GULF COAST COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSOCIATION Head Start/Early Head Start Support Services Monthly Narrative January 2025 LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES •
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) The December 2024 Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) claim was completed and submitted to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) for reimbursement. In December there were 15 food service days for the month. There were 17 eligible sites and 1,518 eligible children. The number of meals provided: 5,553 breakfasts; 5,627 lunches and 16,529 PM snacks served. Expected reimbursement for the month is $59,729.01. GCCSA January 2025 Story Time – The Head Start/Early Head Start Director, Tiamoiya Lee read to the children and staff “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld. When something terrible happens, Taylor doesn't know where to turn. All the animals are sure they have the answer. But it was the rabbit that knew and just listened, which is just what Taylor needed. This was a deeply moving and unforgettable story the children and staff enjoyed. TANS – The Department of Agriculture is moving to a new electronic system called Texas Automated Nutrition System (TANS). The Head Start/Early Head Start Assistant Director attended the January TANS Talk series meeting. GCCSA/SHINE ECE Monthly Meeting – The Assistant Director, Child Development Manager held their monthly meeting with Sonali Raval, Shine Director of Education & Family and Community engagement.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT (CD) •
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Early Head Start’s Frog Street Curriculum introduced January’s theme: “Favorite Tales and Rhymes”. Week 1 SubTheme- “Hen Tales”. This week children heard these tales, and no doubt delighted their parents by retelling these familiar stories at home. Week 2 Sub-Theme was “Mouse Tales” - focus for this week was on some fun, makebelieve mouse tales. Children seem to love mice perhaps because they are small, and children identify with their size or perhaps because they usually appear as both cute and smart. Week 3 Sub-Theme“Tales of Three”. These are favorite folktales that are built around the number three, such as the three bears, the three pigs, the three goats, and the three wishes. This week the children explored two of the most-beloved tales: “The Three Bears” and “The Three Little Pigs”. Week 4 Sub-Theme- “Jack” Rhymes. Research indicates that many rhymes are greatly beneficial as children develop early literacy skills. This week children immersed in nursey rhymes. • Themes are not implemented in the Infant classrooms. The Infant teachers implement the Frog Street Infant Activity Cards. These cards are implemented weekly to create an intentional and personalized plan to enhance the infant’s development. This month, children in our Head Start standalone centers continued the study of the Frog Street Curriculum theme: “Stories and Rhymes”. Focus each week was on: Week 1 Sub-Theme - “Nursery Rhymes” Week 2 Sub-Theme - “Traditional Tales” Week 3 Sub-Theme - “Fairytales” and Week 4 Sub-Theme - “Ballads, Folktales and Fables”. This month's Teaching Strategies Curriculum theme at Raul Yzaguirre and RYSS STEM children learned about “Simple Machines”. Teachers worked with the children there on the following sub-themes: “What different types of wheels are there”, “How do wheels move”, How can we make our own wheels”, How do they help us”