Newsletter for April 9, 2007
HELP Center Announcements
Save the Dates: Wednesdays 12:00 – 2:00
Student Parent HELP Center Group Updates:
The Student Parent HELP Center meets weekly on Wednesdays from 12-2 in Room 24, Appleby Hall. We provide a nice lunch for FREE for those folks who can attend for the majority of the session.
The weekly discussions are based on the input we receive from student parents throughout the course of the semester. Each week, we will try to provide as much information and sharing as possible among student parents, as we feel you are the experts on your experiences as parents. The input you receive from group can be used, or not used, based on your discretion; some tips will always work better for some than others. We love to have you share and we look forward to hearing from you throughout the semester!
Here are some of the upcoming topics and speakers for group.
Wednesday April 11: SPA Project Day – Make T-Shirts for Student Parent Visibility Day. Please bring your own yellow t-shirt to decorate, SPHC will provide the art materials.
Wednesday April 18: Jan Merrell, UCC will come discuss sleep and sleeping habits.
Any suggestions or questions, please ask Jerri Wagner or Ali Cain.
We Need You…
The Student Parent HELP Center, along with SPA, is planning our annual Student Parent Visibility Day. We will need volunteers, from a variety of academic majors, to share your experience with teen parents visiting the U of M from three different teen parenting programs in the metro area. Mark your calendars for May 1, 2007, from 11:00 – 2:00, outside of Morrill Hall on Northrop Plaza. If you are interested please let us know by emailing sphc@umn.edu or filling out a volunteer form and dropping it off at the front desk. The forms are available in the SPCH. There will be free food and lot’s of fun!!!
Mark your Calendar…
The End of the Year Celebration will be held this year on May 12, 2007 from 11 AM – 1 PM. This celebration is a chance for students and families to get together and honor student parents who have graduated over the past academic year. All students and families are welcome to attend the event. We are still working on a location for the event, but please watch the newsletter for more information as we approach May.
New Moms or Mom-to-be Group
On Friday March 9th we held a group for new mothers or expecting mothers to get together. Due to the success of this event we have scheduled two more dates where we hope we can get everyone together again. This group is open any mother who became a parent or will become a parent during the academic year (June 2006 – June 2007). Please come with ideas to share or topics you would like to discuss. Mark the following dates on your calendar and we hope you can make it.
Friday April 20th from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Location: to be determined in Appleby Hall
Friday May 4th from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Location: to be determined in Appleby Hall
Student Parent Association (SPA) Announcements
Greetings SPA supporters!
We have some great activities coming up!
April 1 (Sunday) we will be having a movie night at the Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative (University Student Family Housing south of the St. Paul campus) from 5:30-8:30pm. We will be meeting in the Fireplace Room. See links for directions: http://www.umnctc.org/MapOfCTC.aspx http://www.umnctc.org/location.aspx
April 14 (Saturday) we will be meeting at the Como Zoo for a day of fun. We will be there from 1-3pm.
April 22 (Sunday) we will be having a movie night again at Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative in the Fireplace Room from 5-8pm. We will also be making t-shirts for the Student Parent Visibility Day on May 1st.
We hope you can join us and our families for these great events!!!
Sincerely, SPA officers
Nicole Mjelde, Blia Xiong, Skylar Kidnie, Emily Schmall, Lisa Coleman, Kristina Erstad
For more information or to contact SPA please email them at umspa@umn.edu
Parenting Information
9 Easy to Make Musical Instruments for Kids
Children love music as much as they enjoy making things. Why not join these two creative forces and make one or all of these fun and easy musical instruments to encourage play and creativity.
DECORATIVE ITEMS
For any of these activities, you can leave the items plain or decorate them. If you need ideas for decorating these projects, try any of the following items. We are sure this list will help you think of even more items you can use. Combine different things such as buttons and glitter or sequins and yarn. Let the children's creativity surprise you!
Keeping items such as these in a large plastic storage container makes for easy access and quick clean up.
Sequins; buttons; yarn; ribbon; masking tape; beads; glitter; sand; cellophane; construction paper; magazines; photos; crayons; markers; colored pencils; paint; nail polish
When you are finished constructing your instruments, have a camera ready to take a picture of the band. Record this activity in your child's scrapbook so you can look back in years to come.
