Jump Start Reading at Home

Last week, Amy Kukla read for two storytime sessions at Pride and Joy Daycare. This time, the focus was on print awareness. Reading to a group of 1-2 year olds (above), Amy tracked her finger under the words as she read them aloud - this is to help children begin to understand that the words printed on a page have meaning. At the end of the session, she passed out books to the children just to build their experience in knowing how to handle a book and turn pages.

During her session with the 3-4 year olds (right), Amy began to open a book upside down. The kids caught her right away - a great sign that they have an understanding of how books work. Reading logs were passed out at both sessions - children can keep track of the hours they read or are read to, earn points and redeem them for prizes at the Library.

Both sessions were kept fun and exciting by starting and ending with a sing-along, as well as short playtimes with toy rattles and a flannel board that tied in to one of the stories. Above all, reading should be FUN!

Stay tuned - later this week, Amy will share more print awareness tips at a parent workshop at Pride and Joy, to show parents how to jump start their children's reading at home. For more on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Jump Start Reading at Home program, visit the program blog at cmlearlyliteracy.blogspot.com.