2016
DECADE EDITION |
07
“Reading isanicequiet time forus tospend time
together rather thanbeingon the iPador in frontof
theTV.”
Aspirus first integratedReachOutandRead into
itswell-childvisitsat twoclinics in2008andhas
sinceexpanded theprogram tonineclinicsandhas
distributedmore than30,000books to families. Each
providerundergoesspecial trainingonpresenting
thebooks tochildrenandparentsandhow touse
thebookasa tool toassess thechild’scognitive
development.
“I think it’sgreat tohaveadoctorpresent thebooks
tokidsbecauseeven thoughmykidsareyoung, they
know to lookup todoctors,”Miller said.
Lasting
Benefits
There isgrowingevidence
thatReachOutandRead is
effective in involvingparents
in theirchildren’s reading
development. Thisbetter
prepareschildrenentering
kindergarten tosucceed
andprovides themwith
the fundamental skill for
learning–afterkids learn to
read, they then read to learn.
Over thenextyear,Aspirus
expects toprovidemore
than10,000 freebooks to
area families.
JacquelineMiller looksatabookwithherchildren,AureliaandGabrick.
