Reading Resources – Reach Out And Read Kansas City

Stefanie’s Bookshelf – October

Friday Night Wrestlefest by J.F. Fox, illustrated by Micah Player
Published by Roaring Brook Press

Age Range: 3 – 7 years

I just had the best time reading Friday Night Wrestlefest to my children this week. The story demands to be read in a commanding announcer voice and I just love getting silly with voices at bedtime. The ensuing giggles is one of the sweetest gifts I can give to my family. Wrestlefest follows the joyous chaos a family creates together as they set up a wrestling ring in their living room before bedtime. But what happens when “Mama-rama” and “Big Bald Baby” join the in the fight with a dirty trick no one saw coming? Vibrant illustrations contrast beautifully with delightfully twisty alliteration to make this book a surefire story time hit. For a master class in silly commentary voicing, watch this World Wrestling Cats video featuring cute kittens battling for a mountain-high pile of chow. I also recommend visiting the author’s website for some fun family activities like creating your own wrestling personas. Happy reading!

– Stefanie Estes, M.L.S.

Stefanie Estes is the Book Coordinator for ROR-KC. She’s responsible for purchasing and organizing the delivery of 65,000 books annually to our partner clinics.

Share a Book Today: Clinic Spotlight: Sallie Page-Goertz MN, APRN, CPNP, IBCLC at KUMC Pediatrics

Sallie Page-Goertz is an Advanced Registered Nurse at KUMC Pediatrics as well as Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Kansas City.

When ROR-KC was first formed in 1997, Sallie immediately embraced the program as a part of her pediatric care.

20 years later Sallie still treasures the moments she shares books and early literacy advice with her patients and families. She is an avid supporter of a child’s physical and cognitive well-being, and she understands the importance early reading can have on a child’s life.

What is your favorite Reach Out and Read Memory?

A young patient named Michelle reminded me that some children only have books of their own because of ROR-KC. Books are expensive and they are not always within a family’s budget. For Michelle, her family took ROR-KC’s reading advice to heart. They read to her often and her father even built a special bookshelf for her ROR-KC books. As she got older and she started to read on her own, those were the books she turned to first. It’s families like these where I know we are making a positive impact.

How has your understanding of ROR-KC grown over time?

The biggest change is that we have much more information now about how babies and young children’s brains develop, and how economic disparities can have a serious impact on children’s language development as well. This new neurological data enforces how important ROR-KC’s read aloud mission is for young children.

What are some of your favorite books to share with patients and why?

Let’s Read is the book we share with new parents. I love opening it in front of babies and showing parents how their new child’s eyes light up and focus on the book. It’s a great way to open a conversation about reading early and often to their little ones.

For slightly older children, I enjoy books that rhyme, like Dr. Suess. At that age children are starting to talk themselves and they love listening to how words sound. It’s fun because rhyming books feel like a game to them.

ROR-KC also shares bilingual books as well. This is especially helpful when families might have a grandparent that would love to read with the child even though they aren’t comfortable reading or speaking English.

What’s your favorite piece of family reading advice (or encouragement) to share?

Changing how you encourage family members can be key to taking the pressure off reading aloud. Sharing a book with your baby sounds less daunting than reading a book with them. Also encouraging them to understand that the story doesn’t have to dictate the time you spend together. Feel free to open a book and make up a story, skip pages, ask questions. What color is this? How many animals are there? What do you think is going to happen next?

Most importantly, enjoy that time you are snuggled up together. Those unique conversations are helping your baby’s brain grow.

What’s your favorite personal reading memory as a child or with your own children?

I have always been an avid reader. When I was little, I was the child that would get caught reading with the light on in the middle of the night. Whether it’s my grandchildren or my patients I love watching a child’s eyes light up when I bring in a book because it means that someone is reading to them.

How are volunteer readers important to ROR-KC?

We need people to set an example. A book doesn’t have to be a way to read to children, but rather a way to read with them. Showing parents and family members that story time is more of a way to have a conversation with your child. Watching a great volunteer reader can help take a load off for some parents who might find story time daunting.
Thank You, Sallie!

Clinic Spotlight: Chelsea Phelps MSN, FNP-C, Pediatrics at Swope Health Central

Chelsea Phelps is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and ROR-KC Medical Director for Swope Health Central. The clinic is part of a conglomerate of Swope Health Services satellite sites that offer a variety of services including, primary care, dentistry, optometry, radiology, pharmacy, WIC and an on-site laboratory. Chelsea and her colleagues at Swope Health Central utilized a new book during 2,000 well child visits last year and had the opportunity to educate hundreds of families about the importance of reading from the start.

Chelsea shared a bit about herself and how she makes a difference to improve literacy in Kansas City every day. She has been a passionate supporter of Reach Out and Read Kansas City from the moment she started at Swope in 2015, and she understands the impact early reading can have on a child’s life.

What is your favorite part of ROR-KC?

My favorite part about Reach Out and Read is every time I give a book to a family and the sheer excitement I see on their faces. If I forget to bring in the book at the beginning of the appointment many of my families will ask me if they are getting a book that day.

