Three-year-old Cammy Mason enjoyed a day of books-free literacy at the DCPL’s Sing, Talk and Read Family Festival. (Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman)
Three-year-old Cammy Mason is like most toddlers – full of energy and curiosity about the world around her. Though eager to learn to read, Mason’s family recognize that her literacy skills were enhanced, most often, by spoken, sung, and mimed words long before actual reading. For this reason, the D.C. Public Library’s STAR (Sing, Talk and Read) Family Festival on Sept.12 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial branch, 901 G St NW, was the perfect outing for the Masons.
“Cammy loves to read and every time she sees a book, she runs up to it,” her aunt Kemry Hughes said. “She has a lot of energy and not shy at all, so I thought this would give her an opportunity to experience literacy in a creative way.”
The day-long STAR Family Festival showcased the many ways parents can help young children build their vocabularies, fall in love with reading and develop the skills they will need when they start school — often without books.
In addition to singing, games, arts and crafts, and workshops for parents and children, the program offered support tools for children struggling to read. Children were also given free books.
“It is very important for the libraries in the D.C. area especially to put on events like this because parents are very busy and it is easy to put your child in front of a television,” said Hughes. “When I was growing up, it was books – just books, and I think that strengthened the core of our literacy back then because we associated books with adventure and love and our imaginations.”
The Sing Talk and Read DC program is a citywide initiative based on research showing that conversations, singing and interactions between parents and caregivers and children from birth build a foundation for learning.
For more information about the program, visit learndc.org/earlychildhood/sing-talk-read.