A library based literacy program for mothers and their preschool children

Abstract

The program, “Parents as Teachers” was funded by the Library Services and Construction Act, Title VI, from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant was geared toward promoting the literacy of parents through educating them to teach their children. The target population was mothers and their children ages 0‐5 living in the Austin neighborhood, a primarily Black, low income neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. Fifteen mothers and twenty‐six children volunteered for the project. Pre and post intervention questionnaires were administered to the parents. Parents stated that they had learned the following from the project: 1] how to play games, read books, and make simple toys for children; 2] how children can learn from everyday things; 3] how to observe what children like rather than give them things preferred by the parent. The parents stated that their children had learned the following through the project: 1] to sing new songs, 2] to pick out favorite books, 3] to make arts and crafts projects, 4] to share with other children, 5] to enjoy listening to stories, 6] to love books.