Edited by Summer Brill
First Teachers is a project of the Bring Me a BookTM Foundation, which was founded in 1997 by Judy Koch. The organization envisions a read-aloud culture where all families place a high priority on literacy and are actively involved in their children's education. League members on the First Teachers committee, together with the Bring me a Book Foundation, will host 20 training sessions in the community this year.
Only 50% of children in low income areas are read aloud to on a daily basis, compared to 70% of higher income children. With study after study linking brain development and literacy skills later in life to this activity in young children, the importance of reading aloud is even greater today than ever.
On August 28th, the First Teachers committee spent the day at Bring Me A Book learning how to teach parents the importance of reading aloud, how to setup a regular reading routine, how to overcome obstacles to sticking with the routine and, most importantly, how to make the activity more interesting for the children (AKA, keep their attention). The vision of the training sessions the committee will be facilitating are to empower parents and caregivers to be their child’s “First Teacher”.
Stay tuned for the fall issue of the Piper (mailed November 1st) for a suggested reading list. For more information on the Bring me a Book Foundation, including Reading Aloud Tips, visit http://www.bringmeabook.org/programs/first-teachers.html.
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