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November 2020
A publication of the Howard County Office of Children and Families
Family Institute
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Family Institute Online Workshops, New this month!
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Nothing I Do Works:
A Parent’s Guide to Challenging Behaviors
Tues., Nov 17, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
FREE Online: Register here
Don't allow tantrums, power struggles or misbehavior make daily life difficult in your household. Learn how to help decrease negative behaviors from happening and what to do when they occur. Ask questions and learn skills and resources that you can use immediately to help you feel more confident in your parenting. For parents of children ages two to eight.
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Building Resiliency
in You and Your Child
Wed., Nov 18, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
FREE Online: Register here
Resiliency is a critical skill to help children learn to be successful in school and life. It is about building one's ability to bounce back from minor to more intense stressors in every day life. Parents are an intrigal part in helping children develop this skill. By learning how to take care of yourself, you can help your child become resilient and better able to manage their own stressors. Learn how to strengthen your resiliency and thereby help your child build theirs.
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The Basics Howard County provides tips for parents to build on early learning skills. Infants learn language from birth, so it’s important for them to hear your voice. Talk with them every day, making it routine during bath time, diaper changing or feedings. Rhyming songs are a great way to communicate with your infant as well as responding to their facial expressions and sounds. Name body parts and point to objects in your environment so your baby begins to learn words and phrases. As your child becomes a toddler, help them learn more about their community and build on their language skills. Take your child out and about sharing with them the day’s activities; where you’re going and the people you meet. Ask your child questions and listen for their responses. Children this age tend to communicate with gestures like pointing, so label and talk about things that interest them. For more ideas and information, visit our highlighted video, Talk, Sing and Point.
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To receive more information specifically for your child's developmental stage up to the age of three, sign up for free Basics Insights text messaging here. (Available in English and Spanish) To learn more about The Basics Howard County, visit here or email children@howardcountymd.gov.
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Family Time Live, The Basics
Howard County Library System is hosting interactive language and literacy-based activities to engage the whole family with children from birth to five. Activities complement the Basics Howard County principals for the healthy development of young children and their families.
Thursday, November 5 at 11:00 a.m., register here.
Saturday, November 14 at 11:00 a.m., register here.
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Labeled Praise
It is much easier to focus on the challenging behaviors our children exhibit, but taking the time to point out the positive behaviors you see, no matter how small, can have a big impact! Parents can do this by providing labeled praise which is a proactive strategy that describes the specific positive behaviors that you observe. It reinforces the desired behaviors and lessens challenging behaviors. To learn more, read this article about labeled praise. (Click on picture to see full Postive Desciptive Feedback graphic.)
Monthly Challenge: Provide your child labeled praise at least three times every day. Try these starter phrases:
· “You’ve done a wonderful job at…”
· “You have really learned how to…”
· “You have worked so hard…”
· “That’s a cool way to….”
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Kid's Wednesdays
There are still openings for Robinson's Nature Center's November Kid’s Wednesdays. Parents who are interested in enrolling their children can call 410-313-0400 to register.
Additional programs this fall:
Robinson's Nature Center Programs and Activities Guide here.
Howard County Conservancy's Fall offerings, click here
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“ClueDunit”
Friday, November 6. Free
There’s a mystery afoot on Main Street in Old Ellicott City. Find clues, crack the case and win cool prizes during this free-to-play, family-friendly scavenger hunt. For official contest details, check out Howard County Recreation & Parks’ Facebook page.
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Ranger Rise and Shine
Friday, November 13. Free
Explore the natural world with County Park Rangers during Recreation & Parks’ virtual Ranger Rise and Shine event. Through a series of interactive activities and stories, participants will learn about bugs, wildlife tracks, nocturnal critters, habitats and more right from the comfort of their home. To register, contact Amy Carpenter-Driscoll at acarpenter@howardcountymd.gov.
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Special Education Resources
Virtual IEP Review Sessions
Get help understanding your child's Individual Education Plan. Schedule a free, individualized virtual meeting with a parent educator from the Parents Place of Maryland. Click here to reserve a time and day.
Promoting Social Skills and Pragmatic Language in Children
Saturday, November 21, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Sponsored by Pathfinders for Autism. FREE Virtual Event. Register here.
Listen to an overview of the socialization process in children, as well as some common barriers and trends when children socialize. Direct training of social skills and the teaching of pragmatic language is important for child rearing and review key components of instruction. Learn concrete and direct ways to teach these skills.
HCPSS Empowering Parents as Partners Conference
Topics covered are IEP meeting in the virtual environment, instruction, data collection and progress monitoring, related and support services, supporting your child in the home environment and more. Conference powerpoint presentations and the opening session by Dr. Terri Savage are posted on the HCPSS Special Education page here.
Disability Rights Maryland’s Education Team (DRM)
Q & A to Answer Parents' Questions about School During COVID
Weekly, Wednesdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Live, FREE.
One session each month for Spanish-speaking parents.
Facebook Live sessions to answer parents' questions about distance learning for students with disabilities. Captioning is provided in real time. All videos and recordings are available on the DRM Facebook page. To learn more, visit here.
