Parents and children from Muncy School District are interacting with Graduate Students from Bloomsburg University while learning to implement literacy skills at home.

On April 11 Muncy School District kindergarten students, local preschool students, and their parents attended Raising Readers Night to promote literacy learning. The night was made possible through cooperative efforts of Bloomsburg University Graduate Reading students and Dr. Portia Brandt, Superintendent of Muncy Schools and adjunct professor at Bloomsburg University.

Dr. Brandt served as facilitator. The night was a component of the Organization and Administration of Reading Programs. The Bloomsburg Graduate students guided the children through a tour of Nursery Rhyme land. The children explored various early literacy “stations,” each focusing on a specific nursery rhyme. The children sang nursery rhymes and participated in several interactive activities, allowing them to jump over Jack’s candle stick and put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

The nursery rhyme tour ended with parents and children coming together to sing the popular Twinkle Twinkle Little Star nursery rhyme while wearing their star headbands.

Parent interaction was an important component during the Raising Readers night. Bloomsburg University graduate students worked with parents to introduce high quality reading activities. The parents were given practical strategies to immediately put into practice with their children. They were educated about the concept of literacy and how it can be practiced at home. The children left with a self-selected book, while the parents left with a bit more knowledge about strategies to use in the home environment to build their child’s literacy skills.