Imagine One Month

By Julie Douglas, Family Program Specialist

It’s Read First! Month in a Missouri community.  A brightly painted window of a fast food restaurant reminds parents and caregivers to read to their babies.  The local county health office has a stash of popular children’s books to distribute to children who come in for a vaccination.  Family fun, with books as the centerpiece, unfolds at the Read First! celebration. A special story time at the fire department sparks the imagination of preschoolers.  Parents discover techniques that bring books to life at a Read First! Workshop.  Teen parents at a READ from the START program enthusiastically discuss the books that they will read with their children.  Everywhere, people see reminders about the importance of reading to young children.

Imagine an entire community focused on family reading for a month.  Could heightened awareness lead to more families reading together?  We think so! MHC believes that by working to create a culture of family reading in a community, the number of children who are read to regularly by a caring adult will increase markedly.

Beginning this summer, selected Read First! Communities will devote a month to exploring children’s literature, encouraging adults to sharpen their story time skills, and challenging local agencies and businesses to consider how they can support family reading. Read First! offers Missouri communities an opportunity to strengthen collaborations as they create a Read First! celebration unique to their town.

While many parents understand the benefits of reading to their children, far too many kindergartners enter school with little exposure to books and stories. The Missouri Humanities Council strives to spread the message of family reading to all parents.  For the past 12 years, the MHC has helped parents bring stories into their children’s lives through our READ from the START program. 

For the past 12 years, the MHC has helped parents bring stories into their children’s lives through our READ from the START program.   Read First! takes this program one step further to invite an entire community to become engaged in the support of family reading.

If you are interested in learning more about Read First! and/or how your community might participate, visit the Missouri Humanities Council web site.  Applications for participation have been mailed to libraries, civic groups, schools and child care organizations in communities throughout the state of Missouri.