On Thursday, January 8, KHSA recognized Kansas and Region VII award winners at the APM meeting.  Winners joined member program representative for a banquet lunch and awards ceremony.  Eight awards were presented.

The "P.S. It's My Body!" personal safety curriculum was introduced in Cowley County Head Start this fall. The preschool unit of this curriculum includes an interactive play featuring "Happy Bear" and introduces the concept of welcome and unwelcome touches, private parts, resistance skills, personal space and telling an adult.

Parents were invited to attend a Family Fun Night where they viewed a video presentation of the Happy Bear play and were given safety tips and a Happy Bear activity packet to share with their children.  The information was also provided to parents who were unable to attend.  Children made a Happy Bear craft and were visited by Happy Bear.  The following week, the Happy Bear play was presented in each of the Head Start classrooms.  Children learned about the right to choose in giving and receiving touches, and identified trusted adults they could tell if they need help.  Each class followed up with activity sheets that reinforced the concepts presented by Happy Bear.

 

With fall in full-swing, many families are gearing up for special holiday traditions.  The same is true for the Head Start program at Futures Unlimited, Inc. in Wellington.

Each fall the preschool has a special event called Fall Feast, which hosts parents for a meal with their child! This year's event took place on November 24th.  It was a Hawaiian-themed meal which included ham, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and Hawaiian rolls.