Reading program enters second year

The “Books for Breakfast” pilot project moved into its second year at F.H. Huffman School here this fall—and the benefits of the program already are evident.
“It helps her. It really encourages her to read,” said Josephine Potson, who came to “Books for Breakfast” last Friday with her two foster daughters, Tashina Yeboah, nine, and Faye Boshkaykin, five.
Faye is in senior kindergarten at Huffman and Potson said not only is the five-year-old reading more often, she is enjoying it more. Potson also said they’re reading together as a family more often.
“Books for Breakfast” is part of a three-year project called “Raising Readers.”
The project is funded by a grant to the Fort Frances Public Library from the Early Years Challenge Fund, which also covers some of the library’s other reading programs such as Storytime, French Storytime, Ojibway Storytime, and Mother Goose.
“We were looking for programs that addressed early literacy,” head librarian Margaret Sedgwick said of the morning program that began in May, 2002.
Children in the senior kindergarten class and their parents are invited to come in early to the school once a month to enjoy a healthy breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, muffins, and cheese, then to listen to a story read aloud to them.
“The premise [of ‘Books for Breakfast’] is to let parents know the importance of reading and how to read to children,” Sedgwick noted.
“It’s also about the importance of a nutritious breakfast to start the day,” she added.
The theme this past Friday was math and literacy. “Storybooks can stimulate math activities,” Sedgwick noted.
The story that day was “Seven Blind Mice” and Walter Rogoza, the mathematics co-ordinator for the Rainy River District School Board, came in to read it to them.
Not only did Rogoza read the story, but he frequently stopped to ask the children questions—and even brought along a game he prepared related to the story.
“Books for Breakfast” is part of a partnership between the school and several groups, including the local Kiwanis Club, Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB), “Friends of the Library,” Canadian Parents for French, and the Seven Generations Education Institute.