Great Start Family Connect Newsletter for February 2022

Family Connect Update:  

What We're Up To Lately

Hi everyone!  I hope you're all doing well and surviving another cold Michigan winter!  It's been a while since I produced a newsletter, but I'm starting this back up!  This will be a good way for you to stay in the loop about what we're doing at the Gratiot-Isabella Great Start Family Connect, any upcoming family events, resources in the community, and helpful parenting things I've found online.  And if you haven't followed us on Facebook yet, hop on over there and like us to get awesome content daily!

There are a few big projects we're currently working on, but I especially want to spotlight our  Parent Café project!  Right now, we're in the planning process for a five-part series of Parent Cafés for the families of Gratiot and Isabella Counties.  The first one will be on March 7th, and the last one will wrap up just before the end of the school year.  Parent Cafés are safe spaces for parents and caregivers to relax, reflect, and talk about the joys and challenges of raising a family.  They're judgement-free zones where we share experiences and resources while learning from one another.  We'll also be providing lunch, a reimbursement for any childcare you might have to line up in order to attend, and there will be chances to win gift cards to Walmart and Meijer.  We're really excited about our topic, which is "Pandemic Parenting:  How Has the Pandemic Affected Your Parenting Life?", and I'm really excited to be holding Parent Cafés in person again!

Incidentally, the reason I'm even here in this position was because of a Parent Café.  A few years ago, I saw a flyer that came home in my daughter's backpack advertising a Parent Café that the Great Start Collaborative was putting on.  I had never heard of Great Start, but the topic (Parent Shaming) sounded compelling, there was going to be a lunch, and I happened to be free that day, so I signed up to participate.  The Parent Café was so much fun and the discussion was so good that I signed up to join the Parent Coalition (the same lovely group that we now call Family Connect, which is more inclusive of all types of families with kids).  The information I learned at the meetings each month was so interesting and impactful that I kept coming month after month, and a year or so later when the previous parent liaison moved on, I started thinking about how what it would look like if I stepped into this role.  After really thinking about it, making sure I would be able to do this simultaneously with my other roles and my other job (I'm also an organic vegetable farmer with a busy family business), and getting the blessing from my in-laws (who would be watching my kids even more than they already were), I jumped in!  And I'm so glad I did.  I love helping parents and caregivers grow their confidence and resilience, learn how to really enjoy their relationships with their kids, and just generally experience more joy in life.  I get to be involved with projects in the community that support and strengthen kids, parents, and families.  And I know for sure that I am a better mom because of what I have learned through this process.  Because we're all just figuring this parenting thing out as we go along, and we need a community around us as we walk down this path.  If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, definitely sign up to attend our Parent Café on March 7th, and get connected!

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, February 15th, 9-10 AM:  Family Connect Meeting!  We're going to be choosing the topics for the rest of the Parent Cafés, so let us know what you want to talk about! Here's the zoom link for the meeting! 

Saturday, February 19th, 9 AM-2 PM:  Mom2Mom sale in Shepherd!  If you've never been to a Mom2Mom sale, definitely check this out!  It's basically like a bunch of garage sales all in one place, all with kid stuff.  When my kids were little, I used to outfit them stylishly on a dime by attending a Mom2Mom sale twice a year.  Check out their Facebook event for more information!  I'll also be there handing out resources and signing people up for our free What's Next? Child Development kits, so stop by and say hi!

Monday, February 21st, 7-8:30 PM:  Regional Parent Café!  This is a virtual Parent Café that we do in conjunction with the other Great Start Parent Coalition in the Great Lakes Bay Region.  Parents and caregivers from Gratiot, Isabella, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Bay, and Saginaw counties come together on zoom to dig in to some great discussion questions!  This month's topic is Kindness and Compassion, so check out the Facebook event for more information!

Monday, March 7th, 11 AM-1 PM:  Gratiot-Isabella Family Connect Parent Café!  This is the one I was talking about above.  Fill out this form to sign up! 

Community Resource of the Month

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is an awesome program that sends free books to kids up to 4 years old each month!  You may have heard about how the legendary country singer, actress, and philanthropist has worked hard to promote early literacy and help kids become confident readers.  She started this program in her home county in Tennessee, and now it has spread to a bunch of different countries!  If you are interested in signing your child up to get a free book each month, check out this information about our local DPIL program here in Gratiot and Isabella Counties!  You can call or email Shelly Jones at the Gratiot-Isabella RESD, and she'll get you signed up!

Online Resource of the Month

If you've got very young kids (think babies, toddlers, or preschoolers), Zero to Three is a great resource for anything from setting limits for your kiddo to the role of grandparents and other family members in a child's life.  You can browse their parenting topics and learn more at their website!

Question of the Month

I would love to hear from you all and learn more about what's going on in your lives, so each month, I'll post a fun little question for you to answer!  You don't have to put your name on it unless you want to, and I'm not going to collect your contact information.  This is just your space to reflect, muse, vent, or whatever you need right now.  So here's this month's question:

If you could just snap your fingers and some problem in your life would be magically solved, what would it be?  Fill out this form to give me your answer and see other people's anonymous answers!