Head Start hosts family fun night
COSHOCTON – It might have looked like they were just playing, but every activity at Head Start’s family night had a purpose.
“All the teachers turn in activities that meet educational standards,” said Kris Unger, family community engagement manager for Head Start /Early Head Start. “Plus the families are getting to bond and connect with other families.”
The Winter Wonderland Family Fun Night for all of Head Start’s clients from pregnant moms to children 5-years-old was held Jan. 28 at the hilltop location. Children and their families had dinner together and then visited stations set up by the teachers.
Many of the activities helped with fine and large motor skills and some were sensory related. Others, like the one set up by the teacher’s from the Coshocton County Career Center site, were designed to work on literacy. They helped students make snowmen out of small paper plates and write the letters of their first name on each one.
“We have a good time with this,” said Sue Scott, who teaches at the Career Center site. “It’s fun to watch the kids. Everything we did tonight went with a winter theme including the books the children got tonight. It’s nice to be able to get a book into the kids’ hands for them to take home and read with their parents.”
Jeff Gates enjoyed the evening with his 3-year-old daughter Ava Gates, whose mother Lori Gates is a Head Start teacher.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten to come with her, but she’s been to family night before with her grandmother,” he said. “It’s nice to see all the teachers and the different crafts the kids get to make and take home.”
Jeff also liked that some of the activities were made out of materials that parents might already have at home and would be low cost to make. One example of this is the “snow” that children played in, which is simply nine cups of flour mixed with 1 ¼ cups baby/mineral oil.
“It’s a good stress reliever,” Unger said.
Health and Nutrition Manager Brenda Bissett got to take in the activities with her 20 month old grandson Ayden Bissett.
“It’s a nice event for interaction,” Brenda said.
Head Start does three family fun nights and then wraps up the year with a carnival.
“We don’t just serve children,” Unger said. “We serve the whole family.”
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories celebrating Head Start’s 50th anniversary.
josie@coshoctonncountybeacon.com
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