The Growing Place Child Care Centers started the tradition of a Children's Art Show in 2006, when it celebrated its 30th Anniversary. It was such a huge success that it now does it every two years. All six sites come together at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School for a gallery-style art display showcasing group and individual projects. Most of the 350 enrolled children participate in some way in the art show.

This year's theme was "Art Across the Curriculum." Each of the six sites chose a subject area, such as math, and created projects related to that area."Art promotes brain activity and helps children understand other subjects more clearly," says Linda Barney, Communications and Human Resources Director for The Growing Place.Around 100 families attended the event. Barney says the feedback they got was very positive."Children were very proud to show their parents their masterpieces. Our children do a lot of art projects all year long, and the parents were interested to learn how these art projects contribute to their child's development," she says.