The Innisfail Family Centre will hold its first anniversary celebration at the Library Learning Centre on Saturday morning when the Envision Children First Innisfail Coalition will present information about early childhood development in the community.
Innisfail has been involved in a five-year project to map early childhood development throughout Alberta. Information was collected on kindergarten children and compiled as part of the provincial government's Early Child Development Mapping Initiative (ECMap).
Information on childhood development in Innisfail has been categorized into five developmental areas that include physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and thinking skills and communication skills and general knowledge.
The Family Centre opened in 2012 as a result of the Envision Children First Innisfail Coalition's understanding of children's developmental needs. It is a place where parents with children five years old and younger can come together, play and interact with others. Children are free to read books, play games, do crafts or go on community field trips.
The family centre gives people with young children a supportive, safe place to interact, explained Enola Nygren, co-ordinator of the Innisfail Family Day Home Society and co-chair of the Envision Children First Innisfail Coalition.
“It brings families together,” she said.
The Family Centre is housed at the Dr. George Kemp House at the corner of 51st Avenue and 56th Street.
Family Centre co-ordinator Cindy Dunbar said it is a place where parents can connect with their children.
“They are very, very active with their kids here,” she said of local parents. “That connection is just as important for kids as the learning opportunities they have.”
The Family Centre's first-year celebration begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and runs through noon. It will include a free family breakfast, activities for children five years old and younger and a magic show. Results of the ECMap project will be presented. There will be an open house at the Family Centre following the event.
