Deer Valley Family Resource Center

Congratulations! Happy Graduation Day!

Yesterday was the last class for our Kindergarten Boot Camp participants. Thank you to all of the families who attended classes over the last 8 weeks. We had such a wonderful time working with you and your children, and we know they are ready and will do an amazing job in kindergarten!

Thank you Ms. Alyssa and Ms. Laurie from the Phoenix Public Library!

We are about halfway through Kindergarten Bootcamp. Over the past few weeks, our families have practiced tapping out syllables, and made their own sticks to practice at home. We also talked about emotions and how to identify and express them. Families did a science experiment this week and talked about predictions and outcomes.

We also had the Arizona Science Center come for a special class - Coding with Kibo. Families learned some basic coding concepts, built their own robot, and then programed their robot to perform a sequence of tasks.

There are just a few weeks left to Kindergarten Bootcamp. We are looking forward to graduation day!

Join DVFRC in August as we begin another amazing year!

We will be celebrating several fun, national holidays; such as, National Coloring Book Day, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, World Lizard Day, National Beach Day, and National Science Week.

We will also be offering Tools for School, PAZ Yoga Kids, Story Time with Glendale Public Library, Arizona Science Center, Musical Story Time with Paul Whitney, and Board Game Fun.

We have a new program starting in August - Baby Story Time with Glendale Public Library. This program is designed for babies from birth to 18 months. It will include stories, rhymes, fingerplay, songs, and more.

Registration for August classes opens on Monday, July 15 at 9:00 AM. Registration is required for all events and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Lots of animals visited our DVFRC families at the end of June! We started our week with Great Arizona Puppet Theater's performance of "Old MacDonald" and got to meet all of his farm animals; including the hen, cow, horse, and dog. We were very excited that our camper friends at the DVUSD Community Education Preschool 'Sun'sational Summer Camp were able to join us for the show. At the end of the week, Jungle Jill came to visit with a bunch of her friends. We got to see a tarantula, a scorpion, hissing cockroaches, lizards, and snakes. Some of our friends were brave enough to hold the cockroaches and snake!

There are still some spots available for FREE Hearing and Vision Screenings. Screenings are for children ages 1-5 years old. They will be held on Monday, June 24 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Park Meadows Elementary. Please park in the back lot off of Behrend Drive.

Appointments are recommended, by not required. You can schedule an appointment through the Deer Valley Family Resource Center at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Registration for July programs opens this Saturday, June 15th at 9:00 AM.

Join us for puzzles, playdough, board games, and building! Thank you to Tot Town for opening your center to us for Great Arizona Puppet Theater on July 29.

Registration is required for all events and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

We kicked off this year's Kindergarten Bootcamp last week. Special thanks to Ms. Alyssa and Phoenix Public Library for facilitating our classes. We look forward to spend one day a week with families, helping to prepare them for kindergarten next year.

What better way to launch into the summer programs then with the Arizona Science Center! Yesterday, the Science on Wheels program brought their 3-2-1 Blastoff! Stomp Rockets program to our family resource center. After reading a book and learning about space shuttles and rockets, the families got to make their own! Rockets were flying at Copper Creek yesterday morning!

Join us in June for Arizona Science Center, PAZ Yoga Kids, Great Arizona Puppet Theater, and Jungle Jill's Animal Encounters. Celebrate our awesome dads at "Donuts with Dads".

We have partnered with CHICANOS POR LA CAUSA to provide FREE Hearing and Vision Screenings for children ages 1-5 years. Screenings will be held on Monday, June 24 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Park Meadows Elementary. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are welcome.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, May 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Happy Mother's Day to all our mothers, grandmothers, and mother-figures!

A special thank you to all of the families who helped celebrate at our "Muffins with Mom" events.

Do you have PUZZLE POWER?

There are so many benefits of puzzles for children.

Puzzles help build physical skills like fine and gross motor skills, emotional skills like patience, confidence, and self esteem, and social skills like teamwork and communication.

Puzzles release stress, and can be a great way to calm an anxious child or increase patience and concentration.

Puzzles also encourage shape recognition, spacial awareness, and spacial relations.

DVFRC celebrated Earth Day last week with some crafts and activities. We talked about how our families recycle at home, what the different color trash bins are used for, and what we can do to protect our environment. We also make some bird feeders to hang outside.

Join us in May for "Tools for School", PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time, Story Time with Glendale Library, Arizona Science Center, Musicology, Wildlife World Zoo's "Zoo to You", Board Game Fun, and Playdough Experience. Celebrate our wonderful mothers at our Muffins with Mom events.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Monday, April 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Is your child entering kindergarten in Fall 2024? If so, join a Kindergarten Bootcamp! This interactive series meets once a week for 7 weeks and gives families a taste of kindergarten. Parents and children learn together the social, academic, and classroom skills needed for school success. Receive free tools and activities each week leading up to Bootcamp graduation.

Registration is required and by registering you agree to attend all 7 weeks. This series meets on the following dates:

May 29, June 5, 12, 26, July 3, 10, 17 (no class on June 19)**

This program is only for children entering kindergarten in Fall 2024. Not entering kindergarten in Fall 2024? Check out Tools for School, Phoenix Public Library's school readiness program for 3-5 year olds and their grown-ups.

** There will not be a class presented by Phoenix Public Library on June 19, but there will still be a class that morning. We have arranged for Arizona Science Center to present a special STEM-based program. This program is free of charge, and no additional registration is required.

