Family Activity

Family Support from the Start: A Community Baby Shower
Family Support from the Start: A Community Baby Shower 1200 900 Ann Frances Gregg

Family Support from the Start: A Community Baby Shower

On March 18, Way to Grow and Sabathani Community Center hosted a heartwarming Community Baby Shower. The event brought together local families to celebrate new and expecting parents with essential resources, education, and support. Both organizations highlighted the importance of family support programs and access to parenting education resources, which help create strong foundations for early childhood development.

Way to Grow CEO, Coco Du, shared her reflections on the day:

“The best part of my day? Attending Way to Grow’s Community Baby Shower and seeing our team in action! I’m so grateful for our dedicated staff who provided maternal health education, ensuring every family felt supported. When we support families, we build stronger, healthier communities together.”

“The best part of my day? Attending Way to Grow’s Community Baby Shower and seeing our team in action! I’m so grateful for our dedicated staff who provided maternal health education, ensuring every family felt supported. When we support families, we build stronger, healthier communities together.”
-Coco Du, CEO of Way to Grow

Growing Strong with Way to Grow

Way to Grow believes every child deserves a safe and healthy start. Through our Growing Strong program, we offer early childhood family support with one-on-one guidance from our Family Educators. Parents receive coaching on safe sleep, prenatal and postpartum stress management, bonding and attachment, and brain development. Our goal is to help families navigate healthcare, from scheduling well-child checkups to staying up to date on immunizations. Our Community Baby Showers extend this mission, ensuring parents have access to holistic family services and community support.

During the event, our team provided maternal health education in both English and Spanish, ensuring every parent felt supported. Families received essential baby supplies, including diaper bags, sleep sacks, and much more. Attendees and staff discussed the importance of creating safe and nurturing home environments for their children.

If you or someone you know would like to become a Way to Grow family, fill out a Family Interest Form and we’ll be in touch! When you join Way to Grow, you become part of our family. We will be there every step of the way, walking alongside you as your family grows.

Sabathani Community Center: Maternal Health Matters

As our co-host, Sabathani Community Center shared the resources they offer to community members. Their Maternal Health Matters program focuses on supporting Black individuals through pregnancy and postpartum care with parent coaching and guidance. Services include home visits, perinatal yoga, and growing access to childcare and family resources. Families can learn more about these family-centered learning programs at sabathani.org/maternal-health.

Addressing Maternal Health Disparities in Minnesota

Events like the Community Baby Shower are especially important in Minnesota, where maternal health outcomes vary significantly across racial and economic lines. While Minnesota ranks better than the national average in overall maternal health, the state faces significant disparities, particularly in access to general healthcare. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native mothers in the Midwest experience some of the largest inequities in maternal health outcomes compared to White mothers (Surgo Health, Maternal Vulnerability Index, 2024). By providing free, accessible education and support, Way to Grow and Sabathani Community Center are working to address these disparities and ensure that every family—regardless of background—has the knowledge and resources needed for a healthy start.

Looking Ahead

A huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible, from our dedicated team members to the incredible families who joined us. Congratulations to all the growing families on their newest, precious arrivals! We look forward to continuing this work and strengthening parent-child relationships through community programs for parents.

For more information on Way to Grow and our home visiting programs for families, visit waytogrow.org.

For media inquiries, please contact: 
Melissa Meyer 
Vice President of Development 
mmeyer@mplswaytogrow.org 
612-874-4740 

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Celebrating Way to Grow’s Kindergarten Class
Celebrating Way to Grow’s Kindergarten Class 2508 1881 Way to Grow

Happy Graduation to our kindergarteners!

Way to Grow is so proud to celebrate and encourage all our students who are starting school this week.

At the end of August, we gathered for our Early Learner Celebration with all of our families and children heading to kindergarten. The event was a wonderful moment to honor the hard work of our parents, caregivers, Family Educators, and of course—our scholars! Alongside Way to Grow’s CEO Carolyn Smallwood, each child bravely walked across the Mall of America® stage to receive their diploma.

After the ceremony, we shared a delicious lunch together, complete with mac and cheese, sliders, cookies, and lemonade. Crayola® provided crayons and coloring sheets for our families, and each family received an exclusive MOA coupon book. Thanks to the generosity of the Ciresi Walburn Foundation, our scholars had the chance to hand-pick a selection of brand new books for their home library, including favorites like The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster, The Sour Grape, and beloved classics like Pete the Cat.

Nichole, Way to Grow’s Manager of Education, shares: “Our Early Learning celebration is a reflection of our commitment to our youngest learners. We’re celebrating the work our families have done to lay the foundation for long-term reading success.”

This celebration highlighted the dedication of Way to Grow families, preschool teachers, and our Family Educators in preparing our children for a bright future. We are so proud of our students and excited for all the great things ahead! To our brand-new kindergarteners: you got this!

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Turning Pages, Changing Lives: Celebrating Literacy at Mall of America
Turning Pages, Changing Lives: Celebrating Literacy at Mall of America 612 458 Way to Grow

Turning Pages, Changing Lives: Celebrating Literacy at Mall of America

Way to Grow’s “Turning Pages, Changing Lives” event, in partnership with the Mall of America Community Foundation, brought nearly 500 people together to celebrate literacy and early education.

