Harrison School District Two

Pick up a free library book bag at either of the three
libraries listed below and start reading today!
Harrison students can win prizes for tracking their reading through the winter.

Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school (Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998). In an effort to promote family literacy, Harrison School District Two and the Pikes Peak Library District have partnered to develop the Harrison Family Reading Program. This project is being funded with a portion of the 1% required set aside for Parent Involvement, ARRA (American Reinvestment Recovery Act) monies.

What is the Harrison Family Reading Program?

Visit your local library and each Harrison School District Two elementary student will receive a FREE library book bag and a card to keep track of their reading in 20 minute intervals. For every row of stars colored in, the child will receive a stamp from the library attendant and can pick a prize from the Discovery Treasure Chest. When a card has been completely filled in, the child can turn the card into the library which will be entered into a drawing for bigger prizes held at the end-year celebration. The more cards the child fills out the more chances they have to win the bigger prizes!

Families are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the many of FREE services offered by the public libraries. To learn more about the Pikes Peak Library District visit www.ppld.org. The three closest libraries to the Harrison Community are:

Sand Creek Library
1821 South Academy Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
Bus Route: 25 and 1
Telephone: (719) 597-7070
Hours:
Mon. - Thurs.: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri. and Sat.: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday: 1 - 5 p.m.

Cheyenne Mountain Library
1785 South 8th Street, Suite 100
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Bus Route: 4
Telephone:(719) 633-6278
Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

Ruth Holley Library
685 North Murray Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
Bus Route: 7
Telephone:(719) 597-5377
Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

What is Family Literacy?
Family literacy refers to the many ways families develop and use literacy skills, from enjoying a storybook together at bedtime and during the day, to playing with word games, singing, writing to a relative or friend, sharing day-to-day tasks such as making a shopping list or using a recipe, and surfing the Internet for fun and interesting sites (Family Literacy in Canada: Profiles of Effective Practices, Adele Thomas, Soleil Publishing Inc., 1998)

Impact of Family Literacy?
Simple things like reading and telling stories to a child at 18 months are powerful stimuli for brain development in the early years (Early Years Study Final Report: Reversing the Real Brain Drain, Government of Ontario, 1999).

Reading to children more than once a day has a substantial positive impact on their future academic skills. In addition, research indicates children with early exposure to books and reading are better at performing mathematical tasks (National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Statistics Canada, 1996-1997).

Children aged 2 to 3 who are read to several times a day do substantially better in kindergarten at the age of 4 and 5 than youngsters who are read to only a few times a week or less (National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Statistics Canada, 1996-1997).

Some experts say that for 80 percent of children, simple immersion in reading and books will lead to independent reading by school age (How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life, Paul Kropp, Random House Canada, 2000).