PEPS Programs - 2011 Year in Review
~ By Mary Power, PEPS Program Director
PEPS has been serving families with newborns since 1983 and it is our core program. We will always work to serve more families with our newborn program and we are constantly improving our newborn program curriculum, speakers list, leader training and processes. At the same time, we realize that not every family can join PEPS when their child is a newborn, and also that in our area lots of families with babies and young children are moving to the area all of the time – they need PEPS too! In 2011 we expanded our program offerings to serve families beyond just those with newborn babies.
Early in 2011 we launched Second Time Around for parents of two or more children, who want to attend a group with just their new baby. In this group parents can take the time to focus on their new baby, but also talk about what it is like to add a new baby to the family when you already have one or more children. We held four sessions of this new group, two in Wallingford and two in University Village at the Bright Horizons.
Our other option for families with two children is the Little Peppers Group, which is for families who have two children under the age of three. Little Peppers is one of the only places you can take both your toddler and your newborn and meet and get support from other families with children the same age. Our Little Peppers leader sets up play stations to keep the toddlers engaged so that the parents can have time for discussion. We offered 13 sessions of Little Peppers in Wallingford, Bellevue and West Seattle.
We expanded the locations of our Baby Peppers Groups, which serve families with 5-12 month olds. Through our partnership with Bright Horizons we were able to bring Baby Peppers to West Seattle and Redmond. We also developed a partnership with Twirl Café in Queen Anne that allows us to hold Baby Peppers there, and added sessions at the Phinney Neighborhood Center and the Parent Trust classroom in Mountlake Terrace. Along with our continued offering at the KidsQuest Museum in Bellevue, this brought our offerings of Baby Peppers to 17 Groups in 2011.
Another program that we launched as a pilot last year and which has found success is the PEPS @ Microsoft Group. This group is comprised of Microsoft employees who are returning to work after adding to their family, and the group focuses their discussions on the back-to-work transition and work/life balance. After 4 successful sessions in 2011, this group will be offered 6 times in 2012.
PEPS is constantly striving to serve families with babies and young children and after a very successful expansion of our programs in 2011, we look forward to serving even more families in 2012!