What are some of your favorite books to use with your patients and why?

I love books with touch and feel details, the indestructible books, or books with flaps. My infants love to feel the different textures of the books, chewing on them or looking for hidden characters under the flaps. For my older kids, they love receiving books with recognizable characters on them or things they are interested in (planes, trains, dolls, etc)

What’s your favorite piece of family reading advice (or encouragement) to share?

Reading to your children at LEAST once per day is so beneficial to their development. Many parents feel that for a child to learn, you need to sit them down and teach them as though they are in a school setting. Many parents don’t know that just by reading a story and talking about the characters in the book it is just as beneficial of a learning experience.

What’s your fondest personal reading memory as a child or reading to your own children?

Since both my boys were born I have a nightly routine of bath, books then bed. Some nights are very hectic and reading time sometimes will get missed. My oldest son (almost 4 years old) will come in my room with a book so that we can have that moment. I can never say no! We end up reading 3 or 4 sometimes 5 books at a time.

Why is reading important to you?

My life is always go, go, go. Reading puts the brakes on a busy day. At least for a little while. It is a time that you and whomever can have a moment to connect and remove technology that often overwhelms families these days. Now that I am older, reading is also a way to get my mind off of the day-to-day stresses.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Reading is so vital to children as well as adults. Pick a time of day even if for only 5 minutes to sit and read something together. It could be a new book or an old one, a newspaper or a magazine. The content is important, but not as much as the time spent together. The time spent together is so important- especially today when life gets so busy.

Through a Doctor’s Eyes: A Generation of Reach Out and Read Kansas City

Meet Krista Cox, a pediatrician that began her career at Baby and Child Associates Pediatric Practice in 1999 and has been there ever since. Dr. Cox was kind enough to take time out of her busy day to share a little bit about herself and Baby and Child’s new office. Dr. Cox has always been an advocate for early literacy and has continuously integrated the Reach Out and Read model into her practice. She has seen the positive impact books and family reading time can make on a young child’s life and future.

When Reach Out and Read Kansas City first began in 1997, Dr. Cox was completing her residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Right away she saw the benefit of incorporating books into pediatric care. In 1999 she began working at Baby and Child and carried Reach Out and Read’s mission with her. She knew through a myriad of studies that early literacy initiatives are important and work. For her early literacy is a way to not only encourage reading but also positive family time.

When a child develops a love a reading from their parents, a world of possibilities can open up to them.

A love of reading is a tool they can use for the rest of their lives.

What’s your favorite piece of family reading advice (or encouragement) to share?

When the baby is an infant, I like to ask parents to read and talk to their babies every day. It will make them smarter I say, and that makes parents smile. For older children, 3 and up, I like to tell parents that the more they read to their children the better they will do in kindergarten.

What are some of your favorite books to use with your patients and why?

Anyone who steps into our office will know that we are big fans of Eric Carle here at Baby and Child. His artwork is in almost every room. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a great book to use during well-child visits because of its use of color and repetition.

What’s your fondest personal reading memory as a child or reading to your own children?

I was an avid reader growing up, and I wanted to pass that on to my kids. When my children were little, I read One Fish Two Fish by Dr. Seuss more times than I can count. It’s fun to share that same book with parents in our waiting room and say, “Hey, I read this book to my kids thousands of times. Your child might really enjoy this book too.”

What is your favorite Reach Out and Read memory at Baby and Child?

While I don’t have one specific memory, there are certain moments that I love. When I walk into an appointment with a 9-month old (a child that might only babble or say things like mama) and the child sees the book in my hand and says, “book!” That is a good sign, it means that someone is reading to that child on a daily basis.

Baby and Child has quite a few ROR-KC volunteers. How do volunteer readers impact Baby and Child?

Even though parents know in their mind that reading is important, a volunteer reader can set an example of what goes into a good story time. The reader can be interactive, silly and use different voices. A reader can ask questions. Story time is a chance for the parent to have fun and interact with their child.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

One of the most rewarding things about working with Reach Out and Read Kansas City has been looking back a noticing the change in how parents view the importance of reading.

When I first started a generation ago at Baby and Child, parents would ask me why they need to read to their child? Especially if their preschool or daycare has reading time built into the day. But now there are ROR-KC children that have grown up and have babies of their own. As parents, they are showing greater interest and excitement when I talk about reading to their young children. I know that because of Reach Out and Read Kansas City I have been a part of that change.

Baby and Child is just one of the many clinics that Reach Out and Read Kansas City serves. If you would like to learn more about the clinics we serve, head to our clinic partners page.

How to Host a Book Drive

Hosting a book drive is the perfect way to make a difference in your community. A recent donor, Susan Mertz of Merrigan & Co hosted a cocktail party with her daughter. When asked how she felt when the party was over she responded, “Wonderful. — It was fun and easy. And, best of all, we introduced an incredible organization to our friends.”

