January/Winter 2025 Maine Families Newsletter

Heather Elowe Retires

This past August our beloved colleague Heather Elowe retired after 12 years at Maine Families. Heather’s love of families, wealth of knowledge, and many talents brought a joie de vive to our program. Heather would bless us with her musical talents by singing and playing guitar at groups, her creativity in the activities that she did with her families, and her encyclopedic knowledge in all things infant development. We will miss her dearly and wish her well in this next chapter of relaxation, adventure and spending time with family! 

Chips in a Can (14-24 months)

This activity helps strengthen fine motor skills while the child picks up the cards and tries to insert them into the slot in the can. Additionally, the child needs to use their perceptual motor skills as they use their eyes and fingers to solve how to put the chips in the slot.

It is recommended to let the child inspect the can and the cards beforehand and then proceed to trying to solve the problem. When a parent assists in solving this problem it helps the child’s thinking skills and self confidence. 

Here we see a 14-month-old puzzling out how to put the chips in the can! 

Book Spotlight by GG

One of my favorite things to do as a family visitor is to play with families! These wonderful yoga books pictured above, by Sarah Jane Hinder, have proven to be loads of fun for kiddos and their grow-ups. Kids love trying to figure out how to do the different poses while reading the book. They especially love it when the grown-ups practice poses with them, even when it doesn’t look exactly like the illustration in the book. While holding each pose, we practice taking deep belly breaths. It is a great way to practice mindfulness, a skill that can be used later, when anyone is feeling emotions such as scared, mad, sad or even excited. Having fun together brings families together and helps create and strengthen their attachment to each other. The laughter that results from this book is the best part of the experience.