EARLY CHILDHOOD SUMMER PROGRAM

Coming Soon: July 13th - August 14th

While CPS focuses on summer programming for middle grades, WITS is committed to serving Pre-K and Kindergarten students while they are at home. The WITS Early Childhood Summer Program (ECSP) is a literacy program that supports early learners as they enter elementary school. Since 2012, ECSP has prepared over 560 Chicago students for school using an innovative, fun curriculum. Now, we are adapting our classroom program to an accessible virtual learning space that meets the needs of children and families while they are at home. In collaboration with WITS partner school educators, the new program will be hosted on the WITS website. This free resource requires no app, no download and is available for all. Starting July 13th, this five-week program features new content delivered twice a week. 

What is the Early Childhood Summer Program?

The WITS Early Childhood Summer Program (ECSP) is a literacy program that serves early learners as they enter elementary school, helping them build the foundation to be reading proficiently by third grade.  Students practice emergent literacy skills such as letter name and sound recognition, book and print awareness, and early writing skills.

Who will be teaching this program?

The WITS Early Childhood Summer curriculum was developed by educators and is delivered by our full-time Program Team members. The Program Team has a combined 60+ years of experience delivering early childhood programming, and we are thrilled to be able to showcase their expertise with a wider audience this year. To read more about our Program Team, click here.

WITS is excited to partner with long-time WITS advocate and CPS Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Rosalba Granados. Ms. Granados has a M.A. Ed in Early Education, bilingual certification from the Erikson Institute, and has been the lead teacher for ECSP at Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy.

Why Early Childhood Summer Program?
WITS ECSP is free, has no advertisements, and is available to everyone: parents can trust that the curriculum, developed by educators, is fun and appropriate for learners as young as three. Many young children are already familiar with fairy tales, and when children have prior knowledge of a topic, they are better equipped to learn new skills. Twice-weekly read-alouds will be available in English and Spanish. Research shows that receiving literacy opportunities in a child’s home language (such as Spanish) makes it easier for them to learn how to read in a second language, such as English.

What will each week look like?

On Mondays we will…

  • Start with a welcome activity that introduces a reading skill
  • Use Zoophonics to learn letter names and sounds with animal motions
  • Read a fairy tale together

On Wednesday we will…

  • Start with a welcome activity that introduces a reading skill
  • Get our bodies moving with a movement activity
  • Read a different version of Monday’s fairy tale

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