On Monday November 29, 2010 a group of parents and children filed into Paul Saylor Elementary library for a special reading event. All kindergarten parents and future kindergarten parents in the South Haven community were invited to learn how to better prepare their children for school with activities the parents can do with their children at home. The first of 3 workshops this school year was made possible partly from the Mary Kay Stanton reading grant though the PTEF –Portage Township Education Foundation.
The program titled “Reading! It’s In the Bag” centers around a “literacy bags” approach. Parents can use the books and activities provided with their children in the workshop, and then later at home. Each bag contains a fiction book, a related non-fiction book and various activities using both texts.
The program is designed to help parents ready their children for school by providing support with workshops and materials to work at home to support early literacy skills and actively increase student achievement while also fostering a relationship between the school and the parents for better open communication.
At this November session concepts of reading strategies, numerals, number words, letters and sounds were highlighted. The fiction selection for this session was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. The non-fiction text was Where Are The Night Animals by Mary Ann Fraser. The students made crowns like Max wears in the story. It was a joy to see the parents working with their children making the crowns, and then making them for themselves while at the same time working on fine motor skills. The children also made “Wild Things” by decorating cups where they planted grass seed that will become their wild thing’s hair. This project as serves as a reminder for the students to remember the story when they see the Wild Thing they made. Specific activities about the many ways to read a book were shared and modeled. How to use highlighters to strengthen letter recognition was another section. Pizza was served and door prizes of the latest Caldecott Medal winning books were awarded. The children were also able to choose some additional books donated books from people in the surrounding communities. Tips and tricks were shared as to how to play and learn about literacy at the same time.
One of the best parts of the evening was the excitement clearly seen from all the children over the books and the activities! One little girl even looked at her mom and expressed, “This is the best day EVER!” Parents had time to ask questions and also to share ideas of what has worked well for their own children. Parents know their children and can help the teachers better educate them. From the evaluations completed at the end of the program, many parents were happy the kids loved coming and participating. Many of the parents also expressed pleasure at the idea that the workshop was hands-on rather than a presentation where they just had to listen. Almost all the parents expressed they would be sure to attend the rest of the workshops for the year. Parents can better prepare their children for what is required for a successful school career if they are aware of the concepts needed.
The next workshop is planned for February 2011. The literacy bag concept will continue focusing on Eric Carle and butterflies. The session will be in the evening and children are encouraged to attend. If you have any questions you may contact, Tammy Zack, reading specialist at 764-6817.