“The more that you read, the more things you will know.” Such beautiful words from the one and only Dr. Seuss. It’s this short but powerful phrase that sums up the night of fun-filled reading that took place at Brock Bridge Elementary School in Laurel, Md., to celebrate National Reading Month.
“The PTA Family Reading Experience is a powerful and interactive program for families to grow a love of reading together,” said Ethan Clark, manager of education and arts initiatives at National PTA. “As a participating parent, you gain a deeper understanding of the simple ways you can support your child’s literacy skills.”
The March event was a great opportunity for students from kindergarten to 5th grade to sharpen their comprehension skills and learn new vocabulary. More than a hundred moms, dads, students and teachers turned out to spotlight the importance of family reading.
Amazon and National PTA also donated 100 Kindle e-readers to Brock Bridge Elementary School.
While this event brought parents, teachers and students together in a classroom setting, Clark points out that there are plenty of creative ways to focus on reading at home.
- Demonstrate comprehension by having your child draw and label a picture of their favorite character from a book.
- Invite friends over to host a book club for kids.
- Create a space in your home where you can read with your child.
- Give books as gifts that you plan to read together.
- Talk about each book, what you like and don’t like about its characters, and take guesses on what will happen next.
To see how NBC’s Today show highlighted one of our nation’s most beloved authors and the National PTA Family Reading Experience, visit Today.com.
Ebony Scott is a communications intern at National PTA.
