FARMINGTON – Starting in February, the University of Maine at Farmington will offer two additional free weekly sessions of inclusive parent-child playgroups. They are based on a model called Parents Interacting with Infants. The focus of these playgroups is parents’ observations of and interactions with their infants or toddlers.

One group will meet Tuesday evenings and the other on Friday mornings. The playgroups are for 90 minutes and will meet weekly when the Farmington campus is open. Specific start and end times will be determined following parent input. The parent-child playgroups will be held in the UMF Nursery School on the bottom floor of UMF’s Ricker Addition building, behind Look House and the Ferro Alumni Center off Main Street.

Enrollment in the program is free and open to all families in the community with young children ages birth to 3. Advance registration is required and there are a limited number of slots in each group. Acceptance is on a first come, first served basis.

The groups will be led by Dolores Appl, a UMF professor in early childhood and early childhood special education, and three or four UMF students.

To register or for more information, contact Appl at 778-7507; or e-mail to dappl@maine.edu

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