Learning Starts at Home – At a Distance

The Learning Starts at Home Program Continues – At a Distance

Would you like to know more about how children’s developmental skills come about? Are you limited to being at home to support your preschool child’s learning? Are you interested in learning creative ideas and strategies to help your child’s reading skills? Would you like to have fun? Then, our Learning Starts at Home Program might be just perfect for you!

Learning Starts at Home is a self-directed program to help parents support their children’s learning by encouraging their own adult learning goals.

Learning Starts at Home facilitators meet weekly for 14 weeks with families. In our brave new world of on-line communication and learning, they use platforms such as Zoom, Messenger or WhatsApp. Facilitators admit that they all miss the hugs and smiles from children and their families, but agree that on-line visiting is a beautiful alternative for staying connected for the time being.

Facilitators who visit with preschool and kindergarten aged children and their families use a learn through play approach. Staff share fun learning-based activities, books, songs and rhymes to strengthen early literacy skills, which lay the foundation for building good readers.

An equally important aspect of our visits is to awaken and strengthen social skills. These skills are a critical element to helping children succeed socially, emotionally, personally and even academically. Families who have participated in Learning Starts at Home tell us they enjoy being with and get along better with their children. They report that they now enjoy reading with their children, and because of this, their children ask more frequently for books to be read to them. Families also tell us they feel more informed about relevant community resources to meet their needs. Finally, parents share that they feel more knowledgeable and confident in supporting their children’s and their own adult learning.

Learning Starts at Home facilitators also support families who have learners in grades 1-3. Students in these grades who struggle with reading do so for a variety of reasons. Learning Starts at Home facilitators help parents and learners identify where in the layers of skills required to learn to read there has been a lack of understanding. When we can focus on where a reader is struggling, learning and strengthening can occur. Families with students in grades 1-3 who have participated in our program tell us that their children’s reading skills have improved. Parents now have information, strategies and confidence to help with reading moving forward. Parents also share that they have more knowledge of resources to advocate for their children and their own adult learning needs.

For more information about our free program or to register please contact Nada Jerkovic at 403-686-9300, extension 128.

 

Written by the Learning Starts at Home Program Facilitators