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Early childhood education celebrated this week in M.L.

May 28, 2018 | 12:00 PM

It’s officially Early Childhood Intervention Program Week in the city, and Early Childhood Services Executive Director Deb Coupland said her organization will celebrate the occasion at their annual barbecue June 1.

The event will take place at the Alliance Church, at 805 Fifth St. W. A barbecue, face-painting, bubbles, games, and a bouncy castle will be set up, and a car seat clinic will also take place.

“It’s to celebrate our families, our agencies, our community,” Coupland said.

The organization offers programs tailored to assist families with children up to age six, Coupland said. The program is a home-visit-based initiative which helps children with developmental delays. They connect families with other support organizations and also help families build daily routines. Early Childhood Services Meadow Lake also has a licenced childcare facility for preschool-aged children and a rural outreach program.

“Our goal is to help parents and their children reach their full potential,” Coupland said.

Last year Early Childhood Services added the Specialized Supports Initiative for on and off-reserve Indigenous families, which Coupland said has been a great success. The initiative has been expanded to include school-aged children as well. 

“This initiative has helped eliminate gaps in services,” Coupland said. “It’s in the Meadow Lake area and farther north, like La Loche, Île-à-la-Crosse, Patuanak, and others. We actually have full caseloads right now and we’re considering requesting more funding so we can connect with more families. We’re still continuing to help people in the meantime though.”

The car seat safety clinic will be offered by a staff member who is certified on how to properly install the seats, Coupland said, and members of the public will be able to pull their vehicles up to get assistance.

 

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @ReporterKath

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated with a change in venue.