Educators make house calls to get kids ready to learn


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SALT LAKE CITY -- A few hundred Salt Lake families attended a family literacy event Wednesday night sponsored by the Mayor's office and Deseret Media Companies. The goal was to help parents prepare young children for school.

"Reading to kids when they're young, getting kids preschool help when they're young will make all the difference in their kids' ability to be successful," said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

Salt Lake schools are so focused on involving families in education, they're making house calls.


"Overall in the families I visit, when the parents are involved we see the achievements in the school," said educator Maria Swaim.

Four-year-old Jessica Robles isn't old enough to go to school, so school is coming to her.

Educators in the "Parents as Teachers" program come to the homes of families with preschoolers. They help parents take an active role in getting their kids ready to learn.

Parents as Teachers educator Maria Swaim said, "Overall in the families I visit, when the parents are involved we see the achievements in the school."

They start by mom reading a book about plants. Then they scoop dirt, prepare the seeds and learn the word that comes next: Water.

"The important thing is the process, not the ending," Swaim said. "And the end comes with good work."

Through this hands-on lesson, they really are planting the seeds: Interacting, practicing and developing habits together at an early age.

"Mom said she learned the important thing is not only to give them the book, but to read with them," Swaim said.

Salt Lake educators say through these homes visits, they're working to reduce that learning gap that occurs when kids come to kindergarten already behind.

E-mail: dwimmer@ksl.com

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Nadine Wimmer

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