TAMBOURINE
2 paper plates; stapler or glue; hole punch; string; jingle bells; crayons
Staple or glue two paper plates together, facing each other. Using a hole punch, make holes around the plates and tie jingle bells to the holes with string. Decorate the tambourine with crayons. Shake to play.
Note: Heavy duty paper plates may be more durable for this craft. Safety note: If using a stapler, an adult should do this. When finished be sure to cover the staples with scotch tape.
DRUM
empty oatmeal box with cover; yarn; pen; 2 pencils; 2 spools; construction paper; crayons
Before beginning, you can decorate the oatmeal box with construction paper and/or crayons for a colorful effect. Place the cover on the box. Use a pen to make a hole in the center of the cover and in the center of the bottom of the box. Through these holes, pull a piece of yarn long enough to hang around child's neck and down to their waist. For the drumsticks, place the spools at the ends of the pencils, secure with glue if necessary. Beat to play.
CHIMES
ruler or stick; washers; nail polish; string; mixing spoon
Hang the washers from the ruler or stick with pieces of string by wrapping the string around the ruler or stick and securing. Strike the washers with the mixing spoon to play.
Note: You can make this craft colorful by painting the washers first with different color nail polishes, such as red, gold, glittery, etc. Parents should supervise this part of the activity closely.
HORN
paper towel roll; waxed paper; rubber band; pen
Cover one end of the paper towel roll with waxed paper; secure it with a rubber band. Punch a row of holes along one side of the roll with the tip of a pen.
To play, sing a tune into the open end of the horn.
CYMBALS
two matching pot covers; yarn or ribbon
Tie the ribbon or yarn around the handles of the pot covers. To play, strike together.
XYLOPHONE
tall glasses or jars; water; mixing spoon
Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch.
To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon. Note: This instrument should probably be played by older children in "the band" because of the use of glass.
COMB BUZZER
pocket comb; tissue paper
Fold a piece of tissue paper over the tooth edge of a comb. To play, hum through the tissue paper.
GUITAR
empty shoe box; rubber bands; ruler or stick
Remove the cover from the box. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. Attach the ruler or stick to the back of the box on one end to act as the arm of the guitar.
To play, strum or pluck the rubber bands.
HAND BELLS
2 paper towel rolls; hole punch; 4 jingle bells; string or yarn
Punch a hole in each end of the paper towel rolls. Tie two jingle bells to each side of the paper towel rolls by running string or yarn through the holes and carefully tying off.
Shake to play.
Have fun and let creativity and imagination run wild! Record the band's first song and play back for some great giggle time. Enjoy!
[Information taken from: http://www.momtalk.com/2007/03/9_easy_to_make_musical_instrum.cfm]
Events
Spring Egg Hunt
Saturday April 7th
9:30 am – Noon
Fun games, egg decorating, magic, the Teddy Bear Band and more. Free.
Northwestern Health Sciences University
2501 W 84th Street (at Penn Ave), Bloomington
For more information please call 952-888-4777
Spring Fling
Saturday April 7th
Noon – 4:00 PM
Egg hunt, treats, zoo animals and more. Cost $5.
Springbrook Nature Center
100 85th Ave NE, Fridley
For more information please call 763-572-3588
Earth Day Celebration
Friday April 20th
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Featuring carnival games, silent auction, healthy food and drink. This event is free.
Whittier International Elementary School
315 W 26th St, Minneapolis
For more information please call 612-590-7332.
Book Reading by Marian (Ubah) A. Hassan
Saturday April 21st
10:30 am
The author reads from the Somali-English bilingual children’s book, Dhegdheer: A Scary Somali Folktale
Red Balloon Bookshop
891 Grand Ave, St. Paul
For more information please call 651-224-8320
Cool Web Resource
This is a useful website that contains health information for the whole family. It has a section on parents and kids that contains a bunch of useful information. There is even a section that is geared directly toward kids with articles written for children. Check it out!
