STMA’s Early Childhood Family Education program’s goals for parents and children are as follows:

When attending the STMA ECFE program, children will:

• build relationships with peers and adults as well as develop emotional connections and expression of feelings and grow an appreciation of rules and routines. (SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL)
• establish verbal and nonverbal tools for communicating with others and participate in books, stories, and songs. (LANGUAGE/LITERACY)
• use exploration to discover new information through play and become problem solvers by approaching new activities with curiosity and wonder. (COGNITIVE)
• express creativity through multiple mediums and be encouraged to use imagination during pretend play and social interactions. (ARTS)
• grow large and small motor control and coordination during physical activity and develop self-help skills by expanding independence. (MOTOR)

While working with parents, the STMA ECFE staff will:

• Communicate the importance of parent’s role as child’s first teacher
• Provide parents realistic expectations and knowledge of child development stages.
• Support parent-child relationships and demonstrate positive interactions
• Guide parents through transition of early childhood to kindergarten and school-age years
• Provide opportunities for formal and informal social networks
• Introduce families to available community resources