Children succeed when parents play a proactive role in their education.  We believe that when parents are provided with specific activities and guidance on how to work with their child at home, children can make substantial progress.  The home intervention component is the first line of intervention within the CSI process.  The activities provided within the kit are intended to be enjoyable for both the parent and child.  The activities are also multi-sensory in nature and are aimed at either increasing sight word recognition or letter/sound recognition. 

 

Tips for making this program a success:

 

*Meet with the parent prior to beginning the program.  Explain the assessments that you used to determine that their child is at risk and the goals you wish to accomplish by their participation in the process.  You may want to have your parents sign the contract that is provided in the “Resource” section.

 

*Have the parents track the amount of time they work with the child on the activities per day.  This helps you measure the child’s progress against the amount of intervention that is provided.  If the parents are having a difficult time providing extra time at home, then this time will need to be provided at school.  We typically request 10 min. per day. 

 

*The activities are intended for be used weekly.  Establish a consistent day with your parent(s) to return the home kits.  If the box is not returned on this day, send the activity home in a baggie. 

 

*The number of letters or words that are put in the activity is dependent upon the child’s rate of learning.  For some children, one letter (upper and lower case) is put in the box.  For children who are learning quickly, at times, 10 sight words may be put in the kit. 

 

*Provide parents with feedback regarding their child’s progress.  Copies of the charts used to track sight word growth or letter/sound growth is usually a quick way to let them know that their child is making progress and also serves as a motivator to continue working on the activities.  A quick note at the bottom of the instructions is also works well.

 

*Home kits are only intended to be used for children who are at risk.  To provide this intervention to the class as a whole is not realistic.  A classroom teacher implementing this intervention should take on no more than five children at a time.  Once organized, the teacher should plan on 3-5 minutes per kit to review the child’s progress and fill the kit with the next activity.