Early learning support a priority for BASICS

Knowing how important it is to feed young minds, Family BASICS offers several projects geared to parents of young children. Parents as Teachers (PAT) is perhaps the best known of these. PAT is an early childhood parent education and family support program that teaches parents methods of giving their child a good start in life.

"Kids learn so many things before they step even one foot into a school building," says Julie Reinhart, parent educator with PAT and Family BASICS. PAT is a free program for parents of children from pre-natal to age five. PAT involves home visits where parent educators answer questions the parent have regarding parenting issues like behavior or discipline. The PAT educator also serves to support the parent, and share developmental information about the child.

"It's so amazing to watch young minds grow," says Reinhart, "the tools we provide parents help them take an active and primary role in educating their children."

Family BASICS has other programs to support preschoolers and their parents in addition to the PAT program. Many of the Family Resource Centers have "Tot Times," where children gain school readiness skills and families join together for fun. BASICs also offers ABCs (Awesome Beginnings for Children), a class for parents and pre-kindergarten students that helps both prepare for school.

Parents can contact Family BASICS or any FRC to sign up for any of our free preschool programs. A new Early Literacy / School Readiness coordinator was recently added to our staff to expand the preschool programs we offer for parents in Missoula and western Montana.