Small Town News

New Early Childhood Family Education class offered

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Meet Everyday Ed.

Not Ordinary Day Ed - just Everyday Ed.

How curious...

"Everyday Ed is a class for families with preschool age children. Parents and children attend together, and a light supper is provided. The focus of the class is to discover everyday activities that help children prepare for kindergarten," explained Chatfield Community Education director LuAnn Klevan

She was speaking of the new Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) class being offered to parents and their children age 3 to 5.

"We'll stress 'the opportunities money can't buy'."

Klevan stated, "This is an attempt to help parents create learning opportunities at home. Through all our programs, we hope to narrow the student achievement gap. We'd like all kids to have the opportunity to start kindergarten at the same level."

Families will discover ways to provide the learning opportunities at home -- learning through everyday activities at home will reinforce all other educational experiences. This is just one of the options available to parents.

Children will participate in active storytime, play games, make projects and more. Parents will play with their children, and there will also be a parent discussion time.

The topics will be focused and connected. The first class will highlight vocabulary - why it's important to expand a child's vocabulary and simple ways to do it. Other topics will include creating a literacy-rich environment and "Games Families Play."

Parents who are flummoxed by their children's endless curiosity or those who would like to stir up some curiosity in their children will learn how to create lessons both academic and intuitive.

"Hands-on experience partnered with information will hopefully provide the tools they need to continue being a partner in their child's education," Klevan stated.

She invited parents to contribute their ideas to the class's curriculum.

"It would be great to see parents bring ideas to share. They are already teaching and I want to help them expand on it. So, if they bring their experiences, it will help provide direction for future classes, as we'd like to continue this in coming years.

Klevan concluded, "The program is designed for any family looking for a little help."

Children can participate whether or not they have ever enrolled in an early childhood program. Participants will be given a take-home "tool kit" after each class.

The fee is waived for families who make less than $40,000 a year. To register, call LuAnn Klevan at 867-4210, ext. 5022, or e-mail her at lkle-van@chatfield.kl2.mn.us



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© 2010 The Chatfield News Chatfield, Minnesota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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