Engaging Families in Their Children's Literacy Development - It's Different Than You Think

I'm starting a revolution: turning away from finger wagging "you should do this with your child" to understanding that every family has literacy in some form and celebrating that. For years, schools have befriended the PTA moms (and we know how necessary they are) but offered little time or energy for less engaged families.

That is largely because teachers don't receive any training on encouraging families to be a part of their children's literacy growth. In fact, teachers are promoted as the single most important component of children learning to read. Yes, teachers are important but we will never have the literate society we dream of without families being involved. And we must give families (and children) real life reasons to read, rather than making reading such an academic exercise that families see little application in their world.

Taking reading into real life applications, connecting with families where they are and being a commercial for reading are goals every one who values reading can set (and contribute to). I'll be speaking more on this topic in my session at NAEYC's annual conference tomorrow (11/20) from 2PM-3:30PM in the Grand Hyatt Washington Auditorium. If you are in Washington, DC for this conference, I hope you'll join me!