Prime Time Family is a national family engagement program designed to build a love of reading. In 2012 the program was brought to Washington State by Humanities Washington’s Family Reading program. The King County Library System began offering Prime Time in 2012 in partnership with Humanities Washington at one elementary school in our service area. It has since grown to six weekly sessions in 4-6 libraries each year.
Prime Time Family Reading is curriculum-based. The curriculum, created by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 1991, emphasizes the importance of families reading together to discuss significant cultural and ethical themes. The program creates a precondition for future learning by empowering parents and caregivers of 6-10 year olds to help their children enjoy reading and improve their reading abilities.
Over the six weeks, families with children ages 3-10 participate in weekly 90-minute sessions held in the evening at King County Library System libraries. During each session, a storyteller (oftentimes a children’s librarian) reads children’s books that consist of culturally diverse stories from around the world that include folk and fairy tales, historical accounts, and other narrations. Children under the age of 5 are engaged in another part of the library with storytime, hands-on activities, and early learning practices.
After the story has been shared with the group, the scholar (discussion leader) guides the group in using the Socratic method of posing open-ended questions to connect with the literature and to discuss its cultural and ethical themes. During the weekly programs families also learn about library resources during a library “commercial” to encourage their continued use of the library (including applying for library cards) and its materials beyond their participating in Prime Time.
Across Washington State public libraries, many have partnered with Humanities Washington to bring this successful family engagement program to families, especially those in remote, low-income populations. A 10-year longitudinal study shows how this program can significantly impact and improve student learning. The value of this program is that it not only involves families in reading together, a critical step in breaking the cycle of illiteracy, but also engages them in reflection and discussion of important humanities themes and questions, truly showing the transformative power of stories.
You can find out more about the national program at www.primetimefamily.org
Maren Ostergard is a member of the Liaisons for National Organizations committee and an Early Learning Librarian at the King County Library System.