Entering its fourth year, Hartford Talks is focusing on families. Here are two families’ LENA stories.
LENA - Building brains through early talk
Blog Posts (14)
“1, 2, 3 Talk with Me”: One mother’s story of completing Virtual LENA Start
Working from home while caring for a baby is an all-too-familiar juggling act these days. A mom in Phoenix tells her story of how LENA Start helped.
Postpartum depression and early talk: My experience
What can you do to ensure you’re supporting parents experiencing perinatal mood or anxiety disorders?
Three moms share stories of their LENA Start experience
Survey results tell us that families’ enthusiasm for LENA Start has held steady more than a year into the pandemic. Three personal family stories show us why.
Parents on virtual LENA Start classes: “Now I know 10 families when I drop my kids off at school.”
The virtual format offered families a powerful opportunity to connect when they otherwise couldn’t during the pandemic.
Results from parent survey confirm LENA Start is building stronger families
We analyzed data from 1,700 program participants and found that families report spending more time with children, talking more, and feeling more confident in their parenting abilities.
Two moms establish new parenting habits through LENA Start classes
Best friends Kathryn Royse and Samantha Stover enrolled in LENA Start classes in Houston together and began looking for ways to increase conversation at home.
Virginia Beach family increases two-generation, bilingual engagement with children through LENA Start
Taking LENA Start classes helped the Ochoa family learn to connect with their children in new ways.
Mom uses LENA technology to advocate for more robust school support for daughter who is hard of hearing
Lisa Eberlein used LENA technology to investigate the language environment her daughter experienced at school. She used the data to demonstrate the need for her daughter to have an FM system in the classroom.
Mom credits pre-teen son’s success to increased interactive talk in early childhood
Christine Gardy, a mom who gained insights from LENA feedback while her son was just a baby, attributes much of his success 10 years later to increased interactive talk.
A parent perspective on LENA’s new longitudinal study
Parent Traci Martin shares strategies for unpacking new research with parents, teachers, and caregivers.
Parents gain confidence, skills, and awareness through LENA Start classes
A young couple from Texas share how LENA Start classes helped them gain confidence in their parenting skills after the birth of the first daughter.
Parent Profile: Kristen Rhodes finds community, concrete feedback in LENA Start program
A mom who graduated from LENA Start shares how the program helped her to connect with her daughter and her community.
Parent Profile: Lily Ellison Shares how LENA Start Changed her Approach to Reading
“The thing I found the most interesting in the classes was the difference between reading to and reading with a child,” Lily explained. “Roseanna had heard the entire Harry Potter series, but we didn’t read it together, so the same parts of her brain weren’t lighting up.”
Articles (5)
Virginia Beach family featured in ‘The Right to Read’ social justice documentary
“This is truly a crisis because two-thirds of our children in this country are reading below grade level,” said filmmaker and director Jenny Mackenzie. “We have to decide, do we have the political will to stand up and say ‘Enough?’ This is a huge issue and it is continuing to perpetuate systemic racism because we are leaving Black and Brown children behind?”
‘It is life-changing!’: Virginia Beach TALKS offers free early learning class for parents
Parents and coordinators reflect on the success of Virginia Beach's LENA Start program as it celebrates its third year.
Families find success in LENA Start program
Read Aloud Delaware's LENA Start program, launched in September 2020, has made an impact for families in a short span of time.
WEB EXTRA: Parent shares how LENA program prepared her child for success in school
Jovonne Foster shares about how Huntsville City Schools’ language program, LENA, helped prepare her child for success in kindergarten.
Before I had kids, I vowed never to use baby talk. Here’s why I was wrong.
Research shows that using “Motherese” — a form of communication with a higher pitch, more variability in tones, and lots of repetition — helps babies learn language.