Amanda Pevey
Elmore Autauga News
Throughout December, families across the community soak up the magic of the season with dazzling parades, joyful concerts, heartwarming Christmas plays, and special visits with Santa himself. Adding to the holiday cheer, the Elmore County HIPPY program hosted its annual Christmas group meeting, one of the programs most anticipated celebrations. HIPPY, which stands for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, currently serves sixty families through its FREE program, and this year’s merry gathering brought together more than 150 attendees for a truly unforgettable holiday event.
The HIPPY program is provided to families with preschoolers between the ages of two and five in Elmore County by the Elmore County Board of Education. The Home Visitors for the 2025-2026 school year are Reyna Contreras, Stefanie Graham, Amanda VanHouten, Amber Hoggard, Christy Dean, and Allison Judah.
At the beginning of the event, warm-up activities were given to the children and adults. Terri Carrico who is the Child Development Programs Director and HIPPY Supervisor, was the guest speaker. She spoke to the parents about stress management on how it can affect how they interact with their children. She also talked about ways to manage stress so that they can be the best version of themselves to be the best for their child. Parents also learn about the four main types of parenting styles and help them identify which style they use.
Dinner was provided by the Elmore County Child Nutrition Program. After dinner, families had the opportunity to enjoy different activity rotations which include visiting Santa, playing games, Christmas tree crafts, Jingle Jive, and a Christmas writing station.
The event concluded with the reminder of the next group meeting which will be held on January 22nd, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. All 60 HIPPY children received a gift at the end of the meeting.
For more information about the Elmore County HIPPY program, please contact the HIPPY Coordinator, Sherry Spigener at (334) 567-1200 ext. 24009 or email [email protected]. You can also visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A3kKiLXPZ/?mibextid=wwXlfr.
