News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Besides celebrating National Aboriginal Day and holding a year-end picnic at Scout Island for 120 kids, StrongStart is looking forward to a new program for children ages 0-5 and their families in September.

New in September will be ‘Rhyme and Storytime’ for children and their parents. The program will be offered at school that don’t have StrongStart, and will be held weekly in school libraries

Children at StrongStart celebrated National Aboriginal Day this year with an introduction to First Nations drumming, and enjoyed the opportunity to explore the unique sound of the Aboriginal drum. There was also a large crowd at Scout Island for the StrongStart year-end picnic, where children and families got to tour the Scout Island Nature House, build sand castles, have fun with bubbles, tattoos, scavenger hunts, an obstacle course and various crafts.

The StrongStart program goes throughout the school year, with three full-time centres at schools in the District and four outreach centres in the Williams Lake area. “The focus of the program is to enhance early learning and development, encourage social skills and help children and their parents become comfortable in a school setting,” explained Joan Lozier, Early Years Itinerate Teacher for School District #27.

“Our facilitators help provide a model for parents on how to handle difficult behaviour---it gives them good ideas for working with their kids, and helps find fun ideas to help with their kids’ development at home.”

StrongStart will re-open throughout the District on September 9.

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