Oklahoma City-County Health Department offers developmental screenings
If you haven’t taken your child to one of these yet, you should. It’s pretty cool. Here’s some information from the Oklahoma City-County Health Department:
The Child Guidance program at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department will offer developmental screenings for children birth to five years old at the following libraries and on the corresponding dates.
- Northwest – Thursday, July 26, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Belle Isle – Wednesday, August 1, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Capitol Hill – Thursday, August, 2, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Bethany – Friday, August 3, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Warr Acres – Friday, August 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Del City – Tuesday, August 14, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Edmond – Wednesday, August 15, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Midwest City – Wednesday, August 15, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
These will be individual sessions lasting approximately 1 hour with a Child Development Specialist, Speech/Language Pathologist and/or a Behavioral Health Specialist. Sessions include discussion about the normal range of early development as well as any parenting questions that the parent may have in the areas of Speech, Language, Development, and Behavior. Sessions are by appointment only. There is a small fee for screenings. Medicaid is accepted. No person will be denied services for inability to pay.
Free child developmental screenings offered this month
The Oklahoma City-County Health Department will offer free development screenings for children age 5 and younger this month at the following times and locations:
- Edmond – 1 to 5 p.m. July 11.
- Warr Acres – 9 a.m. to noon July 13.
- Midwest City – 1 to 5 p.m. July 17.
- Choctaw – 1 to 5 p.m. July 19.
- The Village – 1 to 5 p.m. July 24.
- Northwest Oklahoma City – 9 a.m. to noon July 26.
The private sessions last about an hour. The professionals check your child’s speech, behavior and other developmental milestones. There’s a small fee depending on income, but nobody is turned away because of the inability to pay. Medicaid is accepted. Appointments are required. To schedule one, call 425-4412.
Science and nature books to read to your kids
Smart Start Central Oklahoma put out a list today of great science and nature books to read to your kiddos this summer. Enjoy!
Birth to one year:
- “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?” by Bill Martin
- “Inch by Inch” by Leo Lionni
- “Grow Flower, Grow!” by Lisa Bruce
3 years and older:
- “Fireflies in the Night: Revised Edition” by Judy Hawes
- “Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor” by Joanna Cole
- “All the Colors of the Earth” by Sheila Hamanaka
- “Energy Makes Things Happen” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- “Peanut Butter and Jelly” by Nadine Bernard Westcott
- “What If…?” by Cheryl Steele
- “The Falling Raindrop” by Neil Johnson and Joel Chin
- “In the Small, Small Pond” by Denise Fleming
- “Growing Vegetable Soup” by Lois Ehlert
- “A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee” by Chris Van Dusen
- “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” by Laura Joffe Numeroff
- “My Five Senses” by Aliki
Reach Out and Read Oklahoma suggests books for Black History Month
A school readiness group called Reach Out and Read Oklahoma has put out a list of books good for celebrating Black History Month. The group is “encouraging parents to share the accomplishments of African-Americans with their children through the power of books.”
“Illiteracy is both a cause and a consequence of poverty,” said Steve Davis, state director of Reach Out and Read Oklahoma, in a statement. “If we are going to truly prepare our babies to enter school ready to learn, we must first make sure they can recognize letters, have a nurturing home environment and develop a love of reading. It is our belief that if a parent or loved one gives a child a love for books, they will develop a love for learning that will lead to success in school.”
