NNPS Preschoolers explore magic of reading with Mayor's Book Club
Posted: October 15, 2024
Listening to stories being read and collecting books starts in preschool as Newport News Public Schools students participate in the Mayor's Book Club.
Listening to stories being read and collecting books starts in preschool as Newport News Public Schools students participate in the Mayor's Book Club.Each month starting this year on October 17, students will receive the featured book, listen to a guest adult read the story and take home information about book-related learning activities families can do together. October's book to start off the school year is "Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School" by James and Kimberly Dean.
"The big idea behind the program is one, to connect students with opportunities to receive books and receive the opportunity to listen to a story from an adult, so partnering those community helpers with classrooms so that students can see people who work in our community in their classrooms," said Cynthia Watson, NNPS preschool instructional specialist.
"Secondly is bringing in the idea that they get to take the book home with them and share with their families a story that they've heard in their classroom. And then help the family see this is how I can use the book to help my child count or learn the alphabet or talk about social-emotional skills, and develop different academic and social-emotional components of early childhood."
A partnership between NNPS, the City of Newport News and the Newport News Public Library supports the Mayor's Book Club, which is returning with guest readers back in classrooms after a year as the Preschool Book Club in 2023-24.
Local Kiwanis Clubs raise money for the program and coordinate their members and other community volunteers to read stories to students in their classrooms each month. Copies of books and audio recordings of them being read are available to guest readers so that they can prepare in advance of reading in classrooms.
Local Kiwanis Clubs raise money for the program and coordinate their members and other community volunteers to read stories to students in their classrooms each month. Copies of books and audio recordings of them being read are available to guest readers so that they can prepare in advance of reading in classrooms."We are so excited to have the Mayor's Book club return to our early childhood schools this year in NNPS," said Dr. Kati Smith, principal of Marshall Early Learning Center. "We are the foundation for our students and families as the first school experience. Having this partnership and also guest readers come into our school buildings is such a plus."
NNPS preschool instructional staff has created a website with specific activities geared towards each month's featured book. Examples include finding letters in the book, talking about how to be a better friend or counting the monkeys that fell off the bed. It also has information families can use to help their students be a better reader at home and examples of the types of things to talk about.
With each student receiving a book, they can build their own mini libraries at home. Each classroom will receive a teacher copy that remains in their classroom library so students can read it there as well.
All books have been chosen for the year, including some classic favorites that follow solid story structure in addition to matching material that students are learning.
"We don't follow a theme," Watson said. "We try to choose books across the year that support students' learning and the standards that we teach. There are books about friendship, about the alphabet, about counting. We'll have a non-fiction book or two so that students are exposed to that type of text."
Getting books into the hands of students is important at all levels, but fostering a love of reading and books at the Pre-K level creates a foundation of literacy, according to Travis Humble, principal of Denbigh Early Childhood Center.
Getting books into the hands of students is important at all levels, but fostering a love of reading and books at the Pre-K level creates a foundation of literacy, according to Travis Humble, principal of Denbigh Early Childhood Center."Engaging with books fosters critical thinking, comprehension and problem-solving abilities as children learn to follow narratives and understand different perspectives," Humble said. "Books stimulate imagination, allowing children to explore new worlds and ideas, which can enhance their creativity.
"Many children's books address emotions, relationships and social situations, helping preschoolers understand their feelings and those of others, promoting empathy, social skills and emotional intelligence."
The Mayor's Book Club is an outstanding partnership that fosters NNPS' commitment to literacy instruction, according to Amy Gulick, principal of Watkins Early Childhood Center.
"The students and families are thrilled to receive books monthly that the students have heard their teachers read aloud," Gulick said. "The Mayor's Book Club also provides community members, as well as NNPS Senior Leadership and School Board, opportunities to engage with our students as guest readers. We are grateful the program is continuing this year."
