At a recent Lunch & Learn session Jeff Quinn, MPH, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, spoke about the unique impat of fathers on their children. Involved fathers contribute to their child having more positive social competencies, higher self-esteem and security, lower rates of depression and anxiety, and a lower likelihood of exhibiting violent or defiant behaviors. With father involvement children have greater success with cognitive abilities, educational attainment, language abilities and school readiness.

There are many things faith communities can do to encourage fathers to engage with their children. The conversation can start as early as pre-marital counseling by asking couples about their family plans and their experiences with their own parents. Congregations should try to avoid maternal-centric practices. Simply putting a changing table in the men's restroom can send a strong message about your community's faith in the abilities of fathers. If your congregation has a men's group, have them specifically address this topic. Consider a mentoring program in which new or expecting fathers can be matched with more experienced ones.

For more information about the significance of a father's involvement, check out the May issue of "Congregations and Early Childhood," the Early Childhood Faith Initiative's monthly newsletter.

The Early Childhood Faith Initiative is a collaboration between Durham's Partnership for Children and End Poverty Durham that recognizes the role that the faith community plays in providing support to young children and their families. Click here to learn more about this initiative.

This past Saturday the Transition to Kindergarten initiative hosted a Teacher's Talk on balancing academic content with developmental context. These talks, for Durham kindergarten and pre-kindergarten teachers, are meants to open the lines of communication between the two levels of educators and foster discussion around transition activities and obstacles.

This talk presented teachers with detailed information on the common core standards for kindergarteners in English language arts and mathematics as well as the early learning standards for North Carolina preschoolers. The teachers were given time for group work and discussion on aligning kindergarten standards with the preschool foundations and how this will affect transition. They were also given resources on age-appropriate approaches to learning across various domains, and ideas for transition to kindergarten activities. Activities like summer transition camp, school open houses, and playdates with future classmates can ease rising kindergarteners' anxieties about entering a new school by familiarizing them with the people and environment they'll see in the fall.

Teachers left the session with greater knowledge of the core standards and ideas for alignment that they can bring back to their schools and share with other faculty. The information shared at this talk, along with the connections formed between teachers, will help to ensure that rising kindergarteners in Durham have a smooth and successful transition.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and Wells Fargo Foundation, and implemented in collaboration with Durham Public Schools. Click here to learn more about this initiative.

The results of the "Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study" indicate that the religious participation of single mothers is associated with greater involvement with children, reduced parenting stress, and a lower likelihood of using corporal punishment. Young children raised by mothers who frequently attend religious services were less likely to display problem behaviors. Overall, religious participation may provide resources for single mothers that encourage them to engage in parenting practices that promote positive child development.

There are many ways that faith communities can connect with all mothers to bring about these beneficial outcomes. As we approach Mother's Day it is an excellent time for congregations to think about honoring mothers. Consider hosting a monthly "Mom's Night Out." Provide activities and care for children while the mothers enjoy a gourmet dinner prepared by volunteers. Following the meal the women can choose between a parenting class, individual prayer, or a discussion group. Or do something as simple as having young children decorate cards for their mother.

For more information, check out the April 2012 issue of "Congregations and Early Childhood" a monthly newsletter from the Early Childhood Faith Initiative.

The Early Childhood Faith Initiative is a collaboration between Durham's Partnership for Children and End Poverty Durham that recognizes the role that the faith community plays in providing support to young children and their families. Click here to learn more about this initiative.

This week (April 15-21, 2012) is National Volunteer Week. The week is about inspiring, recognizing, and encouraging people to seek out new ways to engage in their communities. It is a time for taking action, urging individuals and their communities to be a part of social change, and to demonstrate the power in volunteers of positive transformation.

The Volunteer Center of Durham took time to celebrate volunteers throughout Durham and Orange Counties this week. At their Key Volunteer Recognition Ceremony on Monday, more than 15 awards were presented to all kinds of volunteers, from youths to seniors, individuals to groups, and faith-based to corporate. We congratulate all of the winners and nominees recognized at this event. To read more about the Key Volunteer awards, click here.

At Durham's Partnership for Children we are fortunate to have many volunteers contributing to our mission in a variety of ways. On our Board of Directors, as well as our Allocations, Community Awareness, Evaluation, Executive, Finance, Investment, NC Pre-K, and School Readiness Committees, members lend their expertise and passion for early childhood to governing and guiding our organization.

Moreover, every year we have interns who work closely with our Program and Evaluation department on special projects. Volunteers in our "Readers as Leaders" program read to young children in child care centers throughout Durham several times each month. Many of our volunteers go above and beyond the bounds of their role, getting involved with other programs and helping out with events like our NC Pre-K application blitz and Barnes & Noble wrapping day. Some of our community initiatives, such as the Early Childhood Faith Initiative, would not be possible without the hard work of the many community volunteers that guide our work.

