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Part I: “Developing language in young children”
Part II: "
The first part “Developing language in young children,” focused on children from newborn to five years old. We know that literacy begins well before a child enters school. It’s important for parents and childcare providers to begin incorporating literacy and learning into everyday activities. To this end, targeted workshops and training sessionsl provided participants with new information and approaches. Educators had the opportunity to earn CEU credits while learning new classroom techniques and gaining a broader awareness of the many social and cultural issues connected with early childhood literacy, particularly in communities for which English is a second language. Parents discovered fun and simple ways to begin cultivating a love for learning in their children. Community providers and policy makers learned ways to influence education policy and implement proven programs to increase literacy in their communities. Other sessions explained how to implement the Lee y serás program and tools.
On Saturday May 20, 2006, CentroNía host the second conference, “Advancing Literacy, Strengthening Families/ Promover la Alfabetización, Fortalece a las Familias,” was dedicated to family literacy and designed so that parents and children can attend workshops together for part of the day.
Workshops included:
o Language literacy: Workshops on parents teaching children to read, bilingual literacy, encouraging parents to start verbalizing and speaking with children from infancy, ways of making literacy fun, including music and games.
o Financial literacy: Training parents on how to teach their children about family finances and to involve them in creating spending plans, savings, banking and paying taxes.
o Technology literacy: Parents and children together embracing technology, discussing the generation gap and exploring how parents can ensure that their children learn new technologies even if they themselves don’t use them.
o Health literacy: Understanding the basics of health and nutrition, but also understanding how the health system operates and how to communicate and advocate effectively for the best care for yourself and your children.
o Systems literacy: Particularly for immigrant parents and those whose first language is not English, the formal structures for becoming integrated into society (such as enrolling children in programs, filing residency documentation, etc.) can be daunting. These workshops for parents would explore ways to help people become empowered enough to access the information and programs that are set up to serve them.
These conferences, geared towards parents, teachers and school administrators, provide targeted information and concrete new tools for increasing literacy, with a special focus on bilingual education. |
