A team of volunteers and staff at the conference registration table

By Barbara Vita —

On Thursday November 7, 2019 I was asked to present at the Westbrook Early Childhood Forum held at Daisy Ingraham School in Westbrook. The forum was shaped through the hard work and diligent efforts of Alyssa Lindquist, the Director of the Westbrook Early Childhood Council.

I was approached by Alyssa to present on the Triple P Parenting Program (Positive, Parenting, Program) and was glad to do so! Attendees had the opportunity to choose two workshops in which to participate. Some workshop choices included topics such as Developing an Inclusive Classroom, Understanding Sensory Processing in Children, Meaningful Circle Time, What Does it Look Like?, Understanding Food Allergies, Features of Second Language Acquisition in Young Children, and Mindfulness 101. Workshops took place before and after a delicious dinner where many raffle prizes were awarded to participants. Alyssa wrote about this,

The looks on the winners’ faces were priceless. I love giving back to those who do the courageous work of working with children…

Alyssa Lindquist, Coordinator, Westbrook Early Childhood Council with Barbara Vita, CT Children’s Collective

Childcare for participants’ children was also provided with music and move-ment activities, a pizza dinner, and ended with sensory play. One woman spoke very fondly of the annual forum, expressing how she always left having learned something completely new that helped her become a better parent. I was struck with the truly collaborative spirit of this event. The school staff was so sup-portive and excited to be hosting, the principal was clearly proud of and grateful to Alyssa. Custodial and cafeteria staff pitched in along with teachers, parents, and community volunteers to make this event such a success! Alyssa summed it up quite nicely, “It takes a village and I am so thankful for mine.” Kudos to the village in Westbrook!