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Any of the following activities can be part of a family literacy
program:
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learning and sharing rhymes and songs |
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telling and writing family stories |
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making a book |
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teaching parents strategies for reading
effectively with their children |
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having parents reflect on their own
childhood and school experiences in learning to read and write |
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educating parents about their role in
preparing their child for school |
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discussing parenting and child development
topics (self-esteem, developmental stages, discipline etc.) |
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doing hands-on activities that teach
parents about how children learn through dramatic play |
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discovering how to find learning
opportunities in every day routines |
Workshop-format programs are generally held once a week. Theses programs
can last for as little as four weeks or as long as sixteen weeks or more.
In more intensive programs, participants attend several times a week over
a period of months. Programs can include an adult upgrading component
where parents have opportunities to earn high school credits, learn
essential computer skills, or gain employment skills. In other programs,
the development of adult literacy is more implicit than explicit.
Despite great variety, all family literacy programs share a foundation
of common assumptions. These include that:
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the parent is a child’s first and most
important teacher |
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between birth and age six, children learn
essential skills that lay the foundation for later success in school and
for life-long learning |
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children learn best in the context of warm
and nurturing family relationships |
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parents want their children to succeed and
are motivated to support their children’s learning |
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literacy is not just a set of school
competencies, but a way of interacting within the family and the
community |
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children’s literacy activities can include
play, talk, rhymes and song, telling and reading stories, music and
dancing, and drawing and scribbling |
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parents can provide learning opportunities
for their children using free or low-cost materials in the course of
everyday life at home and in the community |
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parents are learners too, and in learning
to support their children, they maintain and develop their own literacy
skills |
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