For Immediate Release
Contact: Tia Towe Freeman
(757) 664-7338

AS PART OF THE GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION FOR A LIFETIME INITIATIVE, LIBRARY HOSTS FAMILY LITERACY FUN DAY TO HELP PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Norfolk, VA (May 5, 2005) - Early Childhood Literacy begins with parents. On Monday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Norfolk Public Library will host a Family Literacy Fun Day in recognition of this fact. The program, held at Kirn Memorial Library in downtown Norfolk, is part of the Governor’s Education for a Lifetime Initiative.

Family Literacy Fun Day participants will enjoy interactive activities that promote reading and learning as a family. Through storytelling, readers’ theater, crafts, and story writing, parents will discover enjoyable ways to help their children develop critical literacy skills. They will also discover how reading together and talking about what they’ve read can strengthen family ties and help children become better readers and learners.

Current research has proven that parents play a critical role in a child’s ability to develop language and early literacy skills beginning at birth. Family Literacy Fun Day is one example of the programs that Norfolk Public Library offers parents. In an effort to support parents, Norfolk Public Library has developed an array of early literacy programs to help parents become their child’s first and most important teacher. These programs include:

  • Babygarten. This program is like kindergarten for babies. The program helps parents understand the complex and exciting nature of infant development and places special emphasis on language development and how it contributes to pre-literacy. It provides experiences that help babies become good learners.

  • 1, 2, 3 Grow with Me. This workshop is designed to give parents the opportunity to spend time with their toddlers ages 1-3 years, in an educational and creative environment filled with toys and play equipment. It is an informal five-week workshop, staffed with friendly knowledgeable library, healthcare and education resource professionals who circulate amongst the group and talk to parents one on one. Each week a different subject of interest to parents will be featured

  • Every Child Ready to Read. An Early Literacy Series for Parents. This program is designed for parents of youngsters in three groups: Pre-Talkers, Talkers and Pre-Readers. It offers each group one 90-minute session: Rhyming Leads to Reading, Story Sharing, and Alphabet Time.

  • Reading Rockets. WHRO provides generous support for this program that encourages parents to help their children soar to new reading heights. Parents explore the stages of reading that every child from preschool through third grade encounters. Sessions include: Growing a Reader, The Roots of Literacy, Talk is Powerful-Reading As Dialogue, Reading Together, Authors & Illustrators

  • Motheread/Fatheread. This program utilizes children's books and adult poems as the basis for instruction. It encourages parents to read by teaching them how to understand literature in the context of their own lives. Motheread is a nationally recognized, award-winning program.
    • Parents, caregivers, and teachers from Coronado School and Stuart Early Family Literacy program will attend, in addition to walk-ins. Eunice Jones, a retired Library employee turned professional storyteller, will conduct the program.

    Kirn Memorial Library is located at 301 East City Hall Avenue. Library patrons should park in the MacArthur Center South garage and bring their ticket to the library to receive validation for three free hours of parking. For more information on the Family Literacy Fun Day or on one of the early literacy programs listed above, visit the library’s web site at www.npl.lib.va.us or call the Library’s Youth Services Department 664-7323 ext. 43748. All library programs are free and open to the public.

    ###

    Return to top of page