At this library, story time doesn’t end because a parent is in prison

Courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library

TeleStory, a two-year-old program run at a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, increases childhood literacy by using free live video conferencing to connect children to incarcerated parents.

By Liz Dwyer, TakePart June 24, 2016 

Snuggling up next to each other on the couch to read a book aloud is one of the special bonding rituals between parents and children – and one that research shows helps make a kid more successful in school. When a parent gets locked up, it brings an abrupt end to sitting on the sofa and turning the pages of "The Cat in the Hat" together.

But children and incarcerated parents in New York City can still connect and read a book together thanks to TeleStory, a two-year-old program run at a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The initiative increases childhood literacy by using free live video conferencing to connect children to incarcerated parents at Rikers Island and borough-based Department of Corrections Jails. Read more...

There Are 3 Ways To Raise Lifelong Readers…

Young children enjoy the rituals of bedtime, including tucking in their covers, getting a glass of water, receiving a goodnight kiss and especially, hearing a bedtime story. However, only 53 percent of American children are hearing stories read to them at home at least two to three times a week, according to National Education Association. Reading at home to children promotes a lifetime of literacy in three ways.

Via Paolo Pace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, reading with a child at home promotes a sense of intimacy between the parent and the child. This intimacy helps the child become more intelligent and experience a sense of well being and joy. As the children grow older, they read to regain those feelings of intimacy and joy found in being read to when they were younger.

Second, when parents read to their children, the children become calmer and less restless. Reading to a small child teaches that child to focus on one task for a longer period of time. These children will grow up to read more to relax after a long day. The longer attention span on a single task for longer periods allows them to enjoy reading more than a child that wasn’t read to from an early age. Read more...

Long Line at the Library? It’s Story Time Again By WINNIE HU NOV. 1, 2015

Forty strollers were double- and triple-parked on the main floor of the Fort Washington Library in Upper Manhattan. As another one came through the door, Velda Asbury waved toward a spot beside a book stack.

Officially, Ms. Asbury is a library clerk, checking books in and out. But every Wednesday she doubles as a parking attendant during one of theNew York P ublic Library’s most popular programs: story time.

 A library tradition is being refashioned to emphasize early literacy and better prepare young children for school, and drawing many new fans in the process.

 By WINNIE HU on Publish DateNovember 1, 2015. Photo by Sam Hodgson for The New York Times.Watch in Times Video »

“Good morning, little people,” she called out, as the library’s youngest patrons climbed, or were carried, up an old wooden staircase to the second floor for a 45-minute romp through books and music.
Among parents of the under-5 set, spots for story time have become as coveted as seats for a hot Broadway show like “Hamilton.” Lines stretch down the block at some branches, with tickets given out on a first-come-first-served basis because there is not enough room to accommodate all of the children who show up.  Read more...

Children settled into spots on the floor during story time at the Fort Washington Library last month. CreditSam Hodgson for The New York Times