Fun Father’s Day Activities

Posted on June 15, 2018January 9, 2019 by FlitchCreative

Father’s Day is just around the corner and it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some quality family time together. Here are some of our favorite Father’s Day activities for fathers and children!

Play outside

The possibilities are endless when it comes to playing outside in the summer. You can have a picnic in the park (or the backyard), play catch, go on a bike ride, toss a Frisbee, or even go on a hike if you’re feeling more adventurous. The key is to have fun and connect with the kids!

Source: One Tough Job

Movie night

Go all out for movie night! With the kids’ help, build a blanket fort and prepare fun snacks. There are a lot of good family movies out there to choose from, but to keep the Father’s Day theme going with movies such as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and The Lion King.

Source: Parents.com

Cook together

Special dates are by default “cheat” days so indulge yourself. Look for recipes that the kids can be involved with – if you need a little inspiration, Kids Create has good recipes and suggestions. Not only it will strengthen your bond, but the kids will learn essential life skills.

Source: Sign Up Genius

Make a music video

Combine dancing, singing and dressing up and you’ll have a recipe for success. Share with the kids your favorite songs when you were their age and make it a throwback video for extra fun.

Source: Snap Happy Mom

Game night

Have everyone in the family pick their favorite card/board game and take turns playing all the games. You can keep a running up score and whoever accumulates more points overall get a special prize.

Source: Mirror Online

Fathers and father figures play such a big part in a child’s life. We wish all the dads and father figures a happy Father’s Day!

To support Root for Kids and our mission of promoting the success of children, click here.

Volunteers Help Assemble “I Spy” Bottles

Posted on June 13, 2018March 20, 2019 by FlitchCreative

“I Spy” bottles are a great way to entertain young children while working on skills such as sensory, language and even math. Last week, volunteers helped assemble 100 “I Spy” bottles that will be used by our home visitors with our enrolled families!

We are extremely grateful for this wonderful group of 30 volunteers that came all the way from Draper, UT to help us out. Thank you leaders and youth from the LDS Corner Canyon 6th Ward for choosing our organization to do a service project with!

To support Root for Kids, check out the ways you can get involved.

Utah Families Connect Event

Posted on May 2, 2018January 9, 2019 by FlitchCreative

On April 18, 2018 the Parents As Teachers (PAT) program at The Learning Center for Families (now Root for Kids) participated in the Utah Families Connect event with eight other PAT programs across Utah. The purpose of the event was to bring families together to enjoy a night of food, fun and learning while connecting via social media with other people enrolled in the same program. It was so fun to be a part of that and hosting the St. George area event in our backyard! We had 16 parents and 41 children join us on Wednesday and here are a few highlights of the night.

Dinner

Everyone enjoyed a brown bag meal with sandwich, chips and fruit leather. Special thanks to Even Stevens – St. George for donating the supplies for this delicious dinner!

Nutrition Workshop

We had the pleasure of having Daylemarie Eves from USU Extension program come and do a presentation about nutrition for the children and their families. The kids were a bit disappointed to learn that chocolate milk contains a lot of sugar, but everyone enjoyed the interactive presentation and learning about the nutrients our bodies need to be healthy and strong. Check out our Daily Food Plan for Preschoolers blog post for more about the resources the presenter shared.

Community Resources

Families also had the opportunity to learn more about SUU Head Start, Family Health Care and Help Me Grow Utah. We are grateful for the participation of these organizations and all they do in our community!

Games

The night wouldn’t be complete without fun games for everyone to enjoy!

About Parent As Teachers

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an early childhood family support and parent education home-visiting model. Families may enroll in Parents as Teachers beginning with pregnancy and may remain in the program until the child enters kindergarten. Family Specialists work with parents to strengthen protective factors and ensure that young children are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

We are now enrolling for the Parent As Teachers program! If you are interested or want more information, please fill out a referral form. To support Root for Kids and fund programs like this, make a donation today!

Daily Food Plan for Preschoolers

Posted on April 26, 2018April 9, 2019 by FlitchCreative

It can be hard a lot of times to know what we as adults need in our diets, but it only gets more complicated trying to figure that out for kids. Have you ever wondered how much food that tiny preschooler body really needs? Are they lacking essential nutrients or eating too much? Worry not! There are a lot of awesome resources about child nutrition. So check out this helpful information from the USDA that we gathered for you, including a daily food plan for preschoolers.

Food Groups and Healthy Eating

Before going into the food plan, meet the food groups! A balanced diet is important for kids health so let’s see a few examples of food from the food groups they need.