The easiest way to host a book drive is to think about how you can incorporate book donations into the agenda. Spread the word, enjoy time with your friends, and reap the rewards. Feel free to take advantage of our free printable flyer, fact sheet, and coloring page when hosting your book drive.

Check out these tried and true book collection methods below:

Parties: Birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, Quinceaneras, Anniversaries

This is one of the easiest ways to do a book drive, simply encourage guests to bring a book donation or two in lieu of a present.

Events: Plays, Concerts, Debate Tournaments, Spelling Bees, Ballets

Any performance-based gathering is the perfect place to have guests bring a new or gently used book donation as the price of admission or for a discount.

Social Gatherings: Faith-Based Groups, Club Meetings, Cocktail Parties

Any time your favorite club gets together is a great opportunity to collect books with ease.
If you are looking for an excuse to hold a cocktail party, encourage people to join in by bringing a book. Reach Out and Read Kansas City makes for a great conversation starter.

Locations: Office, Club, Gymnasium, Coffee shop

ROR-KC has donation bins available upon request that can be used in high donation sites. You can even make it into a competition. Set goals for your office or club to build up camaraderie and spirit. Host a party to celebrate once your book collection time is over.

Host a Virtual Book Drive:

Sometimes life prevents us from collecting books in person. In this case, you can also host a book drive online. Feel free to share.

Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary: Reading Aloud Builds Healthy Relationships

The following message is a guest blog from Sallie Page-Goertz MN, APRN. Sallie is the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read KC and a Nurse Practitioner at KUMC Pediatrics.

“For children, a well-constructed brain depends on genetic makeup, the environment, and most important, the children’s relationships with adults who are attentive to them…and care deeply about them.” (Petersen S. Young Children. P.14. September 2012.)

I can’t say it better! Children need people to hold, them, love them, talk, read and play with them for the very best developmental outcome. Reading aloud is one strategy that serves to bring a caring adult into close physical contact with a child, doing a pleasurable activity. For both children and adults, these special times help reduce stress and build relationships over time.

Reach Out and Read came into being because pediatricians who specialized in children’s development were concerned about their observations that parents were not in conversation with their infants and children; parents were not in close physical contact with their infants and children. The strategy of having a health care provider give a prescription to caregivers to share books with children, along with the gift of a new, developmentally and culturally appropriate book, was the pediatricians’ response to those concerns.

Reading aloud, (or book sharing – making up one’s own stories based on the pictures, talking about the pictures on the page – the colors, the objects) is a time when caregivers can experience serve-and-return communication. The caregiver reads/comments, and then listens/watches for the child’s response, and then reads/shares some more. It is a great way for children and caregivers to connect.

Babies are attuned to the voices of people in their environment even before they are born. After birth, their brain is changing rapidly, in part based on their environment. The first 1000 days are the most sensitive times for the development of vision, hearing, language, and emotional attachment. Connections between neurons can either be strengthened or pruned during this sensitive time. One hopes that connections that are helpful to children’s well-being will be the ones strengthened – and this can be a challenge, especially for families who are living in stressful circumstances.

Sharing a book while snuggling a baby or young child strengthens important connections in the brain. Snuggling/being in conversation ameliorates the negative physiologic effects of toxic stress (stress that is unremitting, or intense, or frequent) and fosters the development of close emotional bonds. Reading aloud or sharing books of course helps build vocabulary and enhances a child’s readiness to learn in school, but most importantly, sharing that book makes a connection between things baby loves most – your voice, your closeness, and books –a love for caregivers plus a love of books translates to a love of learning and a healthy life.

Educating Parents on Safe Sleeping Practices through Children’s Books

A new study from Dr. John Hutton (pediatrician and clinical researcher at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center) and other researchers, found that children’s books with messaging about safe sleep practices are more effective in changing parents behaviors than traditional brochures.

Sleep- related infant deaths (categorized as children under 1-year-old who die unexpectedly) disproportionately affect lower income families. Researchers were interested to see if children’s picture books with safe sleep messaging would educate parents more than traditional methods, like brochures and pamphlets.

To test this, researchers provided families with the book, Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug, by Dr. John Hutton. Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug is a story filled with safe sleeping practices for new babies. It even includes a checklist of “Dos and Don’ts” on the back cover as a reference for parents. It is also the book that RORKC provides at the one-month well-child visit.

For the study, researchers specifically targeted lower income families. While they conducted their research in primarily English-speaking households, Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug, is also available in Spanish to families at RORKC’s partner clinics.

They found that while both the pamphlets and Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug were similarly effective in educating parents on safe sleep knowledge, parents who had the children’s book were less likely to share beds and more likely to use cribs exclusively. The researchers attributed this to the idea that reading the book aloud provoked more dialogue and emotional engagement, meaning that they were more likely to follow the advice after they had shared the book with their child.

While the researchers caution that there should be more investigation into the best practices for educating parents on safe sleeping habits, they believe that providing children’s books, like Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug, may be a step in the right direction.

Read the full study.

Summer Reading Programs in KC!

