Yessenia Rivera

Good evening everybody. Thanks for being here to support all the families who attend Family Connections. My name is Yessenia Rivera and I’ll tell you about my experience at Family Connections. We started attending to Family Connections in the year 2005 with my son Aaron. At that time, he was only 2 and one half years old. At Family Connections, we feel like we are part of a big family where everybody helps each other and where we can see our kids grow socially, emotionally and physically. Here is where our kids make their first friends and start loving their teachers and classmates. I have experienced the importance for child to attend to a pre-school. I can see the difference between my older son and my little Aaron. Ángel, my older son, never attended a preschool. Ángel, at 3 and one half years old was not able to speak clearly and fluently. Instead Aaron who attends Family Connections, can communicate his ideas clearly and in English and Spanish. There is also a difference, in the way they both socialize with other kids in a group or in the play ground.

Now I can see the benefit of participating with your kids in a preschool. At Family Connections I learned how to make routines, take time with each of my kids and to discipline them in a positive way. Family Connection is a blessing for our families.

Thanks to each person of the staff, volunteers and the sponsors for your donations. God bless you and good evening.

Julio Rivera

Good evening. My name is Julio Rivera. I am a Hispanic parent with 2 kids and my beloved wife. The life of a working father like me has many duties. One of them is to be part of the education of my kids. It was kind of blurry to see that the education of my children was important in the very early stage of their lives before I came to family connections. My second son started going to Family Connections when he was 2. He was exposed to talking and expressing his ideas with other children in a preschool very early in his life.

My wife also came home with a lot of ideas on how to get involved in the development of our sons since we came to Family Connections. I was able to participate in activities such as building a book case. My children were excited about it and felt proud of their creation. Now they were able to read a book and store it back in the bookcase that they have built. It was an experience that gave them confidence.

Another important experience we have at Family Connections is the field trips such as the trip to the zoo. That trip helped children in their understanding of new ideas and concepts. An elephant is not anymore a picture. An elephant is now a real animal with a real size, with a few disgusting behaviors and with a strong odor. For little children seeing such a huge animal like provides a strong impact on their senses. They can use those memories to keep them focus while reading a book about animals. My second son Aaron is surprising us with new ideas every day. He is very fluent in both Spanish and English. He is learning to recognize some letters by now. I am sure that he will develop the skill to read and write fluently in less than 6 months. He is already writing his name with some misspellings.

Preschool Education makes a difference in the life of a child. The advantages are many. A strong foundation at an early age is an advantage that all children need to be successful. It is the strong foundation that this nation needs to provide to every child.

Maggally Duarte

Good evening everybody. Research tells us that the first years of life present a tremendous opportunity to lay a strong learning foundation before children start kindergarten because of their fast brain development. Children who go to a quality preschool do better in K-12 and they are more likely to graduate from high school.

My name is Maggally Duarte. My son Angel and I have been in Family Connections for one year. We are so happy to have the opportunity to attend a free preschool. My son is enjoying school a lot. Through playing, singing, reading, doing art, and some other fun activities he is learning numbers, concepts, colors, shapes. He is also increasing his vocabulary in English and Spanish as well, since the program is bilingual. He has developed his fine and gross motor skills while cutting, pasting, coloring, drawing, pedaling a bicycle, climbing, running, jumping, scooping sand, etc. Angel is making friends. This means he is socializing. He is working on expressing his feelings to others, on taking turns, and on problem solving. But most of all Angel is having fun at school.

I am also grateful for my experience at Family Connections! In our meetings we have seen many interesting parenting topics, such as, toilet training, behavioral problems, nutrition, information about kindergartens, and some other subjects that we as parents were interested in discussing. These are some of the reasons why Angel and I are really glad to be part of Family Connections Program. Now I am confident that my son will graduate from High School. Thank you.