Did you know that your school district might offer a program that provides you and your child, aged 0-36 months, with opportunities for playgroups, seminars, fun activities, one-on-one home visits, yearly evaluations and information, all at no charge to you?
I don’t remember who first told me about Parents As Teachers, but I am so glad I signed up. Since the time Anna was a newborn, our PAT educator has visited our house every six weeks or so to check on Anna’s development, answer my questions and offer information and advice. Anna always enjoyed the visits because our educator brought interesting toys and books to look at together.
Around Anna’s first and second birthdays, our educator conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Anna’s skills in language, fine motor, gross motor, social and cognitive development. Although I’ve had few concerns about her development, it’s always comforting to hear that she is on track or close enough. When I have had concerns, my educator makes a note, sends me extra information and pays careful attention to the area of concern during the next visit.
In addition to the home visits, I’ve also attended classes on discipline and baby massage, both of which were informative and interesting. In April, I learned to make several simple toys from recycled materials at the PAT Earth Day Festival. You can read more about that here and in next week’s Tuesday Green Space post.
Also, when Anna was around six months old, we traveled far from home for about a month and, right around that time, my educator had taught me how to make another simple toy that turned out to be one of her favorites and didn’t require me to pack anything. All I needed was a metal mixing bowl and a couple of small balls. I put the balls in the mixing bowl and Anna would sit beside it rocking the bowl and watching the balls roll back and forth. The metal bowl and plastic balls we used at my Grandma’s house made a noise as the balls rolled and encouraged her to knock the bowl again. A six-month-old child may not have a long attention span, but Anna did when it came to that toy!
To find out if your school district offers this wonderful program, contact your school district directly or visit the Parents As Teachers website.
