Spring / Summer Newsletter

Vol. 10, March 2024 - June 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of the Baby Steps Buzz, your source of information, highlights and activities of the Baby Steps program. Baby Steps is a family education program that provides a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment for all families with a child/children aged birth to kindergarten and expecting families in Newport County.

 

This edition features spring and early summer activities held for our families.  


March

Heidi Hetzler from SNAP-Ed at URI

Lydia Galloza and Dr. Zebian from EBCAP’s Dental Center


Dental Hygiene and Nutrition

This month, our families received information about nutrition and dental hygiene.


Lydia Galloza, Dental Hygienist at East Bay Community Action Program's (EBCAP) Dental Center in Newport, visited our Saturday morning group and discussed frequently asked questions on dental hygiene for children from birth until age 5.


Lydia presented on a “first visit to the dentist experience” for the families, explaining in detail what to expect at a regular visit to the dentist. Families received a free dental kit provided by the Dental Center, including toothpaste, a toothbrush and other fun items for the children to encourage good dental hygiene.


Our group at the Middletown Public Library welcomed Dr. Zebian also from EBCAP’s Dental Center. We also used this opportunity to share information on the Molar Express program, which is part of EBCAP's Community Dental Programs! For more information about EBCAP's Community Dental Programs for children, please click here.


For our nutrition part, we welcomed Heidi Hetzler, from SNAP-Ed at the University of Rhode Island. Heidi informed parents about healthy eating habits, and provided an activity to identify food groups to create a balanced meal for children. Families received a free plate as a gift, with divisions that indicate the different food groups.


April

Cyndi Dewhurst leading an activity with the parachute

My Child's Feelings

Helping children understand and name their feelings is an important skill that should be encouraged by their primary caregivers. Research shows that children who can express their feelings are better equipped to cope with stress and difficult situations.


Cyndi Dewhurst, a speech language pathologist from Easter Seals, attended our session to share strategies on how to manage these emotions in young children.


To end the session, Cyndi led an activity were children could sing and dance to the movement of the rainbow parachute.


This month, we also organized our field trip to the recently opened Save the Bay Hamilton Family Aquarium at their new location in Newport! 21 Families had the opportunity to explore sea life and come face-to-face with the creatures that live beneath Narragansett Bay waters.


Thank you to all the families that were part of this experience!



We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Center for Community Engagement and Service from Salve Regina for their generous gifts donations to our families to welcome Spring in the month of March! These gifts were also facilitated by Hogan Associates - we appreciate your donations!

May

Mr. Christopher performing with the children

Positive Parenting/Discipline

To address the topics on positive parenting this month, we welcomed Carissa Perkowski, M.Ed., and Dr. Katherine Partridge, psychologist from Bradley Hospital. They both talked about the power of emotions and how to validate children’s emotions.


Dr. Partridge used this opportunity to also share a list of strategies for parents while managing children’s feelings. Parenting is not an easy job, and dealing with children’s feelings can impact parents differently depending on how often they happen, how long they last and how big they feel. Our program aims to share more information on how parents can cope with this kind of stress, as it is part of any parenting journey!


This month, we also had Christopher Carbone, Director of "Music Together of Newport County". Our annual event with Mr. Christopher is always an opportunity for families to connect through music! His session focuses on boosting learning and development with your child through singing and dancing together. This is always a wonderful time for everybody!


At our group at Conexion Latina Newport, we had a small celebration for the end of our programming! Families shared a delicious dinner together, enjoyed cupcakes and had face painting for the children!


June

Child working on the visor craft at graduation day

Graduation

We had a wonderful day playing outside in the playground at EBCAP’s Head Start site in Newport! Families danced and sang with our guest, Fiddle ‘n Fun, right before some face painting performed by Nycole Matthews, Director of Newport Art House.


Children enjoyed making a visor craft, just in time to get ready for the summer heat!

All families received a summer kit, including markers, chalk, painting supplies, play dough and other fun essentials for craft making at home!


Thank you to all the families for a wonderful year together!

Quincy Martin and Hashir Abdullah holding their diplomas

Congratulations Graduates



This year we celebrated our two graduates:

Quincy Martin and Hashir Abdullah


We wish you both the best in the next stage of your lives – kindergarten!


-Baby Steps Team-

Thank you, Kimberly


At our End of Year Celebration, we also said good-bye to former Baby Steps Assistant Coordinator Kimberly Remington.


Kimberly was part of Baby Steps for many years, and we appreciate all of her effort and dedication to our program! 


Rita Capotosto, EBCAP Vice President, Family Development and Kimberly Remington

Craft to Do at Home

Try this craft to do at home with children!


Open the link below and follow the instructions to do this monster headband craft!


Click here

Book Recommendations

A Little Book About Food - by Leo Lionni's friends


Little ones love to snack, nibble, and eat.

Hello, Whale – by Sam Boughton


Enjoy exploring sea life with this beautiful lift-the-flap book! 

The Feelings Book - by Todd Parr.


Explore the wide range of moods we all experience with this colorful book about feelings.

A Beautiful House for Birds – by Grace Lin.

Olivia wants to make a colorful birdhouse for summer. She starts painting a pattern of stripes on the roof but then oops!—messes up. Now what? Explore patterns in this playful story about creative problem-solving.

Upcoming Events

Stay in touch for new upcoming events during the summer. Our monthly playgroups take a break during the summer, but we are planning activities and surprises for you soon!


The registration for our program, starting in September, is currently OPEN!

Contact us for more information at babysteps@ebcap.org or call us at 401-367-2001 Ext. 2226

Thank you for your continued support of the Baby Steps program!


Your generous help and participation makes it possible for Baby Steps to provide a strong community resource to increase early childhood literacy and support family development.

Make a Donation


Baby Steps is a program of East Bay Community Action Program


CONTACT US


babysteps@ebcap.org

Phone (401) 367 - 2001 Ext. 2226


Baby Steps Team

Cristina Boza


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