Thank you to all the families and community participants that made Connections for Children’s first inaugural Play Together, Grow Together: A Family Learning Festival a success. The vibrant and engaging event brought together over 450 children and adults to foster meaningful connections for children through hands-on learning experiences with their families and interactions with the surrounding community. Families were encouraged to take in the moments of play to observe what made their children excited to learn.
One standout feature was the open structure of the ongoing activities where children could follow their interests and start or finish wherever their minds, bodies, and learning interests led them. Some children spent time dancing to a carefully curated children’s playlist with their new, colorful tambourines, while others paused to feel and watch the bubbles by our donor wall. Many kids zipped straight to the MiJa Book Fair to pick from a thoughtful variety of books in different languages with diverse characters and representation essential for fostering empathy, understanding, and a sense of identity among young readers.
Whether it was choosing what type of flower or vegetable they wanted to plant or what color tassel to place on their dried flower bookmarks, children were encouraged to express themselves and were empowered by choosing their activities. Magnified lenses were carefully placed for families to explore natural, loose parts together at the sensory station where they could choose what they wanted to investigate more closely while engaging different senses. Having autonomy over their play and learning supported children's motivation to learn and engage. Music from our very own DJ Manny and up-close illusions from Jeff Thomson the magician kept the energy high and attention-focused throughout the event. Families visited booths to learn about new resources they could benefit from such as the Harbor Regional Center or the Children’s Institute. Families also had the opportunity to create free ID cards for their children from NY Life. These moments created lasting memories and reinforced the idea that learning is an exciting, shared experience.
Overall, the Family Learning Festival succeeded in cultivating an environment where children could connect not only with fun educational content, but also with each other and the supportive adults in their lives. The festival underscored the importance of relationship-based learning and offered a preview of future events from Connections for Children centered on connection, growth, and discovery.
Thank you to our Trauma-Informed Programs team for leading this new event and to all of the generous sponsors who made the Family Learning Festival possible.
- Dentons
- Bates Wealth Advisors – SEIA
- Crexi
- Mayer Brown
- Pathways LA
- RAND
- SDG Housing Partners
- Ares Management Corporation
- ICG Advisors
- PwC
- Dawn Reese
- Erin Shea
- Sarah & Mark Stegemoeller
- Child Care Resource Center (CCRC)
- City National Bank
- First 5 LA
- First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica Preschool
- Kirpa Systems
- GYL LLP
- MCT Technology
- Options for Learning
- Tangram Interiors
- Lisa & Kevin Cornehl
- The Exberger Family
- Sharon & Andy Gavin
- The Havel Family
- Gary Huff & Francisco Astran
- Jennifer Ho & Roy Stripling
- Louise Jaffe
- Amy & Bryan Riggs
This new event would not have been possible without your support! Be sure to check out some amazing pictures captured during the festival here and on our social media!
For more information on the Family Learning Festival, please contact Angelina Nguyen, Trauma-Informed Programs Manager, at angelinan@cfc-ca.org or (310) 452-3325 Ext. 205.
