MOULTRIE — Starting with “The Basics,” a Colquitt County initiative is working to promote the fostering of healthy brain development in infants, toddlers and preschoolers in the community.
The Basics Colquitt County initiative, made possible by support from The United Way of Colquitt County and The Sandra Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy, is part of a national initiative to support early learning and brain development.
The Basics Principles are five ways to help boost child brain development and include:
— Maximize Love, Manage Stress.
— Talk, Sing and Point.
— Count, Group and Compare.
— Explore Through Movement and Play.
— Read and Discuss Stories.
On its website, the organization states, “The Basics Vision is a Colquitt County where infants, toddlers, and preschoolers of all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds are on track to achieve their full potential — having benefited from early experiences that foster healthy brain development, learning, joy, and resilience.”
“We’re at the point, now, that we’ve kind of done all the groundwork and we just need it to start to spread for it to sustain itself,” said Erin Honeycutt, Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System Assistant Director/Youth Services Librarian.
Honeycutt said that during COVID, she was doing a lot of continuing education because there weren’t that many people going to the library. She attended a virtual literary conference with Dr. Ron Ferguson, the founder and president of The Basics, as the keynote speaker.
“He was just so charismatic and I was just in love with The Basics from that moment. It’s just so simple and it’s holistic. It addresses the whole child,” she said.
She said that the programs that she’s familiar with as a children’s librarian just address literacy, but this program includes other aspects of growth and development that she thought were really important.
Honeycutt said that the whole idea behind how the program works is the socioecological saturation.
“So, wherever parents and caregivers are within the community, whoever they’re dealing with is familiar with The Basics and can support them,” she said.
Honeycutt went to Sarah Adams, the previous Archway Partnership professional, and asked her if she could help. She said Adams thought it was a great project for the Youth Development and Education committee to work on.
In 2022, the Youth Development and Education committee, formed by the University of Georgia Colquitt County Archway Partnership, adopted “The Basics Principals” and The Basics Colquitt County initiative began.
“So we started that. We got funding from United Way Community Impact Grant and we also got funding from the Sandra Deal Center,” Honeycutt said.
She said that the funding helped them start the process of printing out all the materials and getting signs so that they could spread the word about The Basics.
“We’ve partnered with the Baby Packer Welcome Kit so whenever they give those, they also give information abut The Basics,” she said of the partnership the organization has with CRMC’s Maternal/Infant Unit.
The Basics Colquitt County continues to seek new partners to promote the program throughout the community. Its partners, along with United Way of Colquitt County, include the Colquitt County Educational Foundation, Colquitt County Family Connection, Colquitt County School District, Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Moultrie-Colquitt County Library System, Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority and Southwest Georgia Community Action Council.
Honeycutt said that there was a component of The Basics called “Insights,” which is a free text messaging program. Subscribers get text messages twice a week on how to implement The Basics at home.
“You don’t need any kind of fancy learning toys or anything. You can just do it in everyday interactions with your child just by being intentional with what you’re doing,” she said and added that it was a great resource they want parents to tale advantage of and sign-up for.
Honeycutt said that they have been focusing on partnerships with healthcare and childcare facilities to get the program’s materials distributed into the community. She said they have put video books in doctor’s offices in both English and Spanish.
She also said that they had just acquired a “Bluey” costume, which is the main character of an animated, preschool series on ABC Kids.
“I’m really excited. We’re going to do visits at childcare centers. Maybe at their open house or parents night,” she said. and added that they hoped it would raise interest in the program and increase the number of parents signed up for “Insights.”
Honeycutt said that they were already scheduled in July to be at Headstart with Bluey during its open house. She also said that they were open to any organization that wanted a visit from Bluey and to help spread the word about The Basics.
“That’s what it’s for. To help us get the word out and provide something for for the community while we’re doing it,” she said.
She said that they also work with the school system and the Colquitt County Educational Foundation.
“I think of us as an extension of what they’re doing with third grade reading proficiency. Because 80% of brain development happens in the first three years of life. So that’s the architecture you’re building upon to learn how to read. That turn in third grade where you’re reading to learn, all of that starts at birth,” Honeycutt said.
According to the website of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, “By 3 years of age, a child’s brain is already more than 80 percent of adult size. By 5 years of age, it’s grown to about 90 percent of adult size.”
She said the community had already been working hard on literacy when she had initially approached Adams about the program and there were other projects going on. She said that she thought the piece of the The Basics that was early literacy would fit in really well with what they were already doing.
“I think its kind of a nice glue that can bring together all of the work that’s already being done. It’s just an easy way to communicate. We’re all doing the same thing here,” she said.
She said the learning gaps that lead to the third-grade reading proficiency problem already exist by the end of kindergarten. Starting literacy efforts as late as kindergarten is a missed opportunity because the first three years of their life are so important, she said.
“Of course as a children’s librarian, that’s one of my main goals with all the programs and things that I do. That’s what I’m aiming for,” she said.
To get involved, or for more information, contact Honeycutt at ehoneycutt@mccls.org, (229) 985-6540, or visit thebasicscolquitt.org.