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This National Town Hall setting provides families with tips to support distance-learning students. This webinar geared for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade parents, features experts from PBS, Khan Academy and Learning Heroes, offering advice, tips and tools to support learning at home. Visit here.
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Remote. In-person. Hybrid. No matter how kids are learning this year, parent-teacher conferences are going to be different. There will be new topics to talk about — from participation in live video lessons to challenges with wearing masks. On top of that, some conferences will be virtual. Click here to learn more.
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Parent-teacher conferences can be intimidating, but planning ahead can help you have a confident conversation.
Use this conference worksheet to help plan what you want to talk about and which questions you want to ask.
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10 Tips: Kid-friendly Veggies and Fruits
Encourage children to eat vegetables and fruits by making it fun. Provide healthy ingredients and let kids help with preparation, based on their age and skills. Kids may try foods they avoided in the past if they helped make them. For 10 fun ideas, click here.
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Two digital media experts offer ADHD-specific insight about screen rules during a pandemic, long-term repercussions for loosening the limits and how to get your child to unplug. To learn more, click here.
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Fatherhood, Family and Football
The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) presents the “Fatherhood, Family and Football” video series featuring candid moments with pros and other “pops” who combine their love for the gift of fatherhood with their love of the game. Each week the NRFC will post heartfelt video interviews of former NFL players and other celebrities who speak of their experiences with fatherhood, their exuberance for family and the exhilaration of football. For more information about NRFC, visit here (Spanish page.)
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Unite for Literacy
The goal of reading is to develop a tool your child loves to use for a lifetime of learning and pleasure. Every time you read with your child, you build their ability to become successful in school and daily life. Unite for Literacy offers free virtual books for young readers that can be narrated in both English and Spanish. Follow their Facebook page and Twitter to see daily tips in both English and Spanish.
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An Art Contest
2020 marks the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. The Howard County Department of Community Resources and Services and the Howard County Commission on Disabilities invite you to mark this milestone anniversary by entering the ADA30 Art Contest.
The Contest is free and open to all Howard County residents. Contestants are invited to enter up to two (2) works of art (digital submissions only). Prizes will be awarded in each category: 1st Place Prize $200, 2nd Place Prize $100. Deadline for submissions is
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Howard County Library System
The Howard County Library System offers numerous learn from home resources for students and parents:
Kindergarten Readiness Activities, here
Science and Social Studies Come Alive with TrueFlix
Bring people, places, history, science, and nature to life with TrueFlix, an online tool by Scholastic designed especially for grades three to six. TrueFlix offers hundreds of units to explore on topics including ancient civilizations, the animal kingdom, outer space, biographies, and more. There’s a U.S. Government unit about voting.
Watch an engaging video to build background knowledge and introduce academic vocabulary. Then read an interactive eBook with text-to-speech and word highlighting features, which offers a thorough study of the subject matter. Games, quizzes and project ideas round out the offerings, giving students multiple methods to reinforce learning.
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Mindfulness Practices
for Families
When parents and children are feeling big emotions, it’s helpful to find some calm. Mindfulness is noticing what’s going on outside and inside of oneself with acceptance and kindness. Simple mindfulness activities can help. Zero to Three has collected mindfulness exercises designed to help both parent and child experience a sense of calm connection. Visit here to learn quick and easy things you can do in everyday interactions.
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Building Resilient Kids, Families and Communities
“Little Children, Big Challenges” is a video special from Sesame Street in Communities about how kids and adults can stay strong and bounce back during tough times. Watch now.
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Play & Learn Virtual Parent Empowerment Series
Sponsored: Howard County Public School System Department of Special Education
Offered first and third Wednesday of each month, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
November 4, Sleep & Bedtime Routines/ November 18, Daily Routines
December 2, Occupational Therapy/ December 16, Mealtime
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Big Buddies with My Gym
Saturdays, November 7 - 28; 10:45 to 11:15 a.m.
Join Ms. Kayla from My Gym for this fun virtual workout for children ages four to nine with a developmental or intellectual disability. Participants in this class will receive positive reinforcement for self-reliance and following directions. Strength, flexibility and agility are increased as teachers introduce physical skills with language geared to build self-esteem and confidence. Balancing activities, basic gymnastics and beginning sports skills lead to increased strength, enhanced manipulative ability and hand-eye coordination.
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Oakland Mills Online (OMO)
For families interested in community activities, OMO has many offerings. Options available:
Toddler/Preschool Tuesdays; Wednesdays Academic Support; afternoon and evening clubs, groups and forums, learning teams and volunteer opportunities. To learn more, visit here.
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Thanksgiving Food Drive
The need for assistance is greater than ever. Consider taking part in Department of Community Resources and Services' Thanksgiving Food Drive. Now through Wednesday, November 18, DCRS is collecting non-perishable food items, baskets and/or gift cards or cash to donate to Howard County families in need.
Drop-off locations are set up throughout the county. (Click here to see all locations.) If you are looking to donate a gift card or cash, hand deliver to the MultiService Center at 9900 Washington Boulevard, Suite I, Laurel. Gift cards and cash donations should NOT be mailed and NEVER left in a drop-off bin. Organizations interested in donating, contact Ms. Valerie Mathis directly at 410-313-0220.
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