Grants Update
Post Secondary Child Care Grant (PSCCG): New money was received from the state of Minnesota MNHESO (Minnesota Higher Education Services Office), and we were able to serve all waitlisted students for spring 2007 PSCCG program.
CCAMPIS: All applications have been processed and the awards are now being prepared for disbursement to child care providers. Child care centers should receive their checks from the U of MN by approximately April 1, 2007. There is no longer any money left in this grant fund for 2006-2007. As of fall 2007 the Department Education is insisting that all students wishing to receive CCAMPIS funding must use licensed AND accredited child care center programs ONLY.
TAP: Due to the ever increasing demand for child care assistance the SPHC was forced to use all of our remaining emergency funds for spring 2007 child care grants. At this point in time this fund is depleted until we are able to raise more money. The SPHC will not be able to offer emergency assistance grants until further notice.
If you have any questions regarding the grants please contact the office at 612-626-6015.
All programs of the SPHC are available to undergraduates only
Who’s Who at SPHC
Susan Warfield, MSW, LICSW
As the Director of the SPHC, I am responsible for overseeing all programs of the Student Parent HELP Center and supervising SPHC staff. This has meant that I have had to step back from having the degree of direct contact with students I have always enjoyed having. This has been a difficult but necessary step for me to take in order to meet the needs of our growing program. If you have an issue that absolutely cannot be addressed by another SPHC staff member, you may schedule an appointment with me. These appointments should be booked through the SPHC front desk. Intakes and basic questions about services offered should be directed to Jerri Wagner, Melissa Schmidt, Ali Cain, or Zer Xiong. I am entering my 7th year with the HELP Center and during this journey have moved from staff, to Coordinator and now Director. With this evolution has come an increase in responsibilities and duties. Please know that even though you may not see as much of me in the actual Center as you may have in the past, I continue to work each and every day to bring you the programming, funding and visibility on campus that student parents need to have a successful experience at the U of MN. We are experiencing a bit of a crisis on the private child care funding side and I really need to devote most of my attention this year to finding more child care assistance and emergency grant funding in order to keep up with demand. Have no fear; you will continue to hear my raucous laughter echoing through the SPHC!
Jerri Wagner, MSW, LGSW
I am the new Direct Service Program Coordinator for the Student Parent HELP Center. Originally from New York State, I graduated from Syracuse University in 2000 with an undergraduate degree in theatre, with minors in sociology and women’s studies. After undergrad, I was an AmeriCorps volunteer for one year in Chicago, teaching arts integration on the west side in a Chicago Public School. In June of 2003, I graduated with my Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago. While in graduate school, I served as a therapist with Chicago’s Metropolitan YWCA, working with survivors of sexual assault and their families. From 2003-2006, I coordinated two statewide youth violence prevention programs for the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention in Chicago. Prior to relocating to Minneapolis, I spent March-June of 2006 traveling and learning abroad in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. I would love to talk about any of these varied experiences with you and really look forward to working with such an amazing and resilient population at the SPHC!
Melissa Schmidt
Hello, I am one of two social work interns at the HELP Center this year. I am in the Masters of Social Work program here at the University and am really excited to be involved in the HELP Center this year. Along with graduate school, I am also an employee at The Aurora Center here on campus. I have a son, Aiden, who was born 10/5/05. I’m looking forward to working with all of you this upcoming semester.
Ali Cain
I am pleased to be completing an internship at the Student Parent HELP Center. I am in my last year of the Masters of Social Work program at the U of M, where I also completed my undergraduate degree in Family Social Science. I have worked at a large family homeless shelter for the past five years. I am looking forward to an exciting year, working on campus alongside a great staff and motivated student parents!
Zer Xiong
Hi! It is my pleasure to be the undergraduate teaching assistant (UGTA) for the Student Parent Help Center. I am also a student parent myself. I have a son who was born on 11/27/06. Currently, I am pursuing a bachelor of arts in the Inter-College Program in the following three areas: Sociology, Family Social Science, and Public Health. Feel free to ask me any questions if you need help in the Student Parent Help Center.
Comments, questions or ideas about useful information for this newsletter can be directed to Melissa Schmidt at sphc@umn.edu.