Ready for kindergarten with help from home visits
Amanda enrolled in home visiting when her son Liam was about 9 months old. She was eager to learn about his developmental stages; an only child herself, she did not have much experience being around other children. When Liam was a toddler, he began to show some delays in gross and fine motor as well as communication and problem solving.
Amanda’s parent educator Robbyn gave her ideas of activities to do and referred her to the school district early childhood program. Robbyn also provided support with discipline and encouraged daily reading. “I was so frustrated, he would just run around when I read – I couldn’t even get through a page!” Amanda recalled. Robbyn reassured her to just keep reading, and he would come around.
At a recent home visit, Liam – now in 4K – squealed in delight when Robbyn brought a Dinosaur ABC book to the home; he was quick to point out which dinosaur on the cover was the friendly one. He rolled out green playdough (his favorite color) and picked up cookie cutters in the shape of letters, excitedly practicing all the letter sounds. Robbyn had joined the family for a recent meeting at school, and reported that his teacher said, “she has never seen a child go that far that fast!”
Liam continues with some speech therapy at school and is on track to start kindergarten in the fall. At the end of a recent screening for social and emotional development, Robbyn asked Amanda and her significant other what they enjoy most about Liam, to which they both immediately replied that he is kind. While his other developmental progress is something to be proud of, strong social emotional skills can perhaps be considered his greatest success.
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropic organization dedicated to improving health in the United States, there is extensive scientific evidence showing that a child’s social-emotional skill development provides an essential foundation for social, behavioral and academic success in school. Home visitation is identified as an important strategy for increasing parental skills and responsiveness. Learn more at https://www.rwjf.org, keyword SEL (social emotional learning).