Our patient families face considerable barriers, such as poverty and lack of English proficiency, to developing their children’s reading and school readiness skills. Literacy Encouragement for Educational Readiness (LEER, or “to read” in Spanish) responds with an array of educational activities.
A nurse educator is available to discuss the importance of reading regularly to children and the positive effects of such reading on cognitive development and school readiness.
Last year, volunteers distributed 525 books in our Pediatric waiting area and read to children while their mothers kept clinic appointments or attended our on-site English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, which we offer in partnership with Literacy Chicago. In June of this year, more than 550 IWS patients gathered in the parking lot of the Angel Harvey Infant Welfare Society of Chicago Community Healthy Center for the 2006 Reading Round-up. Through the event, IWS distributed books to patients and entertained them with activities promoting literacy.
We distribute age-appropriate gift books (in English, Spanish, or both) to each child from six months to five years at every well-child checkup and immunization visit. At these times, physicians and nurse practitioners also give “prescriptions” for twenty minutes of daily family read-aloud time.
