Focusing on the needs of the child, keiki
The Tūtū and Me staff arrives at the designated community site with a van filled with mats, tables, and age-appropriate learning materials. The environment is set up so that activities are organized into learning centers and keiki are free to select the activities that interest them. Snack, large group and small group times are included as part of the daily schedule where children are exposed to songs, music, movement activities, and stories.
The curriculum is organized around learning themes, in which children are first exposed to experiences that lead to a positive self-concept and feeling good about themselves, and, gradually, children are taught about the world around them. Cultural aspects as well as values that continue to influence the lives of Native hawaiian children are incorporated into the curriculum.
Children's development and needs are observed, recorded, and tracked by teachers, caregivers, and trained specialists. These observations contribute to designing a program that meets the needs of individual children.
Tūtū and Me also provides entry points into needed health and social services. The program is also a point of identification for children with special learning needs.
Supporting the parent/caregiver
A tūtū, parent or other caregiver of legal age must accompany and remain with the child during program hours. Caregivers are asked to participate in the program in a number of ways. First, they are encouraged to take on a teaching role, to join their keiki in their learning activities, talk to them, explain what may be happening, and praise their efforts. Caregivers are helped in this role by staff members who model this process, and by signs at the learning centers which describe what to do, how to help, and what the children might learn from the particular activity. Secondly, caregivers serve as resources in providing materials, skills, and information, such as how to make a fish net, husk coconuts, or prepare a recipe and serve as a source of songs and stories.
The parent/caregiver curriculum includes a daily feature of a single idea or concept designed to help parents become better teachers. The concept is discussed briefly with the caregiver during program hours. After this discussion, a one-page flyer containing suggestions about how to implement this concept is handed out and caregivers are encouraged to implement this idea and share it with others at home. The project encourages interaction among caregivers, and a high level of involvement that enhances the spirit of ‘ohana or family and strengthens the community.
Because of the socio-economic condition of most Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian families, and because of the value of ‘ohana, the use of older family members to care for children 0-5 years old is a very familiar practice in the Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian community. Thus, an important part of the project's design is meeting the unique needs of these elderly caregivers, or tutu, who are raising their grandchildren and providing them with support services, and emotional and physical resources to go through the act of re-parenting.
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