Days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer, which means one thing: it’s almost summer vacation! While students are rejoicing, it can be a difficult time for parents as they try to prevent the “summer slide”. This refers to the possible learning setbacks that come as a result of time away from the classroom. Luckily, KC has numerous libraries and educational camps that combat the “summer slide”! We’ve put together a list for you of library programs, summer camps, and events to keep your kids reading this summer!

Library Programs:

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library

May 15th – July 31st

Kick-Off Parties: happening at all locations – check out when your branch is having theirs!

Highlights:

-Family Story Time

-Family Movie Nights

-Practice your reading skills with Reading Education Assistance Dogs

-Bilingual Craft Times

View more information.

Kansas City, Missouri Public Library

Kick-Off Party- May 26^th at the Plaza branch with special guest, Jim Cosgrove

Highlights:

-Yoga Storytime

-Rockin’ Rob

-Exotic Animals R Us Visit

View more information

Mid-Continent Library

May 22^nd-July 31^st

Highlights:

-A Story Time with Royals Mascot, Slugger!

-Story Times for families, babies and toddlers, and Pre-Schoolers.

-A visit from the SEA LIFE Mobile Touch Tank

-Practice your reading skills with Reading Education Assistance Dogs.

Need more information? View the Mid-Continent Library Website.

Johnson County Public Library:

May 15^th –July 31^st

Highlights:

-Summer Storytimes

-Practice your reading skills with Reading Education Assistance Dogs

-Dinosaur O’Dell’s Build a Better World

-Family English-Spanish Storytime

-Marty the Magician’s Magic Workshop

View more information.

Olathe Public Library

May 22^nd-July 31^st

Kick-Off Party: Tuesday, May 30th, at 10:00 a.m. at Frontier Park in Olathe

Highlights:

-Story Time in the Park

-Family Chess Nights

-Practice your reading skills with Reading Education Assistance Dogs

-Family Movie Nights

-Find Fido Fridays

View more information.

North Kansas City Public library

May 27th – August 5th

Kickoff Party: May 27th

Highlights:

-Storytimes are offered 3 times a week (Monday @ 11:00 a.m., Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m., Wednesday @ 11:00 a.m.)

-Family Programs are every other Saturday at 11:00 a.m

-Mad Science will present their Build a Better World program.

-Bricks4Kids, a hands-on LEGO program

-Animal Tales

View more information.

Summer Camps:

BOOKISH From ABC Preschool

June 27-29
Through the minds and hearts of children, books will be a part of their lives forever. Bookish will open the cover of your child’s imagination by guiding their curiosity with a visit from a real book author, taking a field trip to a real library, writing & illustrating our own books, and delight bringing childhood classics to life with dramatic play.

View more information.

Upper Room:

June 5th – July 28th

Summer Camp Daily Schedule:

8 am – 3:30 pm: Academic instruction time. This includes English Language Arts (ELA) in the morning. Lunch is provided, and the afternoon consists of math and other academic enrichment activities. ELA & Math will be our primary focus during these hours.

3:30 – 6pm: Various recreation & enrichment activities are offered during this time until parents pick up their child. An afternoon snack is also provided.

View more Information.

Other Great Events:

Turn the Page Summer Reading Event

June 20^th

Sprint Center

Join Turn the Page for a FREE summer reading celebration at Sprint Center! Mayor James and Turn the Page KC volunteers will lead an afternoon full of STEAM – science, technology, engineering, arts, and math – activities. Every child will take home a bag of FREE books and resources

View the Facebook Event.

Sylvester Powell Community Center

Ages 0-6 yrs.

5/1-8/28

M: 10:00-10:30am

Story Time with Miss Diann. Turn your preschooler into an avid reader before they even start school! Reading aloud to young children encourages learning development and helps prepare them for independent reading down the line. Miss Diann will read a story and help children participate in a fun art activity. Parents participation encouraged during art lesson and required for supervision during story time. $1/child, no class 5/29, 7/3

View more information

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program:

1.Read any eight books this summer and record them in this

Summer Reading Journal. Tell us which part of the book is your

favorite, and why.

2.Bring your completed journal to a Barnes & Noble store between

May 16th and September 5th, 2017.

3.Choose your FREE reading adventure from the book list featured

on the back of the journal

Download a copy of the Barnes & Noble Reading Journal

Promoting Print Awareness

Reading books together helps babies create a foundation for lifelong learning by building skills that fluent readers take for granted. Babies have to learn that there are patterns in the sounds they hear, and that these sounds make words. They have to learn that the squiggly lines in books are letters and those letters make words. They also have to learn that there is a connection between those letters they see and the sounds they hear. That’s a lot of work for a baby! However, this connection, called print awareness, is one of the most basic pre-literacy skills and is absolutely necessary before a child can learn to read.

All About Learning Press describes print awareness as “the understanding that words on a page have meaning and that they are related to spoken language,” further explaining that “As children develop print awareness, however, they begin to realize that those characters on the page are words, and that words are read in lines from left to right and lines are read from top to bottom. They learn that there are spaces between words and punctuation at the end of sentences.” Once children learn what text looks like, they are better able to recognize it in different contexts. They will be able to recognize that there are words all around them, not just on the pages of a book, but also on signs, billboards, cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, and more!

