Family, Friends and Neighbors Who Care for Young Children End of Year Celebration!

Stratford Parents’ Place (SPP) recently celebrated another successful year of its Family, Friends and Neighbors program. Over 15 childcare providers attended this year’s celebration which included a dinner and a raffle for prizes such as toys and equipment which were all generously donated to Parents’ Place through the Junior Women’s League of Stratford as well as parents and other community partners. There were many smiling faces that night and many reasons to be proud of their efforts and participation in the program.

The program, made possible by funding provided by the United Way of Fairfield County, reaches out to families, friends or neighbors in Stratford who provide child care in their homes for young children, including grandparents and home based daycares. Through this project, Stratford Parents’ Place is able to offer a lending library of learning bags, ongoing provider outreach and support by a certified parent educator; a home visiting program focusing on child development information; and monthly provider/child activity sessions held at Parents’ Place.

Providers who sign up for the Family, Friends, and Neighbors program can decide how much support they want or feel is necessary for their childcare program. Some of the providers have started to learn more about Connecticut’s Early Learning and Development Standards, (CT ELDS). The CT ELDS are statements of what children from birth to age five should know and be able to do across the earliest years of development. By introducing these standards to childcare providers, it helps to look at the children in their care, and think about activities they can incorporate into their daily routines to promote development and learning. Monica Larzaro, a Stratford home-based childcare provider states that with the help of Stratford Parents’ Place, and learning more about the CT ELDS, she has been able to create a rich educational environment that fosters her children’s desire to explore, take risks and ultimately learn.

Many of the providers state that it is the ongoing support and connection to Migda Carrero, Parent Educator who oversees the program, has been the biggest benefit for them. ‘Having access to a resource that I can call anytime to come out and help me brainstorm ideas and ways to manage a child’s behavior is so helpful’, states one participant in the program. Another looks forward to this annual celebration as well as the monthly provider/activity sessions to meet with and see other Stratford Providers.

Stratford Parents’ Place, a family resource center, located at Stratford Academy/Johnson House, 719 Birdseye Street is a program of the Stratford Public Schools. All programs and services are for Stratford residents. For more information about this exciting program, please call Migda Carrero, Stratford Parents’ Place at 203-381-6992 or carrerom@stratfordk12.org.