Auburn play group is for kids — but also for the parents

The Kaleidoscope Play and Learn group in Auburn, created by immigrants from the Marshall Islands and nonprofit Childhaven, met Wednesday for the first time since a holiday break.

Wandering toddlers and bouncy 5-year-olds wished each other a happy new year, practiced coloring shapes and blew bubbles under the patient instruction of Kiolani James.

After an hour and a half of fun and a snack, it was time to head home.

“What was your favorite part about today?” James tossed the question behind her to SaSa Saul, who was diving down a padded slide.

The 5-year-old announced without hesitation: “Slime!”

The time is for the kids, but the hope is that caregivers — who are encouraged to watch and participate — benefit as well. That they find new ways to engage with children and build up their own community, too. Perhaps someone needs advice on enrollment, or finding services for a special-needs toddler, or navigating the Child Protective Services system.

Childhaven, which recently merged with Children’s Home Society of Washington under the new name Akin, wants to show families how to join preschool and kindergarten classes and make sure they’re prepared. Akin is one of 13 agencies to benefit from The Seattle Times’ Fund For Those In Need fundraising campaign.

The Kaleidoscope group is free and open to all members of the community and tends to attract kids who aren’t in preschool.

The group is especially targeted to people from the Marshall Islands, a chain of islands midway between Hawaii and Australia. According to a 2018 PBS report, a third of the islands’ population has left for the United States seeking jobs and health care while fleeing the effects of climate change. Citizens of the Marshall Islands can live and work without visas and work permits thanks to a 1986 law known as the Compact of Free Association, which established economic aid and special rights for a trio of Pacific island nations — Palau and Micronesia are the others — that experienced fallout from U.S. nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s.

James’ parents immigrated from the Marshall Islands. Her mother was a former Kaleidoscope facilitator as well.

“Since I joined, I noticed a lot of kiddos in our group have come out of their shells,” James said. “I can relate a lot to these kids. I try to meet them where they are.”

James led into a reading of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by rolling out caterpillars made of slime, then adding butterfly wings. SaSa was at her elbow the entire time, staying while the other seven students went for play breaks. She asked James for help with her wings.

SaSa started attending the play group during the pandemic, and it helped prepare her for a classroom setting. She’s now in preschool — “doing really well,” outgoing and articulate, James said — and bringing what she’s learned home with her.

Strengthening these relationships is critical, especially in the early years. Akin offers mental health services for kids and parents, and family support, whether that’s physical — diapers, food — or emotional, like helping parents and children learn and play together.

In decades past, “if you were a family that was struggling, and especially low-income or having different difficulties, the solution was, we’re going to take your child away from you,” Akin CEO Dave Newell said. “And we’ve now learned, over the past 100 years, that family separation usually is the worst thing that we could do.”

Both organizations now under the Akin umbrella have focused on early intervention, helping kids and families before they go into crisis, but Childhaven was focused on the Puget Sound region, while Children’s Home Society is a statewide organization.

Talks of a merger began years ago, according to Newell, but formal conversations began in April. The merger took effect Jan. 1. Children’s Home President and CEO Newell, a social worker by training who has worked in the field for 30 years, became CEO of Akin, while Childhaven CEO Jon Botten stayed on in a consultant role.

“In our country, unfortunately, a lot of times we look at parenting as an individual responsibility,” Newell said. “And it’s too much for any one person.”