Children, Inc. News
Agency's Songs Teach Kids - By Mark Curnutte for nky.com on August 10, 2009
COVINGTON - Music therapy and the use of music to positively affect behavior in young children have been around for awhile. What's relatively new is how Children, Inc. - a Northern Kentucky-based nonprofit known primarily for its preschools and child development centers - has developed a plan to market and sell its Growing Sound line of compact discs and videos and is now plowing that money back into the organization.
The agency is now less dependent on iffy sources of outside funding during the recession and with charitable foundations that fund nonprofits. And it's all legal, as long as the nonprofit reinvests its earnings in itself. The story of Children Inc.'s "Growing Sound" music series dates to 2007. That's when Tom Lottman, now Children Inc.'s deputy executive director and a student of how children's brains develop, started to work with local children's musician David Kisor.
"We asked ourselves two questions," Lottman said. "`Can we develop a quality music product and can we sell them?' The answer to both was a resounding `yes.'" But they needed help coming up with a way to turn a profit finance the project. That's when they hooked up with Blue Ash-based Executive Service Corps of Cincinnati, a fellow nonprofit with a team of 111 volunteers with expertise in a variety of business skills - including sales and marketing.
Carole Register and Jerry Lewis, two of the Executive Service Corps' volunteers, helped Children Inc. form a for-profit arm for its music line. The experts then helped them apply for a win a Community Wealth Ventures grant - which provided more marketing assistance - develop a commercial Web site to sell the music, train Children Inc.'s staff to write a business plan and position the agency as a leader in regional social entrepreneurship. "They helped us answer the question, `How do we turn this into a business?'" Lottman said.
Two years later, "Growing Sound" has sold 5,000 in all 50 U.S. states and four other countries. The goal is to go global.Lottman describes the enterprise as "an ongoing celebration of positive growth through songs, books and videos." Its first series consisted of four CDs of original songs by Kisor under the heading of "Songs of Resilience."
"Within the child, there are major protective factors," Lottman said, "attachment, initiative and self-control. They can become secure with adults. They can act on the world and not have the world act on them. They have the ability to control their emotions."
The latest line of music is a three-CD set called "I Can." It contains songs with titles ranging from "Up the Mountain" and "A Tree and Me" to "Three Rules" and "I'm Gonna Find a Way."
Amy Schardein is a librarian at the Kenton County Public Library and an early childhood specialist with two children enrolled in one of Children Inc.'s preschool programs. "The lyrics are very easy to internalize," she said. "Even as an adult, I hear myself with the lyrics in my head. One is `I'm Gonna Find a Way.' I keep on working until I figure it out. It helps me to stop and think through a situation instead of getting caught in the frustration."
Kisor, who writes on keyboard and guitar, reads and discusses latest brain development research studies with Lottman. They consult with a University of Louisville psychologist, Barbara Burns, and Cincinnati Children's language-speech pathologist Melinda Chalfonte-Evans. Kisor has written, recorded and released 90-plus songs in the "Growing Sound" series. He is especially comfortable with children.
"I have the greatest job in the world," Kisor said. "I'm talking heady stuff with Tom one day and the next I'm singing with a room filled with 2 year olds. At the end of the day, everything we do has to feel like fun."
Positive Music: Helping Children to Master Developmental and Social Skills
- By Paula Slade for examiner.com on 7/29/2009
There are many great choices in children’s music today, which are entertaining and interactive, but we are going to focus on a different type of music that not only incorporates those elements but provides an added advantage: therapeutic music that aids children in mastering social and emotional skills.
Growing Sound offers music with a mission, helping children and caregivers with issues such as attachment, coping, self-regulation, creativity, independence, courage, perseverance, optimism, confidence, friendship and respect, all necessary social skills that form a foundation for a child who is resilient, well adjusted, ready for the classroom and ready for life.
David Kisor is the man behind Growing Sound. He is an accomplished composer, performer and teacher, who began his mission over 20 years ago. Holding a Master’s Degree in music composition from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Kisor is Music Director for Children, Inc., the largest private non-profit early care and education provider in Kentucky with 3,400 children attending daily programs.