The day was filled with things to do: live storytelling, coloring sheets and materials provided by Crayola®, Nickelodeon Universe® character meet-and-greets, and family activities! We heard from local authors, including Sarah Warren, Art Coulson, Nicholas DeShaw, Monica Rojas, Ty Chapman, Arkita Tyner, and Kao Kalia Yang.

Each Way to Grow scholar received a Ciresi Walburn “Reading is My Superpower” bag filled with books, a Nickelodeon Universe® All Day Wristband, a Mall of America® Coupon Book, and a Barnes & Noble Summer Reading List.

Chelsea Delong from Way to Grow shared, “There were so many activities for Way to Grow families and mall guests to participate in. It was heartwarming to see so many Way to Grow kids with bright yellow bags and new books all around the mall.”

The event’s success was made possible by the support of the Mall of America Community Foundation, Picture Book Parade, Barnes & Noble, and the Ciresi Walburn Foundation. This day of fun, learning, and community brought the joy of reading to life!

  • Maren Nelson
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Family Fun: Post-It Note Games
Family Fun: Post-It Note Games 800 350 Maren Nelson

Keep learning year-round with indoor actives like this! Sent to us by our Preschool Pals teachers, you can adapt the game to different skill levels.

You will need: 
A blank wall or door (or even the front of the refrigerator), sticky notes, marker. 

Step 1:
Write each letter of the alphabet on a different sticky note, and put them on the wall or door.
 
Step 2: 
Ask the child to identify the letter, spell words, or find the letter based on its sound. 
 
Download instructions for identifying the letter, matching letters, alliteration, and spelling and rhyming for even more fun!

Download the instructions here!
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Family Fun: Cheerio Bird Feeders
Family Fun: Cheerio Bird Feeders 3334 1459 Way to Grow

It can be hard to find fun activities to keep kids busy indoors during the cold winter months. Tap into their creativity and watch some local wildlife together with these bird feeders! 

You will need: 
Cheerios, floral wire or pipe cleaners, ribbon or string for hanging

Step 1:
Shape your wire first – our example uses hearts, but you can twist it into other fun shapes, too!
 
Step 2: 
Thread the Cheerios on the wire.  
 
Step 3:
Twist the ends of the wire together to close the shape and keep the Cheerios in place.
 
Step 4:
Hang it up outside near a window and enjoy watching the birds that come for a snack, or make it educational by helping your children identify the birds and learning about them together!

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Family Fun: Wax Crayon Resist Art
Family Fun: Wax Crayon Resist Art 3334 1459 Way to Grow

It can be hard to find fun activities to keep kids busy indoors during the cold winter months. Tap into their creativity with this fun snowflake art! 

You will need: 
white wax crayon, white paper, watercolor paint, paint brush, cup of water, salt

Step 1:
Draw a design on a white piece of paper with a white crayon. (This is perfect for snowflakes or a snowman!)
 
Step 2: 
Choose a color (or several!) to paint on your drawing. Be sure to paint over all your crayon designs. They will pop against the colorful background! 
 
Step 3:
For extra pizzazz, sprinkle some salt over your painting while it’s still wet. This creates a beautiful and unique effect when mixed with the watercolor paint.
 
Step 4:
Let your painting dry and enjoy!

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Family Fun: Fall Leaves Hand Tree
Family Fun: Fall Leaves Hand Tree 3334 1459 Way to Grow

Believe it or not, it’s still fall! If you miss those beautiful colors, our Preschool Pals staff has a great activity for you to do with your family!

You will need: 
paper, pencil, scissors, markers (or any coloring/painting tool), toilet paper/paper towel roll
 
Step 1:
Trace your hands with the pencil. The more hands you trace, the fuller your tree will be. We recommend 3-5 hands.
 
Step 2: 
Choose your favorite fall leaf colors and color your whole hand. You can practice staying in the lines as an extra challenge or choose to go over the line to make sure every part of your hand is colored.
 
Step 3:
Cut out your hands along the line you traced.
 
Step 4:
Cut two 1-inch slits on either side of the top of your toilet paper roll.
 
Step 5: 
Place your cut-out “leaf” hands in the slits of your toilet paper roll. Arrange the hands so that the tree looks full of leaves. 
 
Step 6:
Enjoy your new fall tree!

  • Maren Nelson
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Family Fun: On the hunt!
Family Fun: On the hunt! 1080 1920 Maren Nelson

Run out of ideas for your kids this summer? Our preschool staff has you covered with a scavenger hunt bingo game!

Supplies:

Download and print off this bingo card and grab a marker.

What to do:

Go on a walk around your neighborhood or anywhere you could find these items. Look around carefully and encourage your child to identify items on the card, as well as the different things you encounter. Encourage older children to lead the hunt by thinking about where specific items can be found, and increase the difficulty by setting a timer. When you’ve found an item, cross it off on the card.

BINGO!

You’ve won when you find five items in a line (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal), or continue until you have found every item. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy your adventure together!

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