Hundreds of parents brought their children to the state Capitol on Monday to highlight an alternative to traditional preschools that teaches parents and their tots together from Day One.

“We don’t just focus on the child,” said Maile Keli‘ipio-­Acoba, CEO of the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture, or INPEACE. “We feel that it’s an important foundation to have the parents or the caretakers learn side by side.”

She added, “We help parents develop the skills and knowledge that they need, and learn new strategies that they can implement at their homes to help their children succeed.”

Keiki Steps, a free parent-participation preschool run by INPEACE, offers interactive parent-child learning from birth through age 5. It operates in predominantly Native Hawaiian communities and is largely paid for with federal dollars for Native Hawaiian education, but it’s open to families regardless of ethnicity.

Joy Perkins of Ewa Beach has been in Keiki Steps for two years with her daughter, who is now 4. They attend four mornings a week for a couple of hours, with excursions on Fridays.

“I only wish I knew about it when she was 1!” Perkins said at the rally, which included parent-child activities, songs, hula and visits with legislators.

In Keiki Steps, parents and caretakers learn what to expect from children at each stage of their young lives and how to help them along the way, starting with the first stage of birth to 6 months, she said.

“There is so much development that happens in all these little intervals,” Perkins said, adding that parents typically aren’t trained for their roles. “We don’t get Parenting 101!

“It makes a big difference when you know what to expect and you are not worried about, ‘Is my child supposed to be doing this?’”

Perkins also appreciates the chance to learn more about Hawaiian culture, which she missed out on even while growing up in Hawaii. Her daughter has taken the lessons to heart and is teaching her father Hawaiian words for colors and body parts.

The rally was sponsored by ‘Eleu, a collective of early­-learning organizations including ‘Aha Punana Leo, Alu Like Inc., INPEACE, Kamehameha Preschools, Keiki o ka Aina Family Learning Centers and Partners in Development Foundation.

“We are here mainly to build awareness about the importance of parent engagement in a child’s education and how critical that is for a parent to be involved from the early stages, not just starting at 4 years old,” Keli‘ipio-Acoba said.