Raring to Read at Prescott YMCA Preschool

Prescott YMCA Participates in Raising a Reader

 

In Arizona, over a quarter of fourth graders are not reading proficiently. The best way to reverse this trend is to make sure children are read to- every day- before they enter kindergarten. Reading aloud to young children has many noted benefits, including strengthening vocabulary, building pre-literacy skills, and improving focus. It is also an excellent parent-child bonding activity.

“No single activity has proven to be as important to a child’s school success as reading aloud to a child,” said Carolyn Shelley, Coordinator of Raising a Reader in Yavapai County, a program partners with child care centers, homes and other early childhood organizations to encourage more reading at home.

In Yavapai County, Raising a Reader is a program of Yavapai College that is funded by First Things First. Through the program, children bring home a red bag filled with books each week to read with their family, and exchange the bag for a new one the following week.  After doing this for sixteen weeks, teachers, parents and children end the program with a celebration.

 

Since starting in Yavapai County in July 2011, Raising a Reader has worked with 34 early learning programs and put over 50,000 books in the hands of young children.

The Prescott YMCA Preschool participated in Raising a Reader last year. “Before we participated in the program, I was surprised and shocked to find out how little parents were reading to their children at home,” said Sara Komadina, YMCA Preschool Director. Some parents didn’t think they were good readers. Others didn’t think they had the time. One parent who suffered from dyslexia didn’t think that she could be able to always read each word accurately. Komadina assured her that it wasn’t about just about the exact words in a book. Reading with a child was also about using imagination, doing something together, asking questions about the story, and helping the child to think critically. To support and encourage more parents to read to their children every day, Komadina enrolled the preschool in Raising a Reader.

Komadina said that it was easy to get the parents on board with the program. “They were excited to participate,” Komadina said. When she organized a family literacy night, Komadina was happily surprised when many more families came than she had planned for. Soon, she began hearing that parents were reading to their children every night and beginning to take their children to the public library more often. “It was transformative for both parents and children,” Komadina said.

The children at the YMCA preschool were disappointed when the program ended and they had to give back the red book bags they coveted, but their participation in Raising a Reader continue to have lasting benefits.  By promoting daily reading at home during the preschool years, Raising a Reader is helping make sure the young kids of the Prescott YMCA preschool are building the skills they need to read and succeed in the future.

In Yavapai County, Raising a Reader is implemented by Yavapai College and funded by First Things First. To get tips and tools to help parents and caregivers read aloud to children, please visit ReadyAZKids.com.