Reading aloud together is a great way for parents to get started on promoting print awareness with their child. Reach Out and Read provides books starting at birth to encourage families to read and build these vital pre-literacy skills. Still, there are many fun and effective ways to make emphasize text while reading aloud and while doing everyday activities. Here are a few ways to promote print awareness:

1. Start at the beginning. Reading Rockets suggests that you begin reading aloud by looking at the front cover and reading the names of the author and illustrator. You can also talk about the front and back of the book, and about reading from left to right.
Hold up the book and say, “This is the front of the book, (turn it sideways and state) and this is the spine.” Turn the book to the back cover and state, “This is the back of the book.” Then ask, “Do we begin reading from the front or the back of the book?” (Students should respond, “From the front.”).

2. Point to the text as you are reading. This will help distinguish that you are reading the words rather than just interpreting the pictures.

3. Talk about words you see during daily activities. Words are everywhere, and so are learning opportunities! This video has some great examples of finding words in daily activities. Mira’s mother doesn’t just point to the sign and read “melons” she also makes the connection between two M words: M for Mira and M for melon!

Read aloud every day starting at birth builds babies’ brains so that when they start kindergarten, they are ready to learn and can become strong readers. Reach Out and Read Kansas City incorporates books into pediatric care for babies ages 0-5, encouraging families to read together. This allows children gain pre-literacy skills like print awareness. To learn more about our program, visit our website. To help further our mission, consider donating to our cause.

The Benefits of Bilingual Books

The Reach Out and Read program has a huge impact on every family we serve because we are able to provide books that meet the specific needs of different families. Our clinics encounter patients who are culturally diverse and often unable to read or speak English.

For these families, we offer bilingual and foreign language books in 27 different languages from Arabic to Vietnamese at well-child visits for ages 0-5 years old. Children in these families will usually go on to attend an English-speaking school, making bilingual books especially valuable in helping them get ready for kindergarten.

Bilingual books have a number of unique benefits: They prevent language delay that some English language learners may experience, and they build vocabulary in the reader’s home language. However, the benefits of bilingual books go far beyond the measurable language effects. Here are some of the benefits of the foreign language and bilingual books that RORKC offers:

1. Bilingual books encourage parents to read in their home language. Parents who do not speak any or very much English may not be comfortable reading English-only books to their children. Being read and talked to (in any language) is important for building those pre-literacy skills so babies can be ready to learn once they start school. Strong pre-literacy skills in the child’s home language prepare their brains to learn reading or writing and improve their capacity to learn both languages. For very young children, learning a language is not the only goal: Building strong neural connections is also important.

somali book — Somali is one of our 27 languages for bilingual book options.

2. Bilingual books build vocabulary in both languages. Bilingual children may have smaller vocabularies in each language than their peers (though their combined vocabulary is often the same or greater). This can become a problem once they begin school, especially since “playground language” does not expose children to concepts that they need to know for school in their second language. Bilingual books familiarize children with “academic language” in both language, preparing them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

3. Bilingual books help children feel included. It is important for children to find themselves represented in stories and illustrations. If their family speaks a language that is not common where they live, they may begin to feel alienated. For languages like Burmese and Urdu, it can be hard to find any resources for children at all. Bilingual books and foreign language books can provide children with much-needed representations of their home language, or even their race and culture.

4. Bilingual books highlight other cultures. Bilingual books are also a wonderful way to help young children learn about and become more accepting of other cultures and people. Learning about other people can boost children’s social and emotional development.

5. Bilingual books are fun. We know reading is a lot fun. Languages can be fun too!

Summer Reading Sure is Fun!

GSWB_CB_05 — Image courtesy of Reach Out and Read National Center

Summer has officially begun, and that means we get to experience the many joys of the season: Warm weather, ice cream, and many reading opportunities for the whole family. For young children (0-5years), summer can mean fun activities that make sticking to reading routines difficult. For school-aged children, summer break can result in summer slide—learning setbacks that result from time away from the classroom. Encouraging children to read through the summer can put them at an advantage for the rest of the year, and there are many ways to overcome the challenges of summer reading. Here are some tips for for keeping your little ones reading through the summer:

1. Let your child choose what to read. From our friends at First Book: “Kids will always be more excited about reading, if they can choose what to read,” says Stephanie Phelix, Library Media Specialist at Belle Forest Community School in Memphis, TN.
If you are having trouble coming up with summer reading ideas, check out these picture books about summer.

2. Sign up for a summer reading program. Many local libraries provide incentives for children who meet reading goals, and programs are available for very young ages. Some KC area libraries with summer reading programs are:

Mid-Continent Public Library
Kansas City Public Library
Johnson County Public Library

If you can’t make it out to the library, Scholastic offers an online summer reading program as well.

3. Incorporate reading into other fun summer activities. You know that hour between eating and jumping in the pool? Perfect time to read! RIF suggests some other ways to have fun reading, such as having a “book-nic” or a combined picnic and story time.

