Nothing is better than seeing your smiling child after a long day at work. Parents waiting Thursday at Community Action Southwest Head Start in Charleroi laughed as their children ran toward them in excitement. Head-Start program director and teacher Paul Wyatt of Republic rounded up about a dozen children in a classroom inside the Head Start building. Four-year-old Alec's eyes widened and he ran yelling 'Mommy,' after he heard his mother, Lisa Sowko of Charleroi, had arrived. Alec was anxious to tell his mother about what he had learned during the day. 'A tall T,' Alec said to his mother after Wyatt asked him which letters he learned to use during class that day. 'He's learned a lot since he's been here for three months,' Lisa Sowko said. The Head Start program came into Charleroi in February and child specialists there have helped shape the minds of children between the ages of three and five since then. During playtime earlier in the day, Wyatt commented on how Head Start helps children advance in their early years. While watching the children circle a basketball court on tricycles, Wyatt said Head Start offers develops a wide range of educational and social skills. Staff at Head-Start go beyond day care services, Wyatt said, teaching teamwork, sharing, reading and other educational programs. The classroom program helps eliminate the fear of the first day of kindergarten, Wyatt added Children also learn proper hygiene and manners during tooth brushing and toy clean-up sessions. Wyatt said the program also helps children develop tastes for different foods and promotes a family setting during meals where children are encouraged to serve themselves, Wyatt said. Colleen Lockwood of Fallowfield Township came to the playground to pick up her three-year-old daughter Karina. Lockwood said her daughter enjoys Head Start. 'She was (having fun) until I came,' Lockwood said with a smile. Lockwood said she has noticed improvement in her daughter thanks to Head Start. 'She's real shy usually and she's already talking more at home,' she said. 'She's getting better at eating different foods.' Wyatt estimated that half of 40 children that visit Head Start are special needs children. Others come to the center when their parents are at work, Wyatt said. Head Start has coordinated efforts with Intermediate Unit 1 to help children with special needs and also identify behavioral problems, Wyatt said.

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