What in the world are Learning Mats?

On April 10th, Children-R-First and School Crossing will be hosting a Kindergarten Readiness Make-N-Take workshop for teachers and parents. During that workshop, participants will be given everything they need to create "learning mats" for their home or classroom. Over the last several days, I have received several questions about this workshop. Below, I have attempted to answer the most frequently asked questions, but if you do not find the answers to your questions, please feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

FAQ for Kindergarten Readiness Make-N-Take

Q: What are "Learning Mats?" and "How can they help me teach my child, or the children in my classroom?"
A: The Early Literacy Learning Mats are an extremely useful tool that The Mailbox created to be used as both an assessment and teaching tool in the classroom or at home. They reinforce skills like rhyming, visual discrimination, letter matching, beginning sounds, syllables, and opposites.  If you would like to look at an example please click here to go to The Mailbox webpage for The Learning Mats, then click on "View Sample Page."  There is also an Early Math Learning Mats book, which is a great resource as well.

Q: Why is the workshop so expensive?
A: The total cost of this workshop is $40.00. The workshop will include;
   
    Learning Mats book (retail $19.95) 
    3 ring binder ($6.99 at Staples) which will hold the learning mats, student card sets, teacher card sets, and assessment worksheets
    15 sheet protectors ($1.50 at Staples)
    plastic baggies to separate and contain the card sets.

We will also provide a continental breakfast, instructional assistance about how to use the Learning Mats appropriately, and a certificate worth 2 hours of participation for teachers. To register for this workshop, click here.