By Amanda Pevey

Elmore/Autauga News

On May 19th the HIPPY program celebrated their end of year celebration at the Wetumpka Farmers Market. Over 250 people attended the celebration. HIPPY stands for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters. Elmore County HIPPY was established in 2008. It has been thriving for 15 years. This is a FREE program that is offered for families that reside in the Elmore County area by the Elmore County Board of Education for preschool children ages two, three, and four to prepare for Kindergarten success.

Through hard work and dedication, the 52 preschool aged children completed their HIPPY education for the school year.

This year’s ceremony was a carnival style theme with food, games, and prizes. A graduation ceremony was held for the 19 four-year-old graduates who completed the program. The remaining 33 preschool children received a certificate of completion and will move up into the next age program.

Hamburgers and Hot dogs were catered by Hog Rock BBQ in Wetumpka. Dessert consisted of cake, and cupcakes that were donated by Ashlyn’s Cake Cottage in Millbrook. Wetumpka High School Beta Club Volunteers gave out Popcorn, Cotton Candy, and Shaved Ice to all the children and their families. Games included Pick a Duck, dig and find treasure, and an egg relay race and all of the children received prizes from the games. At the end of the event, parents received a gift card for completing the program. All HIPPY children received their end of year gifts which consisted of table and chairs or a desk, and a summer learning kit.

“I just want to thank ALL of our HIPPY families for making our End of the Year Celebration a great night,” said MaryAnn Forelle McCluskey, Program Coordinator for HIPPY.

She continued, “Congratulations to our four-year-olds! We know you are going to do great in kindergarten next year. We look forward to watching you grow and become the awesome people you will grow to be. We look forward to our two-and three-year-olds coming back next year for some more books, lessons, and group meetings. You are all so smart and just little sponges soaking up so much knowledge. The most important years are the first five years to get a solid foundation for the future. The early years of a child’s life are very important for later health and development. One of the main reasons is how fast the brain grows starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. I want thank all of our families for being so welcoming and easy to work with this year. I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know all of you. I love this program and cannot wait to see the many more children HIPPY will help be successful in school and in life. I also want to say thank you to my four home visitors in the program; Donna Collins, Amanda VanHouten, Katie Carlise, and Amber Hoggard.

“They each love what they do, are always working diligently, and are eager to learn new things as well. Grenay George Farlow, thank you for all of your hard work you did in the office by making sure our home visitors had everything they needed. A very special thank you to all of the volunteers throughout the years in making our HIPPY program a huge success.”

The ECBOE HIPPY Program wishes to thank the following Partners in Education:

• Wetumpka Middle School (Orientation & Christmas Party)

• Wetumpka Fire Department (October Group Meeting)

• Alabama Department of Human Resources (October Group Meeting)

• Wetumpka High School Theatre (Elves for Christmas Party)

• First Presbyterian Church (February Group Meeting)

• Mike & Irene Rodgers (Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Cat in the Hat)

• Wetumpka High School Beta Club and Sponsor Mrs. Sowell (End of Year Celebration)

Enrollment is now OPEN for HIPPY of Elmore County Pre-Schoolers. This program is completely FREE to participating families!!

If you would like to Pre-Register for HIPPY for the 2023/2024 school year, you can submit this form to be pre-registered below:

https://forms.gle/sstmz3v1a8bUTabM6

For more information about the Elmore County HIPPY program, please visit their Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/ElmoreCountyHIPPY