Preparing Children for Kindergarten and Future Success
It has been well established that the early years are a critical time in a child’s growth and development. Young children are eager to learn and understand the world around them.
Lifelink Head Start and Early Head Start are dedicated to the principle that children learn best when they are allowed to explore safe and stimulating environments with supportive, caring adults that are culturally sensitive to their needs.
Our objective is to provide each child opportunities to build foundation skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for children to succeed now, later in school and in life.
The curriculum guides teachers to incorporate activities that foster social emotional, physical, language, and cognitive development and that integrate keys areas of content including literacy, mathematics, science, creative expression, and social studies.
Teachers provide children with opportunities to:
• Build their foundation for science and scientific inquiry through activities that encourage them to think, question and reason about the world around them, to collect data and document their findings with graphs.
• Build language and literacy skills such as identifying letters, recognizing and using print, and distinguishing beginning & ending sounds of words.
• Build their understanding of mathematics through hands-on activities with numbers, sorting materials by attributes, and recognizing and continuing patterns.
• Build creativity through open-ended activities in music, drama, dance/movement and art.
Optimal growth and development occurs in a positive emotional climate where children build friendships, express emotions and resolve conflicts in a positive manner.
Did you know?
• Head Start served 510 children in school year 2007-2008
• Early Head Start served 52 babies and infants in school year 2007-2008
• Head Start and Early Head Start’s maintained an average enrollment of 83%
• One hundred percent of the children served in Head Start and Early Head Start received medical and dental exams
HEAD START and EARLY HEAD START
Lifelink's Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide a high quality, comprehensive child development and social service program for young children and their families. The programs are funded,
in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Head Start and Early Head Start provide services to children and families in the following areas:
- Early Childhood Development
- Health
- Disabilities
- Family & Community Partnership
- Parent Involvement
For office locations, please refer to the table below.
HEAD START OFFICE LOCATIONS
Lifelink's Head Start is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Children and Family Services and the National Association for the Education of Young Children
To enroll in Head Start, a child must be three or four years old on or by September 1 of the program year. Two program options are offered, including the 'home based program' and 'center based classrooms'. These two options offer the opportunity to serve the entire DuPage County area.
Parent Involvement Activities
Parent participation is strongly encouraged as the parents are the child’s first educators. Their input is highly valued by all program staff.
Our vision for parent involvement is simple: to create and maintain a partnership with the parents in our program. The partnership helps parents in their role as the primary educators and advocates for their children. It also helps the program meet the needs of each child more effectively. We work with parents to discover ways that they can be involved that are interesting and meaningful to each person. We also hope the parents will develop new skills.
In all of our program options, parents are involved in the following ways:
Parent Meetings: Parents attend monthly parent meetings where they provide input to the curriculum and plan special activities for each site. They also attend educational workshops that occur during the parent meetings. Parent meetings are planned at each site or during Family Days in our Home-based program.
Bus Monitors: Parents are very involved as parent monitors on our buses. They help to assure the safety of the children while en route to and from school.
Classroom helpers: Parents volunteer in the classrooms, reading to children, attending field trips, or just joining in the fun learning.
Kitchen Helpers: Parents volunteer in the kitchen. Often times parents will bring recipes for traditional dishes to share with the cooks and then help prepare them.
Advisory Committees: Parents attend advisory committee meetings, participating fully in the decision-making process. Sometimes they will attend to participate in an educational panel or workshop.
Policy Council: Policy Council is what makes Head Start unique. Parent representatives from our various sites and program options attend monthly meetings. In those meetings, parents participate fully in discussions and decisions. Policy council members also interview potential staff and approve the hiring and firing of new staff.
Male Involvement: Traditionally, mothers have received more support in their roles than have fathers. We at Lifelink Head Start are trying to shift the balance so both mothers and fathers receive support.
Dads are always welcome to participate in all of the ways listed above. In addition, each site plans events where fathers and father figures are invited to participate with the child. These range from “Breakfast with Dad” to “Game night” to “Lunch with Dad.”
Children with special needs are welcome in any of Lifelink's programs, and eligibility to participate in these programs is determined by age and income.
For more information on Head Start or Early Head Start, please call 630-521-8094.
HEAD START
Lifelink Head Start serves children ages three to five years and their families. Head Start provides comprehensive health, education, nutrition and social services to children, while promoting parent interaction and involvement.
- Center-based all-day classrooms: Class rooms are available in Bensenville and Carol Stream. Parents must be in school or working full-time to qualify for the all-day program. Families receive regular home visits in addition to classroom services.
EARLY HEAD START
Lifelink Early Head Start serves children ages birth to three years and their families, as well as pregnant mothers. EarlyHead Start staff focus on providing parents with the knowledge needed to raise healthy children and create positive learning environments in the home and the classroom.
- Center-based all-day classrooms: Class rooms are available in Bensenville. Parents must be in school or working full-time to qualify for the all-day program. Families receive regular home visits in addition to classroom services.
EARLY HEAD START OFFICE LOCATIONS
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Serving Older Adults, Children and Families Since 1895
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