Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2005 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - If spending a half-hour in a rocking chair with a good book sounds like your idea of the perfect break from the day, then the Cherokee Nation has an opportunity for you. The Cherokee Nation Head Start and Early Head Start are seeking community members who would like to volunteer their time to read books to students.
Robin Mooney, a Cherokee Nation Head Start volunteer, reads to Max Lucas, a two-year old student at the Cherokee Nation Head Start. 
"The children see the reader as a role model," said Norma Harvey, public education coordinator for Cherokee Nation. "A reader could be anyone from the community including mayors, representatives, council members, parents, grandparents anyone who has the time."
Robin Mooney, a librarian at the Tahlequah City Library, knows how important reading is to children and volunteers regularly at the Cherokee Nation Head Start and the Cherokee Nation Child Development Center.
"It (reading to children) helps to make them successful readers in the future," Mooney said. "Some of the children’s stories are pretty repetitive and they quickly learn the sounds, then the words."
According to Carole Johnson, literacy coordinator at the Tahlequah City Library, Cherokee County has a 22% illiteracy rate and reading to children helps to ensure that this rate drops as they get older.
"We see a pattern with adults who can not read to their children, and then these children do not realize how important reading is," Johnson said. "It doesn’t matter who is reading to a child, what matters is that it gets them interested in reading for themselves."
"The children learn that reading is important," Harvey said. "It’s all about literacy."
"There is no age that is too young (to be read to)," Johnson said. "I can’t remember a time when there were no books in my life and that’s what we want for these kids. So they can see how reading can really open up their world."
To further increase literacy efforts, the Cherokee Nation Head Start centers recently added lending libraries so students can check out books to take home and read.
To volunteer to read a book to Cherokee Nation Head Start children call Norma Harvey, phone: 918-458-4393. The best time to volunteer is between 9:45 a.m. and 11 a.m.
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |