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Lapsit

The Lapsit Program is a joint initiative of the Cities of Salisbury and Playford Library Services, in collaboration with the University of South Australia’s (UniSA) Bachelor of Early Childhood (MBCE) Program. Lapsit was funded by an Australian Government Sustainable Regions grant to provide resources to assist caregivers develop the emergent literacy skills of their young children.

The Lapsit Program involves caregivers sitting with their child (birth – 5 years) in a group setting, sharing songs, rhymes, finger plays and stories, all of which are supplied in custom-designed Lapsit kits. The UniSA MBCE students are involved as group facilitators for the Lapsit sessions.  Each caregiver uses individual copies of the books and songs with their young child to maintain their child’s interest and involvement.

In 2006 a pilot program operated in the Salisbury and Playford communities over four sessions. in 19 early childhood sites (eg: playgroups, child parent centres) with 83 UniSA students working in groups to facilitate the Lapsit Program.

The Lapsit Program continues with resources from the Cities of Playford and Salisbury. UniSA Early Childhood Education students act as group facilitators to model the process and mentor people at the sites to continue the Lapsit program after the students leave.

Lapsit is a project developed by the Libraries for Learning Partnership.
 

Lapsit Articles, Papers and Awards
 

Books R 4 Babies 2: The ‘Lapsit’ Project

Authors: UniSA - Alexandra Diamond, Jeff Meiners, Wendy Schiller, Julie Kalms

This paper reports on the 2006 ‘Lapsit’ project, an innovative community partnership program with library teams from the Cities of Salisbury and Playford working with staff and students of the University of South Australia (UniSA) early childhood program. Lessons learned during the ‘Lapsit’ project are addressed from the perspectives of student teachers, site staff, parents, children, library partners and university practitioners.

Awarded for the 'Lapsit Outreach Literacy Program'. For more information on the Chancellor Awards for Community Engagement visit http://www.unisa.edu.au/cha/staffinfo/comm_eng.asp (NB: Will open in new window)
 

Awarded to the Lapsit program for "outstanding achievement in supporting parents and caregivers to maximise the development and wellbeing of young children”

In March to early April, preschools across the northern suburbs were a lot busier and louder than usual, as parents took up the challenge of joining in with their children’s playtime. Their incentive was Project Lapsit, a half-hour interactive session, in which UniSA Early Childhood Education (ECE) students encourage parents to engage in their child’s language and literacy development by reading books, reciting rhymes, engaging in finger plays and singing songs….. To read more go to: http://www.unisa.edu.au/unisanews/2006/May/playtime.asp

 

 

 

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