library, 106 W. Flessner Ave., Rantoul   2.0 Training Hours   FREE

Presenter: Rhonda Costa, Director, The Caring Place

Turning items headed to the trash into classroom activities, art materials, and objects to keep the children engaged in learning.

Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC) Module 1: Social-Emotional Growth & Socialization (In-Person)

Saturday, November 12, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (1 hour lunch on your own)

Decatur Day Care Center, 2074 E. Lake Shore Dr., Decatur, Contact Hours: 8 = 6 hours face-to-face, 2 hours online assessment   FREE

Presenter: Kathy Martin, Infant Toddler Specialist, CCRS

This is a hybrid training and participants must complete the face-to-face session and online assessment to receive credit.

Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization explores topics on social-emotional development in the first three years, temperaments of children and caregivers, socialization, guidance and discipline, environments, and gaining an understanding of children’s behavior. Training will begin with an overview of the basic concepts of early social-emotional growth and socialization and their application to the group care context. An emphasis is placed on the development of a nurturing relationship between the infant and caregiver. The overview addresses the importance of responsive caregiving, the individualization of care through an understanding of infant temperament, the critical role of family and culture in early identity development, exploring developmentally appropriate play strategies with ages of infancy, creating supportive physical environments, and stages of emotional development.

Process vs. Product Art (In-Person)

Tuesday, November 29, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Carle Conference West B, 810 W. University Ave., Urbana, 2.0 Trainings Hours   FREE

Presenter: Sue Heidle, Early Childhood Consultant

We will discuss the pros and cons of Process and Product Art. We will also do a few projects so you can experience the differences.

To register for any of these in-person offerings, contact Jenny Garinger at (217) 333-7816 or by email at garinger@illinois.edu.

New Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant Now Available

Hello! My name is Randi Kinsella and I am excited to join the Caregiver Connections team as an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant for SDA 10! I serve Champaign, Douglas, Iroquois, Macon, Piatt, and Vermilion counties. I have lived in Champaign for almost twenty years, the first four having been at the University of Illinois where I graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus in Child and Adolescent Development. I  went on to obtain a Masters of Education in Child Development from Ashford University. I spent fourteen years working at a private preschool, most of that time serving as Principal. During this time I also conducted trainings for local staff along with presentations on Best Practices at a National Conferences. I am excited to serve the Early Childhood Education field in a different capacity, and look forward to working with you!  

The mission of Caregiver Connections is to “support child care providers, families and communities to build capacity in nurturing positive relationships, healthy social-emotional development and resiliency for all young children.” We provide child- or program-focused infant/early childhood mental health consultation for children 0-5; these are designed to strengthen the capacity of child care providers and families to effectively meet the social emotional needs of young children. This is done through observation and collaboration with providers, early childhood educators and families. Caregiver Connections also provides professional development opportunities and trainings on a variety of topics, including: trauma, culture and diversity, child development, and the importance of healthy relationships/attachment.