Local community hosts supported by Humanities Nebraska are offering Prime Time Family Reading and Prime Time Preschool this semester in seven Nebraska communities.
Each series is a free six-week program with stories and discussions based on award-winning children’s books. The 20 in-person gatherings will include a light meal before story time.
Prime Time Family Reading is for families with children ages 6-10 who struggle with reading and includes special activities for siblings ages 3-5. Prime Time Preschool is for families who want their children ages 3-5 to develop reading readiness skills. Seven series are bilingual (Spanish and English), one includes a Kurmanji translator to help refugees, and one series focuses on Native American stories and legends.
These Humanities Nebraska family literacy programs help build participants’ interest and skills in reading and talking about books. A 10-year analysis published by the creators of Prime Time found that children who attend Prime Time show a 95-100% improvement on primary school achievement tests and 81% on graduation exams. secondary studies.
• Grant Elementary, Tuesdays at 6 p.m., now until October 11 (bilingual, in person)
• Norfolk Noon Optimists with Norfolk Public Schools, Tuesdays at 6 p.m., October 11-November 15 (in English, in person at the Norfolk Public Library)
• Washington Elementary, Mondays at 5:30 p.m., November 7 to December 12 (bilingual, in person).
Prime Time is provided free to families thanks to generous statewide sponsors including the State of Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sherwood Foundation and an anonymous foundation. The Norfolk series is also sponsored by the Johnny Carson Foundation Fund at the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
Humanities Nebraska has offered Prime Time since 2002, reaching more than 16,500 Nebraskas in one or more of the 389 Prime Time series that have taken place statewide. Seventeen public libraries, 25 elementary schools, two Head Start programs, 10 community centers, a bookstore and a place of worship hosted Prime Time in communities where student reading scores do not meet state standards. Nebraska.
Teachers who want to recommend families for Prime Time should contact one of the sites listed above and ask to speak to the Prime Time coordinator. Series that are already in progress can still accept new families to participate.
For more information, visit the Humanities Nebraska website, www.HumanitiesNebraska.org and select “Prime Time” from the list of programs.
