Federal grant spurs program for tiny clients
In a classroom at a brand new Head Start building next to Margaret Keating Elementary School in Klamath, Yurok Tribe elder Ramona Stout sits face to face with 2-year-old Koreck Kuska.
Between them is a plastic toy with four barnyard animals hidden inside, waiting for Koreck to push a button or turn a switch to make their heads suddenly appear.
As Koreck uses his whole hand to press a small blue circle on the toy, a chicken pops its head out. Stout asks him to imitate the sound it would make.
"What does a chicken say?"
For a moment Koreck stalls, glancing first at the toy, then back at his companion before answering.
"Bawk?"
Sometimes when they play this game, Koreck summons a horse or cow from its hiding place, and instead of asking a question, Stout repeats the name of the animal in her native tongue for the boy to hear.
"Mues-mues," she says when the cow appears, and "mue-lah," when it's the horse.
Despite Stout's efforts, Koreck is technically here mostly for day care, not education. He's too young to be enrolled in the tribe's Head Start program that gives pre-school children the opportunity to learn the Yurok language. This will change in the coming months with the help of a $1,017,553 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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