The Partnership is always in need of more volunteers. This spring, we'll need volunteers to help assemble our "Blast Off to Kindergarten" kits for rising kindergarteners. We are also happy to host group events for corporate volunteers. Whether you are interested in anything from providing administrative support to working directly with the children we serve, we can find a volunteer role for you with the Partnership. To learn more about our volunteer activities, click here.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers for the extremely valuable work they do. Our volunteers make a world of difference in the lives of young children across Durham County. 

The Partnership, in collaboration with Durham Public Schools, has selected 9 recipients of the Transition to Kindergarten mini-grants. These grants support the planning and implementation of transition activities targeted at families with children entering kindergarten this fall. The goal of these grants is to foster collaboration between elementary school and early childhood educators around transition to kindergarten.

The recipients of more than $5,000 in funding include George Watts Montessori, Bethesda Elementary School, Early Explorers Playschool, Spring Valley Elementary School, RN Harris Integrated Arts Magnet School, Fayetteville St Elementary School, Oak Grove Elementary School, Holt Elementary School, and Little River Elementary School. Each recipient is partnering with another early childhood center or elementary school to bridge the gap between these two levels of education.

The winning proposals include plans for activities such as ice cream socials, school open houses, playground picnics and kindergarten camps. These activities give families the opportunity to do things like tour their child's future school, register for kindergarten, meet school personnel, and observe kindergarten classrooms. The activities aim to engage children and their families in the kindergarten experience to build excitement while also easing their anxiety about the coming fall.

We would like to thank all of the programs who applied for funding and congratulate our grant recipients. We look forward to seeing these exciting and creative projects in action in the coming months.

Durham's Partnership for Children received funding from Wells Fargo and Morgan Creek Foundation to support rising kindergarteners through Transition mini-grants and additional Transition to Kindergarten activities. To learn more about the Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, click here.

Last Thursday evening, March 29th, Y.E. Smith Elementary School was transformed into a safari for rising kindergarteners and their families. Families were greeted by the kindergarten mascot, Dottie the mouse. They were then guided to the cafeteria where they enjoyed dinner. Their meal was set up in a manner very similar to the lunch lines the students will be encountering this fall.

Following dinner, the families were welcomed by the principal, as well as staff from Durham’s Partnership for Children and East Durham Children’s Initiative. From here, the families were split into groups based on language. The entire evening’s program was offered in both English and Spanish.

The groups visited kindergarten classrooms and the media center. In the classrooms, children had the opportunity to sit on the carpet as the teacher explained what a typical day in her class is like. The children even had a chance to try out some of the activities they’ll be doing this fall. In the media center, families were introduced to the “Read, Talk, Play” strategy for parents to help build up their children’s skills. All of the children were provided with “Blast Off to Kindergarten” kits, full of items which encourage creative and imaginative play between parents and children.

This event set out to ease children’s anxiety about kindergarten by letting them know what to expect, and to give parents an occasion to become engaged with their child’s education right from the start. Getting our children ready for kindergarten lays the foundation for future success in school and life.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and Wells Fargo Foundation. It is implemented in collaboration with Durham Public Schools. This event was a collaboration between Durham’s Partnership for Children, Durham Public Schools, and East Durham Children’s Initiative. 

While it would be ideal for all children to enter school knowing their numbers and letters, it is even more important for us to send our children to school eager to learn. The following is a list of the top eight readiness skills, as ranked by kindergarten teachers from five states (including North Carolina) with over 129 years of experience collectively.

1. Enthusiasm Toward Learning: Does the child approach learning enthusiastically? Is she eager to explore and discover? Does she ask questions, take initiative, and persist when tasks are difficult?
2. Solid Oral-Language Skills: Research shows that one of the best predictors of later reading success is a well-developed oral vocabulary in kindergarten.
3. The Ability to Listen: Students must be able to concentrate on what the teacher is saying, listen carefully for directions, and tune in to the sounds in letters and words. Singing fosters pre-reading skills too.
4. The Desire to Be Independent: Children should know how to get their coats on and off and hang them up; follow simple two-step instructions such as, "take off your boots and put on your sneakers" or "go the bathroom and wash your hands."
5. The Ability to Play Well With Others: Children should be able to express their feelings in words and begin to understand that two people can use the same thing at the same time. They need to be equipped with essential social skills such as sharing, compromising, turn-taking and problem-solving.
6. Strong Fine-Motor Skills: Master cutting, coloring, pasting, and holding a pencil.
7. Basic Letter and Number Recognition: Kindergarten teachers believe that it is their responsibility to teach kids letter sounds and how to write, but they do hope incoming students can recognize most letters  by sight. They also hope children can count to 10, identify numbers 1 to 5, and know some shapes and colors. However, teachers do not want parents to quiz their child or use workbooks, phonics kits, or flashcards. Rather, use everyday situations to point things out to your child.
8. Social Emotional: Children are expected to share materials, take turns, respect others' ideas and collaborate with a group of their peers. Children are also expected to be able to wait patiently for needed help while the teacher works with another child. It is expected that children will not cry when frustrated or disappointed.

