HS/EHS of Fayette County: The Garden Party Program Event

Families enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start of Fayette County were invited to “The Garden Party” held at the Lemont Furnace Head Start Center on April 15, 2026. The theme of the event was to focus on skills from the program’s School Readiness Goals. We also had several activities for families to do during the event as they partied through the building. Prior to the event, classrooms and home-based areas completed a craft to decorate the space for the event and families were provided with an in-kind activity to make a 3D diorama of a garden. The families’ dioramas were on display the night of the event.  The families all did such a great job! The dioramas were all so creative and beautiful!

One hundred three HS/EHS staff members were present and eager to support families as they made their way through the activities. Families were greeted by staff at the doors to sign in. The families were then able to participate in diverse activities of various interests that made a last impact. Some of the activities were planting a real vegetable plant, washing fruit and veggies, garden stones painting, and carrot number match. Our School Nurse completed lead and/or hemoglobin tests and staff from the health team completed vision and/or hearing screens on enrolled children. Lastly, families were offered a light refreshment of a salad bar that had so many toppings and dressings to choose from! The families were provided with a bag upon entering the event that included the book Lola Plants a Garden or The Little Gardener, a stuffed plush vegetable or fruit, root viewed kit, a set of fruit and vegetable flashcards, and a small building kit from Home Depot, as well as a small flower plant.

We were also joined by a few community agencies: Private Industry Council, PA CareerLink, Fayette County Behavioral Health, Early Intervention, Fayette County Community Action, and Fayette County Plan of Safe Care. HS/EHS graciously thanks Miller’s Greenhouse (flower plants), Thomas’s Greenhouse (vegetable plants), Tractor Supply (packs of seeds), and Home Depot (building kits and gardening supplies) for their donations that we used to help make our event such a memorable time for our families.

In attendance were 110 families; 180 adults (46 being male), 91 Head Start children, 45 Early Head Start children, and 59 siblings. There were also two families that were not enrolled that consisted of 4 adults and 5 children, so we provided program information to them in the event they would be interested in enrolling in the future. Feedback from the families, included statements from families such as “Everything was amazing. Great Job Everyone! We enjoyed everything!” “Great Event.” and “Very nice event thank you for having us!”