The parking lot behind the NEED building downtown was packed with bounce houses, a face-painting station and a free hot dog stand Friday as part of an enrollment day hosted to encourage families to both have fun and enroll their children in the pre-K Head Start program.

“The Head Start program prepares 3- to 4-year-olds ready for kindergarten, and is based on income and age,” said Joyce Lloyd, NEED family and community partnership manager. “If these young students fall behind in the early years, it is really hard to catch up down the road.”

NEED disability and mental health staff also was on hand to distribute mental health coloring books for children 3- to 6-years-old as well as activity sheets offering mental wellness ideas.

Ideas included creating collages, sock puppets, paper plate faces and memory games.

“Children’s mental health is a big issue nowadays,” said Valarie Pender, NEED disability and mental health coordinator. “A lot of children have problems they need help with, and the parents sometimes don’t know how to assist the child. Sometimes, it comes down to whether or not the child needs medication.”