Story Published: Mar 19, 2008 at 6:03 PM PDT
For homeless kids or those at risk of becoming homeless, those can be hard skills to learn.
We show you now, how a local family center is switching gears to give young children a better chance at school, and life.
"You just push it down and the rock flies out," explains one of the kids at First Place Family Center, trying to tell us how a toy cannon works.
Something remarkable is happening at the Kids Center, part of the First Place facility operated by St. Vincent de Paul Society in Eugene.
Director Jake Spavins of the Child Development Center asks a couple of boys, "What's going on guys? You know what--we have to share our balls."
Little kids under 5 are using words instead of fists to get what they want.
"A lot of these kids didn't talk very much when we first started and now they're--I mean, sometimes we can't get them to stop talking," says preschool teacher Lyn Wierda.
What used to be simple day care at the First Place Center (in south Eugene) has shifted focus to a one of a kind, therapeutic preschool for homeless youngsters and kids at risk of becoming homeless.
Directors say these children are at risk for trauma, anxiety and emotional difficulties. Jake Spavins tells KVAL, "When you're in that state, you really can't learn, so part of what we're trying to do is slow kids down and get them to a place where they can learn."
Less stress equals fewer tantrums, and we get a lesson right in the middle of the interview.
A boy named Joe approaches Spavins with a broken toy. Jake tells the upset lad, "Oh I'm sorry that the dinosaur got broken. Maybe you can ask Miss Sheri or Miss Lyn to help you get another toy."
What could have led to a mini-meltdown, is calmly resolved.
"But this is great. These are self management skills that these children are learning that's going to help them be successful," says Spavins.
13 children are enrolled in the Kids Center program. They're licensed to go up to 28, but they really don't want to go beyond 16 kids at
any one time.
Another teacher says no doubt, they are on the right track.
Instructor Sheri Cooper states, "We see that difference every day in them learning new skills and the families making changes for the better."
Differences to put these youngsters *on target* for a better future.
Kids ages 2 and a half to 5 are in the First Place program.