BRUNSWICK

As a single mother of three, Shelley Eliassen is a pretty busy person. However, Eliassen said she knows how important it is to take the time to read with her children, including her 5- year-old son Wyatt, who is a kindergartener at Coffin Elementary School in Brunswick.

“We read every single day,” said Eliassen.

Wyatt has had some challenges with reading, but both he and his younger, 2-year-old sister, Sydney, have benefited from a book club from Coffin’s reading intervention program that allowed him to bring home books to keep.

After dinner, but before bedtime, Wyatt and his mother will read four to five children’s books.

Coffin School’s reading support staff is concluding its first year of Baxter’s Family Reading Club, named in honor of the school’s mascot Baxter the Bear.

The program’s goal is to promote early literacy and oral language skills by providing kindergarten students and their younger siblings with children’s literature every month.

Those teachers sent home 217 books to 38 kindergarteners and 111 books to their younger siblings, along with tips on supporting early literacy and oral language development.

The books were paid for through a $2,000 grant from retailer Target, and an additional $1,000 will help renew the program next year.

Coffin’s reading program has helped Wyatt catch up to the reading level of his classmates, said Eliassen.

“He’s really proud of himself when he can finish a book all by himself,” said Eliassen.

According to Coffin School staff, research shows that reading aloud is one of the most important activities families can do to help prepare children for reading and learning, and the program promotes reading and discussing books as a family.

Another motivator is to simply get more books in a child’s home.

“The number of books kids have in homes are indicative of success,” said Larena Carten, a reading instructor at Coffin.

Reading while school is out on summer break is especially important.

According to Reading Is Fundamental, children who do not read over the summer may lose up to three months of reading achievement, a phenomenon educators refer to as “summer slide.”

“For kids who need extra reading help, summer slide is a really big deal,” said Carten.

Children in the reading program will be sent reading assignments over the summer, but Carten recommends that all families continue reading over the summer.

Reading as a family establishes positive feelings about reading, said Carten, who recommends that parents read to their children for 15-20 minutes every day.

Parents should also talk about what they’ve read.

“That builds oral language skills and comprehensive skills,” said Carten.

Carten also recommends keeping age-appropriate books at eye-level that children can easily reach.

“A lot of kids want to listen to the same books over and over again. That builds on oral language,” said Carten. “It sparks conversation.”

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com

Reading tips

Coffin’s reading program offers the following hints for parents who want to get their young children excited about reading:

— Set a goal to read 15 minutes every day

— Get excited, because enthusiasm about reading is contagious

— Read with expression, use voices and make sound effects, and don’t be afraid to be a little goofy

— With babies, it’s OK to multi-task during story time, having a snack, nursing or bottlefeeding while reading aloud

— Short, simple board books are great for babies, even those with few words

— Allow your child to turn pages, because it will help teach your child the correct orientation of the book, but also how text flows from left to right

— Practice rhyming words you read in books

— Put books in easy reach everywhere in your child’s environment

— Variety is great, but it’s OK to read your child’s favorite story again and again

— Talk about different aspects of the story before, after and during reading

— It’s OK if toddlers wander off during story time — keep offering to read at different times of the day, even at mealtime.

The goal

COFFIN SCHOOL’S reading support staff is concluding its first year of Baxter’s Family Reading Club, named in honor of the school’s mascot Baxter the Bear.

The program’s goal is to promote early literacy and oral language skills by providing kindergarten students and their younger siblings with children’s literature every month.