Promoting healthy development and academic success are priorities at ECS St. Barnabas Mission for homeless women and their children. To that end, ECS recently launched a new parent-child education initiative called the Butterfly. This new program is able to serve more children and have a greater impact on families than the preschool model it replaced.
“It has been really powerful having the parents more involved,” said Dana Barbry-Nuble, the shelter’s education coordinator. “It’s generating more positive interactions with the staff and building community among the moms.”
The effort is part of ECS’ commitment to help homeless families build stability and move toward self-sufficiency. A typical family stays six to nine months at the Mission, providing an opportunity for mothers and children alike to learn skills they can use for life.
Open daily, the Butterfly room is equipped with high-quality toys, books and developmental materials for families to explore under staff supervision. The program prepares young children for school, helps current students succeed, and supports mothers in improving their parenting skills and pursuing their own educational goals.
“We have lessons in everything from safely washing a newborn to helping a school-age child with math and reading,” Barbry-Nuble said. “With daytime and evening programs, we are able to reach all interested residents regardless of their schedules.”
In keeping with best practices in early childhood development, the Butterfly encourages learning through play for its youngest participants. The Mission’s education staff leads age-appropriate interactive activities for mothers with infants and very young children, including “tummy time” and “mom and me” crafts and songs. Storytelling and author-of-the-month events foster a love of reading. Barbry-Nuble will lead “Together we read,” a six-week family literacy curriculum, in the spring. The Mission’s kitchen coordinator leads a series of cooking and nutrition classes for older youth and mothers.
Tutoring and homework help are provided to students from 3:00 to 6:00 pm daily with the help of volunteers. Most children arriving at the Mission are behind their grade level in one or more subjects, so ECS offers one-on-one instruction in literacy and math. Weekly lesson plans are built around Pennsylvania’s Learning Standards, assuring that students are familiar with all of the skills and content areas appropriate for their grade. Barbry-Nuble helps parents advocate for their children within the school system and helps them identify high-quality daycare and preschool programs in the community.
Students and parents have access to the Mission’s newly outfitted computer lab to learn technology skills, complete homework assignments and search for jobs. Physical activities and healthy recreation are also part of the program. Adjoining the Butterfly room is an enclosed playground with separate play areas for preschool and school-aged children, picnic tables and a gazebo for parents to gather.
“We also have some fun,” Barbry-Nuble said. “We have pajama parties, movie nights, and birthday parties that double as opportunities for positive family interaction.”
