Recommendations

USEFUL TIPS FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL PAT GROUP CONNECTIONS

The DESE Parents as Teachers Professional Development Team is pleased to share four Virtual Group Connections with you and your PAT program. The sessions include:

“Animal Masks and Music,” “Pediatric Health Tips”, (A and B segments), “Cooking With Kids,” and “Hello, Poison Control? My Child Ate….”

The virtual sessions recorded here are only a beginning framework for a group connection. Your program will need to provide additional parental information and parental interaction to the framework. Here are some useful tips to make the Virtual Group Connection learning experience the most beneficial for your families and your program:

1) Please review sections 1.8 and 2.8 Group Connections in the Early Childhood Development Act (ECDA) Administrative Manual from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), revised June 2020. This document will share the primary goal for a group connection and the required documentation for each session.

2) Choose one of the four Virtual Group Connections and review the Group Connection Planning Guide/Record and the video segment. (One of the Virtual Group Connections, “Pediatric Health Tips,” may be split into two group connections if your program chooses to do so as long as all of the requirements for a complete group connection are met.) A partial Group Connection Planning Guide/Record has been provided to you for three of the virtual sessions. (*See note below) You will need to complete the entire Planning Guide for each session with your processes and additional parental information.

3) *NOTE—Your PAT program will need to complete an entire Group Connection Planning Guide/Record for the virtual session entitled, “Hello, Poison Control? My Child Ate…” (The Missouri Poison Control Center facilitator provided a handout with instructions and an activity for parents to complete as a supplement to your Group Connection Planning Guide.)

4) Provide guidance to your families as to your procedures for participation in the virtual group connection. (The video segments may be paused at any time for additional information, activities, or parent interaction.)

5) Enjoy sharing these Virtual Group Connections with your PAT families!