Chatham County Partnership for Children
Jennifer Wood and Cyntia Gutierrez
Family Support
Supporting caregivers as powerful early educators by creating joyful, play-based learning spaces that nurture child development and community connection.
Celebrating everyday moments of play and relationship-building to empower families in preparing children for lifelong learning and success.
How did it go?
This year, the Kaleidoscope Play and Learn program successfully provided welcoming, play-based learning experiences that promoted school readiness, early literacy, social-emotional development, and meaningful family engagement. A key success was the significant growth in consistent enrollment at the Goldston location, driven by intentional outreach, strong relationships with families, and high-quality programming that increased community awareness and participation. One challenge was helping families adjust to a more structured session format focused on guided learning rather than primarily free play. Over time, families embraced the new approach and recognized its value in strengthening caregiver engagement and supporting children’s development.
Successes
KPL Leads to Learning Success: Grandmother and Grandson Discover the Joy of Playgroups
After learning about KPL through Touch A Truck, a grandmother was excited to attend our playgroups. She attended her first play group after Touch A Truck and when she returned to the second play group she said that her grandson couldn’t stop talking about all the different activities that were provided and she loved that we incorporated education for parents with the different activities. She being a former educator said that sometimes she forgets the importance of talking to her grandson when he is playing but with the cards, she is given reminders and ideas. She loved the ABC search and match game that we created, her grandson used many different cognitive skills for that one activity!
Learning that Lasts: Nanny Adapts Playgroup Activities for Afterschool Enrichment
One of the nannies that attend the play group takes care of additional after school children. She let us know that she takes the ideas that we have implemented with in the playgroups to use with the afterschool children. She has copied that letter matching, pumpkin exploration, and scavenger hunts.
A Lifesaver for Both of Us: Playgroup Builds Community for Stay-at-Home Mom and her Child
A new caregiver who joined our playgroups is a stay at home mom who works on the homestead and doesn’t any family and very few friends. As she is stuck at home a lot, her youngest child doesn’t get a lot of other socialization with other children. KPL has been a life saver for both Mom and her child. He looks forward to coming to experience all the different activities and interact with children. Mom has made a network for support. She said that having the time to talk to others and learn from others during the week while her child is also learning is priceless.
This year we served 183 children and 163 caregivers!
