El Poder de los Padres: Volunteering in a Multicultural Parent-Child Group that Supports Language Development and Literacy Skills

Atwood Memorial Student Union

Award for "Best Our Husky Compact Reflection" Engage as a Member of a Diverse and Multicultural World."

Abstract

The Greater St. Cloud Area Multicultural Parent-Child Group (El Poder de los Padres) provides intensive intervention to parents and children in the greater St. Cloud area through weekly 2-hour sessions during the academic year. Sessions include songs, activities, and crafts that facilitate the development of language and literacy skills in preschool-aged children. In addition, there is a parent education component, in which parents discuss a relevant language and/or literacy topic each week. St. Cloud State University graduate students from the Communication Sciences and Disorders program, in collaboration with a faculty advisor, create, implement, and reflect on a lesson plan for each session. The strategies in the lesson plan are based on research regarding language and literacy development. Volunteers support the group by providing individual instruction to children, assisting in group transitions, and interact with the children during free play times to foster language development. El Poder de los Padres collaborates with the ROCORI School District to empower, enrich, and educate Latino parents in Stearns County. The program is funded through a United Way of Central Minnesota Early Language/Early Literacy Grant.