Children’s books
- “Heroes for Civil Rights” by David A. Adler
- “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman and Carline Binch
- “Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)” by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
- “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky” by Faith Ringgold
- “Baby Says” by John Steptoe
- “Chicken Sunday” by Patricia Polacco
- “Barack Obama: United States President” by Roberta Edwards
- “Black Pioneers of Science and Invention” by Louis Haber
- “Afro-Bets: Book of Black Heroes” by Wade Hudson
- “Amazing Peace” by Maya Angelou
- “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope” by Nikki Grimes
- “Just Like Martin” by Ossie Davis
- “Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World” by Mildred Pitts Walter
- “Mama, I Want to Sing” by Vy Higginsen
Adult books
- “Learning While Black: Creating Educational Excellence for African American Children” by Janice E. Hale
- “Young, Gifted and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African-American Students” by Theresa Perry
- “Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and Life” by Baruti K. Kafele
- “Black Children: Their Roots, Culture and Learning Styles” by Janice E. Hale-Benson
- “The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students” by Dr. Gail Thompson
- “Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know but Are Afraid to Ask About African American Students” by Dr. Gail Thompson
- “Marva Collins’ Way: Updated” by Marva Collins
Twilight and vocabulary
I got this book in my mailbox the other day. It seems to be a new way to approach vocabulary lessons. It uses the popular Twilight book to help young people learn vocabulary.
When I first saw the book, I was perplexed. What did Twilight have to do with vocabulary? Then I peeked inside and saw that Author Brian Leaf uses passages from Twilight to quiz students and show them what the words in Twilight mean. There are more than the words vampire and blood in that book for sure; words students need to know.
The Twilight series has encouraged many young people to read more and it seems Leaf has found a way to help them learn even more while doing it.
- Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Kim Henry Promotes Reading
Oklahoma’s First Lady Kim Henry has joined an effort along with the spouces of several other governors to promote reading. As a reading ambassador for the Scholastic Summer Challenge, she is encouraging students to read four or more books this summer.
More than 55,000 students in the United States have signed up and have recorded more than 49 million minutes of reading. As part of the program, 500 books were donated to fourth and fifth grade students at Rockwood Elementary School.
To join the effort this summer, students can log on and record their minutes of reading. Happy reading!
-Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Interesting ed news
First, a follow-up to a story earlier this week that bullying affects one-third of Oklahoma children. Newsweek magazine published this timely article about just how those who are bullied come to be targeted. The link is counterintuitive according to the article: children who are bullied start out as children who show aggression early in their lives.
And second, two stories related to reading. TIME magazine reports that reading — by all accounts a sedentary activity — may actually help young girls lose weight. And this New York Times story talks about the new idea of linking books and video games together.
Share your comments on these stories below, or share links to other national education news that caught your attention.
Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter
A little brown bear and other favorite childhood books
State schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett is reading Don Freeman’s book “Corduroy” to students at Oklahoma City’s Mark Twain Elementary this morning.
The reading time with students is part of a national effort to break the world record for the number of children reading the same book with adults on the same day.
A nonprofit organization called Jumpstart is spearheading the “Read for the Record” event. Jumpstart also raises money to provide books to children in low-income families.
Some of my favorite books to read at the age of Garrett’s audience today — prekindergarten through second-grade children — were the “Amelia Bedelia” stories.
What are your favorite childhood books?
Wendy Kleinman
Education Reporter
Student test results – and should they be tested in kindergarten?
State test scores were released Thursday, for which student performance in part determined which schools landed on the NCLB-mandated 2008 Needs Improvement list.
Here’s a little more detail on how students fare on the different tests (click to enlarge):
Also Thursday, I ran across a story about how New York City officials want to give math assessments to kindergarteners. As you might imagine, there’s some debate over whether that’s too young an age for standardized testing. The full story is here.
Feel free to share your thoughts on these assessments or the Needs Improvement list below.
Wendy Kleinman
The Oklahoman
School supplies shopping can be educational
Shopping for school supplies can be more than an errand, it can be a great learning experience for your child.
Parenting expert Michele Borba recommends having your child help you make a list of supplies, then look for store flyers to find the best deals. Younger children that can’t write can cut out photos of the supplies they want.
Together you can make a budget with your child, and then hit the store to gather the goodies. Borba said allowing your child to pay for the items (using a gift card or your credit card) also can help teach them financial responsibility.
Borba also recommends that families stock up on supplies that are real bargains. Sure you may only need five notebooks, but if they are 5-cents each, why not buy 50?
What advice do you have for buying school supplies? E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com or comment here.
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
