We have been eagerly waiting to share some exciting news with you—we are teaming up with Amazon Kindle!
Together, we created a set of free activities in Spanish and English that PTAs can use to organize events to engage the entire family and focus on improving reading skills between kindergarten and fifth grade. And today, we announced that as the “Official E-reader of the National PTA”, Kindle also will donate e-readers to PTAs in low-income or at-risk schools.
Throughout February, we have been pilot testing PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle with families in Albuquerque and Baltimore, and their responses have exceeded our expectations. But don’t take our word for it; read what the families who attended told us.
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“I am hearing a lot of the teachers who are volunteering say how they are going to take [the activities] back to the classroom on the following day. Making these connections outside of school, but bringing them back in is really neat.” – Parent “I like how there are a bunch of different stations around, where all these kids can go to, and I can really see them working on their fluency.” – Parent |
| “I liked that we had the opportunity to help our families learn reading strategies that they could use at home with their kids and expose them to a new form of reading through the Kindle. I learned that people are really interested in [PTA Family Reading Experience events], and that it is really easy for the kids to use the Kindles.” – Elementary School Principal |  |
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““When parents encourage reading at home, the kids see that it can be fun. At school, they see it as work.” – Kindergarten Teacher “Some families like ours have a ton of books at home. But what makes this program so great is that it gives families who don’t have so many books the same opportunity to read with their children.” – PTA President and Parent |
| “I liked how [PTA Family Reading Experience] showed so many ways to use the technology, not just for playing games, but for education. My favorite was the Storytelling station because it goes so much toward content and retelling, which I know is something that they are really practicing and working on as the kids get older.” – Parent |  |
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“Technology is widely used by kids today. Some people aren’t fortunate to have their own (devices) at home, but they still need to know how to use them. At [a PTA Family Reading Experience event], families can use the Kindles and make reading fun for their kids.” – Parent “I liked that the students had a chance to use an electronic book reader, and that seems to be the way things are going, more toward the electronic versions of books.” “The content of the [e-book] is just as good as a paper book.” – Parent |
Are you as excited as we are, yet?
Start planning now to bring PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle to your school and offer families the tools they need to help improve their children’s reading fluency, comprehension, and passion. And mark you calendars: the first set of activities will be available on March 18, and PTA leaders at eligible schools can apply for donated Kindles beginning April 1.
Visit PTA.org/familyreading and Amazon.com/Kindleforkids to find out what sets PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle apart from other family reading events and how you can help inspire your child to read more.
Abi Weaver is the Director of Strategic Communications at National PTA in Alexandria, VA. Contact Abi at aweaver@pta.org.
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