-Maya Angelou

COMMUNITY:

OUR MISSION:
Family Enhancement works with parents to strengthen families so that children will become healthy, capable, and responsible adults, ready to raise and support future generations of children.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Parents Place-North
7/9/2008

Shore to Shore Parent Education/Support Group
7/10/2008

FUNZONE!
7/11/2008

Parents Place-West
7/14/2008

FunZone

When you enter the , you become immediately overcome with happiness and excitement. Toys, dolls, musical instruments, giggles and smiles are everywhere. It is here that parents help the movers and the shakers, the adventuresome, and the imaginative learn and explore. Environments and playthings are critical for nurturing the stimulation of learning and also provide teaching tools for parents that can be used in their own living environments to help promote school readiness and lifelong learning:

• Social skill building by interacting with other children
• Books with bright, colorful pictures starts early literacy and language development in babies. For younger toddlers, books with numbers, colors, songs and pictures can introduce concepts such as up/down, big/little or in/out. Older toddlers begin to memorize and identify what they have seen in books with what they see around them.
• Critical thinking skills develop in the first year of life as babies learn about cause/effect and early math/logic concepts. Figuring out when one size or shape does not fit into a bucket and another does, teaches problem solving. Young toddlers learn the difference between a ball being thrown to the ground and bouncing versus a block or doll being thrown. Pretending that a block can be something else demonstrates an older toddler’s understanding of symbols.

Play zones within the include:

• Dramatic Play zone—make believe and pretend play, housekeeping, dress-up clothes, and dolls
• Arts and Crafts zone—paint, sand, water, and other “messy” materials on shelving that are accessible for parents and children
• Quiet zone—an area with bookshelves full of books, games, puzzles and learning activities where children can have quiet time for reading, working a puzzle, alone or with parents.
• Small Motor Skill zone—Legos and other small manipulative toys
• Block zone—a section of blocks that is shared with trucks, trains and other transportation toys
• Pillow zone—big, soft pillows for children to bounce off of and relax on top of them
• Infant zone—carpeted, safe gated area with rocking chairs, swing and age appropriate toys and music
• Snack and sink zone—tables and chairs, a sink for washing up.

Parents benefit by coming to the because it provides opportunities to:

• Ask questions of our parent educator who shares information that supports how parents want to guide their children through early ages and stages
• Decrease feelings of isolation by meeting and interacting with other parents attending the FunZone thereby building networks of support among each other
• Find handouts in the parent information corner on topics such as toilet teaching, bedtime routines and limit setting.

The has utilized research-based concepts in creating environments that provide learning experiences that influence brain development and ultimately lead to success in school. Research shows that environments designed to prepare children for school also helps cut the rate at which children will be abused or neglected by parents or caregivers.

"Children learn best through their everyday experiences with the people they love and trust, and when the learning is fun."

Getting Ready for School Begins at Birth.

Click here for a calendar of FunZone activities