Loving With Our Senses

The month of February may be short, but it is filled with so much LOVE! This month we are focusing on loving with our senses.

The children in your care are easy to love; it is only fitting that this month is all about that! We are so excited to share the love this February!

Sensory Activities

There are many ways to include nutritional activities into your lesson plans, especially for themed plans! Check out some nutritional sensory activities below:

Sight: Explore the sense of sight by playing with light and dark and shadows. Tell a shadow story with Flashlights. What shapes can you make in the shadows?

Sound: Explore the sense of sound by listening to heartbeats and listening to the sounds of someone saying “I love you”. Can you recreate a heartbeat?

Taste: February is full of big tastes! Explore the sense of taste by tasting the popular holiday fruits! Do you like strawberries, apples, or grapes more?

Smell: Don’t you love the smell of fresh flowers? Explore the sense of smell by pretending to smell the flowers. You can use real, fake, or pretend flowers. This is a great calm down technique as well! What does your flower smell like?

Touch: Explore the sense of touch by painting with puffy, or fluffy, paint! You can use this paint to create Valentine’s Day cards or as an exploratory activity. If you have children who have sensitivity to different sensory activities, you can let them paint with a brush and explore the different way this paint works from everyday paint. What can you create with puffy, or fluffy, paint?

Pete the Cat ~ VALENTINE'S DAY IS COOL! Read Aloud

Read Aloud: Pick your favorite books and read them aloud. Some books have websites with activities that you can incorporate, like Pete the Cat.

Parent Involvement Activities

Parents/Guardians have the most impact on their children’s learning. Parental involvement extends the lessons from the classroom and the children tend to have more positive school experiences. Holidays are the perfect time to invite your parents/guardians into the classroom here are some ideas for February:

Have parents come in and help make valentine’s boxes/valentine’s.
Take a "red" walk around your home or neighborhood and point out objects that are red. Encourage your child to describe the objects using other adjectives as well.

Professional Development Training

View the WKU FCCN Training Calendar for more information and to register.

FREE TRAINING

The Family Child Care Network will be offering a 4-part training series focusing on strengthening business practices. The purpose of this training is to strengthen childcare providers’ foundational knowledge of fiscal terms, concepts, and practices. It encourages providers to realize the importance of financial planning to the sustainability of their business. It provides tips and best practices to help break down fiscal processes into manageable steps.

This training is intended to be one part of the learning process to build providers’ understanding of good business practices.

Whenever possible, it is recommended that this training be supplemented with technical assistance and ongoing peer-to-peer sharing opportunities such as communities of practice. During this training, you will be introduced to financial reports that can help you better manage your center’s finances. We will also be helping you understand the concept of internal controls and how they can strengthen your program's fiscal health.

The dates for the series are February 21st & 28th / March 7th & 14th.

Each month the WKU FCCN provides independent studies. Independent studies are online and work at your own pace. They are available for registration until the 15th of each month. Independent studies must be completed within two weeks.

Topics include:

Being Prepared for Emergencies
Curriculum-based Assessment
Developmental Screening
Evaluating Your Services
Family Engagement
Family Engagement: Literacy Bags
Health, Safety, and Nutrition
Infant and Toddler Development
Early Childhood Environments: Learning through Routines and Rituals
Let’s Get Appy
Preventing Burnout
Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse Neglect and Safe Sleep
Science in an Early Learning Classroom
Social Studies in an Early Learning Classroom
The Stressed Child
The Value of Play

Join us for live training from the comfort of your home!

We strive to provide personal, live sessions that are welcoming to all that allow for networking no matter where in Kentucky you live.

You do not need any special skills to attend, however you do need access to the internet and a free Zoom account.

Upcoming Dates:

February 7, 2023 - Including Children With Special Needs

February 27, 2023 - Born To Learn: Math

Do you need CPR and First Aid?

FOR A LIMITED TIME GET IT FREE!

The WKU CCR&R offers both hybrid and face-to-face sessions. During hybrid sessions, the session content is online and the skills check is in person. Please make sure you are registering for the session that best meets your needs.

Hybrid Classes: February 25, March 25th

In-Person Classes: February 18, March 18

In-Person Training

Join us for a 2 hour in-person Lesson Planning for Multiple Ages training on February 25, 2023 in Madisonville, KY.

Lesson Planning can take a good chunk of time from any provider’s day. Lesson planning when you have children of different ages and abilities can be an added challenge that may not be thought of when writing down a quick plan at the end of the week. So let’s talk about quality lesson plans, how to incorporate multiple ages, and create some templates for your program to takeaway.

Training Calendar

Join us along with the Child Care Council of KY in Lexington, KY on March 10-11, 2023, for the Family Child Care Convention! This amazing opportunity is FREE for Family Child Care Providers in Kentucky and includes nine hours of ECE-TRIS approved training.

This Conscious Discipline training is a premium event that combines quality instruction with a uniquely immersive experience. We literally create a School Family classroom environment with all the structures of Conscious Discipline, and then utilize that classroom to teach the powers and skills of Conscious Discipline. Based on brain research and developmentally appropriate practices, the Institute provides inspiration, proven discipline strategies and camaraderie that will promote lasting changes that echo through your organization for years.

A publication of the WKU Family Child Care Network

Funded through Family Childcare Support Award SC 7362100001482

www.wku.edu/fccn