Parent Workshops
Literacy Workshop Series
Trainers: Wendy Banning, B.S. Ed. and Patti Donnelly, M.Ed. , N.B.C.T. - M.C.
The Literacy Series is composed of 3 sessions; 2 evening sessions for parents and 1 weekend session for parents with their children.
Testimonials:
"You are inspiring! You have so much to offer, and both nights I came away feeling happy, empowered and inspired.
I have really felt more "with" my child the past couple of weeks and I am sure that a big part of the reason is our meetings. Thank you!"
"It was helpful to get some clarity on what to look for, and what to focus on and then have games and ideas to present the material in a fun way."
"My kids loved using the bamboo stick to make a book...the stick bound book was a big hit."
Overview:
Session 1: Introduction to Literacy Development Part I
(2 hour session)
How do I know what to look for and then how can I plan for next steps as I work with my child?
This parent session provides an introduction to literacy development and includes an overview of how children come to the reading and writing process.
Session 2: Introduction to Literacy Development Part II
(2 hour session)
Identifying strengths and specific areas of weakness to guide curriculum, instruction, and expectations as well as other aspects of literacy assessment.
This parent session discusses informal assessment, within the context of home, to help parents identify strengths and weaknesses in their child’s literacy development to help inform their planning of experiences and learning opportunities.
Session 3: Authentic Literacy Development
(3 hour session)
Integrating language as a family
This family session will focus on children and parents making a book together.
More detailed description of Literacy Workshop Series:
Session 1: Introduction to Literacy Development Part I
(2 hour session)
This parent session provides an introduction to literacy development and includes an overview of how children come to the reading and writing process. It addresses questions such as:
- How do I know where my youngster is on the learning continuum?
- What do I look for and what instruction and/or opportunities should I provide?
- What resources are available to help me?
- When should I be concerned? When is it o.k. to allow the space for my child to struggle vs. when is an intervention appropriate and/or needed?
- How do I know what do to next as I work with my youngster and how should I prioritize what to do when?
Parents will emerge from this session with some resources /handouts that will help them think about their planning with and for their youngster(s). We, as presenters, will also emerge with a much deeper understanding of the issues this particular group of parents is thinking about or grappling with which will help us plan for Session 2.
Session 2: Introduction to Literacy Development Part II
(2 hour session)
Identifying strengths and specific areas of weakness to guide curriculum, instruction, and expectations as well as other aspects of literacy assessment.
This parent session discusses informal assessment, within the context of home, to help parents identify strengths and weaknesses in their child's literacy development to help inform their planning of experiences and learning opportunities. The word assessment, by the way, literally means "to sit beside". This meaning is perfect when juxtaposed to what we really do with children as parents and teachers. The bulk of our "assessment" is done by observing a child; what we see a youngster do, how he/she approaches different tasks and what that tells us about how they learn, where they get stuck and where they feel confident and soar.
In addition to these more informal forms of assessment, there are other more targeted assessments we do as well and in this session we will explore both.
The goal of this session is really around giving parents confidence in determining where their child is as well as understanding ways to support their child in moving to the next stage. It is also about helping parents feel confident that everything is developing within the range of "normal" as the developmental range for literacy in youngsters is very broad, particularly between ages 6 - 11, as well as understanding when it isn't and when more help may be needed.
Session 3: Authentic Literacy Development
(3 hour session)
Integrating language as a family
This family session will focus on children and parents making a book together. Bookmaking is an amazing experience that integrates literacy and the arts in a beautiful and compelling way. During the session, we'll explore the writing/reading process in action and each parent/child pair will construct a handmade stick-bound book to take away from the session. This session can (if there is interest) be followed by additional weekend sessions learning other bookmaking styles such as stitched binding, accordion books, etc.
Wendy Banning, Educational Consultant
919.942.7773
wendy@learn-outside.com
www.learn-outside.com