 For more information, check out the March 2012 issue of "Congregations and Early Childhood," a monthly newsletter from the Early Childhood Faith Initiative.

The Faith Initiative is a collaboration 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 learn more about this initiative.

Join us on Thursday, March 29 from 5:45-8:00 PM at Y.E. Smith Elementary School for a Kindergarten Safari. This event, for families with children entering kindergarten in August 2012, will allow families to become familiar with Y.E. Smith, the teachers, and the registration process.

Families will be provided with dinner, followed by a welcome from the principal and PTA, kindergarten classroom activities, and a workshop on the Talk, Read, Play strategy for parents to help build their child's skills. All of the activities will be available in Spanish as well as English.

Giving rising kindergarteners the opportunity to visit their future school helps to ease some of those first day anxieties about the unfamiliar territory of kindergarten. This event also gives parents a chance to get introduced to Y.E. Smith and feel excited and connected to their child's educational experience. They'll leave with new tools to help them plan and prepare for their child's successful transition into elementary school.

For the Kindergarten Safari flyer, click (English) or (Spanish)

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation, and implemented in collaboration with Durham Public Schools.  

Another successful Lunch and Learn event on March 6 was organized through Durham's Early Childhood Faith Initiative. The topic, "The Serious Business of Play- Getting Children Ready for Success in School," had three presenters speak about how to best prepare a child for their entry into kindergarten.

Pat Harris, Program Coordinator at Durham's Partnership for Children, talked about Durham's Transition to Kindergarten Initiative. As part of this work, she is putting together "Blast Off to Kindergarten" kits that will be available at various kindergarten readiness events this season. These kits contain items that encourage creative and imaginative play, such as:

• Draw a Picture Tell a Story booklets in which children can create an image and have their parents can record the story of that image
• Emotion flash cards so children can learn to identify emotions in themselves and their classmates
• Building blocks that allow for color and shape recognition as children plan and build figures 

Helen Tharrington of Westminster Presbyterian is an experienced preschool teacher in a faith-based environment. She discussed how children enter school with a broad range of cognitive and developmental skills. THe most important thing they need to function in school and be ready to learn is social skills. If a child doesn't know how to sit and settle down for story time, it makes it extremely difficult for them to learn, regardless of whether or not they know how to write their name.

Miriam Broderson of Healthy Families Durham (a Smart Start funded program at the Center for Child and Family Health) emphasized the importance of a child having a strong foundation from their earliest years in order to prepare them for school success. Forming a secure attachment with caregivers in infancy helps put a child's social-emotional development on track. For older children, Miriam stressed the significance of keeping a regular routine. She stated that in her personal opinion, "consistent bedtimes and mealtimes eliminate 75% of all behavior issues." Having a good night's sleep and a full tummy makes it far easier for a child to focus.

Children, like all of us, have a fear of the unknown. Equipping your child with the necessary social skills, the ability to recognize and regulate their emotions, and the knowledge that they can count on you to be their base, can better prepare them to navigate through the unfamiliar situations they'll encounter at school than anything else.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation, and implemented in collaboration with Durham Public Schools. Click here to learn more about this initiative.

The Faith Initiative is a collaborative project 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 learn more about this initiative.

The Partnership and Durham Public Schools hosted more than 30 pre-k and kindergarten teachers at Saturday's Teachers Talk Forum that was organized through the collaborative Transition to Kindergarten Initiative.

Teachers talk events help to 1) strengthen the role of early childhood educators in crafting successful transition activities for children and their families, and 2) support kindergarten educators as they learn and adopt ways to effectively communicate with families about the importance of kindergarten.

With so many committed educators gathered together in one space, a passion for helping our youngest learners succeed bred vibrant discussion around what children need to be ready for success in kindergarten. Here is a list of priority needs developed by the teachers:

1. Social Skills
2. Confident Parents
3. Self help skills
4. Family involvement
5. Exposure to books
6. Life experiences (exposure to diverse objects, people, places)

It is no surprise that social skills were named as the top need for children entering kindergarten, followed by self help skills. Together, teachers discussed in depth the need for parents to support and foster social skills that include sharing, conflict resolution, and taking turns. Children's independence was a hot topic as well. Kindergartners need to arrive at school equipped with self help skills such as putting on jackets, shoes, etc.

Another critical point of discussion: What challenges do children and families face when transitioning to kindergarten? Teachers highlighted the following frequent struggles:

1. Schedules, getting into routines
2. Class ratio
3. Structure and rules in the kindergarten classroom
4. Socioeconomic issues and differences with families
5. Expectations (of both teachers and parents)
6. Change and fear of the unknown
7. Who is there to help me? - Support for parents

Brining pre-k educators and kindergarten teachers together to discuss these critical elements of transition helps to smooth some of the challenges that young students and their families face, while enhancing transition strategies. Future Teachers Talk events will center on discussion and training for teachers about how the pre-k early learning standards and the K-12 standards can and do align.

The Transition to Kindergarten Initiative is supported through funding from the Morgan Creek Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation.