Play to Learn

This was a program that I came up with in Fall 2011 after Every Child Ready to Read 2 (ECRR2) came out. It is an alternative to story time, but still teaches the parents the skills they need to help their children learn to read in a fun way. The program is set up as stations for the child and their parent to work through. Each station has a sign that gives the directions for that station and what their child is learning. We can usually fit 5-8 stations in our meeting room that 25 kids (ages 2-4) and their parents go through at one time. Some examples of stations include reading the book and playing with the flannelboard pieces, making their own coloring book, making puppets, and matching pictures to letter sounds on the magnet board. Every Play to Learn program is based around a children's book to give it some direction. I have been surprised at how this program has taken off. The parents and kids love it and it fills up quickly every time we advertise a new program.