We’re having so much fun with this month’s literacy theme! We’ve examined different forms of writing, from some interesting “love poems” authored by cows Minnie & Moo, to free verse poems and a wide variety of literature. Students are working hard to reach our goal of 30 minutes of reading at The Village per day for the month of February, for each student in attendance on a given day.
Why the emphasis on literacy? Well, as the parents, educators, and popular wisdom have it reading is fundamental. Reading is a necessary skill for all disciplines, a core competency that has huge impacts upon children’s experiences and educational attainment across multiple settings and throughout their lifespan. Importantly, exposure to different genres of writing and literature can increase students’ ability to find literature that they enjoy, furthering the likelihood that they will become “leisure readers” and further positively impact their education and career outcomes. In fact, our program’s use of daily reading follows the two recommendations made by the International Reading Association to foster this building of leisure readers. Students select their reading materials, and are afforded a wide array of opportunities to reflect, respond and share about what they are reading at The Village.
Margaret McNamara, an educator and wife of US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the Johnson administration, launched the Reading is Fundamental program in 1966. The program aimed to get books into the hands of children to keep as their own, permanently, after Margaret visited Washington, D.C. and learned that many students didn’t have their own books at home. Check out their Facebook page for great tips on literacy and ways to increase literacy with your kids, in your home and beyond.
Families with currently enrolled students recently gifted us with two sizable donations of gently used books. We always welcome these kinds of donations, as they keep our Village library robust, varied, and ready to serve our budding leisure readers. Keep turning those pages, seeking out your next shared favorite stories, and getting your read on with the children in your life. And, when you tire of your books, consider donating elementary-age appropriate gems to The Village.
The Village Afterschool Enrichment Program @ LCGS 