Parents as Teachers Field Trip Funded

Based on the supposition that “All parents will be their children’s best first teachers,” Parents As Teachers is a program designed for families of children birth to kindergarten entry. The goal of PAT is to help provide all parents of these young children with the information and support needed to give their children the best possible start in life.

Adele Penrod, director of the Piqua program, explained that babies are born learning, and parents are their first and most influential teachers. In their first few years, children learn more and at a much faster pace than at any other time. Through Parents as Teachers, parents acquire the skills to help make the most of the crucial early learning years.

This is accomplished through a program of personalized home visits, group meetings, playgroups, screenings and serving as a referral source. Through its playgroups, PAT offers opportunities for a diverse group of parents and children to interact with one another. And through educational field trips, the program offers opportunities that many families might normally be unable to experience.

It was just such a field trip that the Piqua Community Foundation grant funded in September, when 37 children and adults from PAT visited Boonschoft Children’s Museum of Discovery. According to Mrs. Penrod, it was a wonderful opportunity for children and parents to explore, create, pretend and just enjoy the many facets of this interactive museum. The PCF grant helped by paying for transportation and admission costs and a light lunch shared together, an opportunity that might otherwise have been denied many of these families.

On behalf of Parents as Teachers and the 37 participants in the Boonschoft Field Trip,
Mrs. Penrod expressed sincere thanks to the Piqua Community Foundation for its support
of the program.

"Providing your opportunity to enrich our community"