Happy spring! As the weather continues to warm up we hope you will get outside and explore some of the local outdoor spaces.

Registration is open for summer camps and for kindergarten and preschool this fall.

At a special Southington Board of Education meeting on April 1st, the district presented scenarios relative to the future of our elementary school facilities and potential future school construction projects in the district. These scenarios impact Derynoski, South End, Kelley and Flanders schools.

Districtwide Facilities Committee

View the presentation on YouTube.

View the presentation slides.

Did You Miss These Events?

The ECCS held several events in March. If you missed them, the materials are posted on the ECCS website.

The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington, Southington Public Library and Southington Public School District partnering on a 3-night book discussion of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. At this One Book – One Community event we talked about play, screen usage and changes we can make. Presentation slides and a Parental Control Quick Guide which tells you how to monitor screen usage are in this Anxious Generation article.

The Kindergarten Registration Information presentation provided an overview of how the registration process works and the day in the life of a kindergarten student. Details about registration for kindergarten in the Southington Public Schools, which is now open, and presentation slides are on the Kindergarten Registration page.

The Kindergarten Readiness Workshop gave attendings information about what children should know about literacy and numeracy to be prepared for entering kindergarten in the Southington Public Schools. The presentation slides are available on the ECCS Kindergarten Ready page. One suggestion we heard was once your child can count from one to ten, ask them to count backwards from ten to one to prepare them for subtraction. Also ask them to count to ten starting at a number that you provide, like three or four, can they do it without starting from one?

Developmental Disabilities Month and Sparkler

March was Developmental Disabilities Month. Developmental disabilities refer to a range of conditions that affect physical, learning, language, or behavior areas and typically start during the developmental period and last throughout a person’s lifetime.

Often, diagnosis is a crucial step to utilizing resources and assistance that improve one’s quality of life. A great resource we have here in Connecticut is Birth to Three. The Connecticut Birth to Three System supports families to enhance their young child’s development through everyday learning opportunities and connect with their community. Their mission is to strengthen the capacity of Connecticut’s families to meet the developmental and health-related needs of their infants and toddlers who have delays or disabilities. If you are concerned about your child’s development, behavior, or mental health, you can find resources here, including Birth to Three.

A great resource for tracking your child’s development is Sparkler, a FREE mobile app for CT families with children 0-5 and programs serving those families. It is available to use in English or Spanish, iOS or Android.

The Sparkler mobile app allows families to:

Know: Understand your child’s development with the mobile Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ)
Play: Spark learning with fun, off-screen activities to play together and tips for parents
Grow: Follow your child’s progress in your Sparkler scrapbook

Connect: Get tips and answers from experts at 211 Child Development or your school/provider

Advocacy

The CT Legislature is considering several bills that support early care and education. The CT Mirror has a summary article which includes quotes from a Southington parent.

Members of the ECCS, with CT Early Childhood Alliance and CT Association for the Education of Young Children, will be attending Early Childhood Advocacy Day at the State Capital on Wednesday, April 9th and you are welcome to join us. More info and registration is at cteca.org/advocacyday. Then contact us so we can make arrangements to meet.

Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington has information about How to Advocate on our website, including how to view bills or contact elected officials and presentations about how to advocate.

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Upcoming Events

We hope you will stop by and see us at the ECCS Office Hours at the Southington Public Library in the Children's Department on Monday, April 7th from 9 am to 12 pm. Bring your questions about raising children here in town.

The next ECCS Community Cafe, in partnership with LiveWell, will be on healthy eating and finding foods your child will eat. This will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th and include dinner and childcare. The registration link will be available later in April, so save the date.

The annual "State of Early Childhood in Southington" breakfast presentation has been scheduled for Thursday, May 29th. This is focused on community stakeholders but parents are invited too. Registration will open in a few weeks.

Mark your calendar for these community events. The ECCS will be exhibiting at all of them.

Family Fun Day at Drive-in - May 3, 10 am to 3 pm (Rain date is May 10)
Touch a Truck at Drive-in - May 17, 10 am to 2 pm (Rain date is May 18)
WISE Community Fair at FCC - May 18, 1 pm to 4 pm (Rain date is May 25)
Southington Pride Family Festival - May 31
Southington Farmers Market kick-off and Community Day - June 20, 3 to 6 pm

More details will be shared at www.southingtonearlychildhood.org/events/ and our social media channels.

Southington Youth Services is sponsoring these two activities.

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Supporting the ECCS

Did you know that you can set up a small, recurring donation to the ECCS?

"Consistent monthly contributions, especially when automated, turn generosity into a habit and create lasting impact without the need for constant reminders." - Brian Williams, ECCS Board Member

1) Follow us on your favorite social media platforms and then like, comment, or share so your friends see our posts too!

2) Forward this email to a friend or colleague.

3) Volunteer your time as a board member or advocate.

4) Help with one-time or periodic donations.

About Us

The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington is a group of committed educators, parents, grandparents, healthcare and childcare providers, business owners, civic organizations, and members of the community who are deeply invested in the growth, development, and academic success of young children in Southington.

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