Clare Family Learning Project

The Facilitator's Resource Guide ‹ Back to Tutors ‹ Back to Resources

The guide contains the basic framework for a programme designed to help parents maximise the potential of the home learning environment for literacy and numeracy development. Each session emphasises group activity and hands-on learning.

• Session 1 - Introductory session which focuses on getting to know the group, and mutual planning of the course.
• Session 2 - Parents’ role as natural teachers and awareness of different learning styles.
• Session 3 - Demonstrates the importance of oral language, helping children develop good conversational and listening skills.
• Session 4 - Explores the possibilities for fostering phonological awareness through everyday activities involving rhymes, songs and poems.
• Session 5 - Shows how familiarity and understanding of story structure, as in fairy tales, encourages the development of reading and writing skills at an early age.
• Session 6 - Looks at activities that promote interaction with children around books and strategies for developing reading skills.
• Session 7 - Examines the many opportunities for making the most of environmental print in the home and community.
• Session 8 - Considers the skills involved in learning to write, the efforts children make to write before they start school and how these attempts can be supported.
• Session 9 - Explores the development of children’s early writing skills through activities at home and in the community.
• Session 10 - Highlights the many ways children experience maths through everyday language and using equipment in the home.
• Session 11 - Focuses on the many practical and fun home activities and games which encourage early understanding of basic number concepts.
• Session 12 - "Making a book" is designed as a stand alone session to show how simple homemade books can incorporate many aspects of learning.
• Session 13 - Emphasizes the links between all the learning strands, oral language, reading, writing, and maths, and encourages parents to review their experiences on the course.
• Session 14 - Focuses on encouraging parents to explore their own educational needs and interests and explore community resources for further learning, family support and community involvement.

The guide also includes relevant background reading and a list of suggested resources for further support in implementing family learning programmes.

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