Effective October 1, 2017, Connecticut has passed new a car seat law.
Here are the new requirements:

Children must remain rear facing until they are age 2 AND until they weigh 30 lbs.

Children must be in a 5 point harness until they are age 5 AND until they weigh 40 lbs.

Children must use a booster seat until they are age 8 AND until they weigh 60 lbs.

For more information you may click on www.safeinthecar.com

[An article on Derby Early Childhood Council Member Evie North]

CHARACTERS IN DIFFERENT SHAPES A LEARNING TOOL FOR TODDLERS
By Patricia Villers, New Haven Register

DERBY >> Tommy Triangle has a tale to tell. So does Cindy Circle, and their friend, Ricky Rectangle.

They are three of six brightly-colored Shapel characters that are the brainchild of resident and former preschool teacher Evelyn North.

She uses Shapels as learning tools when she visits classrooms, and some Valley teachers have been using them in their classes, she said Tuesday in an interview in her home.

North said she was known as a thumbprint artist for years before she gave life to the Shapels. “It was because of the thumbprints that I started to put faces on shapes,” she said.

The goal is to get toddlers interested in learning to differentiate shapes long before they enter kindergarten.

“There is a lot of talk about universal pre-K today,” North said. School readiness by attending preschool is vital to a child’s educational growth, she said.

North came up with the original four shapes in 1985 when she was working as a teacher at the former Carousel Preschool in Ansonia.

“The (preschool) kids were not remembering their shapes,” North recalled.

Although she created them years ago, North insists “they never age.”

North said she has had a lot of input from children over the years. As an artist, she enjoys when she can inspire them to create characters using a shape she hasn’t used.

“At the end of the program, I have them come up with their own characters by using a different shape, such as a crescent,” she said.

North incorporates music, math, reading and rhyming with her lessons.

The website was launched in March, North said, and she said seeing her characters animated has been wonderful. There are lessons and games galore on the site.

She also has written simple board books featuring each of the six characters that she hopes parents will want to read to their children.

To read more please click on the link: http://www.nhregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?avis=NH&date=20140409&category=NEWS&lopenr=140409464&Ref=AR&profile=1030040&template=printart

NEED DIAPERS? 
BABIES & YOUNG CHILDREN DESERVE TO BE DRY 
"I am most overjoyed to share that amidst our ongoing presentations of a vision for
a Valley Diaper Bank Initiative, that a private donor has come forward to
provide immediate/one-time financial support for us to begin piloting and
expanding this initiative NOW through to October/2013. This means that as we
await a significant funding opportunity decision in the Fall/2013, that our
Valley Family Resource Center does not have to wait until the Fall/2013 and is
now accepting appointments/applications for diapers/wipes benefits to eligible
families residing in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and
Shelton."   - David Morgan, Vice -President, TEAM, Inc.

Information: 
Applicants must be
residents of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton 

The child (or children) receiving diapers must be under 4 years of age
(expectant mothers are welcome to apply) 
Financial/other eligibility guidelines apply – please contact the Valley
Family Resource Center for more information and an appointment/application 


Valley Family Resource Center 
Ayanna Williams – FRC Manager
awilliams@teaminc.org / (203) 736-5420 x208