It's Always Book O'Clock!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

Every single morning, parents are invited to stay for the first ten minutes of class, to read to their children, while everyone is still arriving. This time is so special for everyone, but there is one problem: there are not enough books translated to Spanish available, for those parents to read.

My students often come to me with little to no English language acquisition.

As an English speaking teacher, I have limited ability to communicate with the parents and families of my students, as well as the students themselves, at first. I am learning Spanish very slowly, but still have a long way to go! I've learned that the best way to help my students, beyond my year in the classroom with them, is to build trust with the families, so we can learn from each other. In the past, I have conducted casual home visits, held conferences, and hosted parties for the families, to show appreciation for them. These have helped me understand my students' amazing cultures, and have helped parents feel more comfortable with trying new methods of learning at home. I truly believe that parents are the primary teachers in a child's life, so we must be a team to succeed!

My Project

Every morning, parents and families will be a part of the morning routine, by reading a book that their child selected. Since the books are in both English and Spanish, every parent will have language access to every book. This little time in the morning, when parents connect with their child in school, helps me see their relationships with each other, helps parents feel more comfortable with me and with the school system, and builds a stronger relationship between parent and child. Now, there will be plenty of Spanish language books for everyone to share. The children LOVE to snuggle up on the carpet with their families, and their friends' families, and the parents like to witness me read to other children, and demonstrate read-aloud methods they can use too. These books will also be used throughout the day as my read-aloud books, as well as library books, during center time. The books are intentionally, all heavy duty board books, so they will last for years to come.

Donations to this project will unlock the literacy ceiling, that my bilingual students hit every single day.

The books in this project either have both languages in the same book, or have two separate books, one in each language. This ensures that the Spanish speaking students have the same access to the deep literacy concepts that happen in fiction writing. There is also a plethora of non-fiction books, to build vocabulary in both languages, so that the playing field is leveled for everyone.