Over the years, Kisor has written extensively for the classroom as well as stage, which includes works for the Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati; Children’s Theater of Cincinnati; University of Cincinnati Preparatory Department, numerous school residencies (from preschool to high school) as well as collaborations on projects for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Division of Speech Pathology and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville.
Albums I Can Count on You, Tough Stuff, I Can Settle Down, I Can Do It, and Beautiful Baby, Wonderful Child, all target different developmental issues with easy-to-sing-to melodies and clearly articulated and empowering lyrics. There are also suggested accompanying children’s books that can be shared for further reinforcement and total understanding of these powerful musical messages, along with parent tips/strategies and musical lyrics available on Growing Sound’s individual website pages.
All albums and individual songs can be sampled, downloaded as an MP3, or purchased as a CD from Growing Sound or CD Baby.
Children, Inc. Scores Well in Walton Verona - By Justin B. Duke for the Kentucky Enquirer on 7/22/2009
A child care program is turning heads after its first year. The new Children Inc. program at Walton-Verona Elementary School received a three out of four star rating from the Stars for Kids Now program. Stars for Kids Now is a voluntary quality rating system for licensed and certified child care programs."Those teachers worked hard," said Children Inc. Director René Bricking. At Walton-Verona, Children Inc. offers an extension of the kindergarten program so students can go all day, as well as a pre-kindergarten program.
The school was looking for a way to incorporate a full-day kindergarten program for a few years, said Principal Robert Hartman. "(Children Inc.) seemed like it was worth the try," Hartman said. The program worked well for the school because it didn't require any extra work for the staff, he said. "The only thing we had to provide was a mobile for a classroom, and they covered everything else - including grading a hill for a playground," Hartman said.
The program has been successful and is bringing in the best scores it can. A large reason it didn't get four stars from Stars for Kids Now is that it is not nationally accredited, a requirement for earning four stars. "We're going to work on that this fall," Bricking said. National accreditation is about a six-month process, but Children Inc. may have some immediate issues to look to as the school year starts. "Our pre-kindergarten program is just going gangbusters," Bricking said. The program is already full and only 20 kindergarten spots remain, which is way ahead of schedule this far away from school starting, she said.
2008-2009 Children, Inc. Outcomes - Jen Zimmerman, Director of Evaluation 7/20/2009
Children, Inc. is invested in making a difference for children and families in Northern Kentucky. Outcomes help us know what impact our programs have on our community. Many thanks to all the staff who collected the data and use the information to improve our programs!
Here are a few examples of the impact Children, Inc.’s programs had in the past year:
- The Service Learning program worked with 61 schools, 1900 teachers and 18,625 students to complete 412 projects!
- 98% of children enrolled in the Family Child Care program demonstrated improvement in cognitive, language, motor and social emotional development!
- School Age Services served 1,362 children in their 44 STAR-rated programs!
- 96% of children enrolled in the Extended Kindergarten program met academic targets set by the school!
- Children, Inc.’s Early Care and Education programs provided vision, hearing and BMI screening to 97% of enrolled children!
- 94% of children enrolled in In-School Preschools were assessed to have age-appropriate skills in cognitive, language, motor and social emotional development at the end of the school year!
Congratulation to all of our teachers and staff! Keep up the good work!
Covington Schools adding Montessori - printed in the Kentucky Enquirer by William Croyle on July 12, 2009
COVINGTON - After a year of researching and planning, Covington Independent Schools will open a Montessori program next month. The program, developed in collaboration with Children Inc., is open to all preschool students in the district and will be located at Ninth District Elementary School. There will be two classes with room for roughly 20 students in each. Hours will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and tuition will be $130 per week. Tuition assistance is available.
The Montessori method was developed by Maria Montessori in the early 1900s. The philosophy is that teachers act more as observers of children who work independently using a hands-on approach. For example, students may work with beads to do math or flashcards for geography. They work at their own pace. School board member Jim Vogt proposed the idea a year ago.
