Radio Feature
About a dozen Virginia educators and social workers now have some new skills for reaching out to low-income parents who struggle to read, yet want their children to be comfortable with books. As Nancy Marshall Genzer of VFH radio reports, a national program called Motheread™ is opening up new possibilities for teaching children... and their parents.
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Motheread™ & Fatheread™
About the Program
The Virginia Foundation's Motheread® and Fatheread® program is a nationally-acclaimed family literacy program aimed at promoting literacy and an appreciation for and belief in the power of sharing stories with family. VFH provides training to staff and volunteers from agencies concerned with education, literacy, social services, and parenting.
The objectives of the program are:
- To improve parents' own literacy skills
- To increase reading to children by parents
- To increase parents' ability to use children’s books as a means of introducing issues for family discussion
- To provide specific methods for sharing books with children
- To create a network among agencies working with children and their families, thereby improving communication, resource sharing and the stimulation of collegial relationships
Click here to read the essay Humanities and Everyday Use, by Center for the Book Director Susan Coleman.
Method
The program begins by training instructors from local service agencies, organizations, churches, adult education programs, and libraries. "Using Story as a Way to Teach" is an intensive training institute, provided by the Virginia Foundation, in which participants learn how to implement the Motheread/Fatheread instructional model and curriculum in their local communities. They learn how to teach literacy development and parent education classes to adults and "storysharing" classes to children.
In teams of two, trained Motheread ® and Fatheread ® instructors then lead and teach classes in the community for adults and for children. A small group of parents meets with the instructors, reads a book aloud together, and discusses the book’s content and illustrations, relating the book to their own lives and families. Parents become reading role models for their children. Children sharpen their thinking and reading skills while deepening family bonds by reading and discussing books with their parents.
Who Qualifies for Training?
Any organization or individual -- staff and volunteers -- interested in literacy, literature, parenting issues, adult education, or family support will benefit. Examples of those that can take advantage of Motheread ® and Fatheread ® include, but are not limited to:
- Social Service and Health Agencies
- Libraries
- Parenting Groups
- Health Care Agencies
- Workplaces
- Literacy Organizations and Agencies
- School Systems - public and private
- Shelters
- Public Housing Associations
- Adult Education
- Churches
- Child Care Centers
- Immigrant and Refugee Service Agencies
- Medical Care Facilities and Organizations
- Local and County-based Government Agencies
- Correctional Facilities