Fruit: banana, apple, grapes, orange, cantaloupe, strawberry
Vegetables: spinach, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, corn, tomatoes
Grains: bread, crackers, oatmeal, pancakes, rice, pasta, tortillas (at least 50% of grains should be 100% wheat)
Protein: meat, eggs, seafood, poultry, beans and peas, nuts and seeds
Dairy: milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese (choose fat free or low-fat dairy products)

Daily Food Plan

Now let’s translate all that into everyday life. Here are some ideas of patterns and menus! It’s also a good idea to involve kids in the cooking process when appropriate. On top of stimulating their senses and practicing coordination, kids are most likely to enjoy the meal if they are part of making it happen. Check out the KidsCreate website for kid-friendly recipes and more resources.

To download the PDFs and printable versions of the graphics, please visit ChooseMyPlate.org.

1st Annual Caterpillar Clubhouse Health Fair

Posted on April 17, 2018January 9, 2019 by FlitchCreative

We had so much fun hosting our first annual Caterpillar Clubhouse Health Fair last week! It provided free health services over the course of two days for 23 kids enrolled in childcare. Our awesome Health Communication intern, Abby Wynn, organized the event as part of her capstone project for the Health Communication degree at Dixie State Communication. We are so grateful for her hard work and everyone who came out that day to make this happen!

Why are health screenings so important?

VISION

Healthy eyes and vision are a critical part of child’s development. Their eyes should be examined regularly, as many vision problems and eye diseases can be detected and treated early, helping them to be ready to learn.

DEVELOPMENT SCREENINGS

Early identification puts children on track for success and learning. Development screenings help to determine whether a child needs additional help.

FLUORIDE

Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by making both baby teeth and permanent teeth that are forming, resistant to the acid that causes demineralization that creates cavities. Children with healthy mouths and teeth are better able to eat, speak and focus on learning.

HEARING

Hearing problems can be treated if they’re caught early, so it’s important to get your child’s hearing screened early and evaluated regularly. Even a mild or partial hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to speak and understand language and readiness to learn.

BLOOD LEAD LEVELS

Lead poisoning causes a range of health effects from behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Lead is HIGHLY toxic and can lead to seizures and death. Children need a blood lead test at 12 and 24 months to monitor the level of lead in their blood to ensure that they have not been exposed to dangerous levels of lead and are keeping healthy and prepared for learning.

HEMATOCRIT LEVELS

Our bodies need oxygen for energy and growth. Red blood cells, hemoglobin, and iron carry oxygen through the blood to the body. Anemia is when the body does not have enough red blood cells, iron, or hemoglobin. It can slow a child’s energy, growth, and development. Hematocrit/Hemoglobin should be checked between 9 and 30 months to make sure a child is healthy and has what his/her body needs to have the energy and oxygen to be ready to learn.

The Caterpillar Clubhouse is now enrolling! Learn more here.

5 Easy and Cheap Activities for Kids on Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2018February 11, 2019 by FlitchCreative

Sometimes planning activities for the little ones can be messy and overwhelming. But there are tons of ideas out there to make Valentine’s Day fun without the hassle. Check out some of our favorite easy and cheap activities for kids!

1.Hand print Flowers

Can’t wait for spring? Try this cute hand print flowers activity! Besides keeping the kids entertained, it’s such a precious memento.

Nanny She Can Do

2. Heart Butterfly

This is the perfect craft for the insect enthusiasts in your home. Let the kids take their time painting the clothespins and help out with the heart cutouts. They will have a good time flying this little guy around!

Glue Stick and Gumdrops

3. Bead Heart

Looking for an activity that doesn’t involve paint or glue? This one is for you. On top of being messy-free, it puts those fine motor skills into practice, making it fun and stimulating. Have the kids sort the beads by color, count them or even come up with a pattern, as the author suggests.

Spend With Pennies

4. Touch and Feel Valentine’s Day Hearts

Let your creativity run wild with these cute touch and feel hearts. Basically anything you have available at home would work on these! Think interesting textures and making a good number of hearts to keep the youngsters entertained for a while.

Simple Play Ideas

5. Salt Dough Footprint Keepsake

Can you ever have too many keepsakes of your little one? Time is a thief and they grow up so fast. Try this adorable footprint keepsake made with salt dough. Have the kids help you measure the ingredients and mix them up, they will love being part of the whole process.

Red Ted Art

We hope you enjoy making these fun activities with the kids! Share your creations with us on Instagram using #rootforkids.