CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – READING Starts With Us, a project organised by the Nevis Library Service in collaboration with the St. John’s Community Improvement Club and sponsored by the Australian High Commission, is officially on the way.
The project, aimed at reaching parents to help them make reading and books an important part of their young children’s life, was launched at the old St. John’s Primary School on Thursday, June 18.
Director of the Nevis Library Service Sonita Daniel said in an overview that the project is a family literacy programme divided into two parts – Reading Starts With Us, and Reading Is Our Thing.
According to Daniel, the first part of the programme would motivate parents and give support for reading and communicating with their children at home. She said it takes the form of a series of six parent workshops, each based on a different genre of children’s literature to expose parents and children to a variety of real-life type reading. In each workshop, a children’s book exemplifying the genre is featured along with a specific reading strategy that is appropriate for the book.
She revealed that the six genres of literature to be explored are Folk Tales, Concepts Books, Realistic Fiction, Non-Fiction, Wordless Picture Books and Poetry.
“The Reading Starts with Us programme is based upon these four: to create a link between the home and the library environment that promotes the value of reading; to promote parental involvement and parent/librarian partnerships that supports family literacy; to help parents understand and gain confidence in reading; and making reading a rewarding and enjoyable experience for their children.”
The second module, Reading is Our Thing, is a motivational reading programme targeting children in kindergarten to Grade Three. It aims to instill a love of reading and life-long learning in children in these grades. Daniel said this segment would begin with students at the Ivor Walters’ Primary and the St. John’s Primary schools.
Acting Primary Education Officer Lornette Queely-Connor said the Department of Education acknowledges the importance of reading and of cultivating the love of books among young people, and has thus decided to throw its weight behind the initiative. She said she hopes it becomes an island-wide effort and urged parents to set examples by allowing children to see them reading. “They will follow suit if they see reading as a passion for us.”
The programme was officially launched by Minister of Social Development the Hon. Hensley Daniel, who said he sees it as an early intervention in a society that is striving to be rid of crime and violence.
