Each month, NHSA Touchpoint shares insights into our latest work to support your programs, our community’s accomplishments and special events, a love note or two, and up-to-date info on Head Start’s highest priorities. This month, we are covering what to do to prepare for back to school season.

This Month’s Theme: Back to School

Here we are in our back to school mode, back to program mode! It’s a great opportunity to reenergize and establish your culture. Culture is part of Head Start’s nature. It’s why we hug instead of shaking hands at conferences. Remind your teachers that setting that tone in the classroom and taking the time to create relationships with children, with parents, with each other, should take precedent over curriculum!

ECLCK’s Supporting Transitions Series is also a great resource for getting back into routines. It may be helpful to teachers as they welcome their students into the classroom!

At The Academy, Effective Transitions Essentials focuses on best practices for educators in using sound (and silence) during transition times to help children develop and enhance their active listening, executive function, and social-emotional skills. And Music and Movement Essentials uses high-quality music and movement programming has been shown to enhance children’s language, physical, social/emotional, and cognitive skills. Teachers will learn to lead music and movement activities that enhance children’s school readiness skills.

Love Note

We are appreciative to all of the organizations that supported our Early Head Start Rising Summer Learning Series. Thank you to Isabelle Hau for highlighting how relationships starting in the early years help children to flourish; to Deborah McNelis, who provided an overview of brain development in the early years; to Drs. Danette Glassy and Hilda Loria for their up-to-date medical review of the impact COVID-19; to Dr. Yum for sharing free resources that help families and teachers overcome barriers to healthy eating; and to Emily Vincent for helping us to keep our dual language learning children well-supported. Huge thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!

In Case You Didn’t Know

September is not only back to school time, but also Baby Safety Month. What a great time to talk about baby safety! One of the components of our Head Start Basics is infant safety. It’s also Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, a great opportunity to educate your parents about healthy eating. Check out Doctor Yum’s free resources, menus, and ways of creating meals to promote healthy eating.

Also, August is National Breastfeeding Month. Early Head Start home visitors work to increase access to postpartum care and promote breastfeeding for new families. Dr. Kimarie Bugg, president and CEO of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) and a perinatal and neonatal nurse professional, shared her wealth of knowledge about breastfeeding at NHSA’s Early Head Start Summer Learning Series.

Last but not least, the Fall Leadership Institute is right around the corner! Use your voice to advocate for Head Start and Early Head Start on Capitol Hill this September in Washington, D.C.