A community play group filled with games, stories, educational activities and free dental screenings, is open to any child 6 years and younger Friday morning on the Allen County Courthouse lawn.
The event is sponsored by Talk, Read, Play Allen County, a consortium of agencies that deal with early childhood education services.
The partnering agencies that make up Talk, Read, Play Allen County each have come up with different activities for Fridays event.
The hands-on activities are geared to promote creative playing experiences, and to offer an opportunity to connect between parents, grandparents or other caregivers and their children, explained Beth Toland, early childhood education specialist with Allen Community College. Allen is one of the participating agencies.
It gives them an opportunity to sit and play with their kids, and model good playing behavior, Toland said.
Meanwhile, the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will offer free dental screenings for each child who shows up.
The event runs from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on the courthouse lawn. The event will be rescheduled in case of rain.
Those who need transportation can contact Toland at (620) 901-6304 or toland@allencc.edu.
TALK, READ, Play focuses on the critical development in the first 2,000 days of a childs life, and how that development plays a large role in that childs future success.
The various services promote social and cognitive development through meaningful everyday interactions, according to the groups mission statement.
Other partners along with ACC and CHC are ChildCare Aware of Kansas and Eastern Kansas chapters, Greenbush Parents as Teachers and Birth to Three Services, the Iola Public Library, the Southeast Kansas Community Action Programs Early Head Start and Head Start programs, the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center and the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department.
