Early Reading Together® at BestStart

In October 2022, the Ministry of Education provided a Briefing Note: Reading Together® Te Pānui Ngātahi: Summary of evaluations and implementation exemplars and A3s, available here.

The following excerpt is from Page 6 of this Briefing Note, and the example given is about the implementation of the Early Reading Together® programme:

Despite Covid-19 challenges, feedback from providers and parents and whānau about implementation was highly positive. For example, BestStart, after a trial implementation across 17 Early Learning Centres, commented:
“The impact was huge...not just for the parents but also for the teachers. And the relationships really improved as well between teachers and their whānau. That was quite an exponential thing especially for the parents from different cultures and different language groups.”

Celebrating Collaboration with Whānau

The following excerpt is from a BestStart blog post titled Celebrating Collaboration with Whānau, available here:

We have been lucky enough to be included in the Early Reading Together® programme which supports parents with reading at home. This programme is proudly a New Zealand product, designed for New Zealand tamariki and whānau. The importance of understanding the parents role in reading at home, navigating the barriers that prevent reading at home and being able to share ideas that support this are vital and helpful within the community.

A Love for Learning

The following excerpt is from a BestStart blog post titled A Love for Learning, available here:

At BestStart Tōtara Park, we aspire to promote our centre as a community of learners, rich in a sense of family, working collaboratively with whānau as partners in their children's learning journey. The months of December and January led us on a journey to explore literacy with and alongside our whānau, where we delivered three workshops on behalf of the Ministry of Education's Early Reading Together® initiative/research. Whānau engagement was at an all time high with enthusiastic parents and tamariki participating and sharing their knowledge and new learning with us.

Empowering Whānau

The following excerpts are from a May 2024 BestStart blog post titled Empowering Whānau at our Early Reading Together® Workshop, available here:

At Primrose Street [a BestStart in Hamilton], fostering a love of learning from an early age is a core belief. Recently, we hosted the Early Reading Together® workshop, designed to help whānau encourage early literacy skills at home with their tamariki. The workshop was a resounding success, for our centre whānau and their tamariki.

Our experienced educators and certified literacy coach shared practical tips and interactive activities to empower parents in their roles as their child's first teacher. Emphasising the importance of early literacy, the workshop highlighted how reading with children can enhance language skills and strengthen whānau connections. Parents learned hands-on strategies for incorporating reading into daily routines, such as choosing age-appropriate books and creating a reading-friendly environment at home.

Interactive reading techniques were also demonstrated, making the experience fun and engaging for children. Building a supportive community was another key aspect of the workshop. Parents connected with one another, shared experiences, and built relationships that will last beyond the event, reinforcing our belief that when parents and educators work together, children thrive. This belief is the foundation of our centre's local curriculum, 'Thrive by Five.' Primrose Street is committed to being SET for School, ensuring children are socially, emotionally, and academically prepared for their school journey.

The workshop exemplified this commitment by equipping parents with the tools and confidence needed to support their child's literacy development.

Early Reading Together® at BestStart Albany

The following excerpts are from a June 2024 BestStart blog post titled Early Reading Together® workshop at BestStart Albany, available here:

At BestStart Albany we recently hosted our first Early Reading Together® workshop. We decided to use a theme of camping to link it to our centre philosophy of finding a sense of belonging and bringing everyone closer. We thought that's what happens when we go camping.

We also thought it was a great idea because reading originated from storytelling and passing on information from generation to generation. This was usually done by a campfire over some kai with our elders. We then set up a table that represented our main story read together "The Three Little Pigs". We wanted to show our whānau that we don't just read, but use visuals, activities, songs, puppets and storyboards as media to help our little audience.

We started off with our Karakia, said by one of our amazing mums, shared in Kai, and got the workshop going. Our team felt truly ecstatic with the turnout, parent reviews, and the overall experience. We felt humbled in sharing kai, connecting with our whānau and our local community and being able to bring support and guidance to the lives of our tamariki.

We are looking forward to our next workshop...