parents as teachers - ?

SanHawaii08 · February 2011

Lori and I think Julie(?) had both mentioned it - what is it, exactly? I was looking on their site but couldn't really figure it out. Huh?

sounds like something i'd be interested in though! how does it work?

mrspresley · February 2011

glad you asked

I went to their website too but could not figure it out LOL

SanHawaii08 · February 2011

mrspresley:
glad you asked I went to their website too but could not figure it out LOL

hah! glad i'm not the only one - i was starting to doubt my web surfing abilities Wink

Married2MrWright · February 2011

SanHawaii08:

mrspresley:
glad you asked I went to their website too but could not figure it out LOL

hah! glad i'm not the only one - i was starting to doubt my web surfing abilities

It's a program for children under 5. Our is offered via our public school system and is free. Once a month and certified Parent Educator comes to our home and works with us and Libby on age-appropriate development, motor skills, language, etc. She also screens her for potential issues/delays that we would then refer to our pedi or a specialist.

Jaime - here's some info. I found for Texas: https://www.txpat.org/

Sandra - you may want to check with your local school district. Or on the national site for a program near you: https://www.parentsasteachers.org/resources/locations

What I like, is that even though we're super dialed in to Libby's needs and development, it helps to have reinforcement from an outside souce. We get some of that from our pedi, but the visits are short and sweet. With our PAT Educator, Dana, she spends a full 60-90 minutes with us, in our home, observing Libby and us and asks questions that lead to new discoveries for me.

For example, because we BLW and didn't spoon-feed it didn't occur to me that by 12 months most babies are handling a spoon for themselves. Since we never offered them to her at meals, we just didn't think of it. (We started with "loaded spoons" in the beginning of offering solids but Libby preferred to feed herself with her hands back then). So after our first PAT meeting in December, Dana brought it up and I said, "well, we'll start offering her a spoon." Lo and behold! Not only does Libby LOVE to spoon-feed herself, she prefers it now over using her hands. She still does both, but will try to use the spoon for everything first.

This time, one of the assesments was, "can she make a mark on a piece of paper?" I said, "I dunno. We don't give her paper because she eats it." So, Dana had a crayon and a piece of paper and Libby started to scribble. Dana said we should be offering her supervised time with crayons and paper to practice this skill. So I got her some (I honestly though babies didn't start coloring until closer to 18 months or so)...and she loves it. We spend 7-10 minutes/day now coloring...going over the colors and shapes, etc. and she scribbles on the paper.

I wish I had heard of them sooner! We saw a group carrying a PAT banner in the local Halloween parade and I assumed it was a homeschooling association. Then, when I met the lady whom I donated breastmilk to...she mentioned the program and how great it was for her three year old and that she was going to start it with her new baby too. So I signed up and we've had two visits...12/20 and 01/25. Next one is 02/22. Sometimes I feel guilty...like maybe this program is intended for needier families, but our PAT Dana assured me that it is for ALL famililies, of all backgrounds. She's given us some good ideas to play with Libby in ways that will fostering her development and also some local resources such as library reading times, etc. If you can get involved, I highly recommend it!

MauiWedding08 · February 2011

I know we have it here, but I'm pretty sure you have to be in a qualified early head start program (which generally means you are lower income, because (at least the one I looked into) HAS to meet the needs of high risk and low income family first) OR in a program that offers it. Other services may offer it, but that is just the one I know of. For example some Tribes offer it, and also some sectors of DSHS offer it b/c my mom has talked about it and she is a social worker, but you have to be enrolled in their services.

mrspresley · February 2011

thanks for the link, Lori! it's different from the one I was previously looking at.

I didn't think/know that they were supposed to be using spoons by 12 months... around 13-14 months Brent told me I should be starting to teach her how to use the spoon but I didn't think she was really "behind" w/that skill... there's just so little that she eats that would require a spoon (she doesn't even like oatmeal right now)...maybe I should start trying to get her to use a fork?

I'm super interested in the program and now I'm eager to start it I feel like I am capable of teaching her stuff but like you, I don't always know what age appropriate stuff to teach her.... we go over stuff like colors/shapes all the time but it's hard to know if it's sinking in or if it's too early....but this will help me work on age appropriate skills

MauiWedding08 · February 2011

hah, just now went back and read the link you posted for Sandra and I was right, more than 1/2 of those locations are Tribal programs/head start.

But it looks like others are just non-profits so that might be a good place to start. The one they have posted for Oly is a non-profit my service league volunteers with a lot and they provide all types of parenting programs (from parents' night out, kids concert series, parenting lectures, and apparently PAT).

SanHawaii08 · February 2011

MauiWedding08:
hah, just now went back and read the link you posted for Sandra and I was right, more than 1/2 of those locations are Tribal programs/head start.
But it looks like others are just non-profits so that might be a good place to start. The one they have posted for Oly is a non-profit my service league volunteers with a lot and they provide all types of parenting programs (from parents' night out, kids concert series, parenting lectures, and apparently PAT).

aww, the 2 near me are only for "young families" - where one parent is 22 or younger, or 19 or younger. maybe you can use the Oly one!

MauiWedding08 · February 2011

yeah, maybe - but I think it's similar. It looks like PAT is a new program for them, but all the other ones that we have helped with have been geared towards at risk families (income, age, or other social issues). One of my friends is on the board for the nonprofit so I will ask her what she knows about it.

inamra · February 2011

MauiWedding08:
yeah, maybe - but I think it's similar. It looks like PAT is a new program for them, but all the other ones that we have helped with have been geared towards at risk families (income, age, or other social issues). One of my friends is on the board for the nonprofit so I will ask her what she knows about it.

I emailed the PAT contact (that I found on their website) for my area and they responded that it's only for low income and low literacy families. So I think depending on the area, it may or may not be for at risk families. The best way to find out is to probably email the PAT contact in your area.

*John&Nohea* · February 2011

The company I used to work for, Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Center, has the Parents As Teachers program. I can?t wait to start my family so I can utilize the PAT program. They only have two PAT workers for the entire island! They start from the time the woman becomes pregnant I believe...for this agency anyway.

If anyone?s on island and is interested here?s their website: www.keikiokaaina.org

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