The Martha’s Vineyard Family Center moved into its new home this week at the renovated Stephen Carey Luce House in Vineyard Haven. The building was formerly part of the Nathan Mayhew Seminars campus.
Slow Food Martha’s Vineyard and the Martha’s Vineyard Family Center are serving up a presentation on how to avoid genetically engineered foods on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the regional high school.
The Martha’s Vineyard Family Center, which has offered free classes, play groups and educational support to Island families with young children for 16 years, will relocate from the regional high school to the Nathan Mayhew Seminar campus in Vineyard Haven in the fall.
“We’re very excited to have a new home,” said Nell Coogan, development director for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, on Friday. “We think it’s going to be a great spot.”
On behalf of Adult and Community Education of Martha’s Vineyard (ACE MV), we want to express our deep gratitude to the Martha’s Vineyard Family Center of Community Services for all they do for our community. In particular, many thanks to Debbie Milne, director of Early Childhood Programs, Marney Toole, Family Services coordinator, and Cherish Harris, coordinator of the family center.
April Thanhauser of Spindrift Marionettes will join the staff of Plum Hill School to offer a free morning of puppets and crafts tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 26, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Family Center at the high school.
April’s puppet show will feature colorful “lap puppets” enacting a medley of nursery rhymes — just right for toddlers and preschoolers.
Stephanie DaRosa and Josie Black of Plum Hill will follow with a natural craft activity for parents and children to do together.
Parenting, as any parent or anyone who has spent more than a few minutes with young children knows, can be difficult, lonely, confusing, exhausting and expensive. It can be wonderful too, but who needs help during those moments. It is during the tough times when parents need somewhere to turn, especially a place that doesn’t cost any additional money.
Here on the Vineyard we have the Martha’s Vineyard Family Center. Take a look, for example, at what the center is offering parents during the upcoming week.
The Martha’s Vineyard Family Center begins a book group this month where parents can share concerns, seek advice and compare notes on the challenges of raising a child on the Island.
Cherish Harris, the center’s coordinator, said the book group will provide a safe place for parents to share their experiences and make time for themselves.
The fate of the Martha’s Vineyard Family Center surfaced again this week, with the center’s supporters urging the high school committee to consider ways to keep the center at the high school.
The high school, citing low enrollment numbers, has decided to phase out its early childhood vocational program. As a result, the family center will need to relocate by 2014.
