PARKER —A group of second-grade students at Prairie Crossing Elementary in Parker sat on the floor attentively listening to the history of their town. One boy had his hands pressed together; a girl wrapped her arms around her knees.
Giggles and laughter erupted from the young audience when the speaker, 75-year-old Dot Anderson, asked, “Did you know the city of Parker was almost named Edithville?”
It’s true: Parker is named after James Parker who originally wanted to name the town after his daughter, Edith. With such anecdotes, Anderson helps students visualize and connect to their studies.
Anderson is a volunteer in the Spellbinders program through . Volunteers go into schools and tell personal stories or oral histories to engage young students and link to teachers’ curriculums. Douglas County Libraries has partnered with Spellbinders since 2002.
seeks to enhance literacy, encourage character development and foster intergenerational community through oral storytelling. In the 2007-08 year, the organization served 284,000 children worldwide. Currently, Spellbinders volunteers reach 1,200 students a month in Douglas County, according to Laura Olson, childhood literacy specialist for Douglas County Libraries.
For Anderson, a history buff who joined Spellbinders eight years ago, the program provides an opportunity to share her passion with children and provides a gateway for children to get into reading and researching for themselves.
“I know the libraries push reading, but I think it’s kind of hard to make reading a real preference because of all the other mechanical activities that (students) do have,” Anderson said. “I think it’s one of the things that we need to really talk about, because reading is a lifetime enjoyment.”
Building connections and fostering a lifelong interest in reading are two tenets of Douglas County Libraries’ early literacy programs. According to Nanci Marr, the marketing and communications specialist for the library district, the point of the early literacy programs is to .
“Part of what we try to accomplish as a library is not to be just a place where people come to us,” Marr said. “We have a really strong outreach philosophy. We are bringing our values of literacy and lifelong learning out to the community.”
One of the other early literacy programs Douglas County Libraries offers is Book Start. The Book Start program sends volunteers to various child care centers to read and sing to preschool-age children.
The goal of the program is to emphasize emergent literacy, which highlights activities that help pre-kindergarten children develop the skills needed to learn to read and write, such as making letter sounds and recognizing words.
Carolyn Ammidown, the principal at the Merryhill Preschool in Highlands Ranch, said the songs and sounds her 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds learn from volunteers stay with them.
“The fun part about it is listening to them read the story and then the songs,” Ammidown said. “Then once the volunteers are gone, they’re still singing the songs, they’re introducing it to their parents and so the parents are coming in and asking questions. … We know that the kids are taking this home.”
That connection between the volunteer and the children is what stays with students and motivates them to get into reading.
“When I enjoy it, they enjoy it,” Anderson said.
Hugh Johnson: 303-954-1037, hjohnson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/HughJohnsonDP
