Holy Family Day Home

Please join us today, 4/13, at 2:30 for our recurring Wellness Parenting Group! Our topic this week is "Increasing Familial Connections" in English. Zoom information is available here: https://www.holyfamilydayhome.org//wellness-parenting-cour

The Week of the Young Child: Music Monday! Music Monday is more than singing and dancing, it’s a way to encourage children to be active while developing their early literacy skills and having fun with friends and family! Back in October, the Sea Lion classroom was treated to a wonderful, interactive concert with local pianist and musician, Andrew. They loved listening, playing along with him, and requesting songs! It was a lovely way to introduce students to performance and musical expression. #WOYC21

Today is the start of the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s 50th Week of the Young Child! The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the NAEYC to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. This week is a time to plan how weas citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nationwill better meet the needs of all young children and their families. Check out the link below for more information and ideas about how to celebrate all the fun, themed days this week! #WOYC21 https://www.naeyc.org/events/woyc/plan-your-event

We are so pleased to announce the hiring of Joe Latuga as the Day Home’s first school counselor. He is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist AMFT, and he will be heavily supporting classrooms and families with his Applied Behavior Analysis background and experience. Prior to joining the team at HFDH, Joe worked with youth experiencing trauma and recovering from Post-Traumatic symptoms at community based agencies in Oakland and Richmond. Additionally, Joe has supported children with Autism Spectrum disorder and their families as a Behavior Therapist, creating and implementing behavioral support plans and collaborating with families to support the school to home pipeline. The Day Home is so excited to have Joe as a thought partner, supporter, and advocate for children and families of HFDH.

The Starlight classroom has been studying light and reflection for a while now, but this time, they took their exploration outside and experimented with a puddle in the yard!

These photos are a throwback last year when we had our students vote on names for our chickens! The goal of this activity was to teach children how voting works and how important it is. We hope you exercise your right to vote today!

It's so fun to see all of the amazing things our students build with different materials!

Fall is festive at the Day Home today! From carving, painting and tasting pumpkins, to costumes, to our Dio de los Muertos altar, we are grateful to still find joy in the season despite a challenging year.

Our students are having fun experimenting with color as the leaves change!

As election day draws nearer it's important to talk our kids about voting! This article is a great resource for engaging children of all ages on the concept and importance of voting in interesting and creative ways. https://www.pbs.org/parents/lets-vote

It’s great to have volunteers safely onsite again to help us prep resources for our upcoming fall events. Here, we have mothers and daughters from the National Charity League, Inc. (and our chickens!) loading goodies into our Fall Festival in-a-bag for Day Home children and packing hygiene kits for our families.

Wire is another material that we provide children for exploration and expression; it supports fine motor development and can be sculpted into children's ideas.

Children learn using all of their senses, so we try to provide materials that support that need. Here, a shallow layer of white sand was offered on an individual tray, along with a paint brush, so children could "paint with sand". This student uses his hands to "paint" or make marks with sand. Here, he seems to be noticing the mountains and valleys that he has created.

Sometimes we just put materials out in an engaging way and see how the children accept the invitation and engage. A big white paper and black markers were offered to the children on a high vertical space, providing a different perspective to approach marks on paper and creating an opportunity to engage fine and gross motor skills!

Flashback Friday: Here’s a fun throwback to our annual Fall Festival that's been happening since as far back as the 1960s! It has always been such an amazing event where we come together to celebrate community and just have fun as the seasons change.

It's incredible to see our students processing COVID-19 through play! These people are social distancing while waiting in line for a temperature check.

Since children in the Starlight Classroom are exploring clays and noticing its ability to hold its shape, children are also seeing forms and symbols appear as they manipulate the clay. They often either discover that they created forms that look like letters or intentionally plan to create letters of the alphabet, making a playful connection between their interest in sculpting clays and doughs and their interest in literacy.

We want to thank the Order of Malta for swooping in without hesitation to dedicate over 100 hours packing groceries for our families during our closure and for the many years of service in direct support of our children and families.