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"Father Involvement and Literacy Enhancement"
A Keynote Address and/or Workshop...
...For Head Start Professionals & Parents
By Patrick Mitchell, The Down To Earth Dad
1-877-282-DADS
Father Involvement and Literacy Enhancement addresses "Father Involvement in Head Start" and focuses on ways Dads impact early literacy development. This presentation conjoins father involvement and literacy enhancement-two ACF priorities-and helps program directors, male involvement specialists, teachers, support staff, community partners, and PARENTS utilize unique, culturally diverse, practical applications to involve more fathers. The presentation contains father involvement information and strategies gleaned from Patrick Mitchell's primary source interviews with leading child development experts such as Kyle Pruett, M.D., James Levine, Ed.D., prominent storytelling researcher Susan Fowler, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois, and numerous other experts whom the presenter has interviewed at length, and from the presenter's own insights.
According to researcher Elizabeth Sulzby, a newborn baby is 1,000 hours away from being on the brink of learning to read, and if that child gets those hours before kindergarten, they'll excel at reading and in school. One way to log those hours is by reading books; another way is to tell stories in the oral language tradition. The African children's story, Abiyoyo, is an example of an engaging book story, and the Native American Coyote story about how Skunk got his tail is an oral language traditional story that counts toward those 1,000 hours. Father Involvement and Literacy Enhancement leverages the oral language tradition to involve Dads and enhance early literacy, and is relevant to attendees seeking to meaningfully involve fathers and measure results. Program directors will learn to leverage an army of volunteers-fathers-when they realize they're killing two birds with one stone: Increasing father involvement while enhancing early literacy.
A child's knowledge of the alphabet in kindergarten-letter recognition, letter sounds, understanding that words mean things and that letters make words-is one of the most significant predictors of that child's 10th grade reading ability. Getting one-to-one reading and group literacy activities like storytelling for zero-to-five-year-olds is logical; however, programs need people to do it. That's where the Dads come in. Children whose fathers tell them stories in the oral language tradition are readying their children for reading. The presentation emphasizes why preschoolers need fathers generally, and how Dads can enhance literacy, specifically. Literacy enhancement is magnified and multiplied when art, music, something to write with, something to write on, and something to read are added to the mix. The presentation shows how.
Men think of themselves as problem solvers, and without problems to solve, they may seem unmotivated. Lack of sufficient early literacy development to prepare children for kindergarten is the "problem," and once this problem-in-need-of-fixing is articulated to Dads, they'll step forward-right through the door of their child's Head Start program-and fix the problem!
This presentation is for your staff, community partners, and parents -- including dads, grandpas, uncles (and moms!) Attendees will leave with tools to immediately involve more fathers in their children's lives and in your program. A group storytelling activity, music, slides, an oversized boxing glove, a squawking plastic chicken, orange plastic balls, a pillow, and two video clips are elements of this presentation. This is an interactive, entertaining, informative, and motivational event!
The U.S. Head Start Bureau in Washington, D.C., invited Patrick Mitchell to present his Father Involvement And Literacy Enhancement address to program directors, family involvement specialists, father involvement coordinators, and parents at The Father Factor: National Head Start Institute on Father Involvement in Dallas, Texas in June, 2004. The presentation has its roots in a Keynote Address/Plenary Address Mr. Mitchell delivered at the Ninth National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference in San Antonio on May 7, 2003, as a guest of the Child Care Bureau in Washington, D.C. Addressing 400 child care directors from throughout the nation seeking to develop an early learning strategy for Tribes incorporating unique tribal, cultural, and language components into President Bush's Good Start, Grow Smart initiative, Mr. Mitchell's objective -- which conference planners and attendees reported was successfully achieved -- was to instill a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the enormous potential awaiting programs, communities, and families who invite fathers, grandfathers, and uncles to become more meaningfully involved in children's lives in early childhood education settings, child care settings, and at home. Patrick Mitchell continues to improve and evolve his Father Involvement And Literacy Enhancement presentation to match the Head Start paradigm and to motivate and inspire Head Start staff, parents, and community partners who seek greater father involvement in the lives of the children they care for.