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Fall/ Winter Newsletter
Vol. 3, September-December 2021
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Welcome to the Fall/Winter edition of the Baby Steps Buzz, your source of information, highlights and activities of the Baby Steps program. Baby Steps is a parent education program that provides a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment for all families with a child/children aged birth to three in the Newport County area.
This edition features all of the fun fall themed activities that our families participated in. We welcome you to grab a cup of hot cocoa and read about the ways we can Read, Learn, and Grow Together!
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Back to School and Fall Harvest Time
September, October, and November 2021
| The Baby Steps Program brought some of our families back together in person for the Fall Sessions. The weather was lovely and allowed us to come together safely while observing social distancing guidelines at the Florence Gray Center. We continued to offer our Thursday evening session virtually for our families that felt more comfortable with that method of program delivery. | |
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Advisory Group Members Provide Valuable Contributions
Advisory Group member Lissa Fernandez (left) leads the families in a read aloud of September’s Book of the month How Do Apples Grow? during our September in-person session, held outside on a beautiful day at the Florence Gray Center in Newport. Every month Lissa creates a list of books, songs, poems, etc. for us to include in the gift bag we give to parents, which also includes the book of the month, diapers, wipes, and presenter handouts.
| Baby Steps is grateful to have the continued support of Advisory Group Members Louisa Boatwright, Lissa Fernandez, Amintha Cinotti, and Cathy Lind. Their contributions are key to the continued success of the program. | | | |
Baby Steps Receives RI Legislative Grant
On Friday, October 15, 2021, RI State Representative and House Finance Committee Chairman Marvin Abney paid a visit to EBCAP staff to present a $2,000 legislative grant to support the work of the Baby Steps Program. We're most grateful for this generous support.
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Photo: from left, Catherine Norton, EBCAP Communications Associate, Rita Capotosto, EBCAP VP of Family Development, and Rep. Marvin Abney, Chairman, House Finance Committee | |
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With Fall comes pumpkins, and Baby Steps families took advantage of the chance to visit Escobar Farm in Portsmouth, RI for a trip through the corn maze, a slow hayride around the farm on a beautiful day, and time in the pumpkin patch to pick a tiny pumpkin!
Advisory Group Member Amintha Cinnotti (pictured above, right) and Baby Steps Mom, Angela, with daughters Erin and Fiona, enjoy a Hayride at the farm.
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Connor and his Dad, Oscar, together create a colorful turkey craft, organized by Cathy Lind, Advisory Group Member and craft volunteer, during the Baby Steps session. Taking part in craft activities allows your child to engage in multi-sensory experiences and to work on fine and visual motor skills. In addition, it encourages creativity and provides opportunities to work on language and imitation with your child. | | |
Positive Parenting
The October session focused on positive parenting with a presentation from Dr. Katherine Partridge, Staff Psychologist in the Pediatric Partial Hospital Program (PPHP) and Bradley Hospital. Dr. Partridge's presentation, titled "Coregulation with Children and Caregivers," provided insights for parents on strategies for, and the benefits of, positive parenting.
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November Session - Communication Part 1
Kit Psaras, who works as a Speech Language Pathologist in Newport Public Schools, plays with Connor during our November Saturday morning Baby Steps session. Kit talked with each family, offering parents ways to work on language during play and family routines.
Psaras is a returning Guest Speaker who presented ‘Communication – Part 1'.
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Salve Regina University student Cassandra Cannon lends a helping hand during our December Baby Steps session. Cassandra is a Sophomore, majoring in Nursing. She volunteers her time at Baby Steps and is always willing to go above and beyond by helping with session planning, distribution of flyers and marketing for Baby Steps, as well as assisting during our in-person and virtual sessions. | |
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December Decorating Day!
December's craft doubled as a tasty treat!
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Two of our participants are excited to frost and decorate the cookies they received in their family's December gift bag.
Baby Steps encourages families to spend time in the kitchen. Cooking together builds a child's interest in trying new foods and helps develop fine motor and verbal skills.
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Angela and her daughters, Erin and Fiona, enjoyed making holiday cookie creations at home! | |
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January
Communication Part 2
Guest Speaker: Ellen Connery, Speech and Language Pathologist with Easterseals Early Intervention
Theme: Friendship
Book: Duck and Goose by Tad Hills
Craft: Yellow Cotton Ball Chick
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February
How Does Your Child Learn? - Part 2
Guest Speaker: Carissa Perkowski, MEd., who teaches adjunct courses in Early Childhood Education at Rhode Island College
Theme: Winter
Book: Winter by Ailey Busby
Craft: Cute Polar Bear Mask
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March
Positive Parenting - Part 3
Guest Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Berton, LICSW, The Rose Center for Learning, Newport, RI
Theme: Weather
Book: Weather by Jill MacDonald
Craft: Kite Craft
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Thank you for your continued support of the Baby Steps Program!
Your generous help and participation makes it possible for Baby Steps to provide a strong community resource to increase early childhood literacy and support family development.
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Baby Steps is a program of East Bay Community Action Program
Contact Us: 401-533-1160 or kremington@ebcap.org.
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