The Carver Ranches Library recently hosted the PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®, program, a six-week literacy program targeting at-risk families whose children, six to ten years old, are having difficulty with reading and comprehension. Fourteen families participated with a weekly average of 28 attendees. The program encourages families to read and discuss meaningful children’s books together, and enables parents to tap into their own literacy skills to create a home environment supportive of their children and of their reading development.
The programs were offered from September 10th through October 22nd, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., under the direction of renowned Storyteller Melinda Munger, and the very gifted educator and story teller Carrie Sue Ayvar. Each Saturday, the families read along with Ms. Munger as she read the stories, in the different character voices to make the characters come alive, and then shared their responses to open-ended questions posed to them by Ms. Ayvar. The families were then provided a set of three books to read together at home over the next week. The parents were encouraged to pose the same kinds of open-ended questions to their children to ensure that they were comprehending the stories. The parents were also encouraged to discuss experiences that they had in common with the characters in the stories. At the end of each session, each child chose a free book to add to or to build their home libraries.
Lunch was provided by community sponsors such as Publix, Wendy’s, After School @ Your Library, and the Friends of Carver Ranches Library.
The finale, held on Saturday October 22, had 38 participants (28 children) which represented 12 families. The participants were treated to the story time and sharing session, gifts (one book per child from The Florida Humanities Council, and one dictionary per family from Broward County Youth Services Administration) and raffle items from Friends of Carver Ranches Library for the parents and children. The delicious pulled-pork sandwiches meal was sponsored by Texas Roadhouse and made possible by Store Marketer, Jaye Wilhite. Andy the Armadillo mascot made a most welcome appearance, gave glasses to the kids, and coolly posed for pics!
Special guests included members of the Friends of Carver Ranches Library, Commissioner Kristine Judeikis, and Judge Ian Richards (who brought his 3 children to experience the program finale), all of whom are West Park residents and sponsors of the program.