Registration will open at 9:00 AM on Monday, April 8. Registration is required, and can be completed online at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Support for early literacy programs is provided by a grant from First Things First, which partners with families and communities to give all Arizona children the opportunity to arrive at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed. Learn more at FirstThingsFirst.org.

Join us in April for "Tools for School", PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time, Story Time with Glendale Library, Arizona Science Center, Jungle Jill, Musicology, and Great Arizona Puppet Theater. Celebrate Earth Day with us and learn how to do your part to take care of the earth.

Register for our new program, Puzzle Power. Puzzles help children build physical, emotional, and social skills. They can release stress and be a great way to calm an anxious child.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Friday, March 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Deer Valley Family Resource Center is hiring! We are looking for an Outreach Specialist (40 hours, 12 months) to join our team. For a complete job description and to apply online, please visit:
https://jobs.dvusd.org/winocular/WorkSpace/wSpace.exe?Action=wsJobsMain&JobPosting=00037836

Join us in March for "Tools for School", PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time, Music & Movement with Phoenix Public Library, Story Time with Glendale Library, Arizona Science Center, and A Day with Dinosaurs.

We will celebrate literacy with our Read Across America Celebration on March 5. On March 21, we will welcome local children's author Debi Novotny as she presents her new book, "Beaker and Gonk". Follow sister and brother dinosaurs, Beaker and Gonk, in their adventure around the kitchen. When Gonk wants to make a birthday breakfast for Momma, he knows it has to be something special. Under the watchful eye of big sister Beaker, he scrambles to the kitchen but stirs up a mess when eggs go rolling and special ingredients go missing. It’s up to Gonk to fix this culinary disaster before Momma wakes up!

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Thursday, February 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Please join us in February for PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time with Paul Whitney, "Tools for School" with Phoenix Public Library, Story Time with Glendale Public Library, "It's Slime Time" with Arizona Science Center, "Bring the Zoo to You!" with Wildlife World Zoo, Board Game Fun, Creativity Center, and Leap Day Celebration.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Monday, January 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Please join us in January for PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time with Paul Whitney, "Tools for School" with Phoenix Public Library, Musicology, "Live on Location" with Phoenix Zoo, Story Time with Glendale Public Library, and "Icy Investigations" with Arizona Science Center.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Friday, December 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Please join us next Saturday, December 9th for "The Selfish Elf", performed by Great Arizona Puppet Theater. The show will be held at Foothills Branch Library and begins at 10:30 am. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis until the room reaches capacity.

Please join us in December for PAZ Yoga Kids, Musical Story Time with Paul Whitney, "Tools for School" with Phoenix Public Library, Jungle Jill's Animal Encounters, and Winter Wonderland to celebrate snow. We will be taking a fieldtrip to Wildlife World Zoo on December 18th.

Help us give back to our community this holiday season at our "Crafts, Cards, and Cocoa" event on December 14th. We are going to make holiday crafts and color cards for residents at a local assisted living community. Enjoy some cocoa and holiday music while you create!

Join us at Foothills Branch Library at 10:30 AM on Saturday, December 9th for the Great Arizona Puppet Theater's performance of "The Selfish Elf". The show is a fun Christmas show about an elf who was selfish, but then learns about the spirit of giving. Registration is not required for this Saturday program. Seating is first come, first serve until room reaches capacity.

Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 15th.

Registration is required for all programs and can be completed at deervalley.ce.eleyo.com.

Today is National STEM/STEAM Day. We celebrated the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics through a variety of activities. Our young scientists, engineers, mathematicians, artists, and teachers could be seen using their magnifying glasses to get a closer look at the specimens, practicing sequencing with shapes and colors (early coding), comparing weights of different objects, testing the differences with different vehicle ramps, creating marble mazes, using patterns to create bracelets, and much more!

Jellyfish are sea animals with a soft, jellylike body. They have no brain, heart, bones, or eyes. Some jellyfish are clear, but others are vibrant colors of pink, yellow, blue, and purple. Some can be bioluminescent, which means they produce their own light. Jellyfish have been around for millions of years, even before dinosaurs lived on the Earth.

World Jellyfish Day is November 3, and is celebrated to raise awareness about jellyfish and their role in the ecosystem. Take a look at how DVFRC celebrated World Jellyfish Day!

DVFRC in the community...

We enjoyed participating in the Harvest Festival at Crosswinds Presbyterian Church last week. The event was filled with trunk or treat, pumpkin decorating, bounce houses, games, and more! DVFRC distributed free books to children who attended. We also had several games that were designed to build early childhood skills. Thank you for letting us take part in your event!

Thank you to North Valley Regional Library for letting us host the Great Arizona Puppet Theater's performance of "The Christmas Monkey"! What better way to start your weekend then with some monkey mayhem!!

Join us tomorrow at North Valley Regional Library at 10:30 AM for "The Christmas Monkey", performed by The Great Arizona Puppet Theater.

This is a FREE event; no registration required. Seating is first come, first serve until the room reaches capacity.

Deer Valley Family Resource Center invited the Early Learning Center families to join us for a Fall Celebration. We created watercolor leaves, painted ghosts, counted pumpkin seeds, and played a fall matching game. The celebration ended on a sweet note, decorating cookies in fall colors! We hope our 2's and 3's had as much fun as we did!

Celebrating Fall with Deer Valley Family Resource Center families!

Our fall celebrations included making sparkling pumpkins, watercolor leaves, pumpkin scratch art, pumpkin seed counting, a fall matching game, and of course, cookie decorating!

National Count Your Buttons Day Celebration!