Read With Me
Literacy-related programming and free books for families with young children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start
Read With Me serves children and their families enrolled in Head Start Preschool, Pre-K, and Early Head Start classrooms in the Midcoast area.
We support families with young children to develop strong read-aloud routines at home. The more stories children hear, the more books they have in their homes, the more conversations they have with adult family members, the better prepared they will be to become strong readers. Two of our professional staff members run all aspects of Read With Me. We do not use volunteers for this program.
Head Start and Early Head Start programs hosting Read With Me are located in the following towns: Bath, Brunswick, Newcastle, Waldoboro, Whitefield, and Wiscasset.
โThe excitement of Read With Me activities, plus receiving a new book with each visit, instilled a joy of reading that has followed my daughter into school. As a kindergartener, her reading and comprehension are already more advanced than others in her age group.โ
Read With Me Program Details
Read With Me provides monthly family early literacy sessions that include story time and a related activity for children in area Head Start programs and Early Head Start programs. Parents are strongly encouraged to join the in-class sessions, sit with their children during the read-aloud, and help with the follow-up project. Our Read With Me instructors frequently incorporate songs, short poems, physical movement, and simple games that further complement the featured story and project.
Each month, every child gets a copy of the sessionโs book to take home and enjoy with other family members. The instructors also create handouts containing additional literacy-building ideas that they give to every family to support more learning opportunities at home.
Providing monthly sessions in 9 Head Start classrooms and 8 Early Head Start classrooms
Reaching 190 families with toddlers and preschoolers
