Grant from Lucile and David Packard Foundation helps fund
monthly group
First 5 San Benito is launching its new Family Wellness Program
with two events in October that are open to residents with children
from newborn to 5 years old.
Families are invited to attend the Health, Fun and Fitness Fair
on Oct. 21 at Mi Escuelita Preschool in San Juan Bautista, at 11
a.m., or Oct. 26 at Tres Pinos Elementary School at 1:30 p.m.
Grant from Lucile and David Packard Foundation helps fund monthly group
First 5 San Benito is launching its new Family Wellness Program with two events in October that are open to residents with children from newborn to 5 years old.
Families are invited to attend the Health, Fun and Fitness Fair on Oct. 21 at Mi Escuelita Preschool in San Juan Bautista, at 11 a.m., or Oct. 26 at Tres Pinos Elementary School at 1:30 p.m.
After the initial launch, the program will include monthly playgroups with health and developmental screenings; fitness activities; read-aloud literacy programs; as well as a parent education series that will give parents information on how they can be their child’s first teacher. Each program will be offered in a bilingual setting. Lisa Faulkner, the First 5 San Benito executive director, said the monthly programs may be expanded to other schools, but she is still working out the details with some principals.
The program is funded through the California Prop 10 funding (a cigarette tax that goes toward early childhood education) as well as a $50,000 grant from the Lucile and David Packard Foundation.
The monthly meetings are a shift from San Benito First 5’s past programs that focused largely on children ages 3 to 5.
“Funding was just decreasing,” Faulkner said. “We could do the same things or we could do something with a higher impact and do more with less.”
For several years, the commission has funded a rural mobile preschool, but the goal now is to incorporate services for younger children as well as the 3- to 5-year-olds they have served and parents.
“We want to serve 0 to 5 with monthly meetings and we want to do play groups for all areas,” Faulkner said. “We were focused on developmental outcomes and school readiness. Now we are looking at the whole child. It is important to engage the parents. We want to make sure their (children) daily needs are met.”
Faulkner said that the shift to focusing on health in addition to education and including the younger ages opens the agency up for more grant opportunities.
“Grant-wise, if we pick up 0 to 3 and health, we pick up a whole pool of resources,” she said. “It’s everything we were doing, but we put it into one multi-goal program.”
The October events will offer medical, vision, hearing and dental screening for children from birth to 5 years of age, and their families. Project partner Salud Para La Gente will be on site to provide free vaccinations and dental cleanings.
“If we have healthy children, we will have happy, well-educated citizens,” said Marni Friedman, a family physician and a First 5 commissioner, in a press release. “Think of vaccines as a ‘wanted poster.’ They teach your immune system what the diseases look like so that it can fight them off effectively. Immunizations prevent both diseases that are common and diseases that are rare, but hard to treat.”
During the health fairs, one goal is to connect families with a primary care provider. They will be given information on why regular health care is important and a list of local providers.
“Having a primary care provider makes it easier to keep track of your child’s health records,” Friedman said. “A doctor who knows your child can give better care. Even if your baby or child seems fine, schedule a visit with his or her health care provider. Young bodies are vulnerable and need regular check-ups.”
Workshops are another important component of the program for the parents, while the children are engaged in a fitness program and literacy activities. The parents will learn how they can work with their children at home to prepare them for school, such as how to read aloud to kids to help them learn to read later.
Faulkner said that though the October health fairs are open to any families, the agency is recruiting families whose children have not had any early learning experience.
“That’s a time when kids are learning self-regulation,” Faulkner said, explaining that during the monthly playgroups students will have to follow directions during the fitness activity or during circle time. “It’s what makes a difference in class management. And then in turn it benefits all students. This should make an impact.”
Health, Fun and Fitness Fair
Families are invited to attend the Health, Fun and Fitness Fair Oct. 21, at Mi Escuelita Preschool in San Juan Bautista, at 11 a.m., or on Oct. 26, at Tres Pinos Elementary School, at 1:30 p.m.
The October events will offer medical, vision, hearing and dental screening for children from birth to 5 years of age, and their families. Project partner Salud Para La Gente will be onsite to provide free vaccinations and dental cleanings.
For more information on First 5’s Family Wellness Program, call 634-2050 or e-mail [email protected].
‘A Healthy Child’
As part of the Family Wellness Program, the First 5 San Benito County commissioners will be sharing “A Healthy Child: Tips to Remember” once a month in the Weekend Pinnacle Life section. See this week’s tip in the Life section.
