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Children get head start on reading
That Mother Goose helps grow a love of reading among children in Waterbury, Connecticut, is no fairy tale. It is, rather, a story made real by the Waterbury Kiwanis club, which calls on the famous storyteller to cap off its participation in Kiwanis’ Read Around the World initiative, an annual time to celebrate the joys of reading.
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Mother Goose—also known as professional storyteller Lenka Pichlikova—reads to children from Waterbury, Connecticut’s Head Start Program during a Reading Is Fundamental project undertaken by the Waterbury Kiwanis club. |
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During Read Around the World, set each year for February 1 through March 3, thousands of Kiwanis-family clubs worldwide stage special projects and fundraisers, all geared toward cultivating a lifelong appreciation for reading among children. For the Waterbury club, the observance typically means partnering with the Children’s Division staff from the Silas Bronson Library to visit children at the city’s three Head Start centers, where librarians read to more than 160 children in eight classes.
This year—as in years past—the club will stage a grand finale in May, according to past president Lee Flanagan.
“Head Start will bring the children and their parents to the library to see the tens of thousands of books available for borrowing,” Lee explains. “They’ll also hear Mother Goose (played in costume by a professional storyteller) tell more stories and rhymes, and they’ll each receive two gift books from our club.”
The Waterbury club has a long history of supporting reading programs, having been active in the library’s Reading is Fundamental program for more than 15 years. During that time, the club has donated more than US$30,000 for that and other children’s programs at the library.
Lee says the club’s focus on reading projects complements its other youth-related programs.
“Children,” Lee adds, “are priority one for Kiwanis clubs around the world, including ours.” |
