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Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Southcoast Health, People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE) is launching a new program to help preschool children and their parents get ready for the transition to school prior to the first day.
The POP, or Playing On Purpose, program is a series of four interactive parent-child play sessions developed by Kelly Rodriguez, MSW, LCSW, CCLS, of Early Childhood Consultation, to assist PACE staff in helping families become familiar with the schedule and routine of the preschool classroom. The POP sessions provide an opportunity for parents to learn more about their child’s social and emotional development, as well as gain strategies to enhance the child’s learning at home.
“Young children learn best through play,” said Ms. Rodriguez. “The POP program was designed to help parents learn how to use play to best support their child’s social and emotional development. Children who have a strong foundation in social and emotional skills are most likely to have a successful transition to the preschool classroom.”
Ten children in seven families attended the four morning sessions held at two PACE locations in August. Monthly sessions will be planned for the school year.
“We appreciate Southcoast Health’s generosity in providing funding for this opportunity to improve programming for our New Bedford Head Start families,” said PACE Head Start Director Jill Fox. “POP groups teach children the social skills necessary for a successful adjustment to school and teach parents the skills necessary to support the child’s learning and school readiness.”
PACE Head Start has been recognized by the Administration for Children and Families as a Program of Excellence and has been accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs (NAEYC).
The Southcoast Health awards grants totaling up to $125,000 to non-profit organizations that are working to address unmet health needs in the South Coast region through its Community Benefits Impact Opportunity program. Southcoast Health’s annual Community Benefits Impact Opportunity program is part of larger community benefits efforts which positively impact hundreds of thousands of esidents on the South Coast. In 2016, Southcoast Health invested a total of $18.8 million in community benefits.
