Budding Readers

Reading Partners read and discuss books weekly with three-year-old children in child care centers to help them blossom into life-long lovers of books, reading and learning.

Reading Partners work with their assigned children each week to help them develop and increase the oral language and emergent literacy skills that are the foundational components needed to build future academic success. Oral language and emergent literacy skill development are incorporated into the reading and discussion of age-appropriate books with the children during their weekly book sharing sessions. Children also receive books from their Reading Partners to keep and begin a personal home library.

Through the Budding Readers program, Reading Partners play an important role in the development of young children by providing the one-to-one time needed to help ensure that preschool children from low-income households enter kindergarten just as eager and ready to learn as their more advantaged classmates.

2009-2010 Program Outcomes:

  • 14 Reading Partners at 13 partnership sites served 338 children.
  • 86% of children demonstrated development in early literacy skills to prepare them for future success in school.
  • 6,040 books were distributed to children to begin a home library.

PROGRAM IMPACT

My son Naivyan and my daughter, Fredneshia, participate in the Budding Readers Program. After meeting weekly with a Reading Partner, now when it’s time for a bedtime story, Fredneshia says to me, "Mommy let me read the book to you." She opens the book with wonder on her face and reads the pictures of her new book while turning the pages proudly. Always ending the book with a deep breath she says, "The End!" Fredneshia is truly a "budding reading" carrying several books, a note pad and pencil around with her at all times.

Ebony Parkes, Parent



The Budding Readers Program has certainly helped to promote a love of literacy among the children and families in our program. The children are excited about being read to, learning pre-reading skills and receiving books to build a personal home library. As a result, our Kindergarten Readiness Scores have improved, in part, because of our long partnership with the Literacy Coalition’s Budding Readers Program.

Ruth Lawson, Director
Thelma B. Pittman Jupiter Pre-School