Siouxland nonprofit teaching the next generation before kindergarten
The Community Action Agency of Siouxland has many programs that have helped families for roughly 50 years, one of them being the Head Start Program for kids from six weeks to four years old.
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'We offer a routine where children come to school and they are served breakfast, we serve families style, working on a lot of self-help skills,' early childhood director Rachel Ostermyer said. 'We have large group times, we have small group times. We also just have work time, which is the children's play, but for them, it's their work.'
The program has 29 classrooms with over 500 kids enrolled, and teachers prepare their students for kindergarten through hands-on education.
'When we talk about science, we are planting flowers, especially this week,' Ostermyer said. 'We're planting flowers for the Week of the Young Child. We have science experiments going on, but it's all in the fun of their classroom. So they don't really know that they're learning science as they're learning science.'
This week, the Community Action Agency is taking part in Week of the Young Child, celebrating children and their families as well as honoring the professionals who teach the next generation.
'We have a theme for every day this week where parents and children are able to do activities in all of our classrooms,' Ostermyer said. 'According to those themes, we have Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday.'
While there are other programs across Siouxland that also handle early childhood education, getting enrolled can be difficult.
'Yes, we are at maximum capacity, and we have a wait list, so it never hurts for families to still apply,' Ostermyer said.
Yet programs like those with the Community Action Agency of Siouxland will do their best to ensure children get the best education they can.
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'We fill that void by the family, can bring their child up,' Ostermyer said. 'But we also offer a lot of ideas and suggestions to parents every month of things they can do at home with their child, because our ultimate goal is to work with that family so that that child is ready for kindergarten and is successful beyond kindergarten.'
The nonprofit also wanted to remind parents that educating their child can be as simple as having a conversation with them.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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