This month’s success story celebrates the ongoing success of Read With Me in connecting parents with their young children’s literacy development.

Read With Me (RWM) provides monthly family literacy activities at Head Start programs throughout Northern Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and Lincoln counties. Currently, we visit with 9 Head Start and 8 Early Head Start classrooms.  Read With Me has been continually running for 35 years!

During the RWM sessions, a book is read, songs and rhymes are sung, and hands-on activities are completed by the children and family members in attendance. Parents/caregivers are invited to attend the monthly activities with their child. The songs and activities are related to the read-aloud book.  All the children get a copy of the book and a handout with songs, rhymes, and suggested activities to do at home.

At one of our newest RWM locations, at Wiscasset Elementary School, parent attendance has been particularly strong. The classroom teacher told us, “RWM has been a highlight for students, knowing they have a family member to join in a story time together and joy in bringing home a new book to share.”

One parent in Wiscasset, who has attended every monthly session since the site opened, shared, “As a parent, I really value the Read With Me program in my daughter Layla’s Pre-K class. It’s such a special opportunity to slow down for an hour and be part of the classroom experience. Watching Ms. Robin read with the kids and seeing how engaged and excited they get about the story is always a highlight. I love that the program combines reading with a hands-on craft. It helps bring the story to life and gives the kids a fun way to express what they heard. It’s also wonderful to see how proud they are to share that moment with their parents. For me, it’s a meaningful way to stay connected to my child’s learning and to the classroom community. That hour each month is something we both look forward to, and I’m really grateful the program offers parents the chance to be involved in such a positive and memorable way.”