Volume 4| July 29, 2020

Message from your EI Supervisors

Dear Families,   Our thoughts continue to be with our Early Intervention families during these unprecedented times. We hope everyone continues to stay healthy, safe and in the summer heat, COOL! Issue 4 of our EI Newsletter continues to provide a variety of exciting activities and resources for our EI students and families. DCIU Early Intervention staff continue to work diligently behind the scenes to provide fun and engaging activities to keep your preschooler busy throughout the summer.   These times continue to bring about uncertainties as we look to resume a new school year in the fall. We hope at this time you have had a chance to read the DCIU Health and Safety Plan. If you have not had a chance to review, we have provided a link to the plan below. Additional information regarding the reopening of school in the fall is currently being finalized. We will continue to communicate as information becomes available.   We recognize that returning to school in the fall of 2020 will look very different for our young learners. We want to support and prepare our students for the changes to the educational environment that will take place. We hope that you find the information and activities that our staff have included in this issue helpful in preparation for your child’s return to school. Please see the list of upcoming parent training dates. Also, please continue to visit the DCIU website for organization and program updates, COVID-19 information, resources, and e-learning technology support!   If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your child's service providers or service coordinator. If you need assistance in connecting with your child's team, you may message EI@dciu.org   The last day of the summer session is August 7, 2020. We will provide ongoing updates, including plans for programming for Fall 2020, as soon as that information is available. The Health and Safety Plan can be found on the DCIU website ( www.dciu.org ) or by clicking this link: DCIU-DCTS Health and Safety Plan .

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Resources for helping children return to in-person instruction Our staff have been proactive in thinking about ways to support our diverse and unique learners to be ready for all that will be different as we return to in-person services. Here are a few examples. If you are in need of more specific, individualized information for your child, his/her early intervention providers are here to help! Please reach out during scheduled consults to develop materials specific to your child's needs. In her contribution this month, Dr. Esther Bubb provides us with a story to help prepare our students for some of the changes they may experience when we return to in-person services. The story is available via MP4 and PDF, and links are below: Going Back to School After COVID-19 Break MP4 Going Back to School After COVID-19 Break PDF Going Back to School After COVID-19 Break PDF without background Looking for ways to help your child understand COVID-19? Here is a good website: Information for Preschoolers about COVID-19 More specifically, helping your child understand wearing a mask: Why do I have to wear a mask? Here are some supports to firming up habits in washing hands and wearing masks! Washing Hands Song Choice Board and Visuals Wearing a Mask to School

Looking for Some More Summer Fun?

Our staff continue to develop different resources to share with you in our newsletter. Please take a look and consider trying a few! If you are looking for something specific, our staff are happy to help! Please work with your child's service providers during your weekly consults. Learning in the Kitchen Miss Joanne walks us through one of her class's FAVORITE cooking projects, 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Balls! Click here for more details and a video tutorial for maximizing learning during this activity! Four-Ingredient Peanut Butter Balls In this video, Miss Joanne provides video-based instruction to make breakfast bars! Click here for the tutorial and consider doing this fun activity with your child. Breakfast Bars Here are some tips to work on Core Strengthening in fun, functional ways: Core Strengthening Fun Bring the beach experience to your home with this "Edible Sand" experience for your child. Ingredients and ways to incorporate learning into this multi-sensory experience can be found here: Edible Sand Play Looking for ideas for summer fun that doesn't cost much? Check out these ideas: Summer Fun Activities Does your child have a vision impairment? Click here for tips and tools for supporting his/her access to learning while using computers/tablets: Resources for Children with Vision Impairments

STEAM Activity of the Week Preschool Early Intervention Teacher Megan Gilligan creates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) lessons for her students and has agreed to share activities for our newsletter! The following links provide information about STEAM in preschool as well as this week's activity, Making Slime! Miss Megan's friends, Alo, David and Mikey show us their finished product! About STEAM in Preschool Early Intervention Making Slime!

Resources for Parents Each year, Penn State University hosts an Autism Conference, and this year it is being held virtually and is FREE of charge! There are many sessions geared towards parents. Here is the the training link if you're interested in registering! https://autism.outreach.psu.edu/

Self-Care Tips- Got Yoga? EI Teacher Miss Kim shares "The Science of Self Care: Yoga for kids". Visit Miss Kim's padlet for more information:  https://padlet.com/keckler1/jj82k4hyvbohysby

Upcoming Parent Training Opportunities

Our Early Intervention Staff will continue to host a variety of virtual parent training opportunities. All trainings are held on Thursday evenings from 5:00-6:00pm. Log in details will be shared as the training dates approach. Please see the upcoming events: Thursday, 8/6/2020: Ten Tips to Talk it Out! Keeping our Children Happy and Healthy During a Pandemic Presented by Donna Hilferty-Hillyer and Jaime Mazza, Speech-Language Therapists Thursday, 8/20/2020: Activities IN and OUT of the Home to Increase Language in Preschoolers Presented by Hali Sklar, Speech-Language Therapist Thursday, 9/3/2020: How to Structure Time at Home Presented by Brittany Mealy, Special Education Teacher

Reminders and Resources

The DCIU EI program will be on a scheduled program break from 8/10-8/28/2020. We are back in session on Monday, 8/31/2020 for students who are not transitioning to kindergarten or first grade programs within their local school district.

Do you need tech support? Please visit the parent section of our e-learning toolkit for more information and resources for using technology to keep your child connected to his/her early intervention service providers. DCIU e-learning toolkit resources for parents and caregivers Should you experience a technical issue with the tools provided to you as part of the remote education plan, please send us an email at parentsupport@dciu.org . Please include your name, phone number, and the best time to reach you. A support representative will reach out to you within 24 hours to assist.

About DCIU Preschool Early Intervention

Delaware County Intermediate Unit 200 Yale Avenue Morton, PA 19070 Phone: 610-938-9000 Fax: 610-938-9887 www.dciu.org Follow us on social media! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DCIU25 Twitter: https://twitter.com/DCIU

General Information All parents are concerned about their child's development. We can help. Early Intervention through DCIU is designed to help children with special needs from age three to before they enter kindergarten. Every child has both areas of strength and of need. Every child benefits when developmental delays, disabilities and special needs are identified and addressed early in life. Preschool children can receive many types of services if they have an identified developmental delay or disability in at least one of the following areas: · Adaptive development · Cognitive development · Communication development · Physical development · Social-emotional development Help for your child can begin with a simple telephone call or online referral click here for online intake form Contact DCIU's Early Intervention Services (610) 938-2830 ext. 6502 or 6503. A secretary will record some basic information and ask you about your concerns about your child or click here for online intake form.