Families for Literacy

Families for Literacy is a state-wide family literacy initiative in public libraries. This program provides state and local assistance funds each year to extend services to include the families of adult literacy learners and ESL students with responsibility for a preschool aged child and includes their whole family. Families for Literacy (FFL) focuses on developing the literacy skills, knowledge, and habits of the low literacy adults while building additional resources to help the parent/caregiver support and encourage literacy in the home.

One goal of the FFL program is to introduce the parent and his/her family to the value and joy of reading as a family and to assure that each child enters school ready to read. The underlying concept of these programs is that children who are talked to and read to by adults learn to read better and have an improved opportunity to become more successful as a result -- thus breaking the cycle of illiteracy. Parents/caregivers are helped to support their children in learning to read by recognizing and fostering the vital role they play as their child's first and most important teacher.

These programs address the families most "at risk" in which the parent/primary caregiver has limited literacy skills him/herself.

The Families for Literacy Program offers "Book Parties" at the library for the whole family that include:

1. Storytelling, word games, songs, and related craft and writing activities.
2. Refreshments.
3. Introduction to resources and services available at the library.
4. Books for each child attending, chosen by the parent, to read to the children. This will increase the home libraries.
5. Suggestions to parents/caregivers on how to select books and how and why to read aloud to children.
6. Encouraging the use of quality children's books and language experience stories from the family programs as instructional materials for the adults with tutors.
7. Providing parents/caregivers access to information and materials on parenting, childcare, health, nutrition, and other resources available to them in their community.

Book parties celebrate family reading

For more information about this program contact Families for Literacy Coordinator Emily Pangborn (530) 257-8021