Families Connect is a programme that enables parents to discuss ideas about how to support their children's learning and it provides opportunities to test out fun activities, techniques and games that can be used at home. It introduces play based activities that can be easily applied at home and that complement the children's learning at school.
The programme runs for eight weeks and takes place in school in Term 1 and Term 2 by Ms Dorman and Ms Scannell and is designed for parents with a child in P1 or P2.
Each session is 2 hours long. The parents attend the first hour themselves and then they are joined by their children for the second hour after enjoying a snack together before trying out the new games and activities.
Families Connect focuses on 3 key areas:
- Social and emotional development
- Literacy and language development
- Numeracy and mathematics
Each of the eight workshops has a different focus:
- Focus on Feelings
- The Importance of Praise
- The Importance of Listening
- Book Talk
- Beyond the Page
- The Importance of Counting
- Number Talk
- Celebration
At the end of each session the parents are given resources that they can take home to use with their children to support their learning.
The workshops are fun and relaxed, and the children really love spending time with their parents in school. Previous workshops have been extremely successful and really enjoyable for everyone involved.
