On Wednesday, February 2, LINC joined readers around the globe to commemorate one of our favorite days of the year, World Read Aloud Day. This year, LINC families read two inspiring stories: I Want to Be a Reader by Mark Powers and This Is My Book by Mark Pett. These two stories combined to encourage children to both read and write and laid the groundwork for a wonderful virtual program in which they created their own books.
Our special guest Dr. Lissette Ceaser (better known as Dr. Liz), and principal at C.S. 375 in Harlem, spoke about her family’s reading journey.
When I was in first grade I wasn’t a great reader. My teacher sent my mom home a letter saying that I wasn’t reading at grade level.
We set a time to read every single day when my mom came home from work. And it wasn’t just me and my mom reading. I have an older sister and an older brother. So reading became a family event. Right before dinner time, it was family reading time.
My mom made sure we read a lot of different kinds of books too. We read fairy tales, we read mysteries, we read books about the Dominican Republic (where my mom is from), and we read books about Trinidad (where my dad is from). By reading a variety of books with me, my mom was able to discover what I was most interested in reading.
Dr. Liz reinforced LINC’s focus on reading culturally diverse titles that reflect many different life experiences - so that children can both see themselves and learn about the lives of others.
She also encouraged all of the parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and other caregivers who attended the program to make sure that these young people are writing their own stories. “NOBODY can tell their stories better than them…remember reading and writing go hand in hand!”
And that’s exactly what they did! Following our second story of the day, This Is My Book by Mark Pett, LINC staff guided families in building their own books using three sheets of paper and a few simple craft supplies.
Reading leads to writing and that strengthens communities! After all, what could be more in line with building a movement around the power and joy of reading than the shared connection of reading aloud in over 173 countries?
Spread the word in your community and register for LINC’s latest virtual reading programs. We can’t wait to read with you.