Superintendent Lynda Jackson, who was the district's executive director of learning support at the time, visited Sands Montessori Elementary School in Cincinnati Public Schools and John F. Kennedy Montessori Elementary School in Louisville to see the program in action in urban settings. "We then formed an ad-hoc advisory group of staff and parents who met over several months to discuss how to make it work here," Vogt said. Vogt said three of his four children attended Montessori preschools. "I was struck by its focus on fostering creativity in kids," he said. He said the nature of the program also gives students options of what they will learn each day, teaches them responsibility and forces parents to be more involved, something the district has been pushing in recent years. Vogt hopes preschool is just the beginning of the program. "One of things that came out of our advisory committee was that, with this kind of thing, it's best to start small and start at the beginning," Vogt said. "Our expectation is that if it's a successful venture, we'll add classes and grades in the coming years."
For more information, including how to enroll, call Children Inc. at 859-431-2075.
Growing Sound Around the World!!! - 3/20/2009
Children, Inc. is about to sign a Resellers Agreement with Beacon Education Supplies to distribute its Growing Sound materials throughout Singapore. Beacon supplies educational material to 1200 early education centers and 300 international schools in the country . Growing Sound products help to develop social emotional skills in young children. We take the latest important research findings from resilience, executive brain functions and Positive Psychology and translates them into practical and entertaining strategies for teachers and parents. Our products began in Children, Inc. classrooms and will soon be in classrooms around the world. Tom Lottman and the Growing Sound team are very excited at the possibilities of this and similar agreements to spread the mission of Children, Inc.
Children, Inc. Centers Rock! - 3/15/2009
Children, Inc. Early Childhood Centers excel! Both state and national measures show that our centers meet and exceed standards set by licensing and accrediting organizations.
- MELA - NAC accreditation in August and 3 STARS in February.
- Kenton Child Development Center - NAC accreditation and 4 STARS
- Treasure House - NAEYC accreditation in November, working to renew their 3 STAR rating
- Campbell County - NAC accreditation and 3 STARS
- Gardens - 3 STARS and will receive their NAC visit in early March.
- Imagine Tomorrow - NAC, applying for STARS this spring.
- Newport - 3 STARS, receiving their NAC visit this spring.
These achievements reflect a lot of hard work and commitment by both staff and directors.
Children, Inc. Offers Fun Children's Music that Promotes Child Development
Written by Jordan Huizenga to www.nky.com and published on
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Children, Inc., the largest non-profit provider of accredited and nationally rated child care in Kentucky, has recently launched the social enterprise Growing Sound. Growing Sound supports the mission and vision of Children, Inc. by providing parents and educators of young children with tools to promote social emotional development through the medium of music.
With the rise in awareness of the importance of early childhood, Growing Sound aims to get children Ready for School and Ready for Life. By working with song writer David Kisor to develop songs that appeal to kids as well parents and teachers Growing Sound has created a number of albums with accompanying manuals that explain how to use the songs in your classroom or home.
These songs promote social emotional development in young children by encouraging ideas like confidence and self control through songs like "I Can Do It!" and "It's Up To Me!"
Growing Sound has launched a website located at http://shop.childreninc.org where parents and teachers can purchase these albums through a direct download or the products can also be shipped directly to you.
Breakfast with Your Kids Builds Important Attachment Skills
Contributed by Jordan Huizenga to www.nky.com and published on
Friday, February 27, 2009
On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, parents at the Newport Preschool Center had a family 
breakfast. There were a number of parents that joined their children for breakfast between 7:30 and 8:30 am. The parents stayed and had breakfast with their children before heading off to work. This interaction offered by the Newport Preschool Center about once a month is important in building attachment between young children and the adult figures in their lives.
Having breakfast with your child or any other positive activity you regularly share with your young adolescent promotes and celebrates the skills involved in relating to parents, teachers and friends; and the experiences of belonging to a family, a community and the world! Attachment is a mutual strong and long-lasting relationship between a child and a significant adult such as parents, family members, and teachers. When a sense of attachment is secure both children and adults act in ways that enhance and strengthen the relationship. Parents eating with children promotes Attachment
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