Family Programming at the Public Library -- Story Kits
Why would a library want to use them?
Story Kits support lifelong learning
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Libraries' have several missions that are advanced by using Story Kits. Many libraries' mission statements propose to foster lifelong learning. When the library staff decides to implement a Story Kit, they have made a conscious decision to bring parents and children together to learn at the library. The parents and children, at different stages in their learning journey, will be completing an activity that will expand their knowledge. The library is particularly well suited for this mission as an educational institution that serves both adults and children simultaneously. Libraries have materials at many reading levels. Books written at low levels of difficulty and books written at more advanced levels "provide for the developmental literacy needs of children and adults." (Talan 1999) In addition, libraries foster lifelong learning conveniently. Libraries are open a variety of hours, making the institution available to working people and to children with differing school schedules. Story Kit programs can be scheduled to the convenience of the audience because they are offered at the public library.
Story Kits provide access to reading materials
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Another library mission is to provide access to reading materials for all groups. Many libraries do not have sufficient funds to purchase classroom collections of books. Story Kits provide classroom collections of high quality children's literature. Using a Story Kit will provide access to the highlighted book for a group of adults and children who might not have experienced it otherwise. Using a Story Kit may provide access to that title for people who will come to the library as a parent-child pair, but who would not have come as individuals. This is especially true of certain groups in the community. The Story Kits can be used to reach out to families with reading difficulties or who speak English as a second language. Recently, the National Research Council stated that "the process of learning to read is a lengthy one that begins very early in life... The committee recommends that all children, especially those at risk for reading difficulties, should have access to early childhood environments that promote language and literacy growth." (Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998)
Story Kits increase knowledge of books
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Every librarian wants to expand their customer's familiarity with books. Every librarian wants to increase their customer's inclination to use books. Librarians can be effective in this mission since "librarians love books and reading and avidly promote and model the joy of reading to others." (Talan 1999) In addition to introducing books, the Story Kits introduce stories. When a group uses the Story Kit based on the book "The Snowman," they will experience a sense of narrative. They will experience a sense of the structure of the story, leading with a beginning, proceeding to the middle and concluding with the end. Using the Story Kits as programming introduces elements of literature. The Story Kits introduce authors, types of books, and books on certain themes. The Story Kits "Shapes, Shapes, Shapes" and "Look, Look, Look" will acquaint the users with the author Tana Hoban and her unique photographic style. Both "The Snowman" and "Changes, Changes" will acquaint the user with wordless books. "I Spy" is a photographic treasure hunt, with rhymes leading the way. The Story Kits range across themes and subjects. "Grandfather Tang's Story: A Tale Told in Tangrams" is a melodic tale of a girl and her grandfather spending an afternoon entertaining themselves with traditional Chinese folklore. While "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash" is a light-hearted romp back to the truth about what happened in this child's day.
Story Kits support reading by offering time to read
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Libraries' missions include a priority to support reading. One method of support is to provide reading related programming such as the Story Kits. Story Kits provide a service as simple and as essential as the in-depth exploration of a book. When the Story Kit "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash" is implemented, a storyboard activity will lead the participants into an investigation of the progression of the story. For over forty years, research (Durkin 1966) has shown that reading to your children is the most effective method to increase a child's academic achievement. Each Story Kit begins with reading the highlighted book. Reading is learning, learning is reading. (Krashen 1993.) Learning does not have to happen within classroom walls. The more reading that is embedded in a child's experience, the better that child will read. "Reading outside the classroom enhances reading inside the classroom."(Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998.) This also holds true for adults who are learning to read. The more encounters they have with reading, the better they will read. Story Kits provide intensive reading practice.
The Story Kits provide activities such as singing, putting together masks and making books. This type of active learning makes an impression on the student. The activities individualize the experience. In memory, parents and children might refer to the experience of the Story Kit "Bein' With You This Way" as "the one where we made the mask." The activity is personalized into one the parent and child did together and one that they molded into their own. Both the activity and the reciprocity give the Story Kit personal meaning.
The effects of this kind of active literacy learning are long term. "Those high school seniors who were provided with more reading, language, and other kinds of both direct and indirect educational experiences during their preschool years had higher overall levels of reading competency than those provided with less." (Seigel, Farrell and Hanson 1991). Librarians have known for years that reading is fun. Reading something enjoyable and doing something enjoyable with a book can increase overall levels of reading competency. Taylor's studies (1981, 1983) indicate that "a wide range of home experiences and interaction patterns (rather than narrow, school-like reading and writing activities) characterizes homes of successful readers." Since the Story Kits were developed with family literacy programs in mind, these are "activities in which parents and their children are actively involved, balancing the children's learning needs with the parents' skills, needs and interests." (Bercovitz 1998) Both parents and children will find the books and activities fun. Both will benefit from the active literacy learning presented.
Story Kits support communities by supporting families
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Families are the building blocks of community. Libraries are community institutions that serve individuals within families. Again, libraries are one of the few educational institutions that offer services to children and adults simultaneously. Family relationships can be enhanced by participation in reciprocal, interactive parent-child activities. In the process of completing an interactive activity, the child has a chance to enjoy the total attention of his or her parent. In the process of completing an interactive activity, the parent has a chance to see the child demonstrate a skill that the parent did not suspect. Besides building mutual respect based on accomplishment, the Story Kits "enable parents to assume teaching roles in age-appropriate learning activities focusing on their children's language, cognitive, social, motor (fine and gross), and/or readiness/academic skills for their children." (Bercovitz 1998) Although some librarians and educators may take for granted the role of parent as teacher, it is neither innate nor universal. Many cultures do not expect the parent to participate in teaching academic subjects like reading. It is seen as interference in the authority of the teacher. In some families, the parents see their role as distinctly separate from that of the teacher. Each of us models our knowledge of parenting behavior on the behavior we experienced as a child. If the parental role of teacher was not demonstrated to a child, it is not easily assumed when that child becomes the parent. Despite this, the American school system usually expects parents to be actively involved in the child's education. Our system expects parents to check homework, read with children and encourage academic achievement. The Story Kits give parents a successful experience as the teacher of their children. This experience builds their ability to support their child's school experience. This participation begins to demonstrate to the parents the value of becoming a participant in their children's education.
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