I had heard about the Read to Me Project as an organization that helps prevent low literacy in Monterey County. What I didn’t know until my children were part of the program last year, was that Read to Me Project not only works to bring reading levels up for students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade but they also work to set up the next generation of kindergarteners for success by having these older siblings read to their little ones at home on a regular basis.
My son was in 5th grade last year and his class participated in the Read to Me Project. One day, he came home with a book that he was going to read to his little sister who was a 1st grader that year. She was still struggling to decode the letters correctly and would often get confused with the sounds of certain letters.
Over the course of only a few weeks I noticed how my daughter’s reading improved thanks to the reading sessions she did with her brother. Her confidence improved as she was better able to recognize certain letter combinations and associate them with the right sounds. Both children seemed to really cherish these nightly get-togethers where they’d sit at the kitchen table and work through the pages of a book together.
I highly recommend the Read to Me Project and the work they do with elementary students and their younger siblings as it provides youth with a great way to improve their literacy levels while offering a way to have quality bonding and family time. If you are a parent reading this and have a child in 4th, 5th, or 6th grade, ask you school to have the Read to Me Project be part of your child’s activities.