Because we want to help you grow
What We Do
Our Play and Learn and Specialty Classes will return in the Fall of 2021.
– Play and Learn Groups (PAL)
Returning in Fall of 2021 PCMC offers parent-education playgroups in Marina for families with young children during accessible times for working families. Play and Learn Playgroups (PAL) are a weekly 2-hour class that parents attend with their children ages 0-5 and are facilitated by a professional parent educator. These classes are currently offered every Saturday. Classes are split up into three different categories: birth to walking, walking to 24 months, and ages 2 to 5.
– Specialty Classes
Returning in Fall of 2021, PCMC offers specialty classes for toddlers including Jump into Art, Creative Tinkering, and Sing Along classes during evenings and weekends when working families can attend. PCMC also runs a Maternal Mental Health Program designed to raise awareness and offer support for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. PCMC does this by offering post-partum support groups for mothers and families dealing with perinatal mood disorders. These groups meet three times per month in Marina. The program also includes a bi-lingual warm line that provides an answering service where facilitators return messages and phone calls within 24 hours.
– Maternal Mental Health
PCMC’s Maternal Mental Health program is the only one of its kind in Monterey County and has received recognition in this area. In 2015, our Program Director Gail Root at the time was selected by the Mental Health Commission to receive the Jerry Smith Service Award for her work to raise awareness about Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and provide community-based mental health support to families who are suffering from this #1 complication of pregnancy and childbirth. PCMC partnered with F5MC in early 2018 to provide information about the Maternal Mental Health Program in the 5,000 new parent kits provided by F5MC in the three largest hospitals in the county: Natividad, Salinas Valley Memorial and the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
– Parent’s Place
PCMC also remains committed to supporting the PGUSD Parents’ Place program, primarily through supporting through fundraising and grant writing. Parents’ Place continues to be the preeminent parenting program in Monterey County, providing families a professionally designed series of interactive experiences in the classroom and exposing the youngest children in our community to the highest quality of age-appropriate education. Parents’ Place primarily serves families that are able to attend their programs during the day time when they are offered.
What we care about
Early Childhood Education
Aims at the development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and well-being.
Developmental Milestones
Identifying and learning about developmental milestones which are behaviors or physical skills seen in infants and children as they grow and develop.
Emotional Intelligence
Teaching the 5 components of emotional intelligence which are self-awareness, self-
A nurturing culture
Creating an environment where children are supported and encouraged during this critical early childhood period of training and development.
Supporting Parents
We prioritize supporting parents, beginning with the pregnancy period. Ongoing research shows that family engagement improves child achievement, and restores parents’ confidence in their children’s upbringing. Involved parents or other caregivers raise children with better social skills and behavior.
Maternal Mental Health
At least one out of every four new mothers in the U.S. experiences some form of mental health challenge that makes it difficult for her to offer her children the full amount of care they need. Research shows that maternal mental health issues can begin during pregnancy and persist far longer than is commonly realized. They have far more significant consequences for children than most people understand. We make maternal mental health a priority for these reasons and seek to support mothers from pregnancy and through their child’s early development.