Mighty Toddlers

Program Overview

While the city of Philadelphia continues to weigh and measure the means by which it can provide adequate and affordable pre-k throughout the city, at Mighty Writers, the Mighty Toddlers program teaches early literacy skills to kids ages three to five and provides lessons and opportunities for parents to engage with their young readers. In 2016-17,the Mighty Toddlers program taught 40 to 50 students weekly at two of our four neighborhood writing studios. Each class is taught by experienced early childhood education teachers. All of Mighty Writers sites are located in some of Philadelphia's most challenged neighborhoods including South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia and a bilingual site in the 9th Street Market for the Mexican-American community.

Our internally developed curriculum includes more than just the standard story time and letter recognition customarily taught to early learners. Our Mighty Toddlers learn to tell their own stories through story acting and appreciate books by making their own. The child engages with the lesson through visual, auditory and kinesthetic as well as musical learning, child-directed talk, self talk, and parallel talk. Mighty Toddlers focus on establishing "who" and "what" the narrative will be about, describing experiences and events with prompting and support, and practicing their writing skills.

Parents are expected to actively participate, both in class and during the week at home. Each lesson teaches parents how to offer developmental support. Additional resources are provided for the parents, and kids are sent home with books to form the basis of a home library and encourage reading.