June 9, 2016
Dr. Koichi Okamura and his wife Shinobu say Mind in the Making has made a big difference at home. Children are viewed differently in Japan, they say, but MITM provides invaluable insight into the growth and development of ALL children.


Mind in the Making
Talking with your kids doesn't always come naturally

"I was not good at communicating with our kids," said Dr. Koichi Okamura. His wife, Shinobu, who was sitting next to him, smiled and nodded her head.

"They either ignored me or disobeyed me," Koichi continued. "It's true," said Shinobu, still smiling.

Koichi and Shinobu, the parents of twin daughters who are in the second grade and a son who's in kindergarten, have just finished Mind in the Making, an eight-session course that Ready to Learn Providence and the Providence Public School Department offer to families with young children in the city's schools.

Prior to coming to Providence less than a year ago for a two-year research project with Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, Koichi was living with his family in Maebashi, Japan, where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon, often from early in the morning till midnight. "I really didn't see my children much," he says. "That was part of the problem."

Shinobu, who had worked as a physical therapist at a children's hospital for a number of years, had far more experience talking with and relating to children. "Mind in the Making reinforced the things she would suggest to help me understand what our kids were thinking," Koichi says. "Now I know much more about kids, and how to talk with them at their level."
   
Apply now for the Pre-K Lottery
Deadline is July 1

Don't miss this opportunity for free, high-quality prekindergarten for your child. The state now has Pre-K classrooms in 11 Rhode Island cities and towns. If you live in one of them, and your child will be 4 by Sept. 1, you can apply to one or all of the programs in your community.

Click here for a full list of all the classrooms, information about the process, and applications in English or Spanish. Or you can apply online at right.
  
Congratulations to our T.E.A.C.H. grads
Nine T.E.A.C.H. scholars receive degrees in May











Nine T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood RI scholars saw their hard work pay off in May when they received their college diplomas -- two earning bachelor degrees from Rhode Island College and seven receiving associate degrees from the Community College of Rhode Island. "It was one of the happiest days of my life," says Rebecca Repoza of her graduation day at CCRI. Several of the grads have already received promotions and pay increases as a result of their new credentials.

Shown above, top row, l-r: Erin Murray, B.S.; Shirley Chang, A.A.; and Rebecca Repoza, A.A.
Middle row: Tammy Bourgeois, B.S.; Judi Boyle, A.A.; and Judy Freiman, A.A.
Bottom row: Claudia Galeano (a former R2LP AmeriCorps member) A.A.; Diane Gallant, A.A.; and Raquel Guzman, A.A. 
 
 
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