February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the lives of Black and African American people and their contributions to our world. Your child's school may have special curriculum, assemblies, or activities to celebrate the month. At home you can talk with your children about the incredible influence African American people have had on the arts, technology, and politics as seen in the list compiled by
The Undefeated, while also not shying away from discussing the inequities experienced by African Americans throughout history. For adults and older children, the University of Oregon's
Division of Equity and Inclusion will be hosting a number of gatherings to honor African American culture.
Beyond the month long celebration, here are ways to increase your ability to honor diversity year round:
- The Implicit Bias test from Stanford will help adults become aware of their biases. Reflect on how you may avoid or exclude the populations you are biased against. Being more inclusive in your life will model for your children the ways they can be inclusive with their peers.
- Watch the three-minute video from The Atlantic for ideas on how to talk about race with your children.
- Take stock of the children's books in your home, do these have diverse families, characters and cultures? Push yourself to think of who you are excluding and seek to bring those stories into your children's lives, throughout the year.
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Did you know that dental decay in baby teeth can negatively affect permanent teeth and lead to future dental problems? And when children have poor oral health they often miss more school and receive lower grades than children who don’t?
Many oral health issues can be prevented or caught early! We can help our children have the healthiest teeth possible by ensuring they brush twice a day, floss once a day, limit sugary food, and visit the dentist twice a year.
For ideas on how to help your child practice good oral health:
- Read this article with tips on how to help your young child have good dental habits.
- Have a toddler whose reluctant to brush? Motivate them with this catchy Sesame Street video!
- Download these coloring sheets for a fun way to get Pre-K through early elementary aged children thinking about the importance of good oral health.
And, for free and low-cost dental services:
- White Bird Dental Clinic: 1400 Mill Street, Eugene; 541-344-8302; whitebirdclinic.org/dental
- Lane Community College Dental Clinic: 2460 Willamette Street, Eugene; 541-463-5206; lanecc.edu/dentalclinic
- South Lane Children’s Dental Clinic: 1275 S. River Road, Cottage Grove; 541-942-3383; slane.k12.or.us
- Daisy C.H.A.I.N. & Advantage Dental have collaborated to provide FREE Dental Days. Receive a dental screening, preventative services, and a toothbrush kit!
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How to Help Toddlers and Preschoolers Control Their Emotions
Just like walking and talking, emotional control is not an ability that children are born with, but must learn. Your child's ability to control his emotions is influenced by three factors: Temperament: your child's personality, disposition,...
Read more
www.lanekids.org
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My kids, now adults, loved the book
Busy Toes
, by C.W. Bowie. It’s a very simple book, with beautiful illustrations by Fred Willingham. I loved having a book with children that looked like them that wasn’t a lesson or biography of black history or a black leader. It was simply just a rhyming book about how little children used their toes. My son experienced significant developmental delays and I think reading this book hundreds of times is why toes was one of his first words. He would touch my toes and say “toes”.
This book is beautifully simple. Elementary aged children can read it to younger siblings. My daughter read at an early age and read
Busy Toes
to her big brother. She thought it was a picture of her on the cover, and called it “my toe book”. Eventually my son did learn to read, and could read it himself, but by then he probably had it memorized. He, at 24, still owns his original copy of the book, given to us by Head Start. Just talking about this book brings warm early literacy memories to my mind.
-
Ayanna Moriguchi
, School Readiness Specialist, African American/Black Early Learning Initiative.
If you are the parent or guardian of an African American/Black child under the age of six and would like more information on how to support your child's early learning, contact Ayanna at (541) 741-6000 ext 133 or
amoriguchi@unitedwaylane.org
.
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Saturdays throughout the school year
Stop by the NAACP’s Student Resource HUB at the downtown Eugene LCC building for Youth Programs including childcare, tutoring, and SMART Reading. Snacks and lunch provided.
The NAACP Youth Council meets two Saturday's a month; please
contact for specific dates.
On Wednesdays students can get after school help in the Willamette High School library, 3pm to 5pm.
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February 9
Coos Bay Ballet will visit the Upper McKenzie Community Center for a dance performance and children’s book reading. Refreshments await visitors and children will be invited to visit with the performers after the program.
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February 15 & 16
This widely popular event at the Lane Event Center features two full days of diverse Asian and Asian-American cultural immersion. Highlights include the Asian marketplace of more than 80 vendors, music and dance performances, and an Asian Food Court featuring mouthwatering dishes.
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February 15 & 16
Bring the family for fun free fishing days! On these dates you will not need a license, tag or endorsement to fish, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon that’s open to fishing, crabbing or clamming. This is the perfect day to discover new fishing spots and introduce children to fishing. All catch limits and other restrictions still apply. Hosted by the Oregon Department of Fishing and Wildlife.
Lane County locations:
- Cleawox Lake in Florence
- Alton Baker Park in Eugene
- Willamette Hatchery in Oakridge
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World Read Aloud Day is February 5, 2020! Join people all around the world in celebrating the joy of reading aloud.
SMART Reading aims to bring together over 10,000 Oregonians to take a “Reading Matters” pledge online and commit to read aloud with children in their lives. You can take the pledge
here.
Follow
United Way of Lane County
and
LaneKids
on Facebook for updates on the program. And share pictures of how you are celebrating the day using hashtags
#OregonReadsAloud #WorldReadAloudDay
. Happy reading!
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LaneKids Awarded Partner of the Year
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LaneKids staff were honored
to receive the
Pearl Buck Preschool Partner of the Year Award
! This award acknowledges LaneKids' support of
Pearl Buck's
parenting education programs and the training opportunities created by LaneKids for their staff.
We are honored to work alongside Pearl Buck Preschool and appreciate their commitment to support families
led by parents with cognitive challenges
. From all of us at LaneKids, thank you for this recognition!
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We love to hear your questions, feedback on the content of our newsletter, or recommendations on what you would like to read about next time!
You can reach us at
Info@LaneKids.org
.
Also, you can forward this email to a friend, sign up to receive this newsletter in
English
and
Spanish
, and read last month's newsletter in
English
and
Spanish.
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LaneKids is Lane County’s parenting education hub.
Our mission is to ensure all
parents in Lane County have the knowledge, tools, and support to nurture their child’s optimal development for success in school and life.
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LaneKids is made possible with support from:
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