About | Locations | How to Apply | Resources
ABOUT
Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool aims to identify, recruit, and service underserved segments of the Native Hawaiian population.
The goal of Tutu and Me is to meet the educational and emotional needs of families so that children will enter school ready to learn and succeed.
What sets this traveling preschool apart from other similar programs is that Tutu and Me also offers support to these keiki's caregivers - oftentimes their grandparents, following the familiar practice in Hawaii nei. Grandparents, or tutu, are often the primary caregivers of their young grand children because of socioeconomic conditions and because of the value of ohana (family).
Tutu and Me provides learning opportunities for many aspects of children's development and seeks to meet the needs of anyone involved with keiki and their development. Some aspects emphasized at Tutu and Me include:
- Cognitive: To assure/ develop average intelligence as measured by standardized tests;
- Social: To develop social temperaments that bring positive responses from others;
- Linguistic: To give children a strong start to assure that effective reading and other literacy skills will be attained by fourth grade.
Tutu and Me operates through mobile teams of early childhood educators. These individuals travel to pre-selected communities where they set up and conduct the program and pack it all away to start again the next session. Our curriculum is organized around learning themes and, most importantly, serves to meet the diverse cultural needs of the keiki by integrating Hawaiian values and culture.
LOCATIONS
Today, Tutu and Me reaches thousands of keiki and their caregivers over 26 communities across the state. This innovative traveling preschool program is done in cooperation with churches and other community organizations from Kauai to Hawaii Island. To find the site nearest your ohana, use the drop-down menu below! Please note, all our Tutu and Me sites operate between 8:30AM to 10:30AM unless otherwise stated.
HOW TO APPLY
- Complete the Enrollment Packet below, including a checklist of all requirements.
- Mail all completed forms along with copies of your child's immunization records and birth certificate to the site you wish to attend.
- We require one emergency form for each caregiver who will attend with the child.
- All paperwork must be completed before we can consider your child for enrollment.
- Families must commit to attending two days a week for two hours a day.
- If you are a Resource Caregiver, please include a letter from your agency informing us of your status.
- We will contact you once we have received your full application.
- If you have any questions or would like more information, please call your preferred site's number.