Baby Talk Is your baby starting to learn words or identify objects? This series of workshops is an introduction to how to develop early language skills with your child. We’ll offer tips you can add to your daily routine to take your child’s vocabulary to the next level. Together, we explore how activities like singing, playing, talking, and reading with your child can support their lifelong learning. Serve & Return Did you know that all day long, babies are giving us silent “cues” to their feelings, wants, and needs? This workshop series is dedicated to understanding what cues an infant is serving up to us, and how to build up language skills through how we return attention to them. Caregivers will leave with a greater understanding of how language is developed in their childʼs brain and how they can use simple, everyday tips to build their relationship with their child. Little Babies, Big Feelings This series is all about Social Emotional Learning for the whole family! We will explore the big emotions children feel, using easy tips to support our little ones to understand and care for their emotions. By talking over strategies for reducing stress while raising future readers, we will discuss how emotional development is tied to language skills and learning together.

Why Our Toddlers Talk and How to Respond Is it clear when your baby is talking to you? This session gives caregivers insight into 4 different types of toddler communication and how to respond. Learn about the tools that you can use to detect which type of communication your toddler is engaging in, and the most effective responses to further develop their language skills. Building Vocabulary and Comprehension Through Social Emotional Learning Did you know that feelings are often the first concepts children try to communicate through words? This workshop series is about building vocabulary through identifying our emotions and how to grow in our emotional intelligence as both adults and children. Caregivers will leave with daily tips to build their child’s vocabulary and empathy. Print Concepts How does writing work? Learning your way around a book includes developing print awareness. Print concepts or “rules” allow us to understand written messages and make meaning out of words. In this session, caregivers will learn how to identify print concepts and practice them with their child during their daily reading activities.

Reading Starts with Hearing Did you know that babies mimic how their families talk? Before we can read, we learn how to listen and how to talk. During this session, families will learn how children climb the “staircase” of listening and speaking. These skills are the foundation of learning to read. Together, we will explore how to build and teach your child the steps to listen, speak, and read, each day at home. How to Build Phonemic Awareness What’s the smallest unit of sound in a word? A phoneme, and it sits at the top of what we call the phonological awareness staircase. In this series, caregivers will learn to pull “phonemes” out of words, making the recognition of familiar sounds into a fun, daily practice that supports their child’s readiness to read. Phonics Rich Home What does a phonics rich home sound like? In this series, caregivers will learn how to create phonics rich homes - environments filled with opportunities to support a child’s ability to recognize letters as they get ready to read. These skills can easily be applied to households where families speak multiple languages.

Parents are a powerful force. They are the backbone of the LINC model. Parents have the ability to shape and influence their children’s future. LINC’s Very Involved Parent Workshop celebrates our parents who wish to take a greater role in shaping the future of their communities.