CDC+ Reading Coaching

“Mommy, read me a story.”

She pulled a book from the shelf in her childhood bedroom and begged you to read it to her. It was Alice in Wonderland, your favorite from when you were a little girl. You smile, take the book and lie down next to her on the too-small bed. You turn on the bedside lamp, take a breath and descend, once more, down the rabbit-hole.

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do,” you read to your wide-eyed babe. “Once or twice she peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversation.’”

The love of stories is something that the majority of us are born with. It’s an inherent thing; the thirst for knowledge, the need for adventure. At first, our parents read to us. There’s ABC’s and 123’s and telling the moon goodnight. Then we get older and we want to do it ourselves. We no longer want to be told stories- we want to find out where Alice goes all by ourselves. But sometimes, our hearts move faster than our minds do and we don’t process the sentences just right or we read them backwards or we just can’t make the words turn into pictures in our heads.

There are many cases of this and that is why CDC+ is introducing a cutting-edge program designed to aide young readers who are struggling with reading comprehension. The program is Reading Coaching for elementary aged children.

“We had quite a few parents ask CDC+ if we can help their children with reading comprehension,” said Alisha Rone, the Executive Director of the Child Development Center. “We actually have therapists who are trained in working with children who have difficulty reading or comprehending what they read because we see such a need for this in our community.”

That is what CDC has always been best at – seeing a need in the community and taking steps to address that need. Reading Coaching is just another example of that. In addition to the weekly Reading Coaching, CDC+ is offering the Waterford Early Literacy Program, Curriculet, to help support students in their reading comprehension journey at home. It allows parents and children access to curriculum and assessments for thousands of book titles, for grades 2-12. Curriculet creates a personalized reading experience that matches the comprehension level of the student. It even suggests new titles to move students forward. “It’s a great addition to the overall Reading Coaching program. The therapist can assign a book on the iPad for the child to read within the Curriculet program. Curriculet offers rich media annotations, quizzes and open-ended questions, which encourage student reflection at regular checkpoints throughout the text. This data is compiled into a report, allowing parents to see just how far their child has come, as well as what still needs work,” Rone stated.

“CDC+ Reading Coaching is now accepting children that are of elementary age and need support in reading and/or reading comprehension. If parents feel like their child could use an extra boost, then we would be happy to meet with them.”

The addition of Curriculet and Reading Coaches to CDC+’s already-stellar programming is evidence of their investment in the children of Natrona County. No matter where a child is at in their development, CDC or CDC+ has a place for them.

Another night, another story. But this time, she is the one that pulls down the book. This time, she’s the one that gets into your bed and snuggles up close. This time, it’s her that opens to the first page, ready to take you on an adventure full of pirates or princesses or rabbits in Wonderland. This time…

“Mommy, can I read you a story?”

For more information or to receive a reading evaluation, contact CDC+ at 237-4477.