At A Glance


December 2024

Program Spotlight

Education Stars

Stacey Fleming, the Education Stars Director, is excited to announce the Education Stars Enrollment Workshop series! The first workshop will be December 3rd at 7pm located at the Smart Start Resource Center (here is a pin to that location https://maps.app.goo.gl/UgsGuR3H4N9iswad7). Future dates are January 3rd and January 21st, 2025.


The series will be offering hands-on Enrollment Workshops to supplement our step-by-step application guide (attached). These workshops will take the place of individual sessions and are designed to help your teachers discover all the funding options that may be available to them and answer any additional questions that they may have through the application process. Rather than one-on-one sessions, these workshops provide your teachers with the opportunity to hear from their peers and share ideas. Scan the QR code below or click here to register for the workshop. Refreshments will be provided.


Childcare Services Association is now Early Years. 

As a result, TEACH and WAGE$ have a new website. Contact Stacey Fleming sfleming@spcc.edu for questions about either program or more information about which TEACH scholarship model you should complete.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library


Smart Start and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library work together to get books into the hands of North Carolina's youngest children. This free program for children birth to kindergarten supplies age-appropriate books to help foster a love for reading.


In Union County the Dolly Parton Imagination Library serves 6,519 children each month. Through Alliance for Children a new, carefully selected book will be mailed in your child’s name directly to your home every month. He/she can look forward to new and exciting reading adventures from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library until he/she turns five years old as long as you remain a resident of Union County. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a FREE GIFT to our children! All you have to do is read to your children. (Please allow up to 60 days to receive your first book.)


Click here for more information.



Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Story Spotlight

Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? - By: Brianna Caplan Sayres


Discover what bedtime looks like for fire trucks, snowplows, dump trucks, tractors, and all the vehicles that fill the pages of this irresistible book. Just like you and me, the trucks in this story get tuckered out after a long day of hard work and need to quiet down and settle in for sweet dreams. Young readers will see themselves as these trucks ask for one more story while parents sing them a goodnight song and send them off to bed.

Board Member Spotlight

Ms.Angelia James

Ms. Angelia James has been a part of Alliance for Children Board of Directors since 2019. She joined our board to help share information from the community and to help bridge the connection between the people and resources available. She owns her own accounting firm, Angelia's Accounting Services Inc. Angelia is married to Tony James, and they have two sons. They love the Lord and love spending time with family and friends. A fun fact about Ms. James is that she has always wanted to be a comedian.

North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten is a free NC funded program, serving eligible four-year-old children the year before kindergarten. Attending NC Pre-K strengthens children’s learning and development based on NC Foundations standards in five areas: Approaches to Play and Learning, Emotional and Social Development, Health and Physical Development, Language Development and Communication, and Cognitive Development.

 

Classroom size is a maximum of twenty children. Instruction is led by

a lead teacher licensed in Birth-Kindergarten studies, and

an assistant teacher who holds or is working on an Associate's degree

in Early Childhood education or a closely related field. NC Pre-K closely follows

public-school hours and calendar.

 

Children’s days are packed with learning in interest areas including blocks,

dramatic play, library, toys and games, art, music and movement, and sand and water, and discovery. Daily outdoor learning opportunities strengthen gross motor and physical skills.

 

For children who are four on August 31, 2025, applications will open for the 2025-2026

NC Pre-K school year in February 2025. Prepare now by reviewing eligibility, and

ordering a birth certificate to make the application process easier.


Click here for more information.



NC Pre-K Spotlight



NC Pre-K teachers and assistants enjoyed a Fine Motor Professional Development session on November 5th. Led by Milestone Therapy Occupational Therapists, teachers learned how offering a variety of materials will help NC Pre-K children strengthen their fine motor skills in a developmentally appropriate manner.  Teachers created a variety of artistic masterpieces using beads, feathers, modeling clay, chenille stems, googly eyes, popsicle sticks, tennis balls, tissue paper, cotton balls, Wikki sticks, and broken crayons.  

Ms. Suzanne Walters, NC Pre-K Administrator and Ms. Chelsea Belyea, PK Masters Specialist were on hand for support and provided teachers with classroom materials to continue their Professional Development knowledge with their students.

General Assembly passes new bill with regulatory changes, child care grants, and Helene aid

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a wide-ranging omnibus bill this week that transfers an additional $227 million to the state’s Hurricane Helene Fund, allocates $33.75 million in child care stabilization grants, and includes various regulatory changes that impact the power of several incoming Democratic elected officials.


In addition to transferring funds to the Hurricane Helene fund, the bill also appropriates $27 million to the Department of Agriculture for debris removal and technical assistance, and designates $125 million in highway funds for repairs and reconstruction in the counties impacted by Helene.


Rep. Danny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said this bill is “just a step” in the state’s Helene recovery.


Read More

Applesauce


Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lb local apples (use 2 or 3 different varieties to do comparison)
  • Water
  • 3 Tablespoons local honey
  • Cinnamon, lemon juice, or lemon zest (optional)

Instructions

  1. Wash, remove stem and crown the apples. Cut into quarters – you do not need to peel, remove seeds or core if you use a food mill after cooking.
  2. Place them in a saucepan. Add water, enough to cover the bottom layer of quartered apples (you may need to add additional water during cooking, but too much water makes watery applesauce).
  3. Simmer, partly covered until apples are tender (spear with a fork, if the piece falls from the fork, then it is cooked until tender). Put them in a food mill. If needed, season with a small amount of sugar or local honey. Optional: cinnamon, lemon juice or lemon zest.

Tools

Large pot

Butane or electric burner

Stirring spoons

Fork

5-6 cutting boards

6-7 knives

Grater

Food mill

Large bowl or second pot

Tasting cups

20-25 spoons

Hand sanitizer

Dish towels or paper towels

Gloves


Time with Santa



We are excited to host Time with Santa in collaboration with The Belk Mansion on Saturday, December 14th from 9am-12pm. Join us for stories, cookies, crafts, and laughs. We will have ornament projects to work on fine motor skills, book readings to support literacy, special treats and a visit with Santa! Alliance for Children is also proud to be North Carolina's newest PBS Kids Rootle Ambassador and will have special activities provided by PBS.


Alliance for Children and The Belk Mansion are teaming up with Common Heart Pantry and encourage you bring canned foods as donations as we help stock their pantry for the holiday season.

Upcoming Events 


Executive Committee Meeting

Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 11:30AM

Alliance for Children Office


A Time with Santa

Saturday, December 14, 2024, 9:00AM-12:00PM

Belk Mansion


Board of Director's Meeting

Wednesday, January 22, 2024, 12:30PM

Union County Library


NC Pre-K Committee Meeting

Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 9:00AM-11:00AM

Alliance for Children Office


Want to get involved in our mission? Donations are a great way to make a difference in the future of the children we serve. Alliance for Children accepts donations of products, books, and monetary contributions. All donations are tax deductible.

Visit our website!

Alliance for Children | 704-226-1407 | www.theallianceforchildren.org


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