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July 2019
A publication of the Howard County Office of Children and Families
Family Institute
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Help Prevent the “Summer Slide”
Children look forward to summer vacation as a welcome break from school. Breaks are relaxing but it’s also important to not slide back academically and lose skills built up throughout the year. There are many fun ways to encourage kids to keep learning, even while they’re not in preschool or class.
- For children ages birth to five, sign up for ReadyRosie to learn fun ways to make everyday activities fun.
- For school aged children, consider options from Understood.org to keep that brain muscle strong.
- Worried about the "Sleep Slide" when traveling with the little ones? Learn tips to travel in a way that’s restful for children and you. Visit The Sleep Lady for eight summer travel tips to help prepare before you leave.
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Summer Reading Ideas
It is recommended that children read over the summer to keep their reading skills strong. Below are ideas to help parents choose books and encourage their children to read.
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Building a Strong Brain Foundation
Serve-and-return interactions are an excellent way to build a strong foundation in an infant or toddler’s brain for future learning and development.
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
created a video that models
adults and young children doing "
serve and return" in five simple steps.
If you want weekly highlights on infant and toddler development, sign up with
Talk With Me's
Facebook page.
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Finding and Paying for Quality Child Care
Looking for a preschool or child care program for your child?
LOCATE: Child Care
is a free personalized resource to help parents choose quality child care programs throughout the State of Maryland. Assistance is provided to find preschool programs, family child care, full day child care programs and before and after school programs. Call 877-261-0060. If you are a parent of a child with special needs, call
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Community Forum
on Bullying
Tuesday, July 9, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Hammond High School
Parents, students, staff and community members are invited to participate in a forum about bullying. Topics include reporting, investigation, training and communication. Visit Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) to
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Share your
Feedback on HCPSS
Boundary Review
Recommendations to the Superintendent can be made at one of the
public input session
s
in July (10, 13, 16 and 18).
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Summer Safety
It is very important to keep safety for children in mind when planning for summer activities. Click
here
to visit
Maryland Families Engage
for a free downloadable poster that highlights information on topics such as sun, heat and water safety.
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FREE Webinar on Monday, July 8, 12:00
Learn why kids with ADHD have trouble regulating their emotions, and learn mindfulness exercises designed to
calm an unsettled child.
Sign up and you will also receive the free webinar replay link.
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Parents should start the summer planning to keep teens busy and away from mindless screen time. Read this article from Screenagers for ideas such as learning a new skill, discussing how much time is reasonable per day for playing games/ social media and brainstorming “house help” projects.
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More free time in summer allows for more fun, but also allows for more and more screen time. Read this article from Screenagers to find suggestions on what other parents are implementing for their family's summertime screen time rules.
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Community Athletic Programs’
Mobile Rec Center
Howard County Police Department’s (HCPD) Community Athletic Programs’ Mobile Rec Center is coming to neighborhoods in Howard County! From
June 24 to August 16, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
(expect July 4 and August 5 to 9), the Mobile Rec Center will be making pit stops at with HCPD school resource officers onboard ready to play basketball, baseball, flag football, Xbox or just hang out.
Mondays – East Columbia Library, 6600 Cradlerock Way
Tuesdays – Talbott Springs Pool, 9660 Basket Ring Road, Columbia
Wednesdays – Blandair Park, 5750 Oakland Mills Rd, Columbia
Thursdays – Oakland Mills Middle School, 9540 Kilimanjaro Road, Columbia and
Mayfield Woods Middle School, 7950 Red Barn Way, Elkridge
Fridays – North Laurel Community Center, 9411 Whiskey Bottom Road, Laurel
No registration required.
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Webinars for Military Parents
The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC)
offers webinars for parents who are remote or not located near a major military installation with a Parent to Parent community-based team. These webinars are typically presented on Wednesdays at noon, Eastern Time, in a web-based format.
Attendees must register in advance of the live presentation. Always recorded - these webinars can be viewed at attendees convenience. Gain tools on everything from helping your unorganized child to transitioning schools with children of exceptional needs.
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Eating Healthy this Summer
Looking for fun ways to teach kids about healthy eating this summer? Try activities from
choosemyplate.gov
,
that offers fun ideas such as food critic, food art, gardening and kid's restaurant. Find a variety of ideas ranging from preschool through teens to get the whole family on board with making healthier choices.
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Free Meals this Summer for Children
Click on the two sided fliers below for lunches, snacks, weekend packs and Roving Radish information.
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Freezing Credit Reports
With the announcement of the recent data breach at Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, Howard County
Office of Consumer Protection reminds residents of a NEW Federal law that allows you to freeze and unfreeze your credit file for FREE.
You can also get a free freeze for your children who are under 16 and if you are someone’s guardian, conservator or have a valid power of attorney, you can also get a free freeze for that person as well.
Most creditors (and retailers who extend credit) review your credit reports before approving loans or extending credit. By placing a credit freeze (also known as security freeze) on your credit reports, creditors cannot review them and consequently, won’t approve credit applications submitted by you or, more importantly, identity thieves.
The
Federal Trade Commission
does advise consumers to not confuse credit freezes with credit locks. While they work in a similar way, locks may have monthly fees. To guarantee a free freeze by federal law, be sure to opt for a freeze and not a lock.
To place a free freeze on your credit report, contact:
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