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ECFE
EARLY CHILDHOOD FAMILY EDUCATION
Come for your CHILD...
STAY FOR YOURSELF!
It’s for you and your young children
- birth to before kindergarten.
ECFE offers high quality learning activities for you
and your children, helps children grow and develop,
enriches family life, and provides information and
support for your important role as a parent!
What happens when we come to ECFE
parent/child activities?
Staff will greet you and the room will be set up with activities.
All ECFE instructing staff have, at minimum, a four year
degree plus teaching licensure in Parent Education, Early
Childhood Education or Early Childhood Family Education.
Usually there are three parts to the sessions: Time together
for parents and children, parent discussion time, and
children’s activity and exploration time.
What are the rooms like?
The ECFE rooms are set up for young children with childsized
furniture, toys and materials that are appealing to kids!
We have one room set up just for infants - 2 years, others for
a variety of ages up to 5 years.
What are the activities?
Activities will be set up in the room. You and your child can
choose what you want to try. Some activities like painting
become weekly favorites. We encourage you to “take your
child’s lead” and enjoy the special time together. At times we
will do group activities with all parents and children. Usually
there’s a time when the ECFE staff have all the parents and
children together in order to get acquainted. There will be
a variety of activities depending on the age of the children.
For older children there will be stories, songs, fingerplays.
In some classes parents will “step back” and watch the
children’s learning in action.
What happens during parent discussion time?
While your child participates in the children’s time in the
ECFE classroom with the Early Childhood Educator, you’ll
meet with parents and the ECFE Parent Educator. Parent
discussion will be in the children’s room for parents with
young children; it will be in another room for parents with
older children. It’s a comfortable situation where you’ll be able
to talk about the joys and concerns of being a parent. You’ll
be able to take time to look at and consider many ideas.
Often parents say this is one of their most important times
during the week. Research tells us that getting information
and support for our role as parents is one of the most
important things we can do for ourselves and our children!
What happens during the children’s time and
how will parents be involved?
The children participate in activities in the classroom while
moms, dads or caregivers participate in the discussion. The
Early Childhood Educator prepares the room and activities
gauged for the children’s ages. Both teacher lead and child
initiated activities are planned. In some classes parents take
turns working with the teacher in the classroom. This provides
an opportunity for parents to observe children’s time and
how their child responds. It also provides an opportunity to
learn more about children’s development and behavior. It’s a
chance to get involved and have fun!
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ECFE