Early Literacy Initiative, Family Focus, Inc. 2008
Hug-A-Book Home Page
What's New!
Crystal Elliott, MA, ECE Hug-a-Book Director
Will be kicking off the Professional Development Series for the Midwest Learning Center by presenting
Basic Brain Development and the Developing Child Infancy through age 3
This workshop is designed to provide participants with beginning knowledge of basic brain development and how it impacts the general development of children ages birth through 3. An excellent workshop for parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children and families.
Date: Friday - February 26th, 2010 Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Discovering a love of reading is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with books
Hug-a-Book, an early literacy initiative of Family Focus, Inc., promotes literacy and a love of books and reading by providing:
Teacher workshops and consulting services in early childhood centers, schools, and a variety of social service agencies
A selection of beautiful, multicultural, hard-cover books
Parent workshops
"The shared joy of a parent and child connecting with a story is the heart of Hug-a-Book."
- Sue Gottschall, Hug-a-Book founder
A life-long relationship with books
"Watching my child get excited about the ideas in her books has been like watching a miracle. We have so much to talk about now!"
Hug-A-Book Parent
Parents and teachers recognize the spark in a child's eyes when he or she first understands that words on the page are connected to ideas and feelings. After that seed of literacy takes root, a world of learning opens up. Research in early literacy shows that early experiences with books and the conversations that follow promote language development and pre-reading skills.
A child who is read to early and often in life and has opportunities to discuss stories, will learn to read with ease.
Early exposure to books and stories supports a child's academic success later in life.
"Students are excited and look forward to reading, and our teachers have a renewed sense of inspiration as they use Hug-A-Book principles and books."
-Elementary School Principal
Best Practices
Best practices in literacy development demonstrate that:
Literacy development begins early
A love of books grows out of the pleasure of being read to and responding to words and ideas
When children are read to and provided opportunities to read and write, the seeds of learning take root
Literacy is best taught as a way of finding magic, beauty, fun, and knowledge in books
Literacy development is more than teaching children the rules of reading. Literacy is a life-long conversation with books and ideas, one that begins with a love of story and a willingness to explore the sound and meanings in language.
Donations to Hug-a-Book
Help keep Hug-a-Book and early literacy strong by making a contributions to our program.
Your contribution is applied directly to programming and will benefit children throughout Chicago that participate in Hug-a-Book.
Donations are processed through the secure Pay Pal account by clicking "Dontate" above. Donations are also accepted by mail at:
Family Focus, Inc. Attn: Hug-a-Book 310 S Peoria, Suite 300 Chicago, Illinois 60607
Questions? Please contact: Molly Gallagher at 312-421-5200 ext. 131
