Our community took a multi-generational approach to reading this summer with our “Books and Breakfast” Family Literacy initiative. Each day, as parents brought their kids to summer camp, we offered a special opportunity to enjoy breakfast and a book together with their children. Over breakfast, families would learn a new skill for promoting literacy and creating a supportive reading environment at home. Then, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and siblings shared in the joy of reading together!
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- Parent engagement is integral for children’s academic success, and 21st CCLC allows us to foster this through our “Books & Breakfast” Family Literacy program.
This strategy helps parents participate and celebrate family literacy. Research stresses the significant role a home environment that supports literacy plays in helping children develop literacy skills. This shared reading promotion and celebration created a culture of learning and increased direct reading contact time, while positively shaping youths’ perceptions of reading and building camaraderie among families.
Even the family dog can join in the reading fun! We brought our furry YELLS mascot to motivate our kiddos to read even more throughout the summer. Read-alouds are one of the simplest, yet most effective ways for youth to develop reading proficiency. However, youth often feel insecure and self-conscious when reading aloud. We’ve discovered an unconventional approach to overcome these inhibitions to the point that youth beg for the chance to read! Once each week during the summer, the “YELLS Reading Dog,” Flyer, visited YELLS for our young scholars to read to one-on-one. Flyer made reading becomes a treat, and this will impact students’ reading attitudes for life.
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- Our 21st CCLC has a focus on literacy as a foundation for helping youth throughout their educational career. We find fun ways to build reading skills like our YELLS Reading Dog for one-on-one read-alouds!
At YELLS, reading is definitely fun for the WHOLE family!
