Yessenia Mata

DFST 4023
4-12-15
Red Oak Books Project
Purpose and Definition:
As the Home Visiting Education and Leadership (H.E.A.L.) program Intern, my responsibility
for the remainder of the semester and practicum project was based on the partnership between
Red Oak Books and the Parenting Center. The purpose of this partnership is to distribute books
donated by Red Oak to children ages birth to five years old, whose parents/families are registered
in the H.E.A.L. program; and promote reading. The books are available in English and Spanish,
and children within the age range stated above will receive three different books at the end of the
program.
Week 1 and 2: Creating a H.E.A.L. Program Library
To initiate with the project I cleared the top three book shelves in the Home Visiting Education
and Leadership (H.E.A.L.) program office where the books would be located in. Once the books
came in, I organized the books according to each module; Parent-Child Interaction (PCI), Safety,
and Health. To add, the three book titles in each shelve were organized according to age
appropriateness: youngest to oldest.
The first books shelve had three different book titles focusing on PCI:
My Love for You, I Like it When, I Love My Mommy Because
The second books shelve had three different book titles focusing on module two:
If youre Happy and You Know It, You are my I Love You, The Ugly Duckling
The third books shelve had three different book titles focusing on Health:
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Eating Well, Growing Vegetable Soup
Week 3:
During week three, I created an excel book project spreadsheet that will continue tracking the
books the program gives out to families as well as documenting the client names and ages of the
children they are given too. The first column on the spreadsheet is divided between two groups.
The first group is home visitor one followed by clients. The second group on column one is for
home visitor two followed by clients. Rows two through nine are spaces for the titles of the
books. When one book was given away, I went down the spreadsheet to the clients name, across
the spreadsheet to find the book title, and then marked an x- with the age of the child.
March 2015- May 2015
Because H.E.A.L. is an 18 week program and divided in three different parent education training
modules, my responsibility for the following weeks was to choose an age appropriate book for
each module and read it to the children during home visits. For example, while the Home Visitor
trained a parent on Module three Health, I chose a book based on that module and according to
the age/reading level of the child. Also, because each family/client started or was enrolled in the

H.E.A.L. program at different time periods (some starting in April others in February), I
considered that I might not be there for every client during the 18 week session or last module.
However, a copy of the book project instructions is available for the next H.E.A.L. intern along
with parent-child activities expanding on each book. In turn, all book project information is put
into a Red Oak Books Project binder with instructions, activities, and resources used. To
conclude, the intern will also keep documentation of child-response to each reading session in
home visitor case notes.
Resources:
The resources used for this project were a collection of Red Oak Books focusing on three
different topics, space needed or empty book shelves to create a childrens library for the
H.E.A.L. program, Microsoft Excel, child development and literacy information, copies of home
visitor case notes, and educational websites with parent-child activities.
Coursework:
Coursework that truly supported the plan and actual putting it to practice of this project is
definitely a combination of my Development and Family Studies classes along as well as Early
Childhood classes taken at the University of North Texas. The top three of my course
information that I referred to the most during this project was Assessment and Observation,
Parenting Diverse Families, Infant Toddler Development, Child Development, and Guidance of
Child Youth. Throughout these courses I learned about different ways to observe and assess
children, how to determine what activities/books are developmentally appropriate for each child,
and how to guide children in their learning.
End Results:
The long-term contribution to the Home Visiting Education and Leadership (H.E.A.L.) program
at The Parenting Center was to create a childrens library and resource guide for future interns as
well as home visitors; to promote the importance of reading at a young age amongst families
with different needs. As for me the long-term contribution of the Red Oak Books Project was an
unforgettable learning experience in working with a diverse number of families and children
living in different home environments.