Background:

Learning Thorugh Play (LTP) is an international parenting project of Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, a center for mental health service for infants, children, youth and their

Mrs. Soriano with Andrew Reesor MacDowell, the LTP International Director, and Esperanza Macoto, another delegate from the Philippines

families, based in 1645 Sheppard Avenue West, Downsview, Ontario, Canada.

LTP is anchored on the research findng which suggest that 75% of human brain development comes after birth. Humans have brains that are dependent on environmentinput, and though brain development starts in the womb, the early years of life have a huge impact on how the brain will grow and absorb information. Babies are born with the need for human contact and stimulation. At birth, a baby’s brain has about 100 billion brain cells, called neurons and each neuron connects to as many as 15, 000,000 other neurons, forming a network of connections and pathways which are essential in order to think, feel or move. Connections, “called brain wiring” are formed as the child uses his senses, relates to, and has experiences with his world and the people in it. If this networking breaks or lapses, then the pattern is lost and there may be delays or uneven development.

Making parents and other child care-givers aware of this information will help them understand the importance they can play in their child’s life from birth.

The Hincks Dellcrest Centre developed ” calendars” which serve to guide parents in the developmental stages of the child, suggesting appropriate activities they can do for each stage of the first six years of life. These play-based activities help in the healthy growth of the child in his sense of self, his physical component, his relationship, understanding and communication. The calendars were translated into Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan dailects to be better understood by local folks.

The LTP Program in the Philippines

LTP was introduced in the Philippines, through Aldersgate College, by Azucena “Susie” Dulay Kurz, a Filipino-Canadian nurse. Suzie trained Prescilla A. Soriano, Director of the AC Integrated Child Development Center(ICDC), to become a Master LTP Trainer, along with other stakeholders of child development.

By Virtue of a Memorandum of Agreement made between Aldersgate College and Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, through President Junifen F. Gauuan, PhD and Andrew Reesor-McDowell, LTP International Director, LTP in the Philippines will be implemented by Aldersgate College. An initial grant of Can$P15,000.00 from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was appropriated for the LTP program in the Philippines for three years (2004-2007), and an extension of another 3 years with a grant of Can$11,000.00 a year was likewise approved.

The program is now implemented among parents of 0-6 yearold children who were trained through the ICDC, in the municipalities of Solano, Quezon, Bayombong, Laguna, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga, as well as in Metro Manila.

Learning Through Play is also integrated in the curriculum of the BSN, BSED/BEED and MAED courses of Aldersgate College.

Networking Conferences

Mrs. Soriano, the Senior Executive Assitant for Education, who is concurrently the Director of the Integrated Child Development Center (ICDC) has attended International conferences and trainings on LTP. She was in Canada in May 24-31, 2006 together with delegates from India, Pakistan, Kenya, Burikina Faso, Ghana, Haiti, El Salvador, Peru, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Mexico, the Philippines and Canada. The conference focused on training, sharing and contributing information on how LTP is implemented in the countries represented.

In the LTP Southeast Asian Conference attended by Mrs. Soriano on March 7-12, 2007 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, she represented the Philippines to report on the progress of LTP in the country, and to observe its implementation in India, one of the first countries outside Canada, to implement the program.

Another international conference was held in Toronto on August 12-18, 2009. In the conference, Mrs. Soriano was among seventeen (17) delegates from elevel (11) countries that implement the LTP program. These countries are Uganda, El Salvador, MExico, Peru, Canada, Ethiopia, Peru, the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan and India. Each Country representative was pleased to report the LTP impact to the beneficiaries, among which are: the breakdown in negative practices; LTP becoming an alternative to traditional parenting practices; change in the perception of adults; child’s right advocacy; reduction of domestiv violence and contributing to a culture of peace ( there is a connection of LTP and the reduction of violence because; LTP handles behavior properly); the development of new relationships; reduction of negative attitudes; and gender balance, among others.

Some of the lessons learned from the experience of the project implementers are: ” You are the mirror. Think of how you behave in front of the child. When a child Sees a father hitting his wife, he learns to believe that that is how love is expressed.”

Aside from the reports given by the delegates, lecturers who are experts on issues relevant to parenting, were likewise invited. Angelique Jenney of the Child Development Institute of Canada made a presentation directly influences the quality of Parental care. This care influences the development of the brainand in particular, alters the development of particular genes which are largely responsible for stress/danger responses.”

Other issues discussed were Traumatic Bonding, Working with Parents of Children in Crisis, the Role of the Father in Parenting, and Stimulation and Nutrition.

The delegates had the chance to visit several sites of the Ontario Early Years Center, to observe how teachers and parents deal with Children under six.

LTP Southeast Asian Conference, September 26-29, 2010, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Mrs. Soriano Again networked with forty-two (42) other educators in the Learning Through Play Southeast Asian Conference on September 27-29, 2010, held at the Harrison Hotel, Chennai, Canda, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Northern and Southern provinces of India. The Conference focused on the Theme “How Children Learn: Windows Into Parenting.” The remarkable experiences on Learning Through Play (LTP) were discussed by the presenters from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines and from northern and southern India. The interactive discussions that followed each presetation were opportunitites for the participants to learn about the practices is rearing children in different cultures and communities. Mrs. Soriano was accompanied by Esperanza Macoto, an LTP Trainer from the Philippines.

After presenting the Philippines Report, Soriano answers questions from the other participants from different Southeast Asian countries that implement LTP.