Message to Parents

Kids and parents get into the adventure at a StoryBus special appearance.

Dear Parents,
We hope that your child has enjoyed his or her experience with the Kohl McCormick StoryBus program in the classroom. Now we want you to become part of the StoryBus program!

The StoryBus is a traveling children's museum, with hands-on exhibits that transport the child to the world of the story they've been studying in school! You'll find the bus parked in public spaces throughout the city every weekend during the school year.

You can help your child enjoy and learn from the StoryBus visit even more when you recreate the experience at home. Ask your child to tell you about the story: What were the smells, the sights, and the sounds from each part of the tale? Act out the story together and have your child retell it in his/her own words. Make a visit to your local library and find a copy of the story and read it together. Ask questions such as, "How is the story the same as the one you read in class? How is it different?" Encourage your child to ask questions about the story.

Parents are an invaluable part of a child's learning. Reading to your child and playing with words, songs, rhymes, and writing helps prepare for the task of learning to read in school. The StoryBus recognizes the contributions that parents make in children's education and aims to provide creative and fun techniques to promote literacy in the home. By sharing these experiences, you are helping your child learn to love books and reading.

Within this section, you will find tips and activities to guide your child in his or her adventure into reading.

• What's So Great About Books? offers tips to help you and your child get started on the path to reading.
  
• Preparing to Read provides information about the basic skills a child needs to develop before he or she can learn to read.
  
• Parent and Child Activities contains fun activities for families to practice outside of school that help develop the basic skills involved in reading.

Click on the links on the left to begin!