With fall in full-swing, many families are gearing up for special holiday traditions.  The same is true for the Head Start program at Futures Unlimited, Inc. in Wellington.

Each fall the preschool has a special event called Fall Feast, which hosts parents for a meal with their child! This year's event took place on November 24th.  It was a Hawaiian-themed meal which included ham, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and Hawaiian rolls.

The children busily made the invitations, and a field trip to the grocery store was a highlight.  Each go with a card in hand listing which item they are responsible for getting.  On the day of the event, children help with food preparations, whether it's tearing apart broccoli florets, buttering bread or setting the table.  Observing their teacher cutting a pineapple provided the opportunity to talk about the way the fruit looks, feels, smells and where it grows.

               

On the day of the event, the preschool was bustling with proud children as they welcomed their family members, showed off the meal they helped prepare and the classroom they helped decorate. Once sitting down to eat, one child, remembering the field trip to the grocery store and his assigned item asked, “are we eating my rolls?”

 

Socializations: Play, Learn and Literacy!

"Playgroup is a great place to go for parent interaction and to allow the children to socialize while experiencing educational play." - Erin Shore, parent

Early Head Start socializations are a wonderful opportunity for children and parents to play  together.  Developmental activites geared towards infants and toddlers are presented, but what really makes our socializations successful is our staff!

 

We are really fortunate that our staff have such a passion for the work they do.  They understand how to bridge the home visits to socializations.  The energy of their relationship with parents helps make these events a success.

 

Parents are able to network and share both their fun and challenging stories of parenting.  An educational topic and resource is presented at each meeting.  Parents routinely help with snack menu planning and help promote the importance of nutrition.  Teeth brushing always follows snack time - and that is where the fun really starts!  This can be a little tricky, but after a few learning experiences, it becomes a fine are!

 

Staff has learned how to individuatlize their interaction with parents more over the past few years.  At a socialization, the family involvemtn specialist may speak briefly with them about the developmental goal they have been working on with their child during home visits.  This lets the parents know that staff is listening and supporting them even when we are not in their home.

 

We are very proud to have children with special needs participate!  The tiny-k team has been very instrumental in providing supportive techniques.  This has helped staff learn more about making those adaptations to better serve the child in a group setting.

 

Futures Unlimited, Inc. serves families in Sumner County.  Visit www.futures-unlimited.org to find out more!