Each month, NHSA Touchpoint shares insights into our latest work to support your programs, our community’s accomplishments and special events, and a love note or two. This month, we are taking a look at balancing the holidays for children and Head Start staff. (Last month, we talked about early nutrition.)

This Month’s Theme: Balancing the Holidays

The holidays are supposed to be joyful. It’s a time to celebrate. We get together with family and there are so many traditions that are rich in each of our lives. For some kiddos and families, the holidays can be less than joyful. We don’t want to deny children, and ourselves, and our staff the opportunity to celebrate and recognize a fun time of year.

Here are some thoughts on how to find balance between the joy and challenges our children and their families are experiencing.

• Schedules and Routines
  Children thrive off consistency. Being aware of the needs of children and families is what Head Start does best. This time of year, it’s particularly important to think which children and families might need some extra support.
• Promoting Resilience through Mindfulness
  Promote resilience in whatever way you can, whether that’s through a specific program or giving folks some special training around mindfulness. This isn’t just about the children and families. This is also about you, it’s about your staff.
• Big Emotions
  This can often be a time where big emotions appear, and sometimes we’re not even sure why. This OHS webinar discusses how to help children calm down after a strong emotional moment.

Love Note

We are shouting out the University of Oregon and Oklahoma University’s Early Childhood Education Institute this month. They are doing so much to support new work in the world of child assessments. We are partnering with them to host a four-part webinar series in January 2022. Sessions one and two will dig into the purpose of child assessments and the different available types. Sessions three and four will cover how to select the best tools for your program and the best ways to use them.

Watch the free series today and check out NHSA’s Child Assessments Self-Reflection Worksheet.

In Case You Didn’t Know

NHSA will be launching a new version of the Quality Initiative, which recognizes programs for working at high levels.