Hillsborough County program prepares children for school

TAMPA, Fla. - Raising happy, healthy, successful children isn’t easy and a Hillsborough County non-profit is lending parents a helping hand. 

Toddlers with the Champions for Children's Great We Grow Program learn skills to get ready for their first days of school. 

"So many of the experiences that the children have here are similar experiences that they will have when they enter BPK or kindergarten," said Lisa Elliott, Program Director Great We Grow program. 

"They get to do the routines and transitions like circle time, storytime, snack time with their parent present."

The goal is to help kids reach developmental milestones so that they won't fall behind when they enter school.

"What we know is if there is a hiccup in a child's development, early intervention is key. So if we observe a delay or a disability, we can connect them with the appropriate resources to help that family," Elliott explained. 

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Lina Gonzalez has enjoyed bonding with her 2-year-old daughter Sanara. 

"They give us a lot of activities here that I wouldn't think about doing at home sometimes," she said. "So like one day they just give us a paper with a whole bunch of little lollipop sticks and colors, and she was learning and practicing the colors with that." 

Besides helping children prepare for school, the classes also offer family support.  

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"Parenting is a hard job and the connections that they build here, the friendships is a support system, which is one of the core missions of Champions for Children, preventing child abuse and neglect," Elliott stated.  

The free classes are for everyone. 

"We have some classes that are strictly in Spanish, some classes that are in English. Any family with children from birth to age five years old can participate," Elliott said. 

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For Gonzalez, the participation has been life-changing. 

"I love being a mom. I'm loving being at home with her and I'm loving that I have the chance to come here and just enjoy her and see her grow and see her little smile every day when we leave here because she's happy," Lina said. 

There are more than 40 families in the program and now the program is looking to expand to Pinellas County.