Migrant Students are Going Places!
This summer, Washington County saw its traditional influx of agricultural workers arriving to rake and process blueberries. With so many teenagers traveling either alone or with their families to rake blueberries, Maine Migrant Education Program and Mano en Mano organized a series of educational weekend fieldtrips to keep the students engaged and learning over the summer. These students do not attend the Blueberry Harvest
Reflection on an Americorps Year
Looking back on my AmeriCorps year with Mano en Mano, I realized that my position barely resembled the position in which I had started. Programs changed, people were moved around, and when the dust settled, the service I was doing was different than before. I ended up forging a new position, taking on some of the old responsibilities such as helping with the English
New Spanish Language Materials at the Milbridge Public Library
Local families held an event on Children’s Day in April raising money to purchase Spanish-language books, magazine subscriptions, and reference materials for the Milbridge Public Library. Today, all the books are dressed in their covers and are on the shelves ready to be checked out! Adding to the plethora of children’s Spanish-language books are: adult and young-adult fiction reads, non-fiction books on cooking, gardening,
A Second Season of the Blueberry Harvest School Ahead
Mano en Mano is running the Blueberry Harvest School for a second year, a “pop-up” education program that serves the families that harvest our food. It is a three-week school for migrant children funded by the Maine Migrant Education Program. We are delighted to have Dan Qualls, Assistant Professor of Education at UMM, join our leadership team to better support our teaching staff as
Taking Control of Technology
With all of the technology and information surrounding us in today’s world, do you ever feel overwhelmed by all of the choices? “How we can use technology to benefit young children?” is one topic discussed in the Comienza en Casa | It Begins at Home program, with families of PreK and K children. What do we need to know to feel that we are
Comienza en Casa Pilots Ready Rosie to Enhance Programming
A mom works with her son on the iPad. This Spring, families involved in Comienza en Casa | It Starts at Home, a project of the Maine Migrant Education Program, were busy exploring early science concepts with their preschool aged children at home. Different from past seasons, we included a series of short, two minute videos featuring parents and children modeling early learning activities. The
Families Advocate for Translation and Interpretation Services in Milbridge Area Schools
A mother arrives at a parent/teacher conference to discuss her kindergartener’s progress, however no interpreter is present and she has trouble fully understanding spoken English. A father has trouble correctly filling out a medical history and emergency contact form for his daughter and asks if he noted her allergy in the correct section. A grandparent receives a letter from a teacher regarding the discipline
Growing Together at the Milbridge Library
What do plants and people have in common? How do we use plants? Where do they come from? Can plants eat bugs? The Milbridge Library hosted a four week educational program about plants that answered these questions and more. The Growing Together Group was a collaboration between Mano en Mano’s AmeriCorps members Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez and Kate Brinks, and Elin MacKinnon, a social work professor
Gracias, Mama: Mother’s Day Event
Our 8th annual Mother’s Day Celebration was a wonderful opportunity for community members to come together and to celebrate mothers. On Saturday, May 10th, families gathered at the Milbridge Elementary school gymnasium to do just that. The gym, adorned with streamers, balloons, papel picado, paper flowers, and lit-up budding trees, was the backdrop as families enjoyed many dishes brought for the potluck dinner. Meanwhile, Mano en Mano’s
Comienza en Casa: Another Season of Science!
This spring, families involved in the Comienza en Casa | It Starts at Home, a program of the Maine Migrant Education program, have been very busy. March activities included a trip to Round Mountain Farm to see the production of Maple Syrup, and in April parents organized a Children’s Day event with the help of community volunteers as a fundraiser for the Milbridge