Spring 2014
Two moms work on an activity at a Parent Meeting with Ana Blagojevic (center)
Once again, the Spring Season focus was on on early science concepts, inquiry, experiments and explorations. The three monthly evening meetings were held at the Milbridge Elementary School with a new format. Each month families received the iPad loaded with a digital copy of the new activity sheet, apps, tip sheets and video clips for review prior to the meeting.
Evening meetings started out with dinner and a story reading, followed by a sharing time, showcasing projects or work families had created and/or a child’s favorite book from the library or their home. In the final hour, parents engaged in hands-on activities related to unit concepts, followed by conversations and brainstorming about how these experiences inspire/connect to activities they would like to try at home to help their child learn.
Children were involved with activities in the Kindergarten room and school gym, led by an Americorps worker.
Learning all about lobsters.
Short video clips showing early learning activities to support goals for the month were placed on the iPads, thanks to a collaboration with Ready Rosie. Downloadable video clips from Eastern Connecticut State University’s Dialogic Reading For Multi-Lingual Families project, available in English and Spanish, were also shared.
During the second unit of the season, Earth and the Environment, a lobsterman came to visit during the evening meeting, a lobster was examined and children’s questions were discussed.
Americorps members Kate Brinks and Juana Vasquez started to offer bilingual story hours and events at the Milbridge Library and seasonal field trips, such as a trip to a local farm on Maple Syrup Sunday to learn how maple syrup is made. They also helped facilitate and provided translation support for a series of activities about growing plants that was offered at the library this Spring.
The “Three Little Pigs” at the Mother’s Day Event.
Parents from the project organized a Children’s Day event to raise money to purchase more resources for the library in Spanish, and provided a survey to get input from community members. Parents also helped their children practice and perform The Three Little Pigs (ebook versions of this story were shared and enjoyed this spring) for a Mother’s Day event. One parent, also an Americorps volunteer, created a media resource about recycling in the Milbridge community that was shared on the iPads.
Unit 1 Activity Sheet: English or Spanish
Unit 2 Activity Sheet: English or Spanish
Unit 3 Activity Sheet: English or Spanish
Fall 2014
The fall unit topic concepts for Color Explorers, Families and Healthy Choices were discussed and activities explored during evening meetings and home visits. There was an increased focus on learning digital skills, with a change from families receiving iPads with apps installed, to learning to manage their own iPads, and how to create personalized units for their child.
Parents engage in hands-on activities with the iPad.
Family members learned how to set up an email account, an iTunes account, purchase and download apps, manage settings and set restrictions, organize and arrange apps, find apps that support early learning, discuss media diet with children and search the Internet for information. Several of the families worked together with their children to create media projects.
Unit 1 Vocabulary List: English and Spanish
Unit 2 Activity Sheets: English or Spanish
Unit 2 Vocabulary List: English and Spanish