MOTHEREAD/FATHEREAD PROGRAM Becoming a reading role model for your children

As parents, we all want to help our children do their best in school. We all know that reading is one the first things that children have to lean in order to do well in school. We all know, too, that kids love to listen to stories.

They’ll sit for hours, eyes wide with excitement, and listen to all kinds of stories –– stories about ghosts and spirits that live in caves and trees, stories about super heroes who can lift huge stones and rip trees out of the ground, stories about where we come from and how the earth, the sea and the sky were made, stories about monsters, evil witches and cruel stepmothers. Kids love stories because they can easily imagine themselves as being in the story and being a part of everything that happens and that’s exciting and a lot fun.

Reading stories to your kids is entertaining and also a wonderful way to spend time with them. When a kid snuggles up next to you to hear a story, something magical happens. You feel good because your little boy or little girl feels secure, protected, and happy. The two of you share a story and a special time together.

Reading stories to your kids is also a good way to teach them a lot things such as getting along with brothers and sisters, about sharing, about being different from other people, about feeling wanted and secure, about a grandmother’s or grandfather’s love and wisdom.

Reading stories to your kids brings the whole family closer together because the stories are about real people who live in a real world. Reading to your children from early age creates a positive feeling about books and reading and prepares them for kindergarten and school.

Motheread/Fatheread is reading program that works with parents and teachers to show them how to use stories to help children learn about the world they are growing up in. Motheread/Fatheread believes that all parents can become reading role models for their children. Children as young as six months old respond to stories because they know their mother’s and father’s voice. Sharing stories with children brings families closer together.

Motheread/Fatheread can help parents learn how to become reading role models for their children. Motheread’s/Fatheread’s trained instructors, many who are former teachers, can show parents many different ways to read to their children. Motheread/Fatheread has hundreds of books selected for children from six months old to 10 years. Your children will love to listen to stories about kids just like themselves but from many different parts of the world. They will love hearing about kids who face the same ups and downs that all kids all over the world face.

If you are interested in learning more about Motheread/Fatheread and how the program can help you help your children, please call the Northern Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities at 235-4758. Motheread/Fatheread is free of charge.