KC area libraries are a great resource for free or inexpensive summer reading resources, events, and story times. However, home libraries are also important for developing young readers’ literacy skills. To help us provide books to KC’s youngest children through the summer and all year, consider donating to RORKC.

Enjoy your summer reading!

Chatter Matters: Why it is Important for Parents to Talk to Children

The following message is a guest blog from Sallie Page-Goertz MN, APRN. Sallie is the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read KC, and she recently gave a two-part presentation called “Parent Talk” about why it is important to engage in frequent, high-quality talk with young children. Her presentations were so informative and well-received that we would like to share that same message with you!

Babies love to hear your voices. While in the womb, they heard your voices, as well as those who were around you! A fascinating study had women read to their babies before the birth. After the birth, babies listened to recordings of their mother and recordings of a stranger reading the same story – they were much more interested in listening to the story recorded by their mothers, a familiar sound!

GSWB_BBP_07 — Photos courtesy of Reach Out and Read National Center.

For children to learn to talk, they have to hear lots and lots of talking. The first 3 years of life are the MOST sensitive for development of later language skills. If babies do not hear lots of conversation, they lose an opportunity for developing strong connections in the brain that help them to communicate. When you talk to your baby, connections between neurons are formed that will help them learn to speak. Research tells us that the more words children hear between birth and three, the more words they know at 18 months of age and at 3 years of age. Sharing a book with your child is one way to get these conversations going!

The way we talk to young children influences how they think about themselves, how they learn to regulate their behavior, and their willingness to try hard, and keep trying when learning new skills. For example, in the grocery store – one could tell that running child to “Stop, behave, you know you’re not supposed to run” or, one could say – “hey stop running and come help Mommy find the red apples that you like so much – let’s see if you can put four of them in the bag! Thank you for being a good helper”. In the first example, the child is chastised for unacceptable behavior, but doesn’t learn what might be acceptable. In the second example the child is told what they are not to do, but also told what they can do, and further are given an opportunity to learn about color, and counting and helping.

Another example – the preschooler is working on putting a puzzle together – it’s hard for her to find the right spot for some of the pieces. In one scenario, her caregiver shows her exactly where it goes, she puts it here and is told “great job”. The child is pleased to have the help, and continues to look for that help. An alternative scenario, is that the caregiver suggests puzzle skills – look at the pieces with smooth edges, and see which ones will go together, or think about matching colors on the different pieces. The caregiver encourages the child to keep trying different pieces until she finds the right ones. Praise is given for trying again and again, rather than for being successful! In the second scenario, the child has learned a lot more – about puzzle making, but more importantly about not giving up when things seem too hard.

Dana Suskind’s book, Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain, has lots of great ideas to think about when being in conversation with your children. She presents the research that explains importance of being in conversation with children in an easy to read and understand way, and reminds us of the impact that our conversations can have on children, both negative and positive.

Bottom line, words matter, and the more words a child hears, the more prepared they are to communicate and to learn as toddlers, kindergarteners and adults!

So, go talk to your baby – watch how she reacts to your voice, to your singing. Even though she won’t talk back with words for many months, she talks back with her eyes and her expressions to let you know that she is definitely listening and learning.

Choosing the Best Book for KC Kids

The right book at the right time in a young child’s life is key for their development and keeping their interest. Little ones get bored with books that are “too young” for them and can get discouraged by books that are too advanced. At Reach Out and Read Kansas City, we make sure that every child receives a book that is the best fit for them developmentally at each one of their 14 regularly scheduled well-child checkups. We stock over 200 titles in order to offer many different choices for different age groups, and there are a number of factors to consider when we choose books for each group.

New babies, from birth to 4 months, are still working on developing their senses and motor skills, so they enjoy putting things in their mouth to experience them. Starting out, their eyesight is very undeveloped but grows stronger, as demonstrated on the infant vision simulator card presented here. While family members often hold babies closer than the distance designated on the simulator, this gives us some idea about how baby sees the world that they are newly experiencing.

At this age, black and white are easier for them to see clearly, so they find high-contrast board books or cloth books most stimulating (and harder to destroy). For these reasons, we offer book choices such as “Hello Baby” and “Black and White Nighty Night” to infants 2-4 months old. Little ones in this age group are also quickly improving their ability to recognize faces, and at 6 months, can already recognize faces better than they recognize objects. With that in mind, we offer plenty of book choices with lots of faces to look at.

Our volunteer reader, Brenda, recently used the book “Baby Faces: Smile!” to engage a family with a 4-month old baby at our Cockerell & McIntosh site. She moved the book slowly from left to right and watched the baby track the pictures with his eyes, and then he broke into a smile (just like the baby in the book!)

Brenda also gave the family a little information about how reading to very young children helps their brains develop so they are better prepared to learn in school. The parents were very excited to see the baby interact with the book by tracking it and smiling! As they understood that their interactions really were beneficial to their little one, they continued to interact with their baby and book through their stay in the waiting room.

