Growing up, I always heard it said, "You are what you read." Regardless of era, conventional wisdom seems to espouse the importance of a steady book diet if children are to grow up knowledgeable and smart, with windows wide open to the vast world around them. By giving a child a book - by sharing hundreds and thousands of images and rhymes and textures and words - we give them a powerful gift.

According to a recent national survey, Kindergarten teachers say 66% of America's children are ill-prepared for Kindergarten and that being familiar with books before entering school on Day 1 is critical. Thanks to Scholastic, Inc., Reach Out and Read is able to continue providing that powerful gift to close to 4 million children again this year, a year that has seen the loss of $6 million in federal funding.

I cannot enter this holiday giving season without acknowledging this enormous donation, one that goes to our Sites all across Vermont (and across the country) at a time of need. Your sustainability books will arrive a little later this year --  in early February -- but they will arrive. Thanks to our steadfast partner, Santa Claus has them in his sack!

Wishing you happy holidays,

Focus on: 

REACH OUT and READ  

         in COOS COUNTY

Coos Family Support Project  

 When community efforts focus on a common cause, change happens. This is true for Coos County, the northern-most county in NH. A land bordered by 740,000 acres of National Forest, today this region suffers from extreme unemployment. Yet, the shuttered factory doors and mill closings haven't destroyed residents' self-esteem.  In fact, various action groups have banded together to help redefine and rebuild Coos County.

One initiative - the Coos Family Support Project (CFSP) - has focused on early childhood development as a means to both assist today's families and attract newcomers with young children. The CFSP is a collaboration of mental health, family support and healthcare organizations that has chosen to focus on early developmental screening, evidence-based parenting programs, and early literacy as a way to improve outcomes for children in this challenged county.

Thanks to funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation and the combined stewardship efforts of the CFSP's Leadership Team, Reach Out and Read is now embedded in health clinics in Groveton, Whitefield, Lancaster, Colebrook and Berlin. Reach Out and Read is seen as the best vehicle for establishing early literacy skills development, according to Ms. Cathy McDowell, CFSP's Project Manager, who says "children's foundational literacy skills are critical to school -- and life - success, and Reach Out and Read is the 'connector' for parents to other developmentally-appropriate programs and services. "

One hundred and sixty children are born each year into Coos County, "and if we can provide literacy and learning supports to each child at an early age, we will truly effect a positive change in the future of Coos County," stresses McDowell.

ordinator Nacole Boutin

Whoever coined the term "multi-tasker" must have had Coos County's Nacole Boutin in mind!  Just like The LIttle Engine That Could, the main character from her favorite children's book when she was a toddler, Nacole approaches her work with an "I know I can" attitude.  Ms. Boutin, who lives in Lisbon, NH and has worked at Weeks Medical Center for a year and a half now, wears three professional hats; from the beginning she linked the work she does as a home visitor  to her work as Reach Out and Read Coordinator for Sites in Whitefield, Groveton and Lancaster.

As a home visitor, Nacole is focused on all aspects of child development, including literacy promotion. As a new Coordinator, she was pleased to uncover the wealth of literacy materials in the ROR Documents section of myROR.org. She now uses the literacy information found there to create flyers for both the waiting room and the families she visits. For example, a two-sided handout lists "What Children Like in Books" on the back with "Reading Tips" on the front. She notes that among today's children, their favorite books are very familiar ones, such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Goodnight Moon.

When discussing the importance of foundational literacy skills with mom or dad, she asks, "Did you receive a book at Tia's last well visit?" If so, she asks whether or not they like the book, if they've had a chance to read it together, and if they feel it's age-appropriate for their child, thereby launching Nacole and mom/dad into a discussion of the importance of reading aloud and creating a literacy-rich home environment. Conversely, if parents haven't yet shared the book with  their baby, Nacole sits right down to demonstrate the joys and techniques of reading aloud. "It's so important to discuss with families how reading will help develop their child's speech and language skills, but too, how the time together nurtures emotional development and stimulates imaginations," says Nacole.

And to help ensure that families receive everything they should at the ten standard Reach Out and Read check-ups, Nacole creates individual, age-appropriate packets for the providers to hand out. "Each zip-lock baggie includes a Reach Out and Read book, Reading Rockets reading tips or coloring sheets, a bookmark, and a sticker." And what Weeks Medical Center may not realize, is that Nacole creates these packets at home, in her spare time -- when she is not kayaking, hiking, reading and spending time with her children and husband, that is!