Over the course of several weeks from mid July to early August, I partnered with the South Madison Family Resource Center Director to bring Laugh and Learn playdates to two local elementary schools.  This program focused on kindergarten readiness and targeted students who would be enrolling in Kindergarten this fall, as well as children who were eligible to enroll in Preschool as well. The students were engaged in activities that encouraged social skills, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, promoted language skills, encouraged focus, introduced literacy concepts, introduced basic math concepts, and incorporated a healthy snack.  Some tasks or activities required teamwork and imaginative play as well, to create a well rounded atmosphere for the students and assist them in their transition to kindergarten coming up in just a few days.  My FCS assistants and the FRC assistant also helped conduct activities with the children as well. 

We served 25 students and their families with materials and activities to encourage positive child development and healthy nutritional choices with SNAP-Ed supplemental materials as well as some other resources.  After each lesson, the children took home a new age appropriate book for their personal library, any crafts that they made during the session, their snack, and of course the knowledge and skills that they gained by participating in our program.  

Parents reported that they loved this time that their children spent with us in Laugh and Learn and with the other children who participated.  They noted that it enabled their child to feel more confident around people outside their immediate family group and the other children, as well as encouraged them to try new things or build skills that they had not previously had access to.  Several of the families reported that their children enjoyed their time with us and brought their student back for 2 or more sessions.  

At the end of the 8 sessions, the FRC put together personalized backpacks for each student with some back to school basic materials for the students to take home, such as paper, pencils, folders, crayons, etc.  We have extended this collaborative effort with the South Madison FRC as well as picked up the Waco Elementary FRC to extend the reach of this program throughout the 2021-2022 school  year.