As children grow older, they start to recognize and name objects and are learning concepts like numbers and opposites. Between 1 and 2 years of age, children can choose books about counting or opposites, or they can choose a book that asks them what different objects are, such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” By age 3, kiddos are ready for books with a story, such as Mother Goose tales.

At 4 years, it’s time for a special well-child visit! By this age, children are getting ready to start school and Reach Out and Read is ready to help by giving them a kindergarten book bag including their “Countdown to the First Day of School” book, a kindergarten readiness checklist for parents, and some other preparatory materials.

Thanks to Janice Dobbs, our dedicated book coordinator of nearly 15 years, the Reach Out and Read KC team is experienced at and devoted to providing the most developmentally-appropriate book for every age. Equally as important, we also strive to provide the children we serve with books that are a good fit for them in other ways as well. Many families visiting our partner clinics do not speak English as their first language, so we offer bilingual books in 27 different languages (from Arabic to Vietnamese!) and our medical providers make sure to talk to each family about the importance of sharing books with their young children. By offering the best book choices to every child served by our clinics, we make sure the Reach Out and Read program has the greatest impact possible. Having access at home to the right book at the right time means a child is more likely to want to return to that book again and again, and will begin their lives learning a love of books and reading that will last through their school years and beyond.

Reach Out and Read Benefits Adolescent Mothers

It has been shown over and over that Reach Out and Read program has significant benefits for infants, but a pilot study in Maternal and Child Health Journal indicates that the program may also have notable benefits for adolescent mothers.

Adolescent mothers are more likely to experience maternal depression. This is likely a cause of the elevated language delay for their children, since depression can impair a mother’s ability to be a responsive caregiver. Fortunately, reading aloud together encourages mothers to enjoy time spent with children while doing something fun and interactive, resulting in healthier attachments and reduced depression.

The aforementioned study encouraged reading by implementing the Reach Out and Read model, and used questionnaires and the Beck Depression Inventory-Revised to measure results. The participating clinicians attended a 1-hour session informing them of counseling strategies that are attuned to the unique needs of adolescent mothers. The model was implemented using three components common to ROR clinics: 1. The clinician giving an age-appropriate book to the child during a check-up; 2. The clinician administering literacy advice; and 3. A language-rich clinic environment, including volunteer readers. The program is feasible and low cost because the books and resources were donated, and the clinic readers were volunteers.

Though it cost very little, the program was effective in reducing maternal depression and increasing time spend reading together. Researchers also observed high recruitment and retention rates, which was noteworthy considering the high frequency of missed appointments for adolescent mothers at the clinic.

The study did have a small sample size and only included one clinic, so the results could not reach a statistically significant conclusion. However, the observations made here show promise for further study and will hopefully lead to research on a larger scale. This information also provides a reminder that the Reach Out and Read program is simple, but its effects are varied, broad, and profound. Our program begins in the clinic, but it is hard to say when (or whether) it ends, for the benefits of hearing a story in the arms of a loved one are benefits that last a lifetime.

The Consequences of “Second-Hand Screens”

We all know how frustrating it is to talk to someone who is distracted by a mobile device, but did you know that it can also pose a potential developmental risk for infants? Reach Out and Read National Center recently posted an article by Dr. Robert Needlman, ROR co-founder, describing the parallels between screen-focused behavior and Ed Trunick’s “Still Face Paradigm.”

stillfacescreencap — Click to watch a video of the Still Face Experiment

The Still Face Paradigm comes from a series of studies by Dr. Ed Trunick. In these studies, each mother would interact with her baby by cooing, gesturing, and touching, back and forth. Then, on a signal from the research team, the mother would become still faced, no longer interacting with her baby.

Dr. Needlman describes the baby’s reaction, “The baby’s response, at first, was to act even more adorable, as if trying harder to recapture the mother’s interest. Then, when the mother remained impassive, the baby would become angry, crying in rage. Then, when even that failed, the baby would slump back, defeated, looking depressed. Babies whose mothers actually did suffer from depression did less flirting and protesting. Instead, they skipped right to “defeated.” It was as if they knew – had learned – that mother wasn’t to be counted on as a partner. These babies protected themselves by investing less emotional energy in the exchange, building walls against closeness and disappointment.”

Dr. Needlman explains that this still-faced behavior is much like the behavior of a person who is preoccupied by a mobile device: They remain impassive, show little or no facial expression, and do not actively interact with those around them. This may be appropriate at times, and smartphones have many advantages that are hard to give up. However, screen focused behavior is something to be mindful of, especially around young children. Like second-hand smoke, second-hand screens may pose a risk to those other than the user.

Dr. Dana Suskind makes a similar point in her book “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.” In this book, Dr. Suskind lists three guidelines for improving a child’s brain development:

1. Tune in to what the child is interested in and respond to that interest.
2. Talk more by engaging in frequent and high-quality speech with the child.
3. Take turns by letting the baby participate and responding, back and forth.

Sound familiar? These behaviors are much like what the “Still Faced Experiment” mothers did before they were instructed to make their faces blank. Of course, you can’t effectively “tune in” and “take turns” when engrossed in content on a screen, which is why Dr. Suskind adds a fourth guideline: Turn it off. As in, turn off distracting devices when spending time with your child. Besides we can think of a fun activity that doesn’t require any screens: Reading a book!

Free Books from First Books

We are so grateful to First Book, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing equal access to literacy and educational opportunities for children in need, for supplying for free over 500,000 new children’s books to organizations in Kansas City this September. RORKC received 1780 new books for use in our well-child checkups and waiting rooms. Janice and Jenny, our tireless and talented book coordinator and volunteer manager, lined up with representatives of dozens of other local agencies to receive these fabulous free books for our kiddos. Thanks also to our wonderful friends at Turn the Page KC and LINC for organizing this event to benefit our community of young readers.

Summer Reading 2015

In addition to providing books at our partner clinics, RORKC handed out over 13,000 new books to kids throughout the metro this summer as part of the Childrens’ Reading Foundation’s READ UP! program, funded though a U.S. Department of Education Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant. Books and brochures reminding students and parents to read together during summer break were delivered at Health Partnership Clinic, Growing Futures Early Education Center, Freedom School, and to the 1,200 children who attended Mayor James’ summer reading celebration at the Sprint Center.

Library and Museum Partnership

Reach Out and Read national recently announced the launch of the Prescription for Success Toolkit, to support collaborations between libraries, museums, and ROR program sites – natural partners that have a collective impact on the lives of young children.

Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this pilot project aims to help families benefit from museum and library services that foster literacy development in young children. As a national nonprofit organization comprised of doctors, who promote early childhood literacy, Reach Out and Read has deep and broad relationships within the medical community. Prescription for Success has leveraged these connections to explore new ways doctors and their staffs can collaborate with museums and libraries.

Encouraging families to use libraries and museums extends the impact of the ROR program, giving them opportunities to share books and spend time enjoying library and museum activities. Likewise, library and museum staff reinforce our message that engaging with young children through reading and playing together helps foster healthy brain development. Read more

Literacy Toolkit for Pediatricians and Parents Unveiled by Hilary Clinton

“Fewer than half of children younger than 5 years old are read to daily in our country. For 25 years, programs such as Reach Out and Read have been promoting literacy in exam rooms nationwide, and now, even more pediatricians are taking a stand…”

The former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, released a new literacy toolkit titled Books Build Connections at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego on October 12th. Clinton and the AAP have partnered to create this early literacy toolkit written by pediatricians for pediatricians to help them discuss with parents and caregivers the importance of early literacy in brain development.

In a press release issued by the AAP, it is noted that “in June 2014, [we] announced a collaborative partnership with Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Next Generation. The organizations have committed to promote early literacy and ensure that doctors, parents and caregivers have the information, tools and books they need to promote talking, reading out loud and singing to children every day starting in infancy.”

The president of the AAP, James M. Perrin, MD, FAAP, said, “Fewer than half of children younger than 5 years old are read to daily in our country. For 25 years, programs such as Reach Out and Read have been promoting literacy in exam rooms nationwide, and now, even more pediatricians are taking a stand to spread the news more widely through our recent policy, toolkit and partnership with Too Small to Fail. Talking, reading and singing with young children is a joyful way to build strong and healthy parent-child relationships, foster early language skills and promote children’s development.”

Furthermore, as part of the partnership with Too Small to Fail and AAP, Scholastic, Inc. agreed to donate 500,000 new, age-appropriate children’s books for distribution through Reach Out and Read National, working with 20,000 medical providers nationwide to promote early reading and giving books to 4 million children and their families annually at pediatric visits.

The Books Build Connections toolkit, available online at www.aap.org/literacy, incorporates recommendations to emphasize early literacy, from an infant’s very first days, as an essential aspect of pediatric care. According to the AAP, “the toolkit provides updated, practical resources for pediatric professionals, as well as guidance for families on the importance of talking, reading, and singing with their children to promote early learning. The toolkit includes 12 tip sheets, parent handouts and other publications in easy-to-use, mobile-friendly formats to help pediatricians promote early literacy.”

Resources include:

-16 concrete ways pediatric health professionals can promote early literacy in their practice and community;

-Background for pediatric professionals on the science of early literacy;

-Parent-friendly tips on sharing books with children at specific ages and stages of development, from birth through age 10;

-Advice for parents on “the secret to a smarter baby”;

-Recommendations on choosing books for children based on age and topic, including specific titles;

-Tips from doctors on reading with very young children, including the 5 Rs of early education.

“Pediatricians want all parents and caregivers to know that by making special one-on-one time every day to read, talk and play with their young children, they are promoting their child’s early learning. This kind of treasured experience actually creates new connections in their child’s brain that promote language development and secure the bond between parent and child,” said Pamela High, MD, FAAP, lead author of the AAP’s early literacy policy statement. “By creating the Books Build Connections toolkit, the AAP and Too Small to Fail, in collaboration with Reach Out and Read, are getting the word out to families that early experiences really matter.”