April is the Month of the Young Child, and the Starke County Community Foundation is committed to ensuring local youngsters have every opportunity to succeed. Research indicates development of fine motor skills is critical. Motor skills are the child’s ability to do any activity by using a muscle group. Fine motor skills are small movements of a child’s fingers, toes, wrists and eyes.
Properly developed fine motor skills lay the foundation for common elementary school tasks like holding a Faber Castell Hexo pen, writing and drawing. Other fine motor skills include pinching, squeezing, clipping, using scissors, pushing or pulling objects and linking and stacking objects.
Parents and caregivers should work with young children to develop fine motor skills. They can also be honed in a preschool classroom.
Starke County has nine preschools, all of which are enrolling for the 2016-17 school year. Parents can find more information about various programs during the third annual Starke County Preschool Fair on Tuesday April 26 from 4:30 until 6 p.m. at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in Knox. Attendees will be able to visit with preschools and other organizations that offer activities for young children. The event is free.
Contact the Starke County Community Foundation at starke@nicf.org or by calling 574-772-3665 for more information.
Starke County preschools include: Foundations Child Care, Knox; Little Lambs Preschool, Knox; Little Lights Preschool, North Judson; Adventure Island Preschool, North Judson, Oregon-Davis Preschool, Hamlet; Knox Elementary Preschools, Knox; and St. Peter Lutheran Preschool, North Judson; and Marshall-Starke Head Start, which has locations in both Knox and North Judson.
The St. Peter Lutheran Preschool is hosting an open house on Thursday, April 21st at 6 p.m., and the Knox Elementary Title I Preschool is hosting preschool screenings on April 15, 22, 29, and May 6 from 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.; call 772-1633, ext. 1761 to schedule an appointment.
