Early Childhood Development

                                                         Parent Engagement is Essential!

                                                     Our Interactive Workshops Focus on:

• Communication
• Literacy
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Physical Development
• Social/Emotional Development

Parent engagement in helping their children learn at home is an essential component in SLI's strategy.  The years before kindergarten are the time when parents' beliefs about their children's abilities are shaped and children's own academic self concepts begin to be formed.  This component is designed to strengthen the skills of parents to more effectively assist their children.  The research shows that building a foundation for understanding instructions and learning capacity early in a child's life can strengthen a child's academic career and lifetime income.

The Early Childhood Parent Engagement model consists of a series of workshops conducted by the SLI Parent Engagement Team.  The workshops are intended for families with children age 3-5.  Each school partners with SLI and plays a significant role in motivating families to attend these workshops, giving children the opportunity to build their capacity for learning and parents the ability to serve as home educators.  It gives children (and their family) the opportunity to more easily transition into kindergarten by creating a comfort level with the school environment and staff.

Results
The Demonstration Phase is based on lessons learned from our Pilot Phase Evaluation completed by staff of the Erickson Institute. The Pilot Phase was implemented at two Chicago elementary schools located in the Little Village and Pilsen communities during the 2005-2006 school year. The Evaluation report notes that caregivers attending the workshops who were surveyed showed significant increases in reported frequency of:

• Reading aloud to their children
• Telling stories with their children
• Taking books everywhere
• Reading in front of their children and
• Keeping a larger number of children’s books at home.

The SLI Parent Engagement Team earned the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) Partnership Organization Award from John Hopkins University for three years in a row, from 2005 to 2007.

“SLI is showing that research-based approaches can be used to help families become involved in children’s education in ways that increase student success at schools." - Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS

Workshop Offerings

Workshops are based on the Abecedarian Curriculum - Learning Games designed by Drs. Joseph Sparling and Isabelle Lewis, researchers at the University of North Carolina.

The two hour hands on/interactive workshops focus on literacy and communication, language, mathematics, science physical development and social/emotional development.  Some activities/games in the workshops include: in my body ( learning body parts),  Rosie’s Walk  (multiple ways to use a book), Muffin Pan Sorting (classification), , Apples In A Bag (beginning sounds), movement to reinforce skills learned and much more.

For More Information
Call 312-738-0022 ext. 1125  for more information about SLI’s services, products and pricing. Our school improvement experts are available to meet with you to learn about your needs. Whether you are interested in whole school improvement, on-site support, or workshops, our research-based services will help your team to accelerate student learning! 

Parent Comments about the Early Childhood Parent Engagement Program

“I learned how to teach my son the shapes (squares, circles) and to teach him to use his five senses while learning.”
“I learned how to ask my daughter questions, how to read stories and how to teach her to read by looking at pictures.”
“I’ve learned more about the brain and its functions and how to teach my child to distinguish between large and small, more or less, and little and big.”
“After I attended, my husband decided to start coming too. He said he now better understands our child, understands how to play with our toddler and he learned how to think more like a child!”