Affiliation:
1. The Creative Development Association, Israel
2. Western Galilee College, Israel
Abstract
The Creative Development program is a long-term literacy intervention program in Israel. It is designed to provide preschool children of low socio-economic status who are exposed to environmental risks an equal opportunity to realize their cognitive potential and develop social skills. The intervention provides consistent, one-on-one tutoring beginning when the children are 10 months old until the age of six. The program also instructs the mothers on creating optimal parent-child communication and cultivating the child's skills in regular home activities. This chapter describes the background of the intervention program, the program itself, its target population and goals, the process that two of the children in the program underwent, and the challenges and successes in working with them. Outcomes of children who graduated from the program demonstrate that the solid foundation built during the years of intervention creates a profound change in their abilities and self-efficacy. This has significant consequences for their future, opening a door toward social mobility.