Tūtū and Me
Tūtū and Me aims to meet the developmental needs of young keiki and to support the caregivers who are raising them.
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ABOUT
Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool aims to identify, recruit, and service underserved segments of the Native Hawaiian population.
The goal of Tūtū 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 Tūtū and Me also offers support to these keiki's caregivers - oftentimes their grandparents, following the familiar practice in Hawaiʻi nei. Grandparents, or tūtū, are often the primary caregivers of their young grand children because of socioeconomic conditions and because of the value of ʻohana (family).
Tūtū 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 Tūtū 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.
Tūtū 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.
Preschool Locations
Today, Tūtū and Me reaches thousands of keiki and their caregivers in over 26 communities across the state. This innovative traveling preschool program is done in cooperation with churches and other community organizations from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi Island. To find the site nearest your ohana, use the drop-down menu below! Please note, all our Tūtū and Me sites operate between 8:30AM to 10:30AM unless otherwise stated.
How to Apply
Be a part of our ʻohana today! Since the onset of the pandemic, all of our Tūtū and Me traveling preschools have been engaging in distance and virtual learning. To join in on the virtual fun, be sure to fill out the virtual learning application form. To be considered for an in-person spot when our preschool sites start up again, fill out the full enrollment packet. See you soon!
RECENT NEWS
Nonprofit Will Use Grant To Create Savings Accounts For Native Hawaiian Families
Partners in Development Foundation is teaming up with American Savings Bank to help families better prepare and pay for children’s educational needs. Original story published on Honolulu Civil Beat on October 8, 2021 by Suevon Lee, here. A nonprofit serving Native Hawaiian children and their families through educational and social service initiatives will launch a new savings…
Tūtū and Me goes on first in-person huakaʻi
Oʻahu Tūtū and me keiki went holoholo at the Honolulu Zoo! This was their first in-person huakaʻi since the pandemic.
Huakaʻi with United Airlines
One of our Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool teams on Oʻahu went on a huakaʻi last month to learn about United Airlines.
ʻEleu Rally for FCIL
The annual ʻEleu rally for Family-Child Interaction Learning (FCIL) was held at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol building alongside our ʻEleu partners Keiki O Ka ʻĀina and INPEACE.