Like many other parts of Canada North, Cree (or whatever the native language is) is not spoken much by youth. The skills of hunting and trapping are still very important to the Cree culture. The Cree are struggling between two cultures, that of their traditions, and the education system which typifies the "modern world". A group, mainly consisting of teachers, have formed an association, Association Caring for Tomorrow (ACT) as an attempt to address current issues.

The first PRINTS sessions for parents were held in the fall of 2001 and went extremely well. A challenge is to recognize and address cultural concerns. In January, 2002, Martina became the proud Mom of Sean, who joined his sister, Erin. Martina and her group (Karen Nakogee, Eve Evans, Michelle Vega, Wendy Howard) offered PRINTS again in April, 2002. This group for PRINTS included teenage parents. A goal is to offer PRINTS to high school parents and to have them obtain a school credit for this experience.

One innovative move of Martina and her friends is that they had enough volunteer facilitators so that a facilitator could take responsibility for a particular STEP. This is certainly one way to highlight the STEPS or context of a child's life as opportunities for literacy. The school {where the PRINTS is offered), the Lion's Club and the local grocery store have been most supportive of the efforts of Martina, Karen and friends.

The Integrity of the PRINTS Program

The PRINTS Program, like many other programs, was developed through the sweat and hard work of authors. The ideas and information in programs are copyrighted and cannot be used by others without permission of the author/s. To do so is not just unprofessional; it is illegal. If there is a question about copyright, this should be clarified with the authors. Programs are developed so that they "hang together", they make sense as a "package", This is known as the integrity" of a program. A person who says, "This looks like a nice activity, a nice idea, or a nice label" ; I will take that and use it in my program, is violating the integrity of the program from which they are taking this material.
Please respect the integrity of the PRINTS Program.

Obtaining Books for Children

An important part of the PRINTS Program is to give parents/caregivers a small book for each of their pre-school children. Sometimes the same book may be used for two pre-school children if they are close in age and can both enjoy the same book. The goal behind this is to help the children feel like readers; to identify with material that is associated with reading as an enjoyable experience, to give the child pride in having his/her own collection of books. There may be many sources of books but one is Scholastic. However, in the case of PRINTS which focuses on the HOME and COMMUNITY as contexts for learning, these books should be interesting, enjoyable books that we think of when we think of reading. Activity books that focus on developing letter, sound, and other knowledge should not be given as books to enjoy. They might be used to support or extend some of the activities in the various STEPS to which they relate.

PRINTS WEBSITE: http://www.nald.ca/prints