FAMILY RESOURCES
Activity Calendar
Our activity calendar shows local events for families such as parenting classes and Parent Cafe’s. You can also find other community events so you can plan time to bond and create special memories.
Family Support Programs
This guide helps connect you to many services and organizations that offer support to community members. These services are separated out into three categories: family, community, and government services.
Parenting Education
Parenting education groups are a great way to learn additional tools and get support. In these workshops, parents and caregivers can ask questions, share ideas, and connect with each other. These classes can help with parenting and families growing stronger.
Parenting Classes & Support
Learn about free classes & connect with other families.
Forms & Applications
We can help you understand and complete forms.
Community Resources
Find local help with food, housing, health, & more.
Need help finding a parenting classes, community resources, preschool help or aren’t sure where to begin? Our Welcome Center is here to help!
We know asking for help isn’t always easy. Whether your question is big or small, we’re here to listen, answer questions, and connect you with resources that fit your family’s needs.
Reach out to our Bilingual Family Support & Parent Education Coordinator Dafne, for support today! We’re in this together.
Call: 541.978.9820 Email: dvalencia@cgesd.k12.or.us or schedule a meeting at calendly.com/dvalencia-cgesd.
Not sure where to start?
We’ll listen, answer questions, and help you find the right path.
One-on-One Support
We’re here to guide, connect, and support your family.
Screen Aware Early Childhood
Young children learn best through play, connection, conversation, movement, and hands-on experiences. Being screen aware means making thoughtful choices about how, when, and why screens are used in everyday family life.
Too much screen time can impact sleep, behavior, attention, and opportunities for learning and social connection. Creating healthy screen habits helps children build strong relationships, develop important life skills, and explore the world around them in meaningful ways.
Small changes can make a big difference! Families can support healthy development by:
Creating screen-free routines during meals and bedtime
Encouraging outdoor play and creative activities
Reading, talking, and singing together
Modeling balanced technology use
Choosing high-quality, age-appropriate content when screens are used
Screen aware practices are not about removing technology completely — they are about finding balance and making space for the moments that matter most.
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Relationships are built on trusting each other, talking, and listening. Studies show that spending too much time on screens can be a big problem for both grown-ups and kids.
TECHNOFERENCE = what happens when tech gets in the middle of our relationships.
Parent Tech Use:
Gets in the way of connecting with kids
Kids act out more to try and get our attention.
Interrupts our time with children
Can make it harder to parent as a team
Tips:
Make screen -free parent/child time every day
Put devices away when not actively using them
Be a media role model.
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Research shows that time outdoors and exposure to the natural world have major benefits for child development!
Provides:
Simple ways to take breaks from screens
Ideas to reduce the negative effects of screen time
Fun, easy-to-access activities that don’t use screens
Hands-on, creative play that isn’t commercialized and lets children explore on their own
Benefits:
Cognitive (Brain) Benefits
Social and Emotional Benefits
Physical Benefits
Ideas:
Explore nature and use your senses
Bring inside activities outside
get physical!
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Screen awareness begins at home...Set yours up for success!
Location:
Young children focus on what’s around them and are less interested in screens when they’re out of sight.
Guidance:
Young children aren’t ready to manage screens, and adult guidance shapes how they use them.
Engagement:
Limiting screen time helps young children’s self-regulation and sleep. When used, content should be age-appropriate and guided by adults.
Tips:
Prioritize quality screen experiences
Create screen-free alternatives
Maintain screen-free times & places
Practice a screen-aware mindset!
Inspire a love of reading in your child
Get FREE BOOKS for your child! Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails free high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five!
If you have a child from 0-5 years old, register them today for FREE monthly books!
Fun and educational activity kits delivered to your home
FREE Activity Boxes and Child-Directed Playgroups available to all 0-5’s and their grown-ups in Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, Gilliam & Wheeler counties. Each activity is geared toward helping children develop and learn through play.
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