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Monthly News

Autumn has passed quickly as we are working and having fun learning and preparing for our year end Family Fun Fest. Our Explorers have been playing and exploring their environment as they learn new words and experience new things in their classroom. Our Achievers are working and having fun learning colors, words, counting, singing and experimenting with things in the classroom and outside as they prepare for entering preschool. Our Scholars are working hard investigating, measuring, reading, writing and exploring the world around them while they reach out to friends from other parts of the city and learn about other countries and cultures. We are very excited about this academic year and all the fun things we are learning and exploring together.

Upcoming Events

We are excited about our upcoming Year End Family Holiday Party. The children and teachers are working hard to share their experiences with family friends as we plan to gather and celebrate the end of another year together. During this time we gather to remember loved ones and celebrate the many blessings of family and friends and recall things we enjoy most during the winter season.

Keeping Children Safe

Keeping children safe is more than just child proofing your environment from things that can cause accidents and injuries. Children are also kept safe when we protect them from things in the environment that adversely impacts their social and emotional health (such as verbal abuse, witnessing violence, yelling, hitting, shaming).

Community Violence

In 1997, in Chicago, studies showed that among 500 elementary school students one in four had witnessed a shooting and one-third had seen a stabbing. 3 in 5 of those children who witnessed a shooting or stabbing, indicated the incident resulted in death. More than 25% of these children had been victims of severe violence themselves—that is, they had been shot at, suffered a knife attack, or had been beaten or mugged.

Prevention/Intervention Strategies

Despite parents' best efforts, children and adolescents may be exposed to community violence. However, they can be helped to cope with the physical and psychological consequences. A caring, supportive adult in the child's life can greatly ease a child's distress.

Spend time with the child and be sure the child understands that you are willing to listen.

Encourage the child to talk about the trauma, but do not force him or her to speak.

Answer questions honestly in developmentally appropriate language.

Be aware that children may develop new problem behaviors in reaction to the trauma.

These reactions will require patience and understanding.

Seek assistance from friends, family, medical professionals, and mental-health professionals for you and your child.

Some progress has been made in developing violence prevention programs. The current focus for these programs is gang prevention and conflict resolution skill-building for high-risk youths.

However, violence prevention programs appear to be more effective if children are engaged early (beginning before age 6) and the program includes intervention in children's home and school social environments.

For more ideas on how to support children who have been exposed to trauma or violence please see the following link from Chicago Safe Start:

http://www.chicagosafestart.net/bin/file/pdf/6C-4.%2095_Ways_Poster.pdf

The above information is provided by Chicago Safe Start, for more information please visit http://www.chicagosafestart.net/

Together we can build a community of wellness and healing for our families that values and supports the sacredness of childhood.

Mt Ararat Daycare Center * 6514 W Higgins * Chicago * IL * 60656