Maine Families in Knox County Newsletter, April/July 2023
Happy spring to all of our partners in the community!
Here is how Maine Families Midcoast wrapped up the Winter:
Group Connections
A central focus of our program is to connect participating families to each other and to their wider community. We try to offer a variety of options so that parents who have different schedules can all attend. This Winter we hosted a lullaby group on Zoom, an in person yoga class for parents and children, and have been hosting regular get togethers at the Coastal Children’s Museum. One of our participants remarked that they didn’t know there was a children’s museum in Rockland. As a preventative program that focuses on strengthening protective factors, connecting to the community is essential. Here is a photo of our recent fun!
Activity Spotlight
Another one of the core elements of our program is developmentally appropriate activities that help children hone their early skills in four domains: motor, language, cognitive, and social-emotional. Our home visitors prepare an activity to share each time we visit with a family and then reflect on what parents noticed. Below are two activities and their age ranges that a visitor recently completed with families. It is clear how much the little ones love these activities and it supports parents in feeling more confident in their abilities to help their children learn.
Ball in a Bowl Activity (5½ to 8 months)
This activity focuses on exploring cause and effect. The child is learning that they can use the small muscles in their hands to make things move and bang them to make noise.
Block Activity (24 to 36 months)
This activity focuses on a child learning about spatial awareness when they stack three or more blocks to make a tower. Building blocks requires eye-hand coordination and awareness of balance.
Thank you to all of our community partners for continuing to uplift our work and spread the word about Maine Families! See you next time!
— Hannah Pennington, Claudia Williamson, and GG
This brief newsletter will go out quarterly and will keep providers up to date on what is happening within our program. It is being provided by three Parent Education Professionals who cover Knox and Lincoln Counties: Hannah Pennington, Parent Educator, Maine Families in Knox and Lincoln Counties; Claudia Williamson, Parent Education Professional/Maine Families Visitor, Knox County; and Gretchen Gee (GG), Parent Education Professional, Knox and Lincoln Counties. If you think of someone who would benefit from receiving this